Irene

[paul secor]

quoting a wise earlier aloc post from a couple of day ago:

"it's hard to know what to believe from the media and their dire storm forecasts.

the main, if not only, goal is to attract eyeballs, ratings, and attention.

i generally regard most of these severe warnings with a skeptical eye.

just one big storm has gone up the hudson, as i recall."

Saw that when you originally posted it. I'm still hoping you're right.

[JSngry]

How about two weeks of heat for one half of Irene?

I'd make that deal in a second!

Sitting here waiting on Irene, I'd probably go for it if it were possible.

Yeah, I hear you...but in a;ll honesty, right now, where I live is no stranger to high winds, and we live at pretty much the highest elevation in the entire DFW area, so flooding would not be likely to happen, everything is graded to roll downhill, so right now, at this very second (106.1, heat index of 114, just waiting for the temperature to read higher than the FM dial goes...), I'd trade a few hours of Irene for some relief from this nonstop heat.

Until, of course, I think about the possible hassles of dealing with the insurance company in case something goes wrong, like our neighbor's 30+ foot tall cottonwood tree getting blown over into our roof, which it probably would...

Y'all take cover, stay safe, and take comfort in the knowledge that no matter how bad this thing actually turns out to be, it would only be worse if hail was involved...

[T.D.]

quoting a wise earlier aloc post from a couple of day ago:

"it's hard to know what to believe from the media and their dire storm forecasts.

the main, if not only, goal is to attract eyeballs, ratings, and attention.

i generally regard most of these severe warnings with a skeptical eye.

just one big storm has gone up the hudson, as i recall."

Saw that when you originally posted it. I'm still hoping you're right.

I'm surely hoping so.

Unfortunately, the computer model forecasts seem to be converging on a path almost directly over NYC. After that, granted, somewhat NE of the Hudson Valley. However, the forecast for my area has greatly deteriorated: more rain predicted (already was excessive) along with higher winds...

[Tom 1960]

Light rain and breeze right now, although things are expected to drastically deteriorate by morning. Thankfully no tornado watches or warnings in my area as of now.

[Aggie87]

Been a few tornadoes in the Philly/So. NJ area. Scary, adding those into the existing rain and wind.

[JSngry]

You guys stay strong. It might get scary, but it will be all right.

[GA Russell]

The wind snapped off one of my windshield wipers this morning.

[Neal Pomea]

We did very well! 5 or so inches of rain. My basement is hardly wet at all. Did not lose power. A house up the street had a tree fall on the roof, but it didn't go through the house and they still have power. Where did the rain go? I guess we were so dry, the ground just soaked it up!

It's worse in low-lying towns like Alexandria and Annapolis, and worse on the Eastern Shore and Ocean City, MD. Haven't been able to hear how Kitty Hawk did. We vacation in Kill Devil Hills in October.

The paper says that the most damaging floods so far are from Norfolk to Richmond VA.

Storm center currently about 40 miles from NYC. They tracked this one correctly! Good luck in NY, CT, RI, and MA!

[JSngry]

Last night, CNN cut to the DC ABC affilaite for about an hour...Channel 7, IIRC....very, very good crew in the studio and out on the streets, I though....good anchor, great meteorologist, relaxed but not too casual, concerned but not obsessive, who are these people?

And what's the latest about the nuke plant in Maryland that went offline? Everything still ok?...

[7/4]

The power finally died at 9am, our basement is flooded and so is our parking lot. I'm on my 8th floor balcony watcing my neighbors drive their cars out. My car has been on our towns only parking deck down the street since yesterday so I'm in good shape. Time for breakfast and some guitar playing.

[Peter Johnson]

No wind in Philly; just rain, from about 8:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. Flood watch for the schuylkill, but that's about it. Think we dodged a bullet; looks like the NJ beaches and chesapeake areas weren't nearly as lucky. Stay safe!

[Stefan Wood]

Sun is out. In my area, it is as if nothing happened.

[paul secor]

We got heavy rain - 7" to 8" - but no strong winds and no flooding. I know that other areas haven't fared quite as well.

[BillF]

Have seen pictures of very serious flooding in Catskill towns. Hope you are OK in nearby Kingston, Tom.

[Christiern]

The sound of water dripping onto the metal top of a radiator woke me up at about 4 AM. It turned out to be water coming through the wall and I ended up collecting four wastepaper baskets full before the rain stopped. Ironically, it was only last week that they put up scaffolding in preparation for pointing the building.

