<death glare to H. Irene>

[SpaceCore]

Seriously, I'm not at all panicked for this. It's gonna be windy and rainy and I might lose power. Oh noes. I've got candles and flashlights, don't need much more.

My girlfriend's family who live in one of the state's floodiest towns and has a well? They can do the tub thing. Her father's panicking, it makes sense but it's kind of hilarious to be around. The man went out to stock up on supplies, thought about getting a generator, and while weighing his options decided that a radio would be a better choice. They lose power every winter, I can't figure out how he made that choice.

[draggar]

Irene is still a serious threat to some areas, even if she is downgraded to a tropical storm.

Some wind which can pick up loose debris and tear off some branches (projectiles). If you're at higher altitudes then the winds can be stronger, even a higher category.

Very strong storm surge which can (and will) flood many low lying areas.

**LOTS** of rain which can immediately flood low lying areas and when she moves inland all that water will go into rivers - causing more flooding.

Is it a panic time? No but it is a great time to keep a cool head and make sure you are prepared and safe.

Oh yeah, and taping up windows will only make you have to clean it off the window - it won't do anything if the window breaks.

[Cat]

It's never panic time. It's be ready time. Make sure you know where your towel is.


TS Allison was retired, so even tropical storms can be bitches.

And Ben....you rule for that parody.

[Sapphire Silk]

On an additional unrelated note, I will never attempt to parody this song again.

It rocked. I laughed until my sides hurt.

I'm in western NC, so all we're getting right now is high winds. Gust just blew a chair off my deck. We'll probably get some rain later today.

I'm a little worried about my Mom, who lives in Southern Maryland. She usually doesn't answer the phone when I call, so it's hard to check on her (Brother usually does it).

[BookstoreEscapee]

I was in 5th grade for Gloria. IIRC, it just poured rain all day. I don't even remember it being all that windy.

I'm in Jersey...not too far from water but not close enough that I'm worried about flooding here (I'm also on the 2nd floor). There is a tree right in front of my apartment so that would be my bigger worry if the wind gets really bad. My dad says some of the worst winds will be in my direction. I parked as far from trees as I could but I'm near a telephone pole. Not much choice in my lot here.

And roomie just turned on the TV and the news is showing people on a beach in Long Island. Bunch of people surfing (apparently all pros here for a tournament that starts Monday). They're allowed to surf but no one else is allowed to swim. And all bars in Hoboken are ordered to close at 8 tonight! The horrors!

[draggar]

I'm in western NC, so all we're getting right now is high winds. Gust just blew a chair off my deck. We'll probably get some rain later today.

.. and I'm sure your mom is OK. Irene is weakening - now barely a hurricane.

[Jester]

I'm just kinda ing about the continued panic in the media about Irene. A cat 1? Pshaw. Hey east coast--stop stealing Texas's hurricanes--we need the rain, and a cat 1 is just a longer thunderstorm.

First the earthquake, and the resulting panic. And Californians laughing at the East Coasters freaking out about a measly 5.9. As one Westerner tweeted, that's what he uses to stir his coffee in the morning.

And now this piddly little Cat 1 has the same folks in the Northeast in a tizzy, and those of us who have been through hurricanes are sitting here, laughing our tails off at them. To paraphrase the tweeter above, I say this: A Cat 1? Hell, that's what we use to water the lawn.

My stepbrother's wife is freaking out on facebook, and in trying to calm her down, I've only succeeded in getting her pissed at me. I keep telling her they'll be fine, that this is nothing, but she's insistent that my stepbrother is never wrong about these things, and he's certain that Irene will come right at them. I am just as certain it won't, and that if it does, it won't be that big a deal, and despite the fact that my stepbrother has been through one hurricane (Floyd), and I've dealt with several over the last 12 years, she is poo-pooing me. Ah, well. I guess it can't hurt to be prepared.

For those who are wondering, in my 12 years here, I have dealt with the approach or actual arrival of the following hurricanes: Mitch, Floyd (though I was in New Jersey for that one), Michelle, Isabel, Juan, Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne (the previous four all hit Florida but missed Key West in '04), Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma (the previous four all hit Key West and other places in '05). Wilma, of course, being the worst storm to hit Key West since 1935. (Ike did threaten Key West in '08, but I missed it, as I was on vacation in San Francisco that week.)

Oh yeah, and taping up windows will only make you have to clean it off the window - it won't do anything if the window breaks.

Not entirely true....if the window breaks, it could keep the pieces together, rather than scattered or shattered. That being said, taping windows is otherwise completely ineffective against hurricanes, which is why people who know what the hell they're doing BOARD UP their windows. Duct tape may FIX everything, but it sure as fuck won't stop debris from breaking through a window!

And all bars in Hoboken are ordered to close at 8 tonight! The horrors!

NNNOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Don't they realize that a hurricane without a hurricane party just blows?

[amazins20]

That's kind of crappy of them.



You filled the tub....why? Just in case the water out of the tap later isn't potable, I am guessing?

By the way, I am chuckling at all your preparedness. Why? This:
Location: New England
You'll get some wind and some rain. And that's....it.
Care to bet that beer?

