Thursday, December 15, 2011

[FEMA]

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED)

Significant National Weather:

West
A storm system will drop out of the Gulf of Alaska today bringing only light rain and higher elevation snow over parts of the Pacific Northwest, Northern California, and parts of the northern Rockies. A strong and potentially damaging offshore wind event is expected for Ventura and Los Angeles counties between late Thursday and Saturday. Northeast winds gusting to 60 mph will likely develop early Friday morning across the mountains and continue through Saturday afternoon.
Midwest
A storm over the upper Great Lakes will bring rain from the Great Lakes to the Tennessee Valley on Thursday. Temperatures will be 15 to near 25 degrees above average from the lower Great Lakes to the Central Gulf Coast. Cold Canadian air will filter in behind the cold front bringing temperatures back to more mid-December-like levels across the center of the country by Friday with the colder temperatures reaching the East Coast for Saturday.
Northeast
Milder weather along with numerous showers will return to the Northeast on Thursday. A cold front approaches from the west this afternoon, then crosses the area Thursday night. The cold front will bring an end to most of the precipitation, except for lingering mountain snow showers in northern New England. Friday will be an otherwise cold and windy day. High pressure will build over the eastern seaboard on Saturday and maintain fair and seasonably cold conditions into Monday. A period of wintry weather may impact the region early next week.
South
After a mild Thursday, temperatures will cool to much closer to mid-December averages east of the Mississippi for the start of the weekend. A cold front extending from the upper Mississippi Valley into Oklahoma will move east into the mid-South this morning. Showers and thunderstorms will develop over the western/central Gulf Coast before moving to the Carolinas by Friday evening. High pressure will remain over the mid-Atlantic region through Thursday.
NOAA Conducts First Weather-Ready Workshop in Norman, OK

NORMAN, OK â Despite improved technologies and communications in the last 50 years, 12 separate severe weather events in 2011 in the United States caused a record number of deaths and $52 billion in damages nationwide, causing 2011 to be dubbed the so-called “year of extreme weather.” On average, tornadoes kill 80 people a year, however this year the numbers increased significantly and the nation had the most tornado fatalitiesâ552 so farâsince 1936. The only year to exceed the 2011 and 1936 fatality total was in 1925, when the tri-state tornado swept through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, killing 695 people in its path.
With that in mind, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Weather Service is redoubling its efforts to improve public safety for the future. A total of 180 professionals gathered Tuesday in Norman at the National Weather Center for a workshop titled “Weather Ready Nation: A Vital Conversation,” to discuss potential public extreme weather safety improvements. Russell Schneider, Director of NOAA Storm Prediction Center, said the event brought together professionals from around the nation in many disciplines â including physical and social scientists, emergency managers, researchers and media and government representatives â to identify ways to improve the public’s awareness, preparedness and response to extreme weather. “What we’re hoping to do is start the process and get this very diverse group of leaders to begin to row in the same direction and realize that no one of us can solve the problem individually â it’s going to take us working together in each of our communities,” he said.
Though forecasts and warnings were done well from a meteorological perspective for each of 2011’s twelve weather events â including blizzards, tornadoes, droughts, heatwaves, floods, wildfires and a hurricane â Schneider said the record-breaking social and economic impacts the events caused left many wondering what went wrong, and the resulting damage highlighted the need to bring professionals from different backgrounds together to discuss the many facets involved with a severe weather.Topics discussed at the workshop on Tuesday included the improvement of NOAA forecasts and warnings for severe weather, improving communication to the public, weather research challenges and priorities, and community planning and resilience. A variety of panelists during these discussions explored various ideas such as improved building codes, possible government safety incentives and programs, and the various platforms to communicate weather watches and warnings. The three-day workshop ends today and findings & recommendations will be released in early 2012.
Space Weather:

No space weather storms were observed during the past 24 hours and no space weather storms are predicted for the next 24 hours.Â*
Tropical Weather Outlook

South Pacific Ocean
Tropical Storm Washi (27W)
At 4:00 a.m. EST the center of Tropical Storm Washi (27W) was located approximately 200 miles west of Koror, Palau and 465 miles west-southwest of Yap, Micronesia moving westward away from Koror toward the Philippines at 23 mph. Washi is expected to maintain this general course with a decrease in forward speed during the next 24 hours.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to 40 mph and Tropical Storm Washi is expected to continue slowly intensifying during the next 24 hours. No watches or warnings are in effect.
Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)


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