Here’s what I emailed a friend who inquired earlier today

1985 was a bust. I had an 8:30am appt at GS with a Chicago client. I had every expectation that he would have flown back in advance, but no, he showed up promptly. So we talked about the econ outlook, and after an hour he showed no signs of wanting to leave, but I did. It was raining but not hard. It was a Friday. So I asked him wasn’t he eager to get home in advance of the hurricane, and he said no that he had never experienced one & wanted to see it up close & personal. I told him I wanted to see if we could get to the country bef it hit full force, and we parted: he to his hotel & me to home. We got in the car. On the NJ side of the GW Bridge we pulled into a scenic outlook bc the sky overhead was clear, though there was a weird greenish-purple hue, & decided we were in the “eye” of the storm, which was vastly downgraded by then. Proceeded up to NP in reasonably heavy rain, but completely drivable.

I’m hoping for same in this one. August was 1″ short of record rain a couple of days ago, it rained again yesterday (sunny today), and we don’t need no more frigging rain.

FEMA, btw, is an integral part of the plan for when martial law is declared after the next terrorist attack. Storms just serve as a pretext or practice for ordering people around & putting them in controllable (poisonous) boxes.

David I hope you don’t mind, but I’m linking to a site that seems to be rational and on top of this with pictures and videos.

http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/

Also, you sure t ain’t bigger than Katrina?
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2011/08/26/hurricane-irene-larger-katrina-winds-rains-hit-north-carolina-shores-66011/

Hey David, did you check out the evac map? Thanks for that BTW.
I hope they expand the evac to zone B soon. Because zone A ain’t going to cut it.
What a bunch of Fing morons. And they wonder why so much damage is done and loss of life happens.

I’m just a bit south of Myrtle Beach. We’re getting some heavy rain bands, with maybe 25-30 knot gusts. Sposed to get up to 40-45 before it moves off toward Hatteras, later tonight.

Core winds are 100 now. Ordering a substantial evacuation of New York City
is, I think, asinine. The storm is steadily dropping strength. I’ll be suprised if it’s even a class one by the time it gets to the northern states.

Getting people out of low-lying areas is sensible, but 75 mile-an-hour winds are…doable…if you’re in anything but a cardboard box. Maybe Bloomberg is covering his ass for a presidential run, down the road.

I’ve been saying all day to everyone here in long guy land new york, I am having a lot of trouble with the hype over this hurricane here in new york

it’s supposed to be a 1 or sloppy 2 here

as a lifeguard in rockaway beach for 13 years, we ALWAYS had the “august moon tide” and that’s when we always expected either hurricanes or high storms, there was ALWAYS the moon tide to worry about and actually looked forward to some great surfing, we went through some hurricanes and the only one that did real damage was hurricane donna in the early 60′s

I just do not understand the hysteria over this hurricane, unless they want to upgrade it to a 2.5 or three, I think something sinister is going on

maybe they are preparing evacuation techniques for the big one they think might come, but that would bring about a cry wolf syndrome for the next time if it happens soon.

got ta tell ya, I just don’t understand what’s going on

OT: Perry renews a stand against gay marriage…calls for Constitutional Amend saying marriage = between a man and a woman….Just in, as far as I know….

if they make that amendment then I will then have to unmarry the steel fitting I married to the pvc pipe

what am I going to do then?

they need to make points so their base continues believing these critters are on their side while they steel all their assets and take all the investments their parents made toward their future

I hope your evacuation goes better than OURS did down here in Houston for Hurricane Rita.

Little bitty Cat 2 storm. Might miss you guys entirely. Suggestion from Texas Gulf Coast resident of 54 years, forget all the hullabaloo. Stock up on beer, Doritos and Vienna Sausage and you’ll be fine.

Dude….is it too late to make a beer run?????

It can be hard to tell the fitting from the pipe,sometimes,I guess…would not want to trust Perry.

