Hurricane Irene

[Kairi]

It's looking like Irene is going to hit the east coast pretty hard. If you are in the area please be safe and take care.

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Hurricane Irene thrashed the Bahamas early Thursday, with widespread damage reported on at least two southern islands. The storm is threatening to pummel the Eastern Seaboard over the next several days as far north as Maine.
It is a powerful Category 3 hurricane with winds at 115 miles an hour. Forecasters said the winds will ramp up quickly over the next day and Irene was expected to become a Category 4 storm with winds at least 131 mph. At 5 a.m. EDT, Irene was located about 80 miles east-southeast of Nassau, and some 735 miles south of Cape Hatteras, N.C.
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Forecasters also said it was still unclear whether the major hurricane would score a direct hit on the U.S.—including possible landfall Saturday in North Carolina—or stay offshore as it races up the coast, lashing several states with dangerous surf, powerful winds and heavy rain.
Irene could hit North Carolina's Outer Banks on Saturday afternoon. But pinpointing Irene's exact path over the next several days is difficult, particularly because the storm is on course to hug the U.S. coastline, forecasters said. Variables such as wind shear, clashing air-pressure systems and warm-water pockets could push the storm farther east or west, potentially spelling the difference between light wind and rain or major destruction along a coastline.
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<cite>Associated Press</cite>Raymond Braxton, of Morehead City, N.C., carries his surfboard as he walks along the beach in Atlantic Beach, N.C., Aug. 25.

"A shift in the track by as little as 10 miles or 40 miles can make a huge impact,'' said Timothy Schott, a senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
A hurricane watch was issued early Thursday for much of the North Carolina coast. A watch means hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours. Also, a tropical storm watch was issued for much of South Carolina's coast.
Meanwhile, a new tropical depression formed far out over the Atlantic early Thursday, with the National Hurricane Center saying it would likely become a tropical storm later in the day.
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• Irene May Test Coffers of State-Run Insurers
• Northeast on Alert as Preparations Focus on Worst-Case Scenario

Authorities have improved their ability to forecast the path of a storm's center, but still report "tracking errors" in such efforts. Officials have roughly halved the average tracking error for 24-hour forecasts in recent years, from almost 100 miles in the 1990s, for Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes.
But the average tracking error over the past decade for 48-hour and 72-forecasts was still about 100 miles and 150 miles, respectively, according to the Miami-based NHC. It only began offering five-day forecasts in 2003, and tracking errors that far out in the future top 200 miles.
A trajectory map by the center on Wednesday indicated Irene could make landfall on any coastal state between North Carolina and Maine. The center of the storm is expected to stay about 200 miles off Florida's coast on Thursday and Friday.
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Evacuations spread in North Carolina as Hurricane Irene strengthened off the coast. Julie Rochman, president and CEO of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety offers tips on staying safe during storms.


On Wednesday, islands at the southeastern edge of the Bahamas archipelago felt the full force of the storm.
Roofs were torn off homes and trees littered the streets on the small island of Mayaguana, about halfway between South Florida and Puerto Rico, said Capt. Stephen Russell, director of the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency. Major damage to buildings also was reported on the nearby islands of Acklins and Crooked, the agency said.
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There were no mass evacuations, but residents in low-lying areas were advised to head to shelters on higher ground, said Mr. Russell. "Persons who built their homes properly and according to building code should be able to withstand" the storm, he said. But those "who tried to shortcut the process could find their homes in jeopardy."
Most tourists had evacuated Eleuthera Island, which is full of hotels and resorts, said Kingsley Bethel, assistant manager at the Buccaneer Club hotel in Governor's Harbour, the island seat. Residents put up hurricane shutters and stocked up on food and supplies. "We're kind of used to it," said Mr. Bethel. But "when you hear about a hurricane heading this way, you get really prepared."
North Carolina's Dare County ordered tourists on Wednesday to evacuate Ocracoke Island, a barrier island on the state's Outer Banks reachable only by ferry. The order prompted a run on hammocks and swings at Nags Head Hammocks, said Denise Bayley, manager of the shop at Kill Devil Hills.
"People were stopping by on their way out of town," she said. "It's strange, because it's absolutely glorious weather here."
Ms. Bayley and her staff planned to decide Wednesday night when and if to raise the storm shutters over the windows and secure the hammocks on display outside the store. "Frequently these storms roil up pretty good when they're coming up the coast, but sometimes they back off a bit," she said. "That's what everybody's hoping."
Fort Bragg, N.C., has been designated an "incident support base" for the military during the storm, with stockpiles of food, water, vehicles and emergency equipment, said Col. David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman. About 98,000 National Guard members were potentially available to help in states along the storm's expected path, from Florida to New England, he added.
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<cite>Associated Press</cite>Jeremy Pickett and Thad Midgett boarded the windows of a store in Cape Hatteras, N.C., on Wednesday.



