Hurricane Irene

[Rukia]

Not to say it definitely is going to be ok, but I don't think this storm is going to be near as bad as previously thought, unless the gulf stream gives it some steam.

The intensity isn't going to be the issue. The storm surge is. This will have a massive surge regardless of the wind speeds. A fairly good analogy would be Ike, that was "only" a 2, but had the surge of a 4. Very nasty storm.

[Karina1974]

Sorry for the caps, I did a cut and paste 'cause I wasn't about to sit and type the whole thing out!

http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigw...t1=Flood+Watch

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ALBANY HAS ISSUED A

* FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL OF EASTERN UPSTATE NEW YORK AND ADJACENT
WESTERN NEW ENGLAND.

* FROM SATURDAY EVENING THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT.

* HURRICANE IRENE WILL TRACK JUST OFF THE MID ATLANTIC COAST
SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY...MOVING INTO NEW ENGLAND SUNDAY
NIGHT. RAIN WILL OVER SPREAD THE REGION FROM SOUTHEAST TO
NORTHWEST SATURDAY NIGHT. HEAVY WIND DRIVEN RAIN IS LIKELY ON
SUNDAY. WIDESPREAD RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 4 TO 7 INCHES ARE LIKELY.
LOCALIZED AMOUNTS OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE
CATSKILLS...BERKSHIRES ..LITCHFIELD HILLS AND GREEN MOUNTAINS
COULD REACH 10 INCHES.

* IF THIS AMOUNT OF RAIN OCCURS MANY MAIN STEM RIVERS WOULD FLOOD.
FLASH FLOODING MAY ALSO BE A THREAT WHERE HEAVIER RAIN BANDS
OCCUR.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A FLOOD WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING BASED ON
CURRENT FORECASTS.

YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE ALERT FOR POSSIBLE
FLOOD WARNINGS. THOSE LIVING IN AREAS PRONE TO FLOODING SHOULD BE
PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLOODING DEVELOP.

[Southpaw]

The NYC subways are effed. They get effed with an inch of rain. The alligators will be happy, though. Lady Liberty is hiking up her skirts. Who knows how the WTC construction site is going to make it through this. Lots of cranes, exposed beams, it's still very undeveloped over there.

[Karina1974]

http://www.timesunion.com/local/arti...ad-2141530.php

On Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency in advance of the storm. He activated the state Emergency Operations Center in Albany to run 24 hours a day to coordinate the state response to what are expected to be the hardest-hit areas downstate.

The state is readying plans to have hundreds of state National Guard troops placed on active duty to respond to trouble spots. Health department officials are planning with New York City to either evacuate or protect hospitals in at-risk flood areas.

Reservations are canceled this weekend at all state campgrounds in the Catskill Preserve, as well as the Long Island, Palisades and Taconic regions.

Extra utility workers are being called in by the New York Power Authority and Long Island Power Authority.

The Thruway Authority said it will close the Tappan Zee Bridge to truck, trailer and mobile home traffic if winds reach 45 mph.

In the Catkills, the massive New York City reservoir system started jettisoning water Wednesday afternoon -- more than 1.1 billion gallons a day, or enough to supply 15 million customers for a day. The plan is to drop water levels behind its dams and leave room to hold more water in hopes of reducing downstream flooding in the Catskills.

Water releases are being made from the Pepacton, Neversink and Ashokan reservoirs, which were at 92 percent capacity as of Thursday afternoon; the reservoirs have more water than normal for this time of year, when the average capacity runs 83 percent.

New York City adopted the reservoir release program after heavy rains in 2006 caused devastating flooding in parts of the Catkills and Southern Tier. Residents there criticized the city for being unprepared to reduce the risk of flooding.

Faced with forecasts of between 4 and 8 inches of rain, New York City officials also released an online hurricane evacuation map. The city is preparing for a Category 2 storm, which has sustained winds of between 96 and 110 mph.

[UMBS Go Blue]

Good thing: looks to me like the current projection shows that the storm will track slightly east of NYC and go over LI. Avoids a direct hit on NYC which would be catastrophic, but there'll still be strong effects.