I just wiki’d hurricane donna, listen to this;

Hurricane Donna in the 1960 Atlantic hurricane season was a Cape Verde-type hurricane which moved across the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispanola, Cuba, The Bahamas, and every state on the East Coast of the United States. Hurricane Donna holds the record for retaining major hurricane status (Category 3 or greater on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale) in the Atlantic Basin for the longest period of time. For nine days

I lived in a very small peninsula known as far rockaway beach, you could walk from the jamaica bay to the beach in an hour or less I remember, I lived one block from the bay

there was flooding, the beach met the bay but there was hardly any wind damage at all

Sounds like out governor. What a nimrod.

The sustained winds are not extremely high but the size of the storm will cause huge water surges. When Katrina glanced off of New Orleans, it was the wall of water that did the damage to the f’ed up levees and not the wind.

There’s no way this storm is coming to New York with sustained 100 mile-an-hour winds. I doubt there will be gusts to that level.

Of “crying wolf”, Hugo hit Myrtle Beach moderately hard. No loss of life, only a fair amount of oceanfront damage to the tourist traps, but they still wouldn’t let residents (or anyone else) back in, for three days. Guess what?

The next few storms, ONLY the tourons left. The locals didn’t want to get socked with jacked up motel rates 20 miles from their homes, while worrying about how badly they might have been damaged. Now they have stickers and passes for the people who live here. How well that will work isn’t really known, because we haven’t had a mandatory evacuation since Hugo.

It can be hard to tell the fitting from the pipe,sometimes,I guess

tee hee

my girlfriend likes to play dress up, I have a hard time with it but I do try to make her happy

You gotta look at the barometric pressure. 951 millibars or 28.00 inches ain’t good news. But, you get below 920 millibarsd and into the 27 inche range. With the counterclockwise circulation you could have a 12-16 foot tidal surge and mucho wind.

New Orleans actually got everyone out of town within about 24 hours of knowing Katrina was going to hit. Except they forgot about the peeps with no cars.

Maybe Irene wil do us all a favor and flood Wall Street. Nothing else. Just Wall Street. It’ll drive Pat Robertson nuts.

from a “one”?, wouldn’t that make it a “3″?

Not at all, ‘Guy, but I don’t need to make one; I stocked up early. :o)

Seriously, the “too late” usually comes about the time it gets to 75-80 mph. You’re inside and listening to what’s going on and thinking “Damn. We just passed the point of no leaving.” It is a little nervy-making.

Drive Pat Robertson nuts???? That’s a pretty short trip for him.

I heard of a “terrorist plot” under bush whence they were planning on doing something to the tunnel to flood wall street or something like that…even though wall street is above sea level

bush managed to “thwart” that terrorist plan as I remember and of course wall street never did get flooded so I guess his vigil worked

I thunk it was a “two” right now.

True, but it’s always worth watching him go off the deep end. :-)

Now Puma; You KNOW God loves Wall Street. :o)

I do remember that Robertson prayed one away from Virginia Beach; we’ll see how that works, this time.

I’d buy a ticket.

Dubya couldn’t even pronounce “thwart” without slurring. Actually thwarting a plot is completely beyond his abilities.

Nuh uh.

Even AQ couldn’t do that.

I am sorry but you are wrong about calling foul on the evacuations. With a lumbering but very large storm, people need to get out of the way.

I didn’t go through Katrina but my family of origin did. My parents lost their home. I was in New Orleans a month or so after the event. I drove from New Orleans to Picayune MS. Boats, cars, and all kinds of crap were in the trees. Mega litter everywhere. Not one building left for miles. Katrina was a four or five in MS and a low two in New Orleans. Different kinds of damage in each place.

Well, the beer sitch is under control, but I have a strong hankering for pizza. Plus, one of the servers at California Pizza is an absolute sweetheart of a single-mom. If I was 30 years younger I’d be sleeping on her doorstep. :o)

If I’m not chinning with you guys in an hour or so, you’ll know that something untoward happened. Jane can have my mandolin if she promises to learn to sing “Cry, cry, darlin’” :o)

Or the stash of school buses…While W played his guitar….

I’m sorry, too, Mary, but I’m not wrong. The disruption and expense of forcing people out of their homes for a storm that probably isn’t going to even be a hurricane by the time it gets to New York, is stupid. 75 miles an hour is simply not life-threatening, and not much of property-threatening. The authorities know perfectly well where the low-lying coastal and Hudson River areas are which are vulnerable. They can limit the evacuation to those places and save a lot of trouble and money.