Having grabbed a variety of containers, I grabbed a camera:

This evening, the light gave a new building across the park and interesting look...

[fasstrack]

We dodged a bullet in NY. My sympathies to those who didn't. I was driving all day (by profession, not choice). I thought it was gonna be rough from all the predictions and told a supervisor 'I'm not fucking with this storm. If it gets bad (it was supposed to make landfall on LI at noon and just hammer everything and everyone)I'm gettin' out of dodge'. In the morning it was dicey indeed, with rain, wind, and fallen trees on major roads. But, and this is purely selfish but I'm godamn poor, I hung in and it got better and better. Not only did I make a decent day's pay for once but (this isn't selfish) I felt good actually helping people by getting them home with no transit system to do so. They appreciated it and it was a good vibe all around. Since I had WKCR on in the background at least two out-of-towners (as it happens rather attractive women)enjoyed Bird and Pres so much I explained about the yearly festival based on contiguous birthdays, talked up the station and maybe made two converts. (What the hell, the Websky is good for something). I also had a guy in the car who identified himself as Jeb Hart, an apparent former music biz big shot. And he was nice, not at all pretentious. He never came on strong or told me his name in a big shot way, I asked.

I haven't heard of accidents caused by the other potential problem I observed: broken traffic lights. People seemed to use common sense for once and proceed slowly. No traffic directors were seen or needed. The roads were, thankfully, clear for once. As for the fallen trees, they are being cleared away. I'm sad they had to die, but at least to my knowledge no people in their paths died or were injured. Sorry for the injury to homes and autos, but on balance...

Sometime after 12 noon, when all seemed safe and right, New Yorkers emerged from habitat cocoons and slowly sprang to life, enjoying a now cool and calm afternoon. Sheepishness gave way slowly to civic pride and love of Sunday leisure time in one of the world's great cities. Businesses now opened and for all of the above reasons I was glad to have come to work after all, soak in the nice rebound of spirit, and bear witness.

And if that ain't a hip New York story I give up.......

Edited August 29, 2011 by fasstrack

[ValerieB]

amen, Fasstrack! thanks for sharing.

[Chalupa]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/08/28/2011-08-28_fox_weather_reporter_tucker_barnes_gets_covered_in_sewage_reporting_on_hurricane.html

In North Jersey this afternoon.....

[clifford_thornton]

My girlfriend went to a wedding in Vermont, leaving Austin late last week. Needless to say it'll be a while before she gets out of the state.

[paul secor]

Interesting that Margatetville, N.Y. and probably other places in the Catskills got hit harder than most areas, but the media and the politicians were all focused on New Jersey, Long Island, and New York City. Typical.

[JSngry]

Interesting that Margatetville, N.Y. and probably other places in the Catskills got hit harder than most areas, but the media and the politicians were all focused on New Jersey, Long Island, and New York City. Typical.

But...but....but...it rained hard & the winds blew...yet people came out after it was over as if nothing had happened!

How can you possibly begrudge the focusing on such a touching triumph of the human spirit?

[Big Wheel]

Interesting that Margatetville, N.Y. and probably other places in the Catskills got hit harder than most areas, but the media and the politicians were all focused on New Jersey, Long Island, and New York City. Typical.

A good friend's elderly parents live about 50 miles east of there. Any word on how the Hudson Valley fared?

[BillF]

Interesting that Margatetville, N.Y. and probably other places in the Catskills got hit harder than most areas, but the media and the politicians were all focused on New Jersey, Long Island, and New York City. Typical.

A good friend's elderly parents live about 50 miles east of there. Any word on how the Hudson Valley fared?

http://www.hvpress.net/news/125/ARTICLE/10282/2011-08-29.html

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20110829/NEWS01/110829016

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110829/NEWS/108290323/-1/SITEMAP

[RDK]

Storm was dead on target. Thank goodness by the time it reached New York it was no more than a Cat 1. It could have been much worse.

[paul secor]

Interesting that Margatetville, N.Y. and probably other places in the Catskills got hit harder than most areas, but the media and the politicians were all focused on New Jersey, Long Island, and New York City. Typical.

A good friend's elderly parents live about 50 miles east of there. Any word on how the Hudson Valley fared?

The Hudson Valley made out pretty well - some local flooding, some power outages. Some areas in the Catskills got hit harder. The first film and photos I saw of the flooding in Margaretville scared the hell out of me.