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Original poster

Following Hurricane Irene

38 replies

OhYouBadBadKitten · 26/08/2011 16:56

NOAA pages.

Although it isnt a particularly powerful hurricane (though all hurricanes are dangerous if you are in their way) it is interesting to note that the 3 day cone has NY city in its range transitioning from hurricane strength to Tropical storm strength.

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mankyscotslass · 26/08/2011 17:02

I've been watching this too.

My cousin lives in NC, so they are preparing.

When was the last time a storm as big as this hit NY?

Original poster
OhYouBadBadKitten · 26/08/2011 17:02

NYC under hurricane watch.

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Original poster
OhYouBadBadKitten · 26/08/2011 17:08

Good question Manky. wikipedia shows that a fair few ex-hurricanes have hit NY with varying amounts of effect, mostly heavy rain and some have brushed it lightly, but this one seems to have the potential to have the kind of wind speeds we would associate with hurricanes.

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Original poster
OhYouBadBadKitten · 26/08/2011 17:11

[[http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIAPWSAT4+shtml/261445.shtml? these probability tables look quite useful for estimating how likely it is still to be at hurricane strength tomorrow into sunday.

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Earlybird · 26/08/2011 17:13

It should slow down/weaken noticeably as it moves north as water temps are much cooler.

That said, I've heard discussion about what might happen if it is high tide when it moves through NYC.

Original poster
OhYouBadBadKitten · 26/08/2011 17:30

storm surge probabilities should answer your thoughts earlybird :)

wind speed probabilities was my other link

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Earlybird · 26/08/2011 17:55

OYBKitten - thanks for links.

I'm actually in America, and they are speaking on the news about how this storm will 'change the coastline' due to storm surges causing significant beach erosion.

They've also just put out a statistic that there are 65M people in the path of Irene - which is more than the entire UK population, and over 3x the population of Australia.

Earlybird · 26/08/2011 18:33

They have just announced that NYC will shut down all public transport on Saturday at noon as a precaution.

Earlybird · 26/08/2011 18:51

News Report:

'As Hurricane Irene barrels towards the East Coast, New York City has begun evacuating nursing homes and hospitals in high-risk areas......state officials are also coordinating emergency services in the event of power outages in the region.'

Original poster
OhYouBadBadKitten · 26/08/2011 19:11

Nothing beats local news reports - thanks for the updates Earlybird, very interesting to read. Poor NY, must be scary for those waiting for it. The statistics are huge!

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mankyscotslass · 26/08/2011 19:18

I hope people pay attention and move out of it's path if they can.

I've seen the usual images of people taking stupid risks.

GloriaSmud · 27/08/2011 15:21

Some pictures here.

Looking at one of the pictures, could the tail end of this head our way next week? (Obviously wouldn't be a hurricane but could give us strong winds/heavy rain?)

GloriaSmud · 27/08/2011 15:27

Report from the bbc.

Earlybird · 27/08/2011 15:56

From the Associated Press:

'' New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has instructed residents planning to evacuate before Hurricane Irene to do so immediately. About 370,000 New Yorkers have been ordered to evacuate low-lying coastal areas. Bloomberg also told New Yorkers to plan for a blackout in lower Manhattan and warned residents that the electric company will have to turn off the grid in other neighborhoods as well if there?s flooding. ''

Earlybird · 27/08/2011 15:58

How transportation has been affected:

'' Nearly 6,100 flights have been canceled already, and the number is only expected to grow due to Hurricane Irene. Beginning at noon on Saturday, the five main New York City airports will all be closed to incoming flights. The overall impact, however, is not expected to be as bad as it is in the case of a severe blizzard: Unless airport facilities are damaged, flights can generally resume almost as soon as the rain stops. Amtrak has also reduced Saturday service and canceled all Sunday trains. ''

Original poster
OhYouBadBadKitten · 27/08/2011 16:50

thanks for the continued updates :)

Next week, it is possible that part of the uk will be hit by the remnants. This isnt unusual for ex-hurricanes. it will be interesting to see what happens. Our first autumn storm perhaps??

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Original poster
OhYouBadBadKitten · 27/08/2011 16:51

lol - just saw your post Gloria - didnt scroll up far enough!

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Earlybird · 27/08/2011 16:55

Interesting that we are now starting to see some news reports that the storm, while very big, isn't turning out to be nearly as bad as predicted.

One headline: 'Irene - not that mean?'

Will be interesting to see if the storm has weakened significantly, or if the media has over-hyped it (better to be safe than sorry, I suppose).

Earlybird · 27/08/2011 16:58

A sample of latest news reports:

'' Early storm forecasts had Irene blowing in over southeastern North Carolina, but early reports indicate the area has been spared major damage. "While it will likely take weeks to clean up, Irene appears to have left no catastrophic damage behind in Southeastern North Carolina," the StarNews Online reports. The storm is now blowing into Virginia where over 100,000 people are without a power as a result. ''

And a bit more:

'' The storm has so far washed away two piers in the Outer Banks, blown the roof off a car dealership, and knocked out power at a hospital (in addition to hundreds of thousands of homes in North Carolina and Virginia). Winds are clocking in around 90 miles per hour. ''

So - at this point the storm is not causing catastrophic damage (or even particularly major damage)....which is a good thing.....hope it continues to be that way.

GloriaSmud · 27/08/2011 17:00

Lol!
Just what we need; strong winds to bring down those leaves and more rain!

paulapantsdown · 27/08/2011 17:03

Lets hope it weakens before it hits NY / NJ. I have an aunt in NJ and she has stocked up on batteries/water etc etc, and is planning on spending tomorrow in her bath tub with a wind up radio! I am worried for her.

It is very worrying for the US economy (and therefore ours) if there is any large scale devastation.

Original poster
OhYouBadBadKitten · 27/08/2011 17:09

I think that it has sort of been over hyped - those pages I linked to yesterday did show that it probably would be down to tropical storm strength by the time it hits NYC - it is just the quite unusual path and the fact that it is hitting such an urban area (which may well see a lot of significant flash flooding even without any storm surge).

I have friends there who are not concerned about damage particularly but are concerned about prolonged power outtages ( problem with modern life!)

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Original poster
OhYouBadBadKitten · 27/08/2011 17:10

paulapants, I dont think your aunt needs to spend the day in the bath tub!!!

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Earlybird · 27/08/2011 18:47

From the New York Post:

'' New York City began shutting down its mass transit systems Saturday, with the last trains and buses leaving their stations at noon. The shutdown will take about eight hours, and service won?t resume until Monday at the earliest. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is also considering cutting off power to parts of lower Manhattan in order to avoid the risk of salt-water flooding while the cables are live. ?There?s a lot less damage to cables if salt water gets on them when they don?t carry any current,? he explained. ''

Original poster
OhYouBadBadKitten · 27/08/2011 18:52

It will be interesting to see how many of these precautions are necessary in the end. Is Lower Manhattan one of the areas that is being evacuated?

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