I grew up in the coastal carolinas and I’ve been through hits and near-misses, and it’s political panic mode for the N.Y. authorities to chase people out of their homes for this one.

It’s not either/or. It’s both. So evacuations teach PTB how easy it is to lead large groups of vulnerable peeps around by the nose, and keeps them scaredy scared about everything, while at the same time receiving accolades for keeping peeps safe. You can’t ignore the not-so-hidden agenda.

I agree that gettin’ out the way is a good idea. But we had two days to evacuate Houston for Rita and the routes couldn’t handle the people. Most got stuck here and/o on the freeways. Most turned around and went home. The few that made it “out” spent 8-12 hours on the freeways and later highways trying to get to safety.

WEatherin’ the storm is not preferential but sometimes unavoidable.

What’s really good during a hurricane is Nacho Cheese Doritos.

BTW, as I’m sure you know, a substantial part of New Orleans is below the level of the Mississippi River. Which was the channel for the big storm surge that breached the levees.

Also, Katrina came in as at least a class 3, as I remember. Huge differences between the two storms and their relative threats.

I agree with eCahn; it’s partly a power-trip. Not entirely, but partly.

Or Martinis or Sangria…quite a selection will do. I also lived in NO for yers; not hit by Camille but lights out for hours waiting for it all to pass.

It’s also a no-win thing….people don’t want to go, so the call is hesitant; but no one wants to be hit with the worst….criticims either way.

Rev. I remmeber Camille. Had a gf in NO back then. Went down there to check on her week after the storm. Quite a mess. She was hot. Lotta hot chicks in NO and they love party.

But I digress.

Not to mention the vulture capitalism that the gasoline stations around the “disaster” area must be taking advantage of.

Nobnody drinks martinis during a hurricane. Sangria punch with Evercleer. That’s a hurricane drink.

Whoa! Heavy rain band…

Hang in there dude.

Put on some Led Zeppelin.

You got it, eCahn: the outlying cucaracha motels were getting $100+ a night. Those places usually rent you a room for $40. :o)

O No….I know some people who did not know that about Martinis…neither do they recall much about the storm….

Didn’t think of it that way. tanbank…..Martinis approved.

Now tanbank…..at first the winds will come from the southeast. Then they will turn and come from the north. Then later they’ll switc to and come from the southwest. I don;t really think that will do you any good…..but, it’s nice to know.

Bloomberg is old enough to know when he’s been a schmuck and when he hasn’t. He could care less now about being wrong for mandating extreme caution. (Disclosure: I’m a native New Yorker.)

Thanks, ‘guy. I’m watching some ‘grass on YouTube:

Here’s Alison with the aforementioned tune:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8ijOit4CdI&feature=related

Piece of advice….If they tell you the FEMA trucks with ice are coming……DON’T BELIEVE THEM.

Got an ad on my FDL screen today for Myrtle Beach vacation.

Won’t need no sunscreen.

I don’t know whether or not it’s possible for a storm which will probably hit North Carolina and slow first to do incredible amounts of damage in New York or not. My deep suspicion is not, but it’s possible, and I’m not one to belittle preparedness.

In the event that it does not cause damage, I would ask that those in the City think hard about how they feel going into this potential disaster, and please think of those whose disasters are real and immediate when you come out the other side. There are 12 million people at risk in the Horn of Africa. A dollar from whatever stash you don’t use would help a lot.

Inverse Woodstock a week and 42 years after.

Please send all rain you get here. We need a break from the friggin’ sun.

Here, too, pls thx

Thought it was only going to be a tropical storm in NYC with winds not to exceed 74 mph.

Zone A is pretty much only the low-lying areas.

From wikipedia, landfall definition and effects; dissipation causes. If the storm really moves in at the Carolinas or Virginia, the hills in the back country could wind up taking a lot of the rain and flooding (heaven help them) as happened with Mitch. And the storm would have to reorganize and regenerate to pose the same kind of flooding and surging threat several hundred miles north at the Long Island shore.

