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National Situation Update: Monday, February 13, 2006

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

National Weather Outlook

Northeast:  The Northeast will get a pleasant weather day for most of Monday after the weekend's mega snowstorm. The only lingering snowfall across the region on Monday will be downwind of the Great Lakes and across the Appalachians. A few inches are possible in these areas. Look for sunshine and diminishing winds along the I-95 corridor. High temperatures will still be on the chilly side, with 30s from Boston to Washington, D.C. Highs will only be in the 20s across the interior Northeast. 

South:  Sunday night's Freeze Warnings and Wind Chill Advisories in Florida are being followed by another chilly afternoon Monday. Highs in the 40s and 50s will be 10 to 20 degrees below February averages. Sunny skies will be widespread across the Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley, where highs will climb into the 50s and 60s. A warming trend is expected across the region through the week. 

Midwest:  Lingering snow showers will fall across the western Great Lakes on Monday, with little accumulation. The rest of the region will be dry with increasingly mild temperatures. Look for highs in the 50s and 60s from the Central Plains into parts of South Dakota, which will be 15 to 20 degrees above average. Chilly highs in the 20s and 30s will be felt from the Upper Midwest to the Ohio Valley. Another cold air mass will push across the Northern Tier later this week as a series of disturbances sweep across the area. 

West:  On Monday highs will soar into the 70s and 80s again from the central California Valleys into the Desert Southwest. Santa Ana winds will continue to bring dry and fire-threatening conditions to parts of South California. A weak storm system will bring a few showers to the Pacific Northwest. Expect sunny skies across the Great Basin and Central Rockies. Highs across these regions will be in the 30s, 40s, and 50s.  (USDOC/NOAA/NWS and Various Commercial and Media Sources)

Volcano Activity

Alaska's Augustine volcano remains at the Current Level of Concern Color Code: ORANGE (United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Volcano Observatory)

Northeast Digs Out From Record Snowstorm

A raging snowstorm intensified Sunday as it moved up the East Coast, shutting down airports and dumping a foot-and-a-half of snow or more on some parts of the Northeast and Middle Atlantic states.

The National Weather Service said 26.9 inches of snow had fallen in Central Park, the most for a single storm since record-keeping started in 1869. The old record was 26.4 inches in December 1947. New York officials said snow removal costs the city about $1 million per inch.

Wind gusting as high as 60 mph blew the snow sideways and raised a risk of coastal flooding in parts of New England.

Elsewhere, 21 inches of snow fell at Columbia, Md., between Baltimore and Washington, as well as at East Brunswick, N.J., Hartford, Conn., and West Caln Township west of Philadelphia, the National Weather Service said. Philadelphia's average for an entire winter is about 21 inches.

Other snowfall amounts by Sunday afternoon were 20 inches in Newark, New Jersey, 14 inches at Wilmington Airport, Delaware, 11 inches at Philadelphia International Airport, and 7 inches in Providence, Rhode Island.

Washington was under a snow emergency, with power out to 119,000 customers at one point Sunday, and 60,000 in northern Virginia.  The emergency was later lifted. Also Sunday, about 85,000 power customers in Maryland, were without electricity, and thousands more were without power in New York and New Jersey.

The storm closed all three of the New York metropolitan area's major airports, and airlines canceled more than 500 inbound and departing flights - 200 each at LaGuardia and Newark airports and 120 at JFK.

JFK had reopened by 5:30 p.m. Sunday, and LaGuardia was scheduled to reopen at 6 a.m. Monday.  Newark-Liberty in New Jersey reopened Sunday afternoon with delays of more than 6 hours, the Federal Aviation Administration reported. According to a Port Authority spokesman, this is the first time Newark-Liberty was closed since Sept. 11, 2001.

Service in and out of New York's Pennsylvania Station on the Long Island Rail Road was canceled, and Metro North rail service to the northern suburbs was curtailed. New Jersey Transit suspended all bus service statewide. Amtrak reported a few cancellations and delays in the Northeast Corridor but said most trains remained in service. (NWS, Various Media Sources)

Tropical Activity

There is no tropical activity affecting U.S. interests in the Eastern, Central, or Western Pacific Ocean. (Source: USDOC/NOAA/NWS, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center, and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

No significant earthquake activity during the past 24 hours in the United States or its Territories. (Source: United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)