OT: If on the East Coast, GTFO (Class III Kill Storm Open Thread)
As Snowicane Sandy approaches the East Coast, this is your friendly MGoPSA:
PLEASE check out the latest warnings and forecasts. New York City public transit is shutting down at 7:00 P.M., and I understand portions of Manhattan and Staten Island are being evacuated.
As a reference, this is a shot of lower Manhattan showing the storm surge from Hurricane Donna in 1960. The storm surge for the upcoming storm is reportedly going to be higher (H/T @mattmfm):
October 30th, 2012 at 2:44 PM ^
You caught me. I'm so transparent sometimes...
October 28th, 2012 at 5:15 PM ^
so I guess I'm just not seeing why everyone is freaking out about a category 1 hurricane. Stay away from the beach? It's like a heavy rainstorm
October 28th, 2012 at 5:42 PM ^
The wind isn't going to be the main problem, so the category is pretty much irrelevant. It's an enormous storm, with a substantial storm surge expected, hitting cities with little flood protection.
October 28th, 2012 at 5:55 PM ^
Everyone is "freaking out" cause its hitting NYC.
If a storm developed that threatened to literally wipe South Dakota off the map the evening news would probably run it as their third lead behind some election news and the latest Lyndsay Lohen adventures.
October 28th, 2012 at 6:28 PM ^
Well, it is more than just NY that is being hit.
But also, there are like 800,000 people in South Dakota. The island of Manhattan alone has 1.6 million people living on it, and large parts of it are less than 3 feet above sea level.
There is also the whole issue of how this affects wall street and the headquarters of the various major companies that exist in NY.
"East coast bias" in sports is a real issue because there is nothing about NY sports teams that makes them more important than other teams. But there are a lot more people and critical institutions on the east coast than in some other areas of the country, so yes, things that affect NY have a disproportionate affect on the rest of the country. That is not bias, it is just the way things are.
And I have never known the news not to sensationalize a natural disaster anywhere in the country for the sake of ratings.
October 28th, 2012 at 8:33 PM ^
I get the whole bitching about the East Coast bias (I grew up in MI), but this IS a big deal. I mean, it is basically going to run up from DC to Boston and hit every sity in-between. It already killed 60 people, and whole I'm sure there won't be massive casualties, it is still a very dangerous storm. And with respect to other states, I remember a whole bunch of stories in the summer about heat waves and winter stories of massive snow storms in remote outposts of USA that still received a good deal of media coverage. There as 60 million people who will be affected by this weather - 1 in 5 Americans. I'm sorry that the middle of the country isn't going to experience 50+ mph winds and heavy rain for 2 days, but I'm sure there will be some random flooding of the Mississippi River in a year or two that will dominate the news if that makes you feel better.
October 29th, 2012 at 9:21 AM ^
I'm sure the sniper who is taking people out on I96 in Livingston county has been extensively covered on the National news as well.
Seriously, though, I hope people heed warnings and get out if they are supposed to. Sounds bad...
October 29th, 2012 at 10:23 AM ^
we native South Dakotans like it that way, thankyou.
October 28th, 2012 at 5:22 PM ^
the night watching "The Day After Tomorrow" preparing for the end. Side note, if anyone can get me in touch with Emmy Rossum, I'd appreciate it. Just don't tell the misses.
October 28th, 2012 at 5:37 PM ^
but we have bigger problems in Michigan. DENARD IS INJURED, PEOPLE! DENARD!!!
October 28th, 2012 at 5:39 PM ^
October 28th, 2012 at 6:17 PM ^
We are in the direct path of the eye and some moron on my street has been using his leaf blower since 11 am. With the winds expected they will be miles away by noon tomorrow.
With all our electricity above ground we are likely to lose power for days. Without a generator and a huge supply of gasoline kiss your food goodbye and sump pumps become useless.
And worst of all NO INTERNET. The world will come to an end.
October 28th, 2012 at 7:31 PM ^
October 28th, 2012 at 7:01 PM ^
October 28th, 2012 at 7:36 PM ^
Think of the poor rats....