Bad thing: They just announced that the NYC subways will shut down at noon ET tomorrow. If I had a place to go to inland, outside of the city, I might consider doing that today, because if tunnels (Holland, Lincoln, Brooklyn Battery, Midtown) were to flood, then I wouldn't want to be stuck inside an island city where it would be difficult to get food and supplies in because the few bridges left would be jammed.

[Moto Guzzi]

A tip from my cousin:

Hurricane preparation: Blend the Hurricanes BEFORE the power goes out!

[Lainerb]

My mother is in D.C over the weekend and I am very concerened for her safety. I am hoping D.C is not an area where Irene will hit with full force, but I am not positive. I am sending out thoughts/prayers to everyone who will be impacted.

[Vash01]

To all those who may be impacted by Irene-

I hope it won't be anywhere as bad as feared, but as the saying goes, prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

My good wishes coming your way.

[rfisher]

A tip from my cousin:

Hurricane preparation: Blend the Hurricanes BEFORE the power goes out!

Excellent point!

[Moto Guzzi]

If you follow the link below, it will take you to a list of items often needed during and after a natural or not so natural disaster.

Hope you won't have to use it.

http://www.ready.gov/america/_downloads/checklist.pdf

[PRlady]

My mother is in D.C over the weekend and I am very concerened for her safety. I am hoping D.C is not an area where Irene will hit with full force, but I am not positive. I am sending out thoughts/prayers to everyone who will be impacted.

Well, so far our subway is not closing down. There are certain areas -- the waterfront in DC and Alexandria, probably Georgetown's as well -- that are obviously vulnerable, but it's not hard to avoid those. Generally she's better off in DC than east of here, really.

[Aimless]

I'm sitting here in the middle of Long Island, right in the path of the storm. I'm not near the water though and am on relatively high ground. Plenty of trees around however...I may get two orphans of the storm coming to me--friends from the south shore, just a few blocks from the beach who might get mandatory evacuation anyway.

What can one do? prepare as well as possible and try to appreciate the majesty and power of a real hurricane. We're long over due and it's time to take our fair share of heavy weather.

[Lainerb]

Well, so far our subway is not closing down. There are certain areas -- the waterfront in DC and Alexandria, probably Georgetown's as well -- that are obviously vulnerable, but it's not hard to avoid those. Generally she's better off in DC than east of here, really.

Thanks PRlady, that is rather reassuring. My mom is always travelling, she narrowly missed Katrina, various tornadoes throughout the plains area and an earthquake or two. I always think she is in one state only to call her and find out she's on the run from another storm in a different state.

[Lanie]

My dad is driving out on Monday as he is an insurance adjuster so he'll be going all over the place. I hope it all isn't as bad as expected.

Keep safe, FSUers!

[Anita18]

One of my Facebook friends lives in NYC, and says "they say this [end of the world flooding] once a year," and I was like, "Um, you don't get a direct hit from a hurricane that often! Just saying."

I hope he at least gets some supplies or something in case he can't get out.

[genevieve]

My mom is battened down in NYC with food/water/batteries. I'm trying to find out what kind of precautions my grandmother's nursing home on Long Island is taking. She's not near the water but I'm sure a sprawling home full of elderly and not especially mobile people is a quagmire of stress right now

[barbk]

If you evacuate, and you don't have ID with your current address on it (or you have a second home near the shore) bring something like a utility bill with your name and that address -- pretty common for police/National Guard to only allow residents/property owners back into any hard-hit area, and you need some proof that you're one of them.

If you have kids, and need to go back to an area that has damage, please consider parking the kids with someone outside the area -- storm-damaged areas are very, very unsafe for children.

[TDsk8]

Wishing everyone a safe weekend

[DarrellH]

We live in Charlotte, and a lot of our friends have family coming in from the coast to wait it out with them.

[WindSpirit]

Map with shelters if anyone needs one (updated every 30 minutes, nothing close to me yet):

http://app.redcross.org/nss-app

Stay safe!