Meant to add: right now, there’s not much happening here in Chesapeake Beach. The winds this morning have been more like pleasant breezes, and there’s only been a brief sprinkling of rain. If the government wants to give me a free holiday today, I’m not complaining.
Maybe it’ll get worse later, but it was a lot worse during Floyd (driving was pretty risky that day), and all we got was unscheduled leave. Guess this one makes up for that!
I’m stuck in the house with a 15-year-old and a 7-year-old. They’re both whining already and it’s only 9:15. We’re making a quick run to Blockbuster to stock up. I just hold the electricity stays on…
Nothing here yet, just gloomy dark skies and an autumnal chill in the air.
I know we’re in the clear here but there are some funky looking clouds in the sky. I think I finally know what a “mare’s tail” cloud looks like.
Can’t see any clouds here. It’s just overcast, like a typical fall day. There’s not a chill to the winter, but a nip to the air*.
Oops …
*song lyric.
I can feel it coming- it’s in my bones… it’s strangely chilly outside and my fish are acting funny! I’m excited, this will be fun. I love storms!
p.s. from the other direction she was caught in my eye
I interviewed for a job yesterday and she was going to check all my references – from D.C. – today and tomorrow. Looks like I may not be getting that job offer till next week. 
From all of us down here in the more regular path of storms to all of you in Isabel’s path, stay safe and dry!!
Well, julius, when it comes to hurricanes, sometimes we learn the hard way, but we might as well try, might as well try.
When I watch the live shots of news persons in raincoats giving weather reports in 60 mph winds, I’m always afraid a 2 x 4 will shoot right thru their heads or stomach and impale them.
On live TV.
Or a live wire falls and barbecues them on the spot.
Richmond is now rainy and windy…not horribly windy yet, but there have been a few gusts. The eye is supposedly on track to go right over Richmond, so we’ve been moving things inside and keeping our fingers crossed.
When Tark (my hubman) gets home he’s going to move in the gas grill and we’re going to bungee the lawn furniture to the fence.
Going by past experience wherein if a squirrel spits in the wrong place we lose power, I figure we should be in darkness by 6:00. I’ve got my fingers crossed, but…
I’ve got an 8-year-old, a 5-year-old and a 4-year-old here today. All schools and many businesses are closed…but a brand new mall is going ahead and having its first day of business today.
All of the local stores are pretty much sold out of milk, bread, eggs, and D-batteries.
TPTB at Tark’s work think it’s going to be just like a regular thunderstorm. Their collective intelligence has been discussed at length, and right now I think the level agreed upon is “sociopathic marmot.”
Yeah, but only after we’ve hoarded enough for ourselves. 
***Very ***windy here.
***Very ***rainy here.
I like storms too. I just refer them to last less than eight or ten hours. The wind rattling the rafters gets a bit nerve-wracking after a while. And rain for that long usually results in foods.
See, RTF I don’t remember Floyd being this windy - mostly just sh*tloads of rain.
Dammit - the lights just started flickering…
I’ll hang around the Dope as long as I’ve got power & cable modem running…
Looking at Virginia Beach on TV right now, they’re saying landfall at Hatteras in about 10 minutes and it looks ugly out there, even in Virginia. Sustained winds on the Outer Banks are at 85+ mph with gusts up to 100. Tropical storm force winds are being measured all the way up to Long Island.
This thing is just going to be long, wet and ugly. Blech.
I hope all the coastal Dopers have gotten themselves to safe ground. I’ll be keeping good thoughts for you all.
Safe at home now.
Blustery and spitting rain 60 miles NW of Washington DC.
I’ll post some pix as we take them. Maybe, if Opal is feeling magnanimous, she’ll build us a Hurricane Pix Page.
And I’ve got a better one if you all ask nicely…
Heh. HOW windy is it here, you ask?
Well, neighbor kid just brought me my mailbox.
No, not my mail - my mailbox, which had been blown off it’s post.
It needed fixing anyway, and if that’s all the damage we sustain from this, I’ll be dang happy.
sigh there go the lights again…
We’ve bagged the garage and basement doors, and I’m about to go out and bring in our plants and porch furniture. Whee!
Har! They’ll get me from my apartment when they pry it from my cold, dead hands!
Welcome to the mid-atlantic, Ginger!
You mean they didn’t have hurricanes up north, you say?
No, but then we did have -40F and snowstorms with increasing regularity.