October 28th, 2012 at 8:25 PM ^
October 28th, 2012 at 7:50 PM ^
October 28th, 2012 at 7:59 PM ^
I'm about 30 minutes West of NYC. Gotta say I'm kinda nervous. It's not like it's going to blow through and hit hard. It's going to sit here and just pound us for like 36 hours. Be safe anyone in this area.
October 28th, 2012 at 9:31 PM ^
October 29th, 2012 at 9:25 AM ^
Wayne floods a lot. Willowbrook Mall will be submerged. Rt. 23 will be shut down at some point I bet. I hope you're in the Hills area rather than the valley.
October 28th, 2012 at 8:35 PM ^
Hoping this storm is just bringing a lot of scary speculation. An 11 foot storm surge is a big problem in NYC. They should probably be doing more to prepare to protect the city rather than simply evacuating.
October 28th, 2012 at 9:30 PM ^
I am not sure what they can do.
I do not know if this is still the case, but as of 2000, NYC was the only city without an emergency disaster plan- apparently all cities are required to have one filed describing how they will deal with major disasters and handle evacuation etc. However with Manhattan having 2 million or so people and only 10 exits, no one could figure out a realistic plan, so they eventually gave up- and got an official waiver allowing them to not have a plan.
October 28th, 2012 at 9:56 PM ^
October 28th, 2012 at 10:18 PM ^
October 28th, 2012 at 10:22 PM ^
Wrong. They're waiting for Jake Gyllenhaal and John Cusack.
October 29th, 2012 at 9:30 AM ^
And remember, when the super-cold front starts to descend from the upper atmosphere and chase you through the streets of NY and the library, run as fast as you can, because YOU CAN outrun it. Otherwise, you'll be frozen solid, instantly. That's serious, dude, serious.
October 29th, 2012 at 11:02 AM ^
After walking through the ice age from Washington DC to New York I'll be used to the cold.
October 28th, 2012 at 8:35 PM ^
Good luck to everyone affected by the storm. As others have noted, power will probably be lost and communications will be tough. I hope MGoBlog can withstand the drop in hits for the week.
October 28th, 2012 at 10:11 PM ^
"If you are reluctant [to evacuate], think about your loved ones, think about the emergency responders who will be unable to reach you when you make the panicked phone call to be rescued, think about the rescue/recovery teams who will rescue you if you are injured or recover your remains if you do not survive."
October 28th, 2012 at 10:21 PM ^
"This afternoon's 3:30 pm EDT H*Wind analysis from NOAA's Hurricane Research Division put the destructive potential of Sandy's winds at a modest 2.8 on a scale of 0 to 6. However, the destructive potential of the storm surge was record high: 5.8 on a scale of 0 to 6. This is a higher destructive potential than any hurricane observed since 1969, including Category 5 storms like Katrina, Rita, Wilma, Camille, and Andrew."
This is as relayed by Dr. Masters.
October 29th, 2012 at 2:19 AM ^
I live in NY but thankfully upstate enough that we should only get some rain and wind, maybe a power outage or two. Anyone close to the impact zone stay safe and don't be stupid. God Bless. GO BLUE
October 29th, 2012 at 8:59 AM ^
We are right on the coast in NOva Scotia and I am looking out of my office window right now and the habour is litterally right across the street. They still aren't clear what we are in store for here, but if we get any kind of a storm surge here with the tides, my office building will be under water for sure. I guess we'll just have to wait and see and mean while, head inland to the cottage where I can run everything on my generator.
October 29th, 2012 at 9:30 AM ^
The weather message for my office said we we open today. My company is run by a Nazi regime. So I called my boss and said that I'm not coming in. He said "Oh, is everything ok?" Okay! No it's got nothing to do with a hurricane, mass transit shutdown, national guard mobilized, the thought of a wind gust blowing my car off the road into a lake that wasn't there yesterday. No I just needed a "me" day. Unfreakin' real.
October 29th, 2012 at 11:30 AM ^
October 29th, 2012 at 1:54 PM ^
Stay safe people. Please evacuate if told to do so.
October 29th, 2012 at 2:18 PM ^
Things are really starting to get rough in NY:
