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National Situation Update: Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

West:
Isolated rain and mountain snow showers are forecast throughout Washington, Idaho and the northern Rockies.  Flood Warnings have been issued in Washington for the Cedar River near Landsburg (affecting King County) and the Chehalis River at Porter (affecting Grays Harbor County).
Moderate to strong Santa Ana winds are forecast for Southern California throughout the day.  A Red Flag Warning remains in effect for portions of Los Angeles and Ventura counties until 6:00 p.m. PST today due to gusty northeast winds and low humidity.
A High Wind Warning has been issued for the Los Angeles and Ventura county mountains and remains in effect until 1:00 p.m. PST today for northeast winds 25 to 40 mph with gusts to around 65 mph.
A Dense Fog Advisory is in effect until 3:00 p.m. PST today, for northeast Washington and portions of northern Idaho, particularly between elevations of 2000 and 4000 feet.
Midwest:
A second Alberta Clipper is forecast to bring more snow and gusty winds over the northern Plains today and the Upper Midwest by the evening.  Snowfall will not be particularly heavy, but blowing and drifting snow will significantly reduce visibilities; blizzard or near-blizzard conditions may once again materialize.   Blizzard Warnings are posted for eastern Iowa and northern Illinois until noon today. 
A Winter Weather Warning is in effect throughout today for southern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, the Lake Michigan shoreline, northern Indiana and northwest Ohio.  Moderate flooding continues at several points along the Illinois River.  River levels are receding and are expected to fall to minor flooding by Friday.
South:
A rapidly developing offshore storm will bring rain to the eastern Carolinas, southeast Georgia and northern Florida, while the cold front affecting the Upper Midwest will converge with portions of the offshore storm creating snow showers or mixed rain and snow showers for Tennessee and the northern parts of Mississippi and Alabama.  Minor flooding continues along rivers in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina.  Though levels are falling at all gauges, moderate flooding continues on the Big Black River in Mississippi and on the Tombigbee River in Alabama.
Northeast:
The Winter Storm currently impacting the Midwest will also affect the western portions of the Northeast, bringing possible snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches of snow primarily for the areas of Lake Erie, Ontario and the Adirondacks.  A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for western and central New York until the early evening.  (NOAA, NWS, Various Media Sources)

Pacific Northwest Flooding:

As of January 13th 12:00 a.m. PST, the NWS and Northwest River Forecast Center reported two river gauges that are above Flood Stage in Washington State; both rivers are at Minor Flood stage and are expected to fall below flood stage by this afternoon.  (NWS)

FEMA RRCC Actions:

• Region X RRCC activated at Watch/Steady state
• The Washington State EOC is at Phase III, 24/7 operations
• All ESF's demobilized as of January 12th
• Individual Assistance (IA) Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) Teams deployed on January 12th and are expected to begin assessing damage today
• Two Mobile Disaster Recovery Centers (MDRCs) requested by the State are expected to arrive Thursday, January 15.
• No fatalities or injuries have been reported.
• Four shelters were occupied overnight with a total population of 62 (down from 69) (R-10 Sitrep as of 5:00 p.m. PST, January 12, 2009).
• The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) flood fighting efforts in Washington State ended on January 12th with the exception of continued monitoring of 3 rivers, which remain high due to reservoir drawdown; 13 personnel are still deployed.
• US-97 (Blewett Pass-Chelan County) remains closed from milepost 149 to milepost 185 due to mud slides and road erosion
• No unmet needs.

Fire Management Assistance Grant

No activity. (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Western Pacific:
There are no current tropical cyclone warnings. (NOAA, HPC, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Disaster Declaration Activity

The Governor of Maryland is requesting an Emergency Declaration for emergency actions in support of the 56th Presidential Inauguration during the period of Jan 17-21, 2009  (FEMA HQ)