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National Situation Update: Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

West: A frontal system moving into the Pacific Northwest will bring rain to coastal Washington and Oregon. A low centered in Colorado will produce several inches of snow in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. A rain/snow mix is likely southward across central New Mexico.

Midwest: High pressure ridging down from Canada dominates the Midwest with cold temperatures but no major storms. Snow showers are likely over parts of Michigan and northeastern Ohio but no significant accumulations are forecast. The low pressure will emerge from the southern Rockies and produce light snowfall over western Kansas and Oklahoma by later today.

South: Most of the South will be dry today but temperatures will be below average. Some light rain and snow will move into the Texas Panhandle this afternoon with rain moving south to the Texas Gulf Coast by evening.

Northeast: The Northeast will remain cold and windy. Light snow showers are likely across parts of northern New England and from Upstate New York, through western Pennsylvania, to West Virginia. (National Weather Service (NWS) media sources)

Western Blizzard Update

In Colorado, most of the roads that were closed due to the heavy snows were open Tuesday, although Interstate 80 was still reported closed at midday, and some schools were still closed.  Most Denver metro area highways were reported in good shape, but back roads and ramps were still wet and icy in some spots yesterday.  The American Red Cross was on alert in case sheltering was needed.

In South Dakota, portions of Interstate 90 were temporarily closed, a brief power outage was reported in Custer County, and a community center in Wall, SD was opened up to take in 68 stranded travelers.

Other areas of the west and Midwest saw snarled traffic due to the spring blizzard.

There are no requests for Federal assistance at this time.  (FEMA Region VIII, Media Sources)

NOAA Space Environment Center

The NOAA Space Environment Center is the nation's first defense against the affects of solar weather and the official source of space weather alerts and warnings. "It can be difficult for people to believe that space weather can affect life on earth, but in fact it can have a tremendous impact on communication and navigation systems, satellites, electric power grids, and astronauts working and living in space," said Larry Combs, space weather forecaster at the NOAA Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colo.

Space weather describes the conditions in space that affect Earth and its technological systems. Space weather is a consequence of the behavior of the sun and the nature of the Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere. The solar disturbances categorized in space weather storms are: Radio Blackouts, Solar Radiation Storms and Geomagnetic Storms. These storms can interfere with the normal operation of radio communications used by airlines and emergency response teams, military detection or early-warning systems, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), satellite components and spacecraft operations. Solar storms also have the potential to impact large power transformers and even cause a large-scale blackout in North America. Solar storms also create a biological threat to both astronauts and people flying in aircraft at high altitudes and latitudes.

In addition to forecasting, alert messages for space weather events are issued to thousands of customers when specific levels of activity occur. When these solar storm levels are predicted or exceeded, agencies around the world take immediate action to mitigate the threat. Electric power grid operators initiate protective measures to prevent transformer damage and blackout conditions; major airlines reroute flights away from high latitudes to avoid the increased radiation and communication problems; drilling and surveying agencies relying on GPS, cease operations; and space agencies postpone satellite launches and take action to protect sensitive instruments on satellites in orbit. (Excerpt from NOAA Magazine)

Tropical Activity

There are no tropical disturbances in the Atlantic or North Pacific Oceans.

In the South Pacific, Tropical Cyclone 18P (Wati) is about 530 miles east of Cairns, Queensland, Australia. The system is moving south-southwest at 4 miles per hour but forecast to move southeast in the next 12 to 24 hours and not make landfall. 18P is not a threat to U.S. territories. (National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center, and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

A light earthquake occurred at 12:42 am (EST) on March 22, 2006. The magnitude 4.9 event was located in the Pacific 112 miles west of Eureka CA at a depth of 6.2 miles. No tsunami was generated. (Source: United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)