The U.S. Navy is preparing for the possibility of sending warships out to sea, and out of the hurricane's direct path. On Wednesday, the U.S. Second Fleet placed all Navy ships in the Hampton Roads, Va., area to "sortie condition Bravo," meaning that ships must make final preparations in anticipation of getting under way early Thursday.
In a statement, Vice Adm. Daniel Holloway, the fleet's commander, said the storm currently met the criteria for getting ships underway to avoid storm damage.
Hurricane Irene is already disrupting schedules for container ships, increasing their costs of fuel and labor. Maersk Line, the shipping arm of Denmark-based A.P. Moller-Maersk, reworked schedules Wednesday of 15 ships carrying everything from grain to video cameras,to try to keep the vessels either comfortably ahead of or behind the storm.
The schedule change adds costs for Maersk because the company has to pay extra labor costs to unload ships at night, and because speeding up the vessels burns more fuel, said Bill Fentress, director of allocation for Maersk Line. "Anything other than the planned schedule is dollars, period," he said.
<cite class="tagline">—Nathan Hodge, Jennifer Levitz, Cameron McWhirter and the Associated Press contributed to this article.</cite>

 

[Kairi]

Coastal North Carolina counties tell thousands to leave as Irene approaches <!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->
BUXTON, N.C. (AP) — Thousands were fleeing an exposed strip of coastal villages and beaches off North Carolina on Thursday as Irene approached, threatening to become the first major hurricane to hit the East Coast in seven years.

Hours after a hurricane watch was issued for much of the state's coast, emergency officials expanded evacuation orders to include hundreds of thousands of tourists and locals in three counties. The areas include the barrier island chain known as the Outer Banks, which is expected to take the brunt of Irene's first hit over the weekend.

The governors of North Carolina and Virginia also made emergency declarations to free up storm recovery resources, while the Navy began moving dozens of ships out to sea from ports in Irene's path. And emergency officials all the way to New England were urging residents in low-lying areas to gather supplies and learn the way to a safe location.

The storm is expected to come ashore Saturday in North Carolina with winds of around 115 (185 kph). Forecasters predict it will then chug up the East Coast, dumping rain from Virginia to New York City before a much-weakened form trudges through New England.

As the sun rose over North Carolina's barrier islands, tourists packed suitcases in their cars, while locals stocked up on food, water and gas. Traffic was moving briskly Thursday morning on the two-lane highway that cuts through many of the coastal communities, but many feared that would change.

"It's going to be a mess," said 66-year-old Buxton resident Leon Reasor as he stood inside a local bait shop. "Anyone who tells you they're not worried is a liar."

An evacuation order for an estimated 150,000 visitors took effect Thursday in Dare County, while its 35,000 permanent residents were told to begin leaving the next day. Tourists and locals in Hyde County were also told to move inland, as were visitors in Currituck County.

"It wouldn't behoove anyone to stay in these circumstances," Dare County emergency management spokeswoman Sharon Sullivan said. "Businesses are boarding up. Nobody can guarantee their safety."

Craig Fugate, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said residents should pay attention to local broadcasters to see if an evacuation order is made. Among the most important tasks, he said, was figuring out a safe place to go before hitting the road.

"When you evacuate, you want to know where you're going and make sure you have somewhere to go, not just get on the road with everybody else and hope you find some place," Fugate said Thursday on CBS's "The Early Show."

All along the East Coast, officials were calculating what they needed to do as Irene continued its march across the Caribbean toward the U.S. The Navy ordered 64 ships to leave Norfolk and other Virginia ports, saying they can better weather the storm at sea.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged residents living in low-lying areas on Thursday to line up a place to stay on high ground ahead of possible evacuations this weekend. He said he would make a decision by late Friday on whether to evacuate neighborhoods along the water in several boroughs.

Even without hurricane-force winds, northeastern states already drenched from a rainy August could see flooding and fallen trees from Irene.

"You want to go into a hurricane threat with dry soil, low rivers, a half moon," New Jersey state climatologist David Robinson said.

