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National Situation Update: Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant Weather for the Week

• Periods of heavy lake effect snow are expected across the Great Lakes Region during the period.
• Occasional gusty winds are expected to result in periods of high fire danger over southwestern California.
• Severe drought is expected to continue across the southern Plains, northwestern parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley as well as parts of the Midwest.
  

National Weather Outlook

Midwest:  Much of the Midwest will see milder temperatures and dry conditions on Tuesday. Precipitation will be confined to parts of the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin where light snow showers are likely. Major changes are coming on Wednesday when a blast of arctic air invades the Dakotas and spreads southward and eastward from there. 

West:  Light precipitation across parts of the Pacific Northwest is forecast for Tuesday. Scattered snow showers will extend from the Pacific Northwest eastward into Montana and Wyoming. In western Washington and northwest Oregon, rain will mix with the snow showers, but snow levels will be very low, less than 1,000 feet.  Meanwhile, California, Nevada and most of the Southwest will have mostly sunny skies and warm temperatures.

Northeast:  A warming trend will highlight weather conditions across the Northeast over the next couple of days. This will allow a lot of the snow to melt along the Eastern Seaboard. New York City will experience highs in the 50s on Wednesday and Thursday and the high around Washington, D.C., may approach 60 degrees by Thursday. Cold temperatures will return by the end of the week, however.
South:  Mostly sunny skies will prevail in the South, and a warming trend is moving from west to east across the region for Tuesday; however Florida will still have freeze warnings for areas away from the coast.   (USDOC/NOAA/NWS and Various Commercial and Media Sources)

Storm-Related Power Outages Expected to Last

Power outages caused by the storm that left almost two feet of snow in some areas are expected to last through late Tuesday, utility officials said. The majority of the damage was caused by tree limbs coming down on wires from the heavy snow.

As of 8:00 p.m. Monday, over 20,000 Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) customers remain without power, down from 43,000 earlier in the day, with Ann Arundel the hardest hit with 17,000 still dark. A BGE spokesperson said out-of-state crews were in the area to help restore power, which was expected to be fully returned by late Tuesday.

In the Washington suburbs, PEPCO reports 1,244 customers still were without power as of 8:00 p.m. Monday night, down from 5,000 earlier in the day, with Prince George's County the hardest hit.

On the Eastern Shore, most of the 400 Delmarva Power & Light customers without power earlier in the day had their power restored by Monday night.

In other parts of the Northeast, except for travel disruptions, the lighter consistency snow caused little serious damage or power outages, and no direct storm related deaths or injuries were reported. (PEPCO, BGE, Delmarva P&L, Various 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)

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

Individual and Public Assistance PDAs were scheduled to begin on February 13, 2006 in American Samoa, as a result of Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides January 31, 2006 and continuing. (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

Gila County, AZ. Approximately 12 miles north of Payson, AZ. Current fire size is 3,615 acres with 35% containment. The projected final size of fire is 4,200 acres. No structures have been damaged or destroyed. There are 539 personnel working the fire. Estimated containment date: 02-15-2006.

Red flag warnings are in effect for increasing winds and low humidity in portions of west Texas and southeast, north, and central New Mexico. Florida, portions of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia were issued red flag warnings for periods of extended afternoon low humidity.

Red flag warnings were also issued for southern California from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border due to anticipated Santa Ana winds and low humidity. (National Interagency Fire Center, FEMA Region IX)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)