I haven't been online all day, and, funny enough, I was going to comment on how crazy the Weather Channel has been. It's like they've been hiding some of these commentators in a closet for years. Now, I've been on National Weather Service's website, the Underground Weather site, and here in NY I've been watching the Local news and channel 61 here on LI (our 24/7 weather and traffic channel) and not one channel is promoting this as "catastrophic," which seems to be a word they are just haphazardly throwing around on TWC. These channels aren't pretending this isn't going to be bad, they're not lying about it, but...this is a little ridiculous. It's going to be far worse in the Carolinas and Virginia then for us, I'm assuming. They're saying it will be Cat 1, tops, here on LI, with winds btw. 60-90 MPH, which sucks, for sure, but not catastrophicc. Plus storm surges right not only being predicted in the 4-8 foot range, which is less than the 10-15 foot range that was first being thrown around. It's going to be bad, I know this thing isn't even that close to us yet, so I'm just hoping for the best.
Hurricane winds begin at 75mph. If it's between 45 and 74 it's a tropical storm and still dangerous for NY's low lying areas. Anything over 75mph is going to fuck your shit up if you're within 4 blocks of the coast. CNN showed a map projecting flooding all the way up to ground zero. The same map put a cat 4 in (120mph winds) and Manhattan was completely inundated. You're not designed to take a storm like this, nor are most of the residential areas. I'm hoping for the best, but the reality of the situation is there's going to be moderate to severe trouble in low lying areas. Regardless of strength if NY is on the right side of the storm, expect flooding. If it's on the left side, enjoy the rain, it's nothing.
And may I add: just because the sustained winds will be 75 in a Cat one, that doesn't mean there won't be gusts in excess of 100mph. And many tornadoes, which are the real destroyers. If you get an order to evacuate, don't be a hero.
There goes the weather.com site again. Predicting an EXTRAORDINARY storm, (yes in all caps) and putting me in the EXTREME damage area. Which at this point is most of the East Coast. I swear they are declaring armageddon. I think they are being way over the top. CBS2 last night predicted 1-3 inches of rain and 40-55mph wind gust for me. Not EXTREME damage and EXTRAORDINARY storms. Who is to be believed, the local NY media or those people at the Weather Channel.
They can't be nonchalant about it. If NYers were complacent and didn't leave like the families in New Orleans, etc...and the storm were to be actually as bad as they say, it would be catastrophic. The government has no $$ as it is. Do you think you would get aid quickly? I don't.
There is a world of difference between Katrina and this hurricane as is the fact New Orleans got devastated more by the failings of the levees and a land mass that is under sea level to begin with. Again, I'm not saying this isn't going to be bad, but I would compare this to Hurricane Gloria more than anything else. And Koz...what makes you think that? By all indications, we're going to get pretty whallopped. Maybe not Outer Banks kind of shit, but, still....
Do you want to laugh? The wife and I are watching TV last night and one of the first reports is how they intend to stop FI ferry service at some point late today, early tomorrow. The next shot they cue to is a "parade of mopes" heading off to their weekly rentals on Fire Island. These aren't the property owners, but instead, people looking to head off on vacation. Great place to go, when the weather is nice. But why in god's name would you head to an area so isolated to begin with, which will surely lose its power etc well before the mainland?
If I end up taking down my pool fence, putting all of my patio furniture in the garage/shed charging flashlights, topping off gas tanks and all we get out of it is 35 mile an hour winds I'm going to be pretty pissed. Mother nature had better give me a bit of a show for all my efforts!
The last two model runs shifted the storm a bit east so that it is now predicted to hit the island around the mid-point. The track is still moving around a bit but the island will definitely experience hurricane force winds somewhere along its length, the rest will have tropical storm force wind. The fuck is this shit? Keep your politics out of the weather thread.
They might. They're talking about Far Rockaway, Battery Park and Coney Island. On LI, they're already evacuating Fire Island, and the outer islands by Point Lookout in Nassau County. There are whispers they might make people evacuate south of Montauk Hwy./Merrick Rd. which, if that happens, I don't know where they would go. And Koz, Jesus man, do you want this to hit us?