That is not the case. The Garden State has gotten twice as much rain this month as in a normal August, and high tide happens at 8 a.m. EDT on Sunday, when Irene might be passing by.

Early Thursday, the storm was pounding the Bahamas with widespread damage reported on at least two southern islands. It was a powerful Category 3 hurricane with winds at 115 mph (185 kph). Forecasters said the winds will ramp up quickly over the next day and Irene was expected to blow into a monstrous Category 4 with winds at least 131 mph (210 mph).

While the storm's path isn't definite, officials are taking nothing for granted.

In Maryland, inspections of bridges looking for cracks in the support piers and other structural features found no damage, according to state transportation agency spokeswoman Teri Moss. In Virginia, with a southeastern corner that could be in Irene's way, cities along the coast are reviewing their evacuation plans, said Laura Southard, spokeswoman for the state Department of Emergency Management.

Farther north, precautions so far were mainly wait-and-see as officials watched for developments in the forecast.

 

[Kairi]

Irene is expected to only be and stay cat 3 as it hits the Carolinas and only a 1 by the time it hits NY, so let's hope it doesn't get too bad.

 

[hyourinmaru]

Category 1 storms usually cause no significant structural damage to building structures; however, they can topple unanchored mobile homes, as well as uproot or snap trees. Poorly attached roof shingles or tiles can blow off. Coastal flooding and pier damage are often associated with Category 1 storms. Power outages are typically widespread to extensive, sometimes lasting several days. Even though it is the least intense type of hurricane, the storm can still produce plenty of widespread damage and can be a life-threatening storm

yeah I don't like this not even a little bit.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Yeah my town in CT Only has a Tropical Storm Warning, i assume it could get changed but they're opening up shelters and everything just incase it gets that bad.

 

[Kairi]

