Irene, Goodnight Irene, Irene Goodnight

[Ingmar]

I wonder if the earthquake 'loosened' anything that wouldn't otherwise fall down in this?

[Merusk]

I wondered the same thing.  There's a good possibility it, considering we've seen actual building damage from such a "minor" quake.  High-winds after the fact could be a hell of a one-two punch.

[Lantyssa]

Hay now, its gotta go over me to get there! 

Sorry, acceptable loss.  We'll repost pictures as a tribute to your memory.

[Mrbloodworth]

[Sky]

I'll play cookie metal at your funeral.

[Mrbloodworth]

Meanies.

[Vaiti]

[Ingmar]

I have to say hurricanes kind of scare the shit out of me. Way worse than earthquakes!

[WayAbvPar]

I am the exact opposite. You can see hurricanes coming and get the hell out of the way. When earthquakes hit, you are proper fucked.

[Ingmar]

I hope it doesn't level Cape May, I liked Cape May. Atlantic City can go though.

[luckton]

If I had a dollar for everytime I wish a hurricane would blow through and level (insert local ghetto area here), I'd be a rich man 

Sadly, my local ghettos are still here :(

[Ingmar]

...yeah that isn't what I was getting at.

[Strazos]

I hope it doesn't level Cape May, I liked Cape May. Atlantic City can go though.

NOOOO, then where will I play Craps for 4 hours at a time? 

Also, perhaps I should move my car tomorrow to...some place without so many branches overhead.

[Khaldun]

Hurricanes are serious business.  Let the media do there thing in this regard.  At least then it makes the idiots that stay behind look dumber when they cry that they didn't know and/or didn't listen.

New Orleans people didn't leave because they were dirt ass poor or dumb as rocks.

I'm betting it spins off into the oceans after skimming the coast and makes all those projections look silly. Either that, or it slams into NYC and ruins the city.

I'm fine with either.

Whatever, motherfucker. The forecasters are obviously just in the tank trying to drum up ratings. Or maybe they're honestly trying to prevent the worst-case scenarios.

What the fuck is with the cynicism? "Oh, dear, you mean predicting the exact behavior of a chaotic weather system three days from now isn't perfectly fixed? Better not to say anything, cause you'll look sensationalist. Also, only dumbasses die from NOT paying attention to weather predictions because they're being cynical."

I'd buy you a ticket to a three-day cruise off of Atlantic City if you think it's all just lol don't worry just ratings.

[Simond]

Here's an odd thing. In the late summer of 1944, the NE of America got hit by a 5.8 earthquake., Under a week later, a catagory three hurricane skimmed up the east coast before making landfall in New York.

Funny how these coincidences play out.

E: Does this mean no more Jersey Shore? 

[Sjofn]

I have to say hurricanes kind of scare the shit out of me. Way worse than earthquakes!

Like WayAbvPar said, hurricanes are predictable. You can see them coming. I vastly preferred the NJ natural disasters, which are weak-ass hurricanes (most of the time  ), weak-ass blizzards, and the occassional nor'easter, all of which you see coming. I guess there are sometimes fires, too, but it's not like the entire state bursts into flame during the summer like California does.

[Numtini]

Much rather have predictable disasters. It's nice to lay in stocks for the apocalypse. The line was nearly out the door at Luke's Liquors.

[Margalis]

I was going to fly to New York on Monday. Should I reschedule?

Help me weather gurus!

[Viin]

NYC or elsewhere?

[Margalis]

NYC or elsewhere?

Finger Lakes region.

[Paelos]

Whatever, motherfucker. The forecasters are obviously just in the tank trying to drum up ratings. Or maybe they're honestly trying to prevent the worst-case scenarios.

What the fuck is with the cynicism? "Oh, dear, you mean predicting the exact behavior of a chaotic weather system three days from now isn't perfectly fixed? Better not to say anything, cause you'll look sensationalist. Also, only dumbasses die from NOT paying attention to weather predictions because they're being cynical."

I'd buy you a ticket to a three-day cruise off of Atlantic City if you think it's all just lol don't worry just ratings.

http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/article/irene-rare-dangerous-hurricane_2011-08-25

Read that article and the headline, chuckles, and you go ahead and tell me if they are just drumming up sensationalist crap.

Could a hurricane hit there? Yeah, and by Friday night we will have a pretty solid idea. This sentence though? "Confidence is growing that locations from eastern North Carolina and the eastern Mid-Atlantic states to Long Island to southern New England are all in the potential path of Hurricane Irene." Confidence is growing on the potential path may hit about 1000 miles of coastline? Brilliant, tell everyone to freak the fuck out on the Eastern seaboard.

All I'm saying is that kind of shit is full of panic laced insanity that has no place in a simple warning.

[Khaldun]

You know, it's not hard to hit 1000 miles of coastline if you crawl up that coastline. Nor'easters pretty much do exactly that in the wintertime--the storms form in the Southeast and then turn and crawl up the entire Atlantic seaboard. And you know, they often cause a lot of problems from Georgia right up to Boston. So a hurricane doing roughly the same thing is going to...do roughly the same thing. See, the thing is, much of the population of the East Coast is close to the coasts.

You might recognize this if you looked at a map.

[Numtini]

I agree, weather.com is highly sensationalistic. My favorite is the EXTREME WARNING MAP. But it covers anything that could potentially get a tropical storm. A tropical storm is not really all that big a deal unless you're sitting on the exposed coast.

Weather underground has great coverage, a lot of maps including the different models and an averaging of them. And none of the YOU ARE DOOOOOOMED stuff. In fact, the forecast here is simply "showers 100%. Hurricane Irene."

