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National Situation Update: Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

National Weather

Northeast:
The Nor'easter continues to weaken and move away from the New England Coastline. New England will see light rain and snow showers on the backside of the low.  Flood Warnings continue in New Jersey, New York and much of New England. Coastal Flood Warnings and Watches are in effect for Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine where the combination of strong northeast winds and large waves will cause water to pile up along the coast. These conditions along with high tides will produce coastal flooding.  Northerly winds of 10 to 20 mph will produce temperatures ranging from the 30s in northern New England and western New York to the 60s in south-central Virginia.

South:
A cold front will produce isolated rain showers and thunderstorms from eastern Texas and the lower Mississippi Valley northeastward to the Tennessee Valley. High temperatures will range from the 60s across the southern Appalachians while parts of the Rio Grande Valley make reach the 90's.

Midwest:
A minor disturbance aloft will move through the Great Lakes producing light rain and snow showers.
High temperatures will range from the 30s in northern Michigan to the low 70s in parts of the western Dakotas.

West:
A cold front moving through the Inter-mountain West will produce snow to severe thunderstorms.
Six to twelve inches of snow will fall on the mountains Idaho and western Montana. Some snow will also fall in Utah's Wasatch and Uinta Mountains. Eastern Montana and Wyoming will have strong to severe thunderstorms.  Behind the front much of the Southwest will be dry with increasing northerly winds. High temperatures will range from the 30s in interior locations to near 90 in southwest Arizona.  (NOAA, National Weather Service, Media Sources)

Aftermath of the Nor'easter

The Nor'easter has moved off the coast and precipitation has greatly diminished.  Flooding will continue for the next 2 days in New Jersey, New York and much of New England as the watershed drains. 

The Governors of Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania have declared states of emergency. In New York the state of emergency was limited to the shoreline areas and several counties

The operational outlook for today is;

• NRCC resumed normal operations at 1900 on 17 April.
• Region I Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC) will resume operations at level II at 0600 today. ESFs 1, 3, 6, 8, 9 and 10 have been activated as well as a Representative of the Defense Coordinating Officer DCO/E and Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) will be on site. FEMA Liaison Officers deployed to CT, ME, VT, NH and MA. Request for Preliminary Damage assessments (PDAS) FROM CT, ME, NH, VT ON 17 April.
• Region II RRCC is at modified Level II (0800 to 1700) ESF's 3 and 7 at RRCC. FEMA Liaison Officers deployed to NJ (2), NY (2), and New York City (1) EOC's . NY and NJ have submitted requests for joint State/FEMA PDAs expected to begin today.
• ERT-A teams are deployed to State Emergency Operations Centers (SEOC's) to assist with PDA's
• Region III RRCC planning for potential PDAs in West Virginia

The DHS NICC reports that the storm front knocked out power to more than 1.6 million customers along the East Coast. As of 1800 EDT Tuesday, April 17 more than 420,040 customers remained without power. The states with the greatest number of outages are North Carolina, Maine, Maryland, and Virginia. Utilities in New England and New York are expecting longer restoration times due to flooding and other factors that could slow the restoration process. (FEMA HQ)

Georgia Wildfires

A large wild fire south-southwest of Waycross, GA covers about 20,000 acres and is uncontained. There are 25 fire tractors, two National Guard Chinook helicopters, an air tanker from Lake City and two other helicopters from the Forestry Service. They are still unable to get control of the fire. This fire is threatening an unknown number of homes and businesses within the city limits of Waycross, GA. The Forestry Service is looking at various contingency plans. The Okefenokee Swamp Park has been closed and evacuated. All animals that could be evacuated have been sheltered.
Other new fires have added to the threats. There is a separate fire northwest of Nahunta, GA which is a 2,000 acre fire; a fire near Nashville GA is over 300 acres; and another 500 acre fire in Fargo, which is near the Okefenokee Swamp, but from another direction. The Fargo fire is not far from the large fire by air miles.

Georgia is so dry that there is a fear that if the fire is not brought under control soon and the swamp begins to burn that it could affect 400,000 acres of the Okefenokee Swamp.  (FEMA Region IV, US Forestry Service)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

The following FMAG was approved: #2685 Sweat Farm Road Fire in Georgia. Towns threatened: City of Way Cross. 1 school closed for smoke, 2,100 people mandatory evacuation. Approved on 4/17/2007 at 2020 EDT. (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Earthquake Activity

Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 4:42 AM EDT, an earthquake (magnitude 5.0) was detected 9 miles west northwest of Lake Pillsbury, California, at a depth of 3.8 miles.  No reports of injuries or damage (NOAA, USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Earthquake Information Center, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Centers)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

Joint PDAs for West Virginia, Vermont, New Jersey, New York and Maine are anticipated to begin on Wednesday, April 18, 2007.

Requests for PDAs have been received from the following states: Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

Red Flag Warnings are in effect for parts of Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina.(FEMA Region IV, NIFC, media sources)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)