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National Situation Update: Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

National Weather

West: Except for snow showers across the northern Rockies and evening rain along the Washington and Oregon coasts most of the region will be dry. High temperatures should to range from the 30s in northern Wyoming and Montana (east of the Continental Divide) to the 90s in the southwest.

Midwest: An active cold front extending from a low pressure system over the upper Mississippi Valley will produce severe weather from the Great Lakes to Texas. The system will move east over the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys by tonight. Thunderstorm activity includes the potential for damaging wind gusts, large hail and isolated tornadoes. To the north of the low, winter weather will prevail with 4 to 8 inches of snow forecast for  northern Minnesota  northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Snow showers and flurries will linger in the northern Plains. High temperatures will range from the teens in North Dakota to the 80s in Kentucky.

South: The cold front will slide southeastward producing severe weather over the Mississippi Valley and eastern portions of Texas. Thunderstorm activity includes the potential for damaging wind gusts, large hail and isolated tornadoes. High temperatures will range from the 60s in the Oklahoma Panhandle to the low 90s near the Rio Grande River.

Northeast: A low pressure system over Quebec will produce snow showers over northern New England. Pennsylvania, New York and New England will get rain this evening as the frontal system currently over the upper Mississippi Valley moves towards the region. High temperatures will range from the 30s in Maine to the 80s in eastern and central Virginia. (NWS, Media Sources)

NOAA Continues To Increase U.S. Tsunami Warning Capability

NOAA announced yesterday, April 2, 2007, the deployment of three new Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami, or DART, stations in the Pacific Ocean, located off southern and central Mexico and Costa Rica. These newly installed stations provide added tsunami detection capabilities for Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, America Samoa and countries in the Pacific.

This deployment brings the total U.S. network to 28 DART stations. The array is expected to total 39 stations by spring 2008. NOAA also provided a DART station and technical expertise for the Indian Ocean tsunami warning program.

As waves travel across open waters, the DART stations provide real-time tsunami detection to forecasters at the NOAA tsunami warning centers. Each DART station consists of a bottom pressure sensor that is anchored to the seafloor and a companion moored surface buoy. An acoustic link transmits data from the bottom pressure sensor to the surface buoy, and then satellite links relay the data to ground stations.

The DART network complements other parts of the U.S. tsunami warning program, including NOAA's network of tide stations, forecast models for at-risk communities and the Tsunami Ready education program. (excerpt from  http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2007/s2829.htm )

Solomons Tsunami Aid Stepped Up

Emergency aid supplies are being stepped up to thousands of people stranded after a devastating tsunami struck parts of the Solomon Islands. Officials said 900 homes were destroyed and 5,000 people affected. A state of emergency was declared after the 8-magnitude quake struck on Monday, April 2, 2007.

Whole villages are said to have been wiped out around the main town of Gizo in the western Solomons. Huge waves, some 30 feet high, were reported and a tsunami alert was raised around the Pacific. Most of the victims in the official death toll of 12 were in Gizo, a small fishing town and diving centre only 25 miles from the epicenter.  Unconfirmed reports suggest widespread damage in other islands.  A Disaster Management Office spokesman said 900 homes had been destroyed and 5,000 people affected. The Solomon Islands has a population of about 500,000 people - many of them living on remote and widely scattered islands.  Many people live in houses made of palm and bamboo on the islands' beaches.

The Red Cross said the tsunami had left 2,000 homeless in Gizo and that reports suggested similar or worse damage elsewhere.  The UN says it has offered assistance to the government and Australia has pledged $1.6m in emergency aid. (Media Sources)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean: No significant activity to report.

Eastern Pacific: No significant activity to report.

Western Pacific: On the latest warning from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) Typhoon  01W (Kong-Rey) was located approximately 132 miles north-northwest of Saipan and had tracked northwestward at 15 mph away from Guam and the Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands. Heavy showers continue to impact the islands with the heaviest precipitation occurring over Rota and Saipan. All Islands are returning to Condition of Readiness (COR) 4 - normal. There is no other activity threatening United States territories. (NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

There were no significant earthquakes in the United States during the last 24 hours.

Aftershocks continue in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea.  Earthquakes range in magnitude from 5.0 to 6.2 at a depth of about 6 miles. No tsunamis have been generated by these aftershocks.  (USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Earthquake Information Center, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Centers)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

• Initial attack activity: Light (119 new fires)
• New large fires: 1
• Large fires contained: 0
• Uncontained large fires: 1  (NIFC)

Disaster Declaration Activity

The President signed a Disaster Declaration, FEMA-1690-DR, for severe Storms and Tornadoes in New Mexico March 23 to March 24, 2007. Curry and Quay Counties are eligible for Individual Assistance, and Hazard Mitigation, statewide. The FCO will be Justin Dombrowski. (FEMA HQ)