Hurricane Irene

[Gainesville Red]

My little corner of Brooklyn is right on the edge of one of the evacuation zones. I don't think it's going to be a huge deal, but we're going to go stay with friends for a couple of days. Old school sleepover party. We're well stocked with water, food and alcohol so it's on.

I'll try to update as much as I can but I assume the Internet and cel service will be down so we'll see. This storms about to ruin my fantasy football season before it starts.

Good luck to everyone else in harms way.

Could have sworn I was done with this when we moved out of Florida. And an earthquake in the same week. What are the odds of that?

[oneupper]

Irene down to CAT 1 already. Probably won't be more than a depression when it hits NYC.

[RBA]

Originally Posted by oneupper

Irene down to CAT 1 already. Probably won't be more than a depression when it hits NYC.

Some Tornadoes are being spun off. So it still can be scary.

[oneupper]

Fortunately, Irene is going to be a bust as far as hurricanes go. Beach erosion, some bridges out but not major damage.
The evacuation of NYC was totally unwarranted and typical CYA politics.
Fortunately, they didn't go all-Houston, like with RITA where more people died in the evacuation.

Media has over-hyped this one.

[RichRed]

Originally Posted by RBA

Some Tornadoes are being spun off. So it still can be scary.

Several of them spotted not too far from us here. Definitely unnerving.

Irene might be heading a little more NNW, which isn't good news for Va. Beach. It's a massive storm, just a good thing the intensity has diminished.

The good news is that Famous Uncle Al's (surely you've heard of him) hot dog place is open for business today. Crazy old coot.

[Sea Ray]

Originally Posted by oneupper

Fortunately, Irene is going to be a bust as far as hurricanes go. Beach erosion, some bridges out but not major damage.
The evacuation of NYC was totally unwarranted and typical CYA politics.
Fortunately, they didn't go all-Houston, like with RITA where more people died in the evacuation.

Media has over-hyped this one.

I agree. East coast stuff is always overhyped. They're still predicting a CAT 1 to hit NY. I have no formal weather training but "my models" say it'll no longer be a hurricaine by then

[Sea Ray]

Originally Posted by RichRed

Several of them spotted not too far from us here. Definitely unnerving.

Irene might be heading a little more NNW, which isn't good news for Va. Beach. It's a massive storm, just a good thing the intensity has diminished.

The good news is that Famous Uncle Al's (surely you've heard of him) hot dog place is open for business today. Crazy old coot.

How's it lookin' where you are? Do you have power? I have relatives in Chesapeake and I'm wondering what's up

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by oneupper

Fortunately, Irene is going to be a bust as far as hurricanes go. Beach erosion, some bridges out but not major damage.
The evacuation of NYC was totally unwarranted and typical CYA politics.
Fortunately, they didn't go all-Houston, like with RITA where more people died in the evacuation.

Media has over-hyped this one.

It has been overhyped from the start.

One thing to keep in mind though is that the storm surge for this one will still be higher than most Cat 1's. Because of the angle the hurricane is coming from and the swath of tropical storm-force winds, New York Harbor could still see a pretty big storm surge. That's really been the only large concern that I've seen. Otherwise, it's going to be mostly a dud.

[RichRed]

Originally Posted by Sea Ray

How's it lookin' where you are? Do you have power? I have relatives in Chesapeake and I'm wondering what's up

Raining hard, winds gusting to around 50-60, and the worst isn't supposed to hit for another 8 hours. Still have power for now. Tornado warnings all over the area.

And this one might be a "dud" for NY but it's still going to cause plenty of damage in these parts.

[oneupper]

How we doing Rich? The Weather Channel has a guy in Va Beach and he was getting rocked around for a while.

[Slyder]

Originally Posted by oneupper

Fortunately, Irene is going to be a bust as far as hurricanes go. Beach erosion, some bridges out but not major damage.
The evacuation of NYC was totally unwarranted and typical CYA politics.
Fortunately, they didn't go all-Houston, like with RITA where more people died in the evacuation.

Media has over-hyped this one.

Is it better to be overly cautious or not cautious enough and a bunch of people stayed put and Irene became that Cat 4 the computers predicted, with a larger death toll because people didn't get out of the way?

[RichRed]

Originally Posted by oneupper

How we doing Rich? The Weather Channel has a guy in Va Beach and he was getting rocked around for a while.

Not much change where we are. The guy at wxrisk.com has the eye coming right over Va. Beach in a few hours, a little west of what the NHC shows. Looking at some pretty serious storm surge. We still have power for the time being.

[Sea Ray]

Originally Posted by RichRed

Not much change where we are. The guy at wxrisk.com has the eye coming right over Va. Beach in a few hours, a little west of what the NHC shows. Looking at some pretty serious storm surge. We still have power for the time being.

Thanks for the update. How much rain has fallen in your area? Do you think this is fun, exciting or would you just as soon not have to deal with it? I think it'd be fun.

Keep us posted and take care

[RichRed]

Originally Posted by Sea Ray

Thanks for the update. How much rain has fallen in your area? Do you think this is fun, exciting or would you just as soon not have to deal with it? I think it'd be fun.

Keep us posted and take care

There is an element of fun and excitement; the main thing I worry about is falling trees. A young boy was killed in Newport News when a large tree crashed through his mother's apartment. Very sad.

Rainfall varies but we've probably had 3-4" so far. Winds gusting to over 70. Richmond and parts of central VA have been hit very hard too. Still clinging to power for now, but it should be pretty rough out there for several hours yet. Time for dinner and a beer!

[Strikes Out Looking]

I'm in Montgomery County, MD -- just west of DC. We've been lucky so far -- just a lot of rain since noon and winds are now gusting to about 30-40 mph. It is much worse to the east of us, Lewes Delaware (on the coast, just south of NJ) had tornados that wiped out 15 structures.

They eye is back over the ocean, so NY is going to get a hurricane -- I think they are going to get the worst of it.

Good luck to all of you in its direct path.