[Khaldun]

Damned if you do and damned if you don't when it comes to sounding the alarm. If you don't make a fuss, people who should leave or prepare don't. If you do make a fuss, people mock all the doomcasting. Weather.com has an extra reason to turn it up, which is ratings for the Weather Channel. But the NHC is making a pretty big deal about Irene too, using some of the same language. Wunderground isn't just twiddling its thumbs either: on Masters' blog, "People living on the the east coast of the US from the Carolinas to Cape Cod should closely monitor Irene and be in the process of finishing their hurricane preparations. If you have not started preparing for this storm, start immediately. If an evacuation order is given, please follow it. Irene will be a large storm, impacting areas far from the storm center track.". A good deal of attention to flooding scenarios also there and everywhere, and part of the reason is that some of the heaviest rain is going to fall over Philly metro and suburbs, which have had the wettest August on record already--rivers and creeks are at peak, ground is extremely saturated. That makes tree falls more likely and it makes floods pretty much guaranteed.

I'm pretty much expecting that we won't have power for 1-4 days after this, and that warrants some preparation. Our house isn't subject to rainfall flooding, but there are houses not far from here which are vulnerable. All of us live on lots with a bunch of trees.

[Paelos]

Khaldun, that warning you mentioned about preparing and following information is fine. That's a responsible attitude to a possible storm.

What's not fine is. "Dire warnings are being issue in advance of Hurricane Irene.  It will affect North Carolina tonight before moving to the Northeast with EXTRAORDINARY impacts expected."

I'm not making that up. It's a line from the top of TWC.

Did we really need to yell out dire warnings and ALL CAPS extraordinary? It's insane.

[Lantyssa]

Hurricanes are something people don't take very seriously.  Unless you make a big deal, they kind of twiddle their thumbs.  While I'm all for natural selection, it makes the rescue workers' jobs that much tougher.

[Sky]

One of the folks who has a hard time remembering he doesn't have my gmail address is in the Guard, so I've got the email with disaster prep and county contact info and whatnot if anyone's interested :P

I really like a solid blizzard. Keeps the assholes at home, and I can stay nice and cozy in my toasty place and play guitar. Chop wood and keep a well-stocked pantry, folks :) Maybe go for a nice drive in the FJ.

[Mrbloodworth]

Khaldun, that warning you mentioned about preparing and following information is fine. That's a responsible attitude to a possible storm.

What's not fine is. "Dire warnings are being issue in advance of Hurricane Irene.  It will affect North Carolina tonight before moving to the Northeast with EXTRAORDINARY impacts expected."

I'm not making that up. It's a line from the top of TWC.

Did we really need to yell out dire warnings and ALL CAPS extraordinary? It's insane.

Is it inaccurate?

[Merusk]

You expect to be without power that long, Kal, then expect to be without water as well.  Fill up all your tubs with water as the storm hits or soon after losing power then don't use it again until you've verified it's ok with your Water & Sanitation department.  (Or, go buy a few 5-10 gal jugs now but I'll bet they're out.)

One thing people forget is the water purification system can be fouled in storms, power-outages and floods.

[Khaldun]

Every time weather forecasters and authorities are too low-key about a storm and it turns out to be brutal, like Andrew, the same people who complain about alarmism flip-flop and complain that the alarm didn't go out strongly enough.

Filling up water jugs tomorrow. Stores are pretty much out of water and D batteries, as you might expect. I'm just guessing on outages, but my neighborhood goes off for 12 hours + even in relatively mild thunderstorms, our line runs through a densely wooded borderland which the local utility guys don't really trim much.

[01101010]

You expect to be without power that long, Kal, then expect to be without water as well.  Fill up all your tubs with water as the storm hits or soon after losing power then don't use it again until you've verified it's ok with your Water & Sanitation department.  (Or, go buy a few 5-10 gal jugs now but I'll bet they're out.)

One thing people forget is the water purification system can be fouled in storms, power-outages and floods.

Never lost water to any hurricane, but have been under boil orders for them. No big deal to boil a huge pot of water and let it cool then transfer it to empty bottles. People always over-react to any news of incoming storms. Every time we got word in Pittsburgh that we were going to get heavy snows, the bread aisle would suddenly be empty along with soups and bottles of water as if we'd be snowed in for weeks. meh...

 If you in fact lose power though, remember, frozen foods first and clean that grill and get to know your neighbors. I had the best grilled thanksgiving-style turkey ever after Wilma blew through and met quite a few people in my neighborhood. 

[Merusk]

Having a boil advisory is what I was talking about.  Since Smooth-Top ranges became chique a power outage becomes a water outages for vast numbers of the US.  No gas stove = no boiling water. You want to save your propane for cooking, not boiling simple drinking water.  

[01101010]

Having a boil advisory is what I was talking about.  Since Smooth-Top ranges became chique a power outage becomes a water outages for vast numbers of the US.  No gas stove = no boiling water. You want to save your propane for cooking, not boiling simple drinking water.  

Yes I fully agree and took huge advantage of the fact that I had a gas stove. Buuuuut, just how long do you expect water treatment plants to be off line? Residences are usually last on the list as critical infrastructure is the first to be back online. I guess if you are the type who just HAS to drink his/her 8 glasses of water a day, you might start getting nervous. Meh, to each his own I suppose.

Oh and you can also do the bleach treatment if you are in a pinch. Taste might not be the greatest, but at least you avoid the dysentery and other nasty things. A bottle of bleach can go a whole long way.

[Sky]

What happens when the natural gas gets cut off?

[Merusk]

Well you're a Mountain Man, Sky.  We expect you and your huntin' cat to go traipsing through the woods felling elk with your mighty axe or something.