Just outside of Philly here. By my unscientific calculations, winds seem to be holding steady around 20 mph. I’m mostly worried about losing my trees. We had so much rain lately that these heavy winds are sure to take a few out. On the up-side, I was looking to get a few cut down next summer anyway. Might save us some money. Stocked up on smokes, water, dog food and beer so I"m set.
The last serious hurricane I can remember hitting here was Gloria in the 80’s. I was pretty young, but I remember being glued to the window watching the neighborhood lawnchairs go flying by. I get the feeling this one will be underwhelming.
Everyone be safe. Don’t take any stupid chances. Cheers!
I’m in Astoria, Queens, NYC. Beautiful and thickly muggy morning. Fell apart as the first bands rolled through. Now, very heavy bands of rain and intense winds. We drove down past JFK airport. Nobody on the roadways for the most part, but the cops and FDNY. Made it near the bridge to Far Rockaways/ Atlantic Beach. Stood on a boardwalk, looking at the roiling surf. That was at about 7 pm. Drove back. By the time we made Astoria again ( 30-40 min ), the rain intensity had really notched up
Right now, 955 millibars of pressure in intensity. Slow, 80 mph winds though. The storm surge may really fuck up this city. They are calling right now for 12-20 feet of storm surge. At a 20 foot surge, the water will be running through the streets less than a 15 minute walk from me. I’ll be out with the camera during the storm, looking for the surge once they say it is getting into the East River.
You can’t remember what station it was on, but you can remember that this woman who was interviewed on the street in New York City actually lived on Long Island Sound?
No matter what the media says, or how “mild” this hurricane may be, 80 mph sustained winds and an 8’ storm surge are no fucking joke. The storm surge causes massive damage in a localized area, but 80 mph winds can really do loads and loads of damage over a very wide area.
-Ogre, who’s been through more than his share of tropical systems, from depressions to at least category 3 storms that I remember.
I have to say, Michael Bloomberg is a master of deadpan.
He is giving a press conference and was asked if there are any merchants gouging customers on vital supplies. And he, with a perfectly straight face, replied that he didn’t think it wasn’t likely to happen that stuff like that “…just isn’t the New York way.”
He’s amusing. I haven’t listened that closely to a NYC mayor since Rudy during 9-11.
I’m about 20 miles outside of Manhattan here in NJ. We have very heavy rains and some wind so far. My inner anxiety meter is starting to ramp up heavily.
Another Burlington County, NJ resident here. Lots of rain, but we haven’t had sustained heavy rain or much wind yet. I think we’re supposed to get the worst of it overnight. Biggest worries for us are trees falling and sustained power outages.
There’s been a ton of warm humidity this summer, so this doesn’t really feel much difference. The winds are picking up slightly and there is a vague hint of remote thunder. But still, nothing I wouldn’t have a restaurant make a delivery in. Yet.
I can’t remember reading any of your posts in the past, but I’m starting to wonder if you’re always this argumentative. I’ve been flipping through channels all day, keeping tabs on the storm from different sources. Why is it so strange that I can’t remember what channel this particular lady was on? And I never said she was interviewed in New York City, although I’m not sure how that’s relevant. I said she was “here”, meaning the NYC area. I’m not going to give you a geography lesson, but Long Island branches off of Queens, you see? So it’s reasonable to include Long Island in the NYC area when you’re talking about something as broad as a hurricane’s path. In any case it’s a straw man argument, because it doesn’t matter where she lived. I’d ask you exactly what your point was by asking me this question, but I have a feeling you don’t know either.
Reporters are getting snarky. A reporter for the local NBC affliate just called a bicylist stupid for being out in this weather in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. I suppose she figures that at least she’s getting paid to be in an evacuation zone.
In fact, it makes a tremendous difference where she lives. You’re arguing that she should have immediately caved to the view of the media that she should be frantic, and that she should teach her children that such a response was appropriate.
Here in New Jersey… Irene has announced her arrival. We had sprinkles most of the day but it just kicked up a few notches, and here comes the wind. We have a small river (2-3’') where our sidewalk used to be. There is major flooding of the Raritan in two areas about 23 miles upstream(?) but so far we’re fine where we are.
I admit I’m a little nervous about sleeping during the worst of it. Especially if a flood creeps up on us. But I think we’re going to be just fine. Almost certainly will lose power though.
My relatives are more scared than we are. My Dad called three times.
‘‘Dad, it’s okay, we’re keeping a close eye on the weather.’’
‘‘Yeah, but the problem is, so am I.’’
Even my grandpa who is not really the worrying type called me. Thank God my Mom had to disconnect her television. She had no idea this was happening and is missing all the hype.
Can someone please explain to me the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning. We just had a warning here that had me in near tears only to find out that a warning doesn’t really mean a tornado is on its way regardless of what the news told me.
A watch means conditions are ripe for a tornado. A tornado warning means a funnel cloud has been spotted and may be touching down. The problem with tornado warnings isn’t that they’re inaccurate, it’s that they’re extremely localized so one area may be totally unaffected while another will be demolished.
In other news, a tree just fell into the empty parking space next to my car. :eek:
Well, my basement is flooding. My brother’s band equipment is probably going to get ruined, including two huge amps I simply can’t lift by myself. Thank God I decided to check the basement before bed, because the amps were still plugged in and might have shorted out. The water is coming through in several spots along several walls, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
