Sunday, October 30, 2011

[FEMA]

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED)

National Weather

Northeast:
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect until 8:00 a.m. EDT today. A wintry mix will continue across portions of the region through this evening and could be heavy at times. Winds are expected to be between 22-24 mph, with gusts possibly as high as 41 mph. New snow accumulation of around an inch is possible. After the rapidly moving storm moves out to sea this morning, it will remain cold & windy with temperatures 5-16 degrees below average with lows in the 20s and 30s. Â*
South:
Seasonably cool and dry conditions with few, if any clouds, are expected through this evening. However, the only exception will be showers and thunderstorms across south Florida. The rain in southernmost Florida and the Florida Keys could possibly exceed one inch. Numerous Freeze and Frost Watches and Advisories will be active across portions of the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys, Southeast, and the Mid-Atlantic regions.
Midwest:
With high pressure centered to the southeast the region, it will be dry across the Plains and most of the Ohio Valley. Temperatures will be in the 50s and winds will be gusty from the Plains to the western Great Lakes and Lower Ohio Valley. There will be a chance of thunderstorms with scattered showers mixed with wet snow by Monday in the Great Lakes, the Upper Midwest, and across the northern Mississippi Valley.
West:
A cold front will produce rain and mountain snow from the Pacific Northwest to the Northern Rockies. Rainfall could locally reach one inch in the Olympics and Washington Cascades. Gusty winds are forecast for portions of the Northern Plains and the mountains and canyons of Southern California. Sunny skies are forecast for the Southwest and above average temperatures from California and Arizona to Montana.

Significant National Weather

At 5 a.m. EDT, a rare October winter storm continues to impact the interior Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states. Winter Storm Warnings are in effect from Northern Virginia to Maine. The heaviest snowfall amounts are forecast to fall from extreme northern Maryland northeastward through New Jersey and western Massachusetts into eastern Maine. Lighter snow accumulations are possible for the major cities of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. High Wind Warnings with gusts to 60 mph are in effect for coastal areas from middle Long Island and southern Connecticut up to eastern Maine, including Boston.
Situational Assessment:Â*
Heavy wet snow on trees has resulted in numerous downed trees and power outages. Heavy snow and high winds have also caused significant flight delays and cancellations at major airports along the East Coast including Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark, N.J, New York and Boston. Many major transportation routes in the Northeast have become snow covered resulting in dangerous travel conditions and traffic delays.
Critical Transportation:

• Open source media reports airports including John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International, Reagan National, Dulles International, and Philadelphia International are posting delays and cancellations due to weather.
• Media also reported that all domestic flights out of New Jersey's Newark International Airport were canceled around 4 p.m. EDT Saturday, according to an announcement made at the airport. The FAA also reported major delays at John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia in New York City.
• Portions of Interstate 84 in CT, Interstate 287 in NJ, Interstate 78 in PA, and Interstate 87 in NY have been closed and multiple accidents have been reported on snow covered roads.
• Amtrak service along the Keystone Corridor between Harrisburg and Philadelphia, PA has been disrupted due to downed trees and weather related infrastructure issues.
• NJ Transit service has been disrupted between Morristown and Gladstone, Union and Newark, and the NJ coast.
• Norfolk and Southern freight operations have also been disrupted between Hagerstown, MD and Allentown, PA, including the Lehigh Line

Fatalities/Injuries/Missing:

• No reports of injuries or fatalities

Power Outages (as of 10 p.m. EDT Oct. 29)
Region I

• Massachusetts (190,616)
• Rhode Island (171)
• Connecticut (578,234)

Region II

• New York (153, 008)
• New Jersey (304,396)

Region III

• Pennsylvania (177,331)
• Maryland (29,676)
• Delaware (431)
• Virginia (2,612)
• West Virginia (20,587)
• District of Columbia (82)

