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National Situation Update: Saturday, December 29, 2007

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

South:  A cold front is forecast to stall from the coastal Carolinas to just off the Texas Gulf Coast Saturday, December 29.  Along the stalled front, an upper-level disturbance and wave of low pressure will move east-northeastward across the South on Sunday, December 30, and could produce heavy rain from southern Louisiana to southeast Virginia and North Carolina on Monday, December 31.

Rain totals will range from 1 inch to near 4 inches in a few locations, bringing some help to the heart of the drought area.

West:  Through the weekend, the persistent moist Pacific storm track will continue to bring systems into the West.  Snow levels will rise to 1500 feet western Washington Saturday, December 29 before lowering to 1000 feet by Sunday, December 30. Snow levels in northern California will rise to 3500 feet by Saturday, December 29 before lowering slightly again.

While rain hits the lowest elevations of western Washington, western Oregon and the northern and central sections of California Saturday, December 29, snow will continue to pile up from the Cascades and Sierra to the northern and central Rockies; the Cascades in particular could add another 1 to 2 feet of snow.

Northeast:  One storm will move eastward into the Canadian Maritimes later Saturday, December 29. The rain will exit the Mid-Atlantic and southern New England Saturday morning, December 29 while snow and wintry mix slowly end across Upstate New York and northern New England.

On Sunday, December 30 the southern rain storm could bring rain into the southern Mid-Atlantic. Sunday night, December 30 and Monday, December 31 the southern storm could travel up the East Coast, bringing rain changing to snow to Philadelphia, southern and eastern New Jersey, New York City, Long Island and Cape Cod plus several inches of snow to eastern Pennsylvania, the lower Hudson Valley and New England.   (NWS, Media Sources)

PA Train Derailment

At approximately 2:00 pm EST, December 28, 2007 Norfolk Southern Railroad reported six ethanol tanker cars derailed in Indiana County, PA.  TSOC-Surface Transportation reports three cars caught fire and as of 3:30 pm EST no evacuations were ordered and no injuries were reported.  Local fire department and HAZMAT crews are on scene.  An initial check of the iCav System reveals no Nationally Significant Critical Infrastructure in the immediate area.

FEMA NRCC contacted the Thomasville MOC and FEMA Region III for status updates on the incident.  FEMA Region III contacted the Regional Duty Officer.

PEMA reports the following:

HAZMAT units were on scene from Indiana County, Westmoreland County, and Norfolk Southern Railroad.
No fatalities, injuries, or evacuations reported.
6 cars involved in the accident- reported by PA Dept of Environmental Protection (DEP) carrying Ethanol, MEK, Propane.
DEP notes the Ethanol car burning; they are letting it burn out under controlled conditions to prevent run off into the Conemaugh River.
The crews on scene foamed and blanketed the non-involved cars.
PA/DEP is monitoring air quality.
No other reported tank leaks.
A Norfolk Southern salvage crew was on scene.
A few roads in the immediate area were closed as a precautionary measure.

The cars were part of a 42-car train traveling from Conway to Newark, N.J., when they derailed around 1:45 p.m. about 50 miles east of Pittsburgh, said a spokesman for Norfolk Southern, which owns the train.

The rail line has been taken out of service temporarily. About 70 trains generally use the line daily, but traffic has been lighter in recent days because of the holidays, the Norfolk Southern spokesman said.

The cause of the derailment was under investigation.  (NICC, FEMA NRCC, FEMA Region III, PEMA, Media Sources)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No new activity to report. (FEMA HQ)

Disaster Activity

No new activity to report. (FEMA HQ)

Earthquake Activity

At 1:18 pm EST, a magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck in the ocean about 114 miles ENE from San Juan, PR at a depth of 40.8 miles.  There were no reports of damage or injuries, and no Tsunami was generated.  (USGS/NEIC, West Coast & Alaska Tsunami Warning Center)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity to report.  (FEMA HQ)