Way OT: Hurricane Irene Open Thread
I was thinking that this thread could serve as a way for people in the line of Hurricane Irene's fire to keep all of us MGoMembers updated as to their status and experience. Looks like eastern North Carolina is already starting to get hammered and is in for a sh-tty next two days. Check out the NWS radar: http://radar.weather.gov/radar.php?rid=MHX&product=NCR&overlay=11101111&loop=yes
Anyone in NC able to check in and update all of us on how you're weathering the storm?
[EDIT: Looks like I should be a CNN reporter: http://ireport.cnn.com/open-story.jspa?openStoryID=655725#DOC-660225]
(If this is just too off-topic for y'all, feel free to shut this down - I definitely will not be offended. I just thought it might be interesting for people in other parts of the country to see how a hurricane affects people on the east coast, especially since this could be the storm of the century as far as the Mid-Atlantic and New England is concerned.)
August 26th, 2011 at 3:41 PM ^
I used to live in Riverdale 2 years ago -- nice area. Now, I'm in the city living 2 blocks away from the river. Living on that hill in Riverdale sure does sound nice right about now.
August 26th, 2011 at 3:43 PM ^
You guys subject to the evacuation order?
August 26th, 2011 at 3:47 PM ^
Any advice the hurricane experienced on here have about windows? I'm not in any of the evacuation zones, but I am about 15 floors up, with a bunch of big, south facing windows that aren't shielded by any buildings. I'd like to avoid having them blow out but hanging off the side of the building and screwing in plywood isn't exactly in the game plan.
August 26th, 2011 at 5:46 PM ^
Reports say you're safer on the 10th floor or lower. The higher you are the more chance of things flying in the stronger winds and possible window breakage. If you're concerned, I'd tape up the windows and try to keep as far from them as possible.
August 26th, 2011 at 9:48 PM ^
You are a trailblazer GBS.
August 26th, 2011 at 5:08 PM ^
My daughter is there with her friend and family for a vacation, HAD I JUST SAID nooooooooo, she tells me they are evacuating the STATE?
August 26th, 2011 at 2:46 PM ^
We'll get our worst part of it on Sunday. I wish Hoke could come here and point at it as it's coming. It would make a sharp right and go out to sea.
August 26th, 2011 at 2:52 PM ^
my family and I have been vacationing on Oak Island (on the coast of NC) for the past 5 days. We were just told about an emergency evacuation from the island and we all got up and left by 10am. I'm currently in the car with my parents and 5 younger siblings on the way back to Ann Arbor.
I kind if wanted to stick it out and see what it would have been like...
August 26th, 2011 at 3:38 PM ^
See my above post about my bucketlist.
August 26th, 2011 at 2:52 PM ^
remember that buying water, generators, beans, flashlights, batteries, etc is a waste of time. In the post-apocalyptic mess following the hurricane, the most valuable asset will be whiskey. It is highly concentrated and useful for drinking, dressing wounds, and marinading bacon. You can use it to barter for whatever else you need. So remember: when the weather gets frisky, stock up on yer whisky.
August 26th, 2011 at 6:01 PM ^
August 26th, 2011 at 6:03 PM ^
heading to store with shopping list of batteries, beer, & bourbon
August 26th, 2011 at 2:56 PM ^
If you told me at the beginning of this summer that a tropical storm might hit Vermont pretty hard this year, I'd have laughed at you. Thankfully being this far inland and living in a sturdy building away from the lake, I've got the luxury of being somewhat excited at the idea of experiencing something a little new and different.
August 26th, 2011 at 5:20 PM ^
The last time a hurricane hit VT I was at a pre 7th grade sleep a way camp. None of us knew it was coming, so listening to howling wind all night and find giant old oak limbs strewn amongst the cabin made our trip. I'm kind of hoping this will be an equally exciting in Vermont.
I had been planning a camping trip to Acadia this weekend. Per the bucketlist thing I kind of wanted to rent a kayak see if I could catch some surf. The wife decided we should cancel due partly to her fear of that being my last bucketlist entry, and partly to the idea of potentially finding ourselves in shreaded canvas in a downpour.
