Irene Heads to NC and NYC/Long Island then BOS

This is like one of those long, slow, exhausting Yankee games against the Red Sox... a real nail biter.

First though we have to deal with it's approach and impact to North Carolina. The best bet is it will skirt the Outer Banks and inland NC will have some localized flooding and probably tree damage up to the I95 corridor. Raleigh will have sporadic bad weather and in any bad squall far from the storm trees can come down, roof damage can occur and you can have minor annoyances. But, the real danger is Dare County and places near the coast. Also, remember tornadoes can form in bands far from the eye so if you are near the cone...be careful.

The image above shows potential rainfall from Irene. It's huge. Then again I was in NYC the other day when JFK got the highest amount of rain it ever had in one day. If you add to that the issue of storm surge and more so water being funneled up though the inlets and bay areas around JFK airport that could create a real mess. NYC has said they will shut down subways in advance of the storm so don't delay in what you need to do and hope to catch the last train out of town from the Bronx to Brooklyn before the storm hits because you may spend the storm in the Bronx. If you need to do something, do it now. More so if you are Orthodox and keep the Jewish Sabbath or are a Seventh Day Adventist... do it NOW immediately because Saturday evening the storm will be bearing down and doing whatever it is going to do as it moves towards the NYC area. Storms up in the higher latitudes are fast movers.

In a New York Minute Irene will be there and you will be forced to deal with her up close and personal. The gas stations will be out of gas, ATM machines will not have cash and most of your favorite snack foods will be snapped up by people who didn't not wait til the last minute.

Best case scenario...the storm pulls right and skims Long Island and NYC/Crown Heights/Boro Park and Flatbush will only get strong winds for part of the day and a lot of rain. Those are the cities of my life so that is what I am writing about. I don't know much about Manhattan other than I love to walk around there. Crown Heights I know, it's called "Heights" for a reason so not worried on flooding though if you live in a basement... anything is possible. Flatbush closer to Coney Island is more of a problem. Boro Park should be okay, except again if you are in a basement.. especially one below ground you might want to rethink that...

There is always safety in numbers. If something breaks, if you hurt yourself trying at the last minute to secure a window that popped open...etc.. it's better to have an extra pair of hands.

BIG ISSUE ... AC Units. If you have an AC window unit that is not well secured it most likely will be sucked out by the low pressure and strong winds. It is better to take it out, secure the window and worry on it later. Yes, it is a pain. It will be more of a pain if 70 mph winds get into your apartment, trash your computer, television and your designer clothes or valuable books are ruined. If you refuse to take it out of the window, I'd suggest duct taping heavy plastic garbage bags around it (I know stubborn people) and possibly secure the unit or cover the area... it's best not to let strong winds into your humble abode.

Worst case scenario could be really bad... serious flooding way inland (NJ/PA/Upstate NY) and power outages and erratic looting. I hate to write that but after what has gone on in parts of Europe and in some cities after natural disasters I would not rule it out as an outlying, possible after effect of the storm.

If NYC could not handle a blizzard, how can it adequately handle a hurricane I wonder...

Find a place to stay during the storm. Hunker down. Stay there. Wait for an All Clear on the News before coming out and make sure it is safe to go out. Live wires will electrocute people... the dog really does NOT need to be walked. A mother and her son and the son's friend were killed during a weak storm in Miami because they just HAD to go out and walk the dog... a live wire in a puddle killed them all. Stay inside, you don't need to find a pizza store open on Coney Island Avenue an hour after the storm ended. Stay put.

As for Boston and points beyond in New England... Rhode Island should have a lot of problems with low lying areas and flooding... all of New England may deal with the storm but they will only know after they see if it makes the turn and the lag time between the turn and approach to it's next destination is not very much.

NOTE.. Though improbable it is very possible that this storm can go N..NNE all the way up into Canada and not out to sea.

Lastly the President spoke today from his vacation place on Martha's Vineyard (hope he's following evacuation orders) and spoke on the seriousness of this storm. He is right, it's not rocket science... prepare for the worst, hope for the best.

http://www.ready.gov/ is the site he mentioned first, but know that it is already hard to load and there is a lot of traffic. When your computer turns off because the electric is off you will not be able to go there so go there now.

GAS up.
CASH... go and get it NOW
STASH what you need.

Hunker down and wait it out. Stay safe.

It is personally hard for me to believe this will hit NYC with Category 2 wind speeds, but worst case scenarios do happen. I know because I was in Miami when Andrew drew a bulls eye around the city and headed towards it as a Category 5.

Worst case scenarios do happen... not often but they do.

Here in Miami I went to the beach yesterday. I found Irene much milder than I expected. I hope that is the case up north and that the beaches and cities in her path are on the weaker side and she bears to the right...

But, seriously only time will tell.

As for me I'm taking care of my mother in Miami and can't check in as much as I would like to. I'll post beach pics later when there are not more pressing problems, such as NC and NY and places in between.

I do believe prayers help... prayers for calm and strength and clarity and wisdom to know what your priorities are before and after the storm.

Take care and prepare and I'll be back with my thoughts around 6pm.

Besos Bobbi