Irene and it's effects

[callmeslick]

It seems to me that a lot of overreaction is going on the Hurricane Irene. Yes, I know that erring to the side of caution is a good thing, but closing down mass transit in NYC at NOON today? Hell, the thing is still blundering around the Carolina/Virginia border and the winds are down under 90 mph already.
That said, I spent the earlier part of the week making sure the VA properties were relatively secure. My suspicion is that I will have very little repair or even cleanup to do once this thing passes over the peninsula
(our place is on the Eastern Shore of VA, at the tip of Delmarva peninsula), and likely little more than an annoying bunch of windy thunderstorms here in PA.



....then again, I see that Pat Robertson says this and the earthquake are signs of God's wrath. Yeesh!

[Top Gun]

The wind isn't nearly as big of a concern as the rains will be...though even that amount of wind is a significant concern because of the rain. The Northeast has been absolutely soaked during the month of August; I think Philly is ten inches over the average rainfall right now. It won't take much at all for substantial flooding to occur, and given how soft the ground already is, you're going to see a lot of trees taken down by the wind. I think the big concern in NYC specifically is the storm surge, since the center of circulation is going to come almost directly over Manhattan. Lots of water and a subway system don't mix well.

[Spidey]

I think Katrina has all of the pols spooked…especially the ones that won’t get a pass by the media.

[callmeslick]

I think Katrina has all of the pols spooked…especially the ones that won’t get a pass by the media.

well, that explains Nutter's reaction!

[callmeslick]

The wind isn't nearly as big of a concern as the rains will be...though even that amount of wind is a significant concern because of the rain. The Northeast has been absolutely soaked during the month of August; I think Philly is ten inches over the average rainfall right now. It won't take much at all for substantial flooding to occur, and given how soft the ground already is, you're going to see a lot of trees taken down by the wind. I think the big concern in NYC specifically is the storm surge, since the center of circulation is going to come almost directly over Manhattan. Lots of water and a subway system don't mix well.

I guess that last part was my point. I understand(very well given my upbringing between a Bay and the Atlantic) the fear of a bi-directional storm surge, but that comes with high winds. If this thing dies down to 30 mph winds, with 40 mph gusts, you have disrupted NYC, and it's economy for nothing. I also realize that it takes 6 to 8 hours to shut the system down. The storm is due in that region by Sunday morning. Why didn't they take it down at midnight tonight?

[woodchip]

The storm is due in that region by Sunday morning. Why didn't they take it down at midnight tonight?

Why didn't Mayor Nagin use the school buses to transport people out of New Orleans?

[Tunnelcat]

The storm surge and rain is going to do more damage than the wind since Irene is only a category 1 storm now and may be down-graded to tropical storm status. New York and other major coastal cities are only a few feet above sea level and a salt water surge will damage a lot of underground infrastructure.

[callmeslick]

The storm is due in that region by Sunday morning. Why didn't they take it down at midnight tonight?

Why didn't Mayor Nagin use the school buses to transport people out of New Orleans?

what's your point?

[Top Gun]

I guess that last part was my point. I understand(very well given my upbringing between a Bay and the Atlantic) the fear of a bi-directional storm surge, but that comes with high winds. If this thing dies down to 30 mph winds, with 40 mph gusts, you have disrupted NYC, and it's economy for nothing. I also realize that it takes 6 to 8 hours to shut the system down. The storm is due in that region by Sunday morning. Why didn't they take it down at midnight tonight?

The peak winds aren't the only consideration when talking about storm surge...the local geography and overall size of the wind field are big factors too. Irene has a huge swath of tropical-storm-force winds right now, and it's not going to diminish in size before it hits NYC; by all accounts I've heard, it's still expected to be a Category 1 hurricane too. That huge wind field pushes all the more water up in front of the storm, and areas like New York are perfectly positioned to be significantly affected by that surge. They may have jumped the gun a little bit time-wise, but I think they definitely made the right call in general. It's been decades since a storm of this magnitude has come up along the coast like this, so no one knows just how bad its effects will be.

[Tunnelcat]

The storm is due in that region by Sunday morning. Why didn't they take it down at midnight tonight?

Why didn't Mayor Nagin use the school buses to transport people out of New Orleans?

what's your point?

Oh, I'm guessing woody's trying to bait you and put all the blame on Nagin in order to deflect from Bush's and FEMA's ineptitude during Katrina. Oh wait, we don't need no stinking federal government to help out in times of disaster.