Weather Underground has water temperatures for more/less coastal places. In the MidAtlantic, they seem to be mostly reports from estuarial and bay locations rather than direct ocean, but even so (I’d expect bays to stay warmer) the temps fall pretty uniformly below 79F north of Wilmington, NC, and are 66F at Atlantic City on the ocean.

So, maybe these orders are just an abundance of caution, or maybe they are, you know, like a drill.

hah hah hah

Thank you for mentioning that Katrina was a man made disaster. See http://www.levees.org for more information.

Also note that there is a New York chapter if anyone is interested in that neck of the woods.

Last week several people were killed in Pittsburgh from flash floods — in a matter of minutes the roads became rushing rivers, only from too much rain at once. Spongey earth has been paved over. Ordinary rainfall now makes most roads everywhere shallow streams. The drainage and sewage infrastructures haven’t kept up. The safest place is the mall’s rooftop. Bloomberg’s job description gives him discretion to be spooked or dispassionate.

Aitch; come on down!
All the cholesterol you can eat…

all the golf you can play…

and all the topless bars you’d want to visit…

Plus, they don’t call us the east coast capital of kitsch for nuthin…

In other news:

Fairly steady rain, very heavy at times, and gusts to prolly about 40. for us it’s supposed to peak sometime around midnight or just after.

Lots of people out driving around and eating out…I guess everyone just wants to be in it. I know the feeling. Something feral and primitive in me likes the damn things. Plus, I enjoy knowing that all the fatcats who’ve bought or built high-dollar hurricane bait right on the beach, are sweating bullets.

Old coastal S.C. joke:

“If you want an oceanfront house, save money. Buy one on the third row and wait for a hurricane.”

Aitch; come on down!

I’m up in Charlotte. Last time I was at The Beach coincidentally was Katrina week, empty gasoline pumps everywhere in between.

All the cholesterol you can eat…

My car’s engine quit the other day while I was doing 40 mph, then started up again. The mechanic found a glob of Bojangles sausage biscuit in the fuel pump.

all the golf you can play…

Same here (with trees!), but I hate it anymore, it’s a six-hour ordeal. And that’s just waiting between shots.

and all the topless bars you’d want to visit…

When I was a kid up in Pittsburgh, I went to the Casino Burlesque to see Virginia Belle. I thought she had four arms.

Plus, they don’t call us the east coast capital of kitsch for nuthin…

Jealous cos you don’t have the NASCAR Museum?

Lots of people out driving around and eating out…I guess everyone just wants to be in it. I know the feeling. Something feral and primitive in me likes the damn things

In ’02 a tornado or wind shear blew through a swath in Pittsburgh, sky went black at 4:00 pm in July. Radio disaster warning bulletins, “go to your basement” (we have those Up North). I was living in the upstairs apartment of a brick duplex. Closed a window when the rain started, the water came in horizontal like from a cannon. Thought about going down to the basement, the wind and all were terrifying. I loved it! I went out on the front porch instead, figuring I’d rather get killed knowing what killed me than have the house fall on me and crush me. It passed in a few minutes. A roof collapsed at a nearby amusement park and killed a woman. No other fatalities. All the power all around was out. Drivers took their turns at intersections. Anarchy works if you grew up right in the first place.

Getting people out of low-lying areas is sensible, but 75 mile-an-hour winds are…doable…if you’re in anything but a cardboard box. Maybe Bloomberg is covering his ass for a presidential run, down the road

Bloomberg is covering his ass because of his incompetent dealing with the major snow storm that hit earlier this year. He’s overreacting to this to some degree.

Bloomberg looked like an incompetent ass with that, and rumor has it that he was in the Bahamas at the time of the storm (maybe conferring with advisers on a presidential run, just guessing). So he wants his reputation back.

Well, we HAD the Ferlin Husky Memorial Museum but it went belly-up, and the building has been taken over by the First Church of Something-or-Other…the last time I looked, they’d kept the same cool lavender color scheme.

The customer base is probably about the same… :o)

Now for the clean-up…dammit…