August 26th, 2011 at 2:58 PM ^
Hopefully it's only as damaging as the earthquake.
August 26th, 2011 at 3:09 PM ^
Good work sir.
August 26th, 2011 at 3:17 PM ^
Oh man, apologies for copping your ironic earthquake picture above (especially 'cause I was nowhere near the photoshopping of it). [Noting to myself for the 400th time to scroll down before posting]
August 26th, 2011 at 5:22 PM ^
Shouldn't the grass look a little wet?
August 26th, 2011 at 3:03 PM ^
How's Irene's pad level?
August 26th, 2011 at 3:08 PM ^
I am outside of Raleigh, not near the coast so I really don't expect much outside of wind and rain. Current forecasts indicate the Triangle could get 1 to 2 inches of rain and wind gusts up to 30 or 40 mph. By mid-Sunday most of the effects should be gone. The coast has a worse outlook obviously. Let's hope for the best for them.
August 26th, 2011 at 3:28 PM ^
The weather in advance of a hurricane has always been fascinating to me. You get a few days in advance of clear, cooler weather pulled down from the north, and then the humidy goes up as the tropical cloud cover rolls in. Here in the Raleigh-Durham area that cloud cover started rolling in this morning.
As the poster says above - we won't get much more than squalls tomorrow. I hope Irene turns more easterly though, so the flooding isn't so devastating in eastern NC.
August 26th, 2011 at 3:40 PM ^
This is what I was hoping for in response to my thread. Thanks for posting! I can see the far outer bands of the hurricane here in Charlotte. The cloud movement is awesome but that's all there is - just high fluffy clouds.
August 26th, 2011 at 4:38 PM ^
The clouds and winds are definitely staring to move in and just seconds ago I am hearing the first thunder. The birds in the trees are starting to look around and say WTF!
August 26th, 2011 at 9:42 PM ^
Don't discount the significance of PGB's "Outstanding" response.
Seldom seen, but shakes ground.
August 26th, 2011 at 3:14 PM ^
In DC. Excited to head out to the store after work and watch people fighting over baby food and bulk size containers of Old Bay.
If the storm really does pass over DC, and not just the outer bands, I don't think there is shit I'll be able to do to prepare my apartment. So yeah, drink up.
August 26th, 2011 at 3:30 PM ^
I'm in DC, and these are my sentiments exactly. I can't imagine we're going to get the brunt of the storm, but we're probably looking at power outages at minimum. I needed to go grocery shopping before this whole thing, so I'm probably screwed.
I guess I'll be surviving on Cliff Bars and the bulk purchase of Fat Tire (DC edition) I made this week.
August 26th, 2011 at 3:15 PM ^
Howard Schnellenbergers Top 25 Hurricane Survival Tips
My favorite:
15. Condoms. Not for intimate use, as you'll need strength, but for use as an improvised diving helmet in salvage situations. Five used properly can construct an entire wetsuit. Note: use ribbed for deep dives, and flavored for the locals. Sunfish like a nibble
August 26th, 2011 at 3:21 PM ^
22. A hammer (to smash your glasses with). On the other side of the storm, they won't find your spectacles a sign of intelligence. They'll see weakness. Make a dramatic gesture to garner and secure respect. Can't see? Try harder.
August 26th, 2011 at 3:44 PM ^
5. The greatest hits of Slim Whitman. Melodic country/western whistling is the distress call letting rescuers now "We have survivors. Survivors with taste."
August 26th, 2011 at 3:21 PM ^
I am in Greensboro, 4 hrs away from the coast. Since I am writing on this blog, I haven't been hit by the hurricane yet. But, jokes aside, the coast doesn't look too good. I dont have any rain.
August 26th, 2011 at 3:37 PM ^
I'm in NJ and Cristie ordered a mandatory evacuation of the beaches as of this morning. It's supposed to be a lot of wind and rain here, but I don't think it'll be as bad as everyone is making it out to be.
