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Weekly Report
Current Situation and Weather Update
Pleasant, Cool Sunny Day Statewide...Chance of Showers Across Western Panhandle Late Tonight...Moderate Rip Current Risks Across Atlantic Coastline...River Flooding Continues Across North Florida
Updated 11:00 AM EST MondayHigh pressure across the state will linger through the day, and then shift quickly east out of the state tonight as a storm system in the lower Mississippi Valley with a trailing cold front makes its way toward Florida, reaching the panhandle Tuesday morning.
Skies will be mostly clear and sunny today with temperatures slightly warmer than yesterday. High temperatures today will reach the upper 50s across Northwest Florida, mid 60s across Northeast Florida, upper 60s across Central Florida, and low 70s across South Florida. Overnight lows will reach the low to mid 40s across North Florida, low 50s across Central Florida, and mid to upper 50s across South Florida.
Though there is no chance of rain during the day today, isolated to scattered showers will move into the panhandle very late tonight ahead of the incoming cold front. Severe weather is not expected and rainfall accumulations may reach 0.25 inches.
River flooding continues across North Florida, and minor river flood warnings are in effect for Escambia, Shoal, Choctawhatchee at Caryville, Apalachicola, Ochlockonee, St Marks, Aucilla and Santa Fe Rivers. A moderate flood warning is in effect for the Choctawhatchee River at Bruce.
At the coast, lingering ocean swells and onshore flow will cause a moderate rip current risk across all Atlantic Beaches today. When entering the surf, be sure to use a flotation device and always swim near a lifeguard.
To access the latest watches, warnings, and advisories from the National Weather Service for your county, please click here.
National Weather Service
U.S. Small Business Administration Approves Disaster Loan Programs For Bradford County
Florida emergency management officials today announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved disaster loan funds for Bradford County residents and businesses in response to a tornado, severe storms and flooding that occurred on January 21.
On January 29, Governor Charlie Crist sent a letter to SBA Administrator Karen Mills, requesting a disaster declaration. The declaration covers Bradford County and the adjacent counties of Alachua, Baker, Clay, Putnam and Union.
Small Business Administration customer service representatives will be on hand at the following location at the times listed below:
Bradford County
Bradford County Safety Complex (Directly behind the Bradford County Courthouse)
945 B North Temple Avenue
Starke, Florida 32091
Opens: Tuesday, Feb. 9
Open: Tuesday, Feb. 9 – Thursday, Feb. 18, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Closed: Saturday, Feb. 13 - Monday, Feb. 15
Closing: Thursday, Feb. 18 at the close of business
SBA Approves Disaster Loans Programs For Bradford County Release
Broward County Residents Reminded That Deadline To Apply For SBA Physical Damage Disaster Loans Is March 1, 2010
Florida emergency management officials are reminding residents affected by the December flooding in Broward County that the deadline to file an application for Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loans is March 1, 2010. Those residents that sustained physical damage during the flooding event in the contiguous counties of Collier, Hendry, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach are also eligible to apply for disaster assistance.
To obtain a loan application or program information, call the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the hearing-impaired) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. EST or send an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Business loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA Web site at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.
Broward County SBA Application Reminder Release
Statement by Governor Charlie Crist (02/01/2010)
Regarding Activation of the National Disaster Medical System
“Florida is grateful to our federal partners for taking steps to activate the National Disaster Medical System. The quick response to my letter last week to Secretary Sebelius will ensure that critically injured survivors of the Haiti earthquake will continue to receive the medical care they so desperately need.
“As Floridians, we continue our commitment to welcoming more than 19,000 people from Haiti, including another flight of critically injured people arriving this afternoon. To date, 526 individuals have received critical medical services in Florida, and we continue working alongside our federal partners to address their needs. Florida’s hospitals, doctors, nurses and medical teams are at the forefront of caring for survivors, both here in Florida and in Haiti. For their tireless efforts, I commend their dedication to promptly and compassionately serving those in need.”
USDA Declares 60 Florida Counties As Primary Natural Disaster Areas Due To Cold Weather Losses
Governor Charlie Crist and Florida emergency management officials today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has determined that there were sufficient crop losses caused by cold weather and freezing conditions January 2 through January 14, 2010 to warrant a Secretarial Disaster Declaration in 60 Florida counties.
On January 15 Governor Crist sent a letter to USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack requesting a disaster designation for all 67 counties in Florida after the state experienced unusually cold weather.
“We are grateful to Secretary Vilsack and our federal partners at the USDA for granting this needed disaster assistance to Floridians,” said Governor Crist. “The USDA designation will assist our agricultural industry in obtaining economic relief for losses sustained during the exceptionally long freezing temperatures last month.”
60 Counties Declared as Primary Natural Disaster Areas Due to Cold Weather Losses Release
What Is El Niño? Learn What It Means For Florida
El Niño is a global weather phenomenon that results from changes in the atmosphere and the tropical Pacific Ocean. During times of moderate to strong El Niño, higher water temperatures in the tropical Pacific region often produce a greater threat for severe weather, excessive rainfall and coastal storms in Florida during the fall, winter and spring months. The current El Niño pattern is predicted to peak during the winter months in 2009 -10. This increased severe weather threat highlights the importance of NOAA “All-Hazards” alert radios for families and businesses.
Get the latest El Niño advisory from the Climate Prediction Center online at http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/
ensodisc.html.
NOAA Weather Radio
NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards (NWR) is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information directly from the nearest National Weather Service office. NWR broadcasts official Weather Service warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Information on the H1N1 Swine Flu
Please visit the Department of Health's H1N1 Swine Flu information page for the latest updates.
Florida Emergency Management Launches Daily Reports on YouTube
Beginning today residents and emergency officials can now receive daily situation reports produced by the Florida Division of Emergency Management online via the worldwide web service YouTube, keywords: “Florida SERT” available at http://www.youtube.com/FloridaSERT.
Read Full Article About Florida Emergency Management Videos on YouTube
Updated:
February 8, 2010 8:59