Regional Preparations and Response

• Region I
• Effective 7:00 a.m. EDT, Sunday, Oct. 30, the Region I RRCC will activate at Level III (Situational Awareness Watch only) from 7 a.m. EDT to 5 p.m. EDT, and will be prepared to increase the activation level as necessary.
• No ESFs are expected to be activated at this time. The situation will be reevaluated on Sunday morning based on initial damage reports from the storm. If activations are necessary, the most likely will be ESFs 1, 3, 4, and 12.
• The established JFOs/IMATs will be prepared to provide initial response activities in their states as tasked by the RRCC.
• State Liaison Officers have been identified and are available for all states. Massachusetts has requested their SLO to be deployed; and the SLO is scheduled to report to the state EOC on Sunday.
• The Maynard MERS Operations Center continues to monitor the storm and provide situational awareness to Regional and FEMA leadership.
• Region II
• Region II Regional Watch Center is at a Watch/Steady State. The RWC is maintaining contact with the New York State Office of Emergency Management and the New Jersey Regional Operations Intelligence Center is providing situational awareness reporting to Regional and FEMA leadership.
• Region II RRCC is not activated but is prepared to activate as needed.
• JFOs and IMATs are in place in New Jersey and New York for other previously declared disasters and would be available to support response efforts for the October Winter Storms if needed.
• Region III
• Region III Regional Watch Center is at a Watch/Steady State level. The RWC is maintaining contact with the all state emergency operations centers and is providing situational awareness reporting to Regional and FEMA leadership.
• Region III RRCC is not activated but is prepared to activate as needed.
• JFO and field operations in Pennsylvania supporting previously declared disasters FEMA-4025-DR and 4030-DR have closed due to the October Winter Storm.
• Field operations including Community Relations Field Operations and Disaster Recovery Centers are suspended through Sunday, Oct. 30.
• JFO and field operations will resume at 7 a.m. EDT, Monday morning with a limited command presence at the JFO on Sunday.
• Mission Critical Housing and Staging Area may resume operations (weather permitting) Sunday, Oct. 30.

State Preparation and Response

• Connecticut
• The Governor activated the State Emergency Operations Center at 2 p.m. EDT Saturday Oct. 29.
• The Governor has enacted a ban on all non-emergency traffic on the Wilbur Cross/Merritt Parkways due to severe winter storm conditions.
• EOCs are open in six counties (Danbury, Waterbury, New Cannan, Westport, New Haven and Norwich)
• Shelters are open in Clinton.
• Rhode Island
• The Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency and state partners participated in conference calls throughout the day on Saturday with local emergency management officials, state partners, the National Grid, and the National Weather Service.
• RIEMA will continue to monitor the approaching winter weather system and is planning to open the state emergency operations center at a monitoring status from 6:00 p.m. Saturday through noon Sunday.
• New York
• The Governor activated New York State's Emergency Operations Center and directed the New York State Office of Emergency Management to open the State Emergency Operations Center to ensure resources and equipment is positioned for an appropriate response to the storm.
• OEM offices in Dutchess, Nassau, and Orange County have also been activated.
• A Red Cross representative is staffing the Dutchess County EOC.
• Six partner shelters are on standby: 2 in Columbia County, 2 in Albany County, 1 in both Renesselaer and Schoharie County's.
• New Jersey
• The Governor has declared a state of emergency for the entire state
• The Governor urged New Jerseyans to stay off of the roadways until conditions improve. The adverse conditions caused by the storm have resulted in over 60 incidents on roadways and 20 full road closures so far.
• The New Jersey Office of Emergency Management will be authorized to mobilize and deploy resources beginning immediately to respond to the storm conditions

State EOC Activations

• The following state Emergency Operations Centers are activated:
• Region I
• Rhode Island (âWatchâ level 6 p.m. Saturday â noon Sunday)
• Massachusetts (partial activation)
• Connecticut (partial activation)
• New Hampshire (partial activation, 7 a.m. Sunday)
• Vermont (partial activation)
• Region II
• New Jersey Regional Operations Intelligence Center â Level III (partial activation) as of 4:30 p.m. EDT, Oct. 29. The New Jersey Office of Emergency Management and the New Jersey Department of Transportation will be staffing the NJ Emergency Operations Center.
• New York â Level III (partial activation) as of 12 p.m. EDT, Oct. 29.
• New York City â OEM at Level III (partial activation)
• Region III
• Pennsylvania â Level III (enhanced activation) as of 9:30 a.m. EDT Sept. 21 for Tropical Storm Lee

Red Flag Warnings

Portions of southern California, Georgia and Florida have active Red Flag Warnings.Â*
Space Weather

No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours. No space weather storms are predicted for the next 24 hours.
Tropical Weather Outlook

Eastern PacificÂ*Â*
No tropical cyclone formations at this time.
Central Pacific
No tropical cyclone activity is expected through Monday evening.
Western Pacific
No tropical cyclone activity. Â*

Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Wildfire Update

The National Wildland Fire Preparedness Level remains at Preparedness Level 1 (Minimal large fire activity nationally.) On Friday, Oct. 28, initial fire attack activity was reported LIGHT with 68 new fires reported on Friday.Â* There was one 1 contained large fire and no new large fires reported.
Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)


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