August 26th, 2011 at 3:46 PM ^
No offense, but you've never experienced a hurricane, have you? You may not get the 100+ MPH winds, but you're going to get a sh-tload of rain and, if you're really lucky, the rain bands will spawn tornados. That is very common. Keep a radio on because you're going to see a bunch of tornado warnings.
August 26th, 2011 at 4:10 PM ^
And everyone is making it out to be the 100+ MPH winds and 2 feet of rain type thing. I have been in Florida and experienced a hurricane before, but most people in NJ haven't, so they assume it's going to be like Katrina and are freaking out. According to the reports, it won't be that, which is why I'm saying it's going to be better than most are making it out to be.
August 26th, 2011 at 4:25 PM ^
August 26th, 2011 at 3:50 PM ^
and we lucked out, but are getting crazy rain right now. I leave to come back to Michigan tomorrow, and will be avoiding I-95 as much as possible.
August 26th, 2011 at 3:51 PM ^
double post ftw. I blame Jordan Jefferson
August 26th, 2011 at 3:50 PM ^
and we lucked out, but are getting crazy rain right now. I leave to come back to Michigan tomorrow, and will be avoiding I-95 as much as possible.
August 26th, 2011 at 5:35 PM ^
I can't Imagine the carnage north of here. visibility on open roads is 10 yards. 15 if you haven't been bar hopping.
August 26th, 2011 at 3:52 PM ^
I live in Wilmington, NC and our house is approximately 5 miles from the Atlantic. We've decided to stay and wait out the storm. Local forecasts are predicting steady winds from 50-70 mph with gusts of 75+ and 5-7 inches of rain. The worst of the storm should be from 1-3 am this morning. As long as the hurricane continues on it's projected path we should be fine. Counties north of us, closer to the Outer Banks, are going to take the brunt of it and will see wind speeds of 100+.
Currently, the sky is cloudy, there is a light rain falling, and the Black Hatter in my hand is damn good.
August 26th, 2011 at 4:03 PM ^
The hurricane is coming! The hurricane is coming! You're right, the Outer Banks are f-ed. Hatteras is going to get hammered.
http://radar.weather.gov/radar.php?product=NCR&rid=MHX&loop=yes
Be safe. Bad weather at night is scary. Fill up your bathtubs with water and make sure the radio has batteries.
August 26th, 2011 at 4:10 PM ^
So I'm flying to Boston tomorrow for a conference downtown by the convention center and staying through Weds. For those that live in the area. How screwed am I?
August 26th, 2011 at 4:22 PM ^
Its going to be crappy weather, obviously. Plus, the flights are going to get screwed up so you might not get out on Wednesday . . . Brutal.
August 26th, 2011 at 5:04 PM ^
Yeah, I'm not looking forward to taking the worst of this during the night. The bathtub is full and we have plenty of food, water, beer, etc. The local news just reported that it has lost some strength and will remain a category 2 until landfall. Since my first post the wind has picked up and it's raining rather hard.
EDIT: 5 o'clock news reported it as a category 1.
August 26th, 2011 at 5:27 PM ^
I think its going through a regenerating eye scenario. Its going to blow up again, mark my words.
Be safe!
August 26th, 2011 at 4:45 PM ^
We use a lot of contract overhead crews for larger project jobs, and virtually all of them are headed for the East Coast right now. If you live in the Detroit Edison service territory and I or someone else designed a larger job for you in the Ann Arbor area, well.....I'll let you know on Monday how screwed you are.
August 26th, 2011 at 5:36 PM ^
Stay safe. This storm is pretty big
August 26th, 2011 at 5:35 PM ^
I live about 20 miles south of Raleigh and its cloudy and getting some sprinkles. nothing more than 2-4 inches and 50 mph winds.
August 26th, 2011 at 5:46 PM ^
I pray all of our family and friends on the East Coast make it through this safe and sound.
That said, I am truly fascinated by hurricanes. The sheer size of Irene is incredible.