[callmeslick]

well, the damn storm held together a bit better as it went up the coast than I suspected. Those of you in Philly are getting some serious low-level flooding, and NYC is getting a pretty good storm surge. Thus far, no update from caretaker in VA on my main house or hers. They lost power, so I suspect the sump pump is going to have some work to do in the basement of the place when power comes back on. I might be drying out some of my fishing tackle and a couple pairs of waders when I get down there. I just hope no major structural damage, but we've survived this stuff before, as the caretaker's house dates to 1889, and the main house to 1923. Usually, the main casualties on my place are the magnolias and crepe myrtles, and I can only hope this is true of Irene.........

[Tunnelcat]

We don't usually get hurricanes here on the West Coast, the ocean water's too cold, but we did get a rare monster back on Columbus Day in 1962. Even though I was around 6 years old at the time, that thing howled and rattled our apartment all night and sure frightened the hell out of me. The next day, it was calm and sunny, like nothing happened, except for all the trees blown down and major building damage. The coast got it the worst with the high winds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Day_Storm_of_1962

[callmeslick]

well, one screen out on the front porch, minor leakage around living room chimney and around a window frame in the dining room, but basement dry and house otherwise intact down in VA. A few shingles off the caretaker's house with a bunch of pine tree fronds everywhere. Could have been a LOT worse.

[woodchip]

The storm is due in that region by Sunday morning. Why didn't they take it down at midnight tonight?

Why didn't Mayor Nagin use the school buses to transport people out of New Orleans?

what's your point?

The point is we have two Mayors not utilizing their transportation to the fullest. And no TC, no bait intended. Sorry both of you are slow on the uptake

[Heretic]

We don't usually get hurricanes here on the West Coast, the ocean water's too cold, but we did get a rare monster back on Columbus Day in 1962. Even though I was around 6 years old at the time, that thing howled and rattled our apartment all night and sure frightened the hell out of me. The next day, it was calm and sunny, like nothing happened, except for all the trees blown down and major building damage. The coast got it the worst with the high winds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Day_Storm_of_1962

Seems like hurricanes just about always travel westwards in the northern hemisphere as well as the water being cold.

http://www.slate.com/?id=2088581

[Tunnelcat]

well, one screen out on the front porch, minor leakage around living room chimney and around a window frame in the dining room, but basement dry and house otherwise intact down in VA. A few shingles off the caretaker's house with a bunch of pine tree fronds everywhere. Could have been a LOT worse.

Looks like VA got some epic flooding!



Woodchip, if my gov didn't respond to some disaster efficiently, I'd vote him out of office the next time around, Republican or Democrat. I already know that Bush didn't respond with any expediency. What surprises me is what happened to Nagin after the hurricane and after his inept response to it. All those victims stuck in the Astrodome were blaming Nagin, and rightly so, for not following an already established evacuation plan. So then why did the citizens of New Orleans turn right around and re-elect him in 2006?????

http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/ ... 005372.php

Seems like hurricanes just about always travel westwards in the northern hemisphere as well as the water being cold.

Funny, they're called typhoons east of the International Dateline in the Pacific Ocean, then switch to being called hurricanes in the western Pacific.

[Top Gun]

I love this quote from the article that Heretic posted:

But according to the book Atlantic Hurricanes, it was an Australian forecaster in the early 20th century who first used proper names for cyclones. The names he chose belonged to politicians he disliked.

And we think political discourse is bad today.

[Spidey]

All those victims stuck in the Astrodome were blaming Nagin, and rightly so, for not following an already established evacuation plan. So then why did the citizens of New Orleans turn right around and re-elect him in 2006?????

Because they had a nice little scapegoat.

[Spidey]

So I’m watching this interview with Senator Patrick Leahy, and he says and I quote “Good thing this didn’t happen in the winter” (in reguards to Irene)

We are in good hands…yup

[flip]

It's no wonder this country is going downhill, when you see rescue workers WALKING BESIDE rafts filled with able-bodied men in ankle deep water. Nanny state here we come.

[Tunnelcat]

All those victims stuck in the Astrodome were blaming Nagin, and rightly so, for not following an already established evacuation plan. So then why did the citizens of New Orleans turn right around and re-elect him in 2006?????

Because they had a nice little scapegoat.

Bush and "Heckava job Brownie" didn't do a every bang up job either.

Oooooopsie! I guess trucks make lousy submarines!