Yeah, seriously. My lazy ass BIL lives way upstate in NY and called off of work not only tomorrow, but today too, which is stupid, seeing as how the storm isn't even supposed to hit there until late Sunday morning. He just wanted the weekend off and figured this was a good excuse.

[Cat]

Cat 1s up here (which Irene prolly will not be, though she dropped pressure a wee but) can be a royal pain. End of the world? Hardly. Annoying as all hell. And I don't trust CL&P any more than I can comfortable spit out a rat. That's the main problem, they aftermath. We haven't see a good storm since Bob. (Floyd was a washout)

She's also a good size. In areas of CT prone to flooding, it's gonna suck. My commute on Monday will not be pleasant.

I'm actually surprised she's still a Cat1.



sad to note, there are now 2 deaths from Irene.

And how is buying extra canned food and finding my flashlights over prepared? I was outta food anyway, and just found my hiking gear.

[draggar]

Sadly she was starting to fall apart but stalled over NC and reorganized herself. Winds are are at 85MpH but she's still a big storm - hurricane winds out 90 miles, tropical storm out 290 miles.

Right now she's a little further east than the center of the track, even outside it a little at times. Kill Devil Hills, NC is about to get hit hard in the next few hours.

[firecat88]

On an additional unrelated note, I will never attempt to parody this song again.

Aww, but it was good! *sang along to the revised version; not gonna lie*

On a more serious note, though, I was quite worried about the hurricane because I have a lot of friends and family scattered all over the east coast. So far, though, people seem to be ok.

[BookstoreEscapee]

They're worried about New England and Long Island - they'll be in the strongest part of the storm and the way she's going she's going to push all the water that's above and below Long Island right into the boros.

I have a couple friends in those areas. One in Boston area (a little south but still considered part of Boston). Looking at the map it doesn't look too close to the water so hopefully she'll be OK. She hasn't posted on Facebook lately.... More worried about my friend on Long Island. Most worried about my friend here whose town is STRONGLY recommending evacuation. Her street is pretty much guaranteed to flood in any heavy rain; a couple years ago she lost most of the stuff in her garage. I looked at her sister's facebook and apparently she is in Florida, but I don't know if the whole family went or what. Haven't heard back from my friend yet. They have 4 big dogs, too, so their options are probably limited as far as taking the dogs wherever they go.

Edit: Boston friend commented on my facebook message to her. She says they should be fine.

[Ben_Who]

First the earthquake, and the resulting panic. And Californians laughing at the East Coasters freaking out about a measly 5.9. As one Westerner tweeted, that's what he uses to stir his coffee in the morning.

And now this piddly little Cat 1 has the same folks in the Northeast in a tizzy, and those of us who have been through hurricanes are sitting here, laughing our tails off at them. To paraphrase the tweeter above, I say this: A Cat 1? Hell, that's what we use to water the lawn.

Not to be unpleasant, but most of the buildings here are made of brick, and the entire region is sitting on a granite plate. As that 4.5 in upstate New York taught us all a few years ago, even a minor quake makes the whole thing ring like a gong. Let's not forget that "measly" managed to break the Washington Monument. And it happened to millions of people who had never felt any quake before, much less a 5.9. Does that mean we can laugh at California's 6.7?

Here in Maine, parts of the power grid date back to Roosevelt's Rural Electrification program and various regions can lose their juice when a squirrel sneezes. I'm filling buckets with water and charging the generator, not hiding in the basement whispering the Paternoster.

I spent about a year sneering at people in the South who freaked the fuck out every time there was even a threat of a little bit of snow sometime in the week maybe, until someone pointed out the obvious: These people didn't get much snow. The city I lived in didn't even OWN a snowplow. They'd never needed one. They had no budget for snow removal, their buildings weren't built to bear the weight, no one had snow tires, there probably wasn't enough heating oil in the area to last through a prolonged cold snap, and pipes were going to freeze all over the county.

My stepbrother's wife is freaking out on facebook, and in trying to calm her down, I've only succeeded in getting her pissed at me.

Can't imagine why...

For those who are wondering, in my 12 years here, I have dealt with the approach or actual arrival of the following hurricanes: Mitch, Floyd (though I was in New Jersey for that one), Michelle, Isabel, Juan, Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne (the previous four all hit Florida but missed Key West in '04), Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma (the previous four all hit Key West and other places in '05).

Ivan and Katrina were "nothing"?

Downplaying the stakes in an emergency gets people killed. It's not WHAT the emergency is, it's WHERE it is. Last major hurricane to hit Maine still killed two people who were too stupid to stay out of the rain, and by that time it wouldn't even have been powerful enough to keep people in Key West out of the bars.

Unfortunately, I can't be at a hurricane party. I have to work that night.

[Eisa]

It's really sad at the moment, but I'm more worried about the damn hurricane than my bf is, and he's the one who lives in Maryland. Not to say that he doesn't realize it could end up serious. But I keep freaking out.

I'm a worrywart, what can I say?

[Severen13]

5:40pm, Eastern Time

So far just rain all day, though now the wind is starting to pick up. The worst of is supposed to hit overnight.