National Situation Update: Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).
National Weather Summary
West: There will be scattered rain showers from Washington down to northern California. Snow levels will decrease to 5,500 feet across the Washington Cascades and to 7,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada around Lake Tahoe, California. Some rain is also likely in the Rockies from Colorado to New Mexico. The remainder of the West will be mostly sunny with winds across parts of Montana and Wyoming. High temperatures will range from the 40s in the mountains of central Idaho to 100 or higher in parts of southwest Arizona.
Midwest: Blustery, cool and damp conditions will be in the Great Lakes region for the next 48 hours. Most of the rest of the region will see sunny skies on Wednesday and Thursday with mild temperatures in the central and southern Plains. Highs are forecast from the 40s in the northern Upper Midwest and portions of the eastern Dakotas to the low 80s in southwest Kansas.
South: Precipitation will be confined to some isolated thunderstorms from coastal Virginia through the Coastal Carolinas with some thunderstorms anticipated on the Florida Peninsula. Wednesday highs will range from the 70s in Northern Tennessee and far western North Carolina to the 90s at a few locations in the Southeast and southern Texas.
Northeast: The next 48 hours are forecast to have rain along the coastal sections of the region; inland areas will have scattered showers. Wednesday's high should range from the 50s in northern New England to the 80s in Eastern Virginia. It will be blustery and cool through the weekend with frequent rain showers from the central Appalachians up to New England. (NOAA, and the National Weather Service)
Tropical Weather Outlook
Atlantic - Caribbean Sea - Gulf of Mexico
A broad area of low pressure over the Yucatan Peninsula is drifting westward and is forecast to remain near or over the peninsula during the next couple of days. Development of this system appears unlikely. Elsewhere, tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.
Eastern Pacific:
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.
Central and Western Pacific:
An area of disturbed weather around 850 miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii remains poorly organized. Upper level winds in the area are currently unfavorable for developement.
Elsewhere, tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.
(NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)
Earthquake Activity
A series of nine earthquakes, ranging between 3.4 and 4.5 were recorded within a six hour period last night and early this morning EDT, offshore, in the Kodiak Island Region, 50-70 miles southeast of Old Harbor, Alaska. Depths ranged from 4 to 11 miles. No damage or injuries reported, or tsunami alert issued. At 12:11 a.m. EDT a 5.2 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean 40 miles east of Hagatna, Guam at a depth of 12.4 miles; no reports of damage or injuries and a tsunami warning has not been issued. At 3:15 p.m. PDT a 4.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean 282 miles west-southwest of Portland, Oregon at a depth of 6.2 miles; no reports of damage or injuries and a tsunami warning has not been issued. (USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Earthquake Information Center, NOAA, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center)
Preliminary Damage Assessments
No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Wildfire Update
National Preparedness Level: 1
States Most Affected: None.
Uncontained Large Fires: None.
National Fire Activity: No new fire activity to report. Due to low fire activity, the Wildfire Incident Management Situation Report will be updated on Fridays, unless there is significant activity to report. (National Interagency Coordination Center, National Incident Information Center)
Disaster Declaration Activity
No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Last Modified: Wednesday, 10-Oct-2007 07:52:28 EDT