1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Major Disaster Declarations for Snowstorms and Severe Winter Storms December 11, 2020 A presidential major disaster declaration pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (hereinafter t
2、he Stafford Act, P.L. 93-288, as amended; 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) for a “Snowstorm” or a “Severe Winter Storm” authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide Public Assistance funding for snow-related activities. Snow assistance is authorized for counties based on the finding t
3、hat the county has a record or near-record snowfall or is contiguous to a county that meets the criteria. Record or Near-Record Snowfall FEMA uses data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) to identify the historical on
4、e-, two-, and three-day snowfall records for each county. FEMA also uses NOAA daily snowfall reports to evaluate snow assistance requests. For current snowfall incidents, FEMA uses snowfall measurements taken at National Weather Service (NWS) Cooperative Network Stations, but also accepts other meas
