• Emergency Managers and Personnel
• Situation Reports
• National Incident Management System
• Grants & Assistance Programs
• Training
• Contacts
• Planning
• Best Practices

National Situation Update: Saturday, February 16, 2008

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

Northeast:
Precipitation will move into the region from the Ohio Valley and eastern Great Lakes, bringing sleet and freezing rain across northern Pennsylvania and southern New England.  Snow, sleet and freezing rain will accumulate across Upstate New York and northern New England.  Monday will bring milder temperatures and rain across the region.  Rain and melting snow will produce stream and river flooding across eastern New York, northern New Jersey and southern New England.

Midwest:
Sleet and freezing rain will extend from western Oklahoma through southern Kansas and southwest Missouri.  Snow will accumulate from northwest Missouri to Wisconsin today into Sunday, amounts ranging from 6 to 12 inches.  Rain is expected from Missouri to southeast Michigan, including Detroit, and across the Ohio Valley; as much as 1 to 3 inches of rain could compound the flooding problems in western Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana.  Lake-effect snow will develop downwind of Lakes Superior and Michigan late Sunday night into Monday.

West:
Rain and heavy mountain snow will fall from southeast Arizona across New Mexico today.  A cold front will move from the Northwest into the northern Plains today with snow showers and wind in Montana and Wyoming.  A Winter Storm Warning ended at 3:00 a.m. MST Saturday for central and east central Arizona.

South:
Low pressure will generate hazardous severe storms today across central and eastern Texas with the threat of damaging wind gusts, tornadoes and hail.  Heavy rain across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana will deposit up to 3 inches by tonight.  Temperatures will range from the 30s and 40 in west Texas and much of Oklahoma to the 80s in extreme southern Texas.  A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until 10:00 a.m. CST this morning for most of Western north Texas and parts of South central and eastern Oklahoma.  Sunday will feature a squall line of heavy rain and severe thunderstorms just ahead of a cold front from Mississippi through Georgia, producing damaging wind gusts and a risk of additional tornadoes.(National Weather Service, Media Sources)

Midwest Flooding Update

Illinois: 
Moderate flooding continues along the Illinois River from La Salle to La Grange; the river is expected to fall below flood stage on Sunday.  All power has been restored to the state.  Illinois has three shelters open with a population of 32, a decrease of 6 occupants from yesterday.  Individual Assistance Preliminary Damage Assessments are ongoing in two Illinois Counties.

Indiana:
Moderate flooding continues along the Tippecanoe, Kankakee, White and Wabash Rivers.  All affected rivers expected to crest north to south through Saturday, Feb 16, 2008.  Individual Assistance Preliminary Damage Assessments are ongoing in three Indiana Counties. (FEMA Region V)

NOAA and Shell Launch Ocean Observations Project in Gulf of Mexico

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Shell Oil Company have signed a cooperative agreement to place meteorological and oceanographic observation sensors on seven Shell oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.  Once installed, the suite of observation equipment will become a vital component of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), providing valuable data for use in hurricane research, forecasting, and coastal resource management.
Installation of the equipment will start in spring 2008 with completion of all projects anticipated in late 2009.  Shell Oil will acquire and install the devices while NOAA will provide quality control of the data and make it available in real-time to National Weather Service forecast offices, NOAA's National Hurricane Center and the public.  NOAA also will provide technical expertise in high frequency radar.  Data from these projects also will be made available for input to environmental prediction models.  Ultimately this system will be able to calculate the speed and direction of the surface current - vital information for weather forecasting and dispersion modeling. (NOAA)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No significant activity to report. (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)