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (AP) — Whipping up trouble before ever reaching land, Hurricane Irene zeroed in Friday for a catastrophic run up the Eastern Seaboard. More than 2 million people were told to move to safer places, and New York City ordered its entire network of subways shut down for the first time because of a natural disaster.
As the storm's outermost bands of wind and rain began to lash the Outer Banks of North Carolina, authorities in points farther north begged people to get out of harm's way. The hurricane lost some strength but still packed winds of almost 100 mph, and officials in the Northeast, not used to tropical weather, feared it could wreak devastation.
"Don't wait. Don't delay," said President Barack Obama, who decided to cut short his summer vacation by a day and return to Washington. "I cannot stress this highly enough: If you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now."
Hurricane warnings were issued from North Carolina to New York, and watches were posted farther north, on the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard off Massachusetts. Evacuation orders covered at least 2.3 million people, including 1 million in New Jersey, 315,000 in Maryland, 300,000 in North Carolina, 200,000 in Virginia and 100,000 in Delaware.
"This is probably the largest number of people that have been threatened by a single hurricane in the United States," said Jay Baker, a geography professor at Florida State University.
New York City ordered more than 300,000 people who live in flood-prone areas to leave, including Battery Park City at the southern tip of Manhattan, Coney Island and the beachfront Rockaways. But it was not clear how many would do it, how they would get out or where they would go. Most New Yorkers don't have a car.
On top of that, the city said it would shut down the subways and buses at noon Saturday, only a few hours after the first rain is expected to fall. The transit system carries about 5 million people on an average weekday, fewer on weekends. It has been shut down several times before, including during a transit workers' strike in 2005 and after the Sept. 11 attacks a decade ago, but never for weather.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said there was little authorities could do to force people to leave.
"We do not have the manpower to go door-to-door and drag people out of their homes," he said. "Nobody's going to get fined. Nobody's going to go to jail. But if you don't follow this, people may die."
Shelters were opening Friday afternoon, and the city was placed under its first hurricane warning since 1985.
Transit systems in New Jersey and Philadelphia also announced plans to shut down, and Washington declared a state of emergency. Boisterous New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie demanded people "get the hell off the beach" in Asbury Park and said: "You're done. Do not waste any more time working on your tan."
Hundreds of thousands of airline passengers were grounded for the weekend. JetBlue Airways said it was scrubbing about 880 flights between Saturday and Monday, most to and from hub airports in New York and Boston. Other airlines said they were waiting to be more certain about Irene's path before announcing more cancellations.
Thousands of people were already without power. In Charleston, S.C., several people had to be rescued after a tree fell on their car.
Defying the orders, hardy holdouts in North Carolina put plywood on windows, gathered last-minute supplies and tied down boats. More than half the people who live on two remote islands, Hatteras and Ocracoke, had ignored orders to leave, and as time to change their minds ran short, officials ordered dozens of body bags. The last ferry from Ocracoke was set to leave at 4 p.m. Friday.
"I anticipate we're going to have people floating on the streets, and I don't want to leave them lying there," said Richard Marlin, fire chief for one of the seven villages on Hatteras. "The Coast Guard will either be pulling people off their roofs like in Katrina or we'll be scraping them out of their yards."
Officially, Irene was expected to make landfall Saturday near Morehead City, on the southern end of the Outer Banks, the barrier island chain. But long before the eye crossed the coastline, the blustery winds and intermittent rains were already raking the coast.
Some took to shelters for protection.
Susan Kinchen, her daughter and 5-month-old granddaughter came to West Carteret High School with about 50 others. She said they didn't feel safe in their trailer, and the Louisiana native was reminded of how her old trailer lost its roof to Hurricane Katrina.
"We live in a trailer with her," said Kinchen, referring to the infant. "I'm not taking any chances."
National Hurricane Center meteorologist David Zelinsky said earlier Friday that he expected the storm to arrive as a Category 2 or 3 hurricane. Later in the day, other forecasts showed it would strike most of the coast as a Category 1. The scale runs from 1, barely stronger than a tropical storm, to a monstrous 5. On Friday afternoon, Irene was a Category 2.
Regardless of how fierce the storm is when it makes landfall, the coast of North Carolina was expected to get winds of more than 100 mph and waves perhaps as high as 11 feet, Zelinsky said.
"This is a really large hurricane and it is dangerous," he said. "Whether it is a Category 2 or 3 at landfall, the effects are still going to be strong. I would encourage people to take it seriously."
Officer Edward Mann was driving down the narrow streets of Nags Head looking for cars in driveways, a telltale sign of people planning to ride out the storm against all advice.
Bucky Domanski, 71, was working in his garage when Mann walked in. He told the officer he planned to stay. Mann handed Domanski a piece of paper with details about the county's evacuation order. It warned that hurricane force winds would flood the roads and there might not be power or water until well after the storm.
"You understand we can't help you during the storm," Mann said.
"I understand," Domanski replied.
After the Outer Banks, the next target for Irene was the Hampton Roads region of southeast Virginia, a jagged network of inlets and rivers that floods easily. Emergency officials have said the region is more threatened by storm surge, the high waves that accompany a storm, than wind. Gas stations there were low on fuel Friday, and grocery stores scrambled to keep water and bread on the shelves.
In Delaware, Gov. Jack Markell ordered an evacuation of coastal areas.
"We could be open tonight for business, but there's a very fine line between doing the right thing and putting our staff at risk," said Alex Heidenberger, owner of Mango Mike's restaurant in Bethany Beach, who expects to lose $40,000 to $50,000 in business. "It's not so much we're worried about the storm coming tonight, but we want to give them a chance to get out of town and get their affairs in order."
Officials at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington said they were speeding the transfer of their last remaining patients to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. The transfer had been planned for Sunday.
In Baltimore's Fells Point neighborhood, one of the city's oldest waterfront neighborhoods, people filled sandbags and placed them at the entrances to buildings. A few miles away at the Port of Baltimore, vehicles and cranes continued to unload huge cargo ships that were rushing to offload and get away from the storm.
In New York, the Mets postponed games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday with the visiting Atlanta Braves, and the Jets and Giants moved their preseason NFL game up to 2 p.m. Saturday from 7 p.m.
And in Atlantic City, N.J., all 11 casinos announced plans to shut down Friday, only the third time that has happened in the 33-year history of legalized gambling in that state.
"I like gambling, but you don't play with this," Pearson Callender said as he waited for a Greyhound bus out of town. "People are saying this is an act of God. I just need to get home to be with my family."

 

[No More Sorrow]

Wishing this storm would just be over with already. If i see any crazy shit while the storm is going on i'll try to take a few pictures and post em on the site.

 

[Aaron Rodgers]

Wishing this storm would just be over with already. If i see any crazy shit while the storm is going on i'll try to take a few pictures and post em on the site.

as long as you don't get yourself killed.

 

[No More Sorrow]

as long as you don't get yourself killed.

Well of course, don't really think it's going to effect my area much although there's a huge pond and waterfall across the street from my house that thing is going to get flooded pretty bad.