Hurricane sandy

[OhYouBigBadBeast]

Looking potentially very serious indeed for the eastern seaboard of the US, perhaps including NYC if some models are correct. The storm will probably be extra tropical but nevertheless if it interacts with a trough modelled off the east coast that could bring down arctic air then the result could be approaching catastrophic, with utterly torrential rain, severe blizzards, hurricane force winds and severe storm surges all being possible.

I think people will be getting very worried about this. Mon tues weds are the days to be watching. Lets hope the storm turns east away from the us coast.

I've got family on Long Island (New York), they were in the evacuation zone, and are in an evacuation centre.

The last time I heard anything, my cousin had said she had seen a picture on the news of their home town, and the water is already higher then it was after Hurricane Irene had done her worst. In my cousin's words, "if this is how bad the water is before the storm has hit land, then there is no doubt our house will flood."

The house is built on raised foundations, but it only withstands flooding up to a certain level, and the water is already almost at that level.

I feel so desperately sad for them, and all of those who will suffer.

Not a problem vixcyn.

Talkin, that's not so great.

I just wonder when the Climate Change deniers will wake up and realise that unless they act NOW, this will be a monthly occurrence ....
The sea level IS rising, the weather systems ARE getting more energetic.
Parts of the Eastern Seaboard could be rendered uninhabitable OR require multi multi billion dollar flood defences....

It will also be interesting to see who makes what political capital out of this misery.
And whether Mitt Romney will stick with his plans of wanting to reduce the funding of FEMA.

I wonder how close the subways are now to flooding. Apparently Irene was within a foot of flooding them, and if this is already higher, it doesn't bode so well. Going to be a real nuisance if it does.

There have been concerns certainly that sea levels are rising faster than expected rates around the eastern seaboard.

Subways should be OK. That is why they shut them early to get sand bags and boards across all the entrances ....

News just said that it's worse than hurricane Irene; definitely getting worse outside. Not sure about the subway- its been closed since 6pm yesterday.

Talkin re FEMA, I guess it depends on how they cope over the next week!

It will be worse than Irene - it coincides with full moon high tide AND a storm from the North east that has piled up water against the coast
therefore the water would be five or six feet higher even if the hurricane was identical to Irene
but the ambient water temperature is higher so the winds will keep their speed for longer

I just spoke to my aunt in Toms River kaumana, and she has not been evacuated, so thats odd. Her son lives nearer the beach at Point Pleasant, and they lost electricity many hours ago. My aunt said she went to the store on the corner very early this am her time and thought she would never get back with the wind - and thats 8 hours before it even hits.

Another cousin is apparently in his boarded up house on Long Island in the basement!

I would hate to be there thats for sure.

The news is saying the storm is about to hit. No one can now leave and there is no one coming to help people leave either
Prayers and thoughts for all those there and those with families and friends there

And it's also being fed a cold feed from the north giving it extra oomph. Really and truly a hybrid monster.

It will be interesting to see how Obama deals with this - the week before the election. Apparently the plans for evacuation etc have been very well organised. No one could possibly fuck it up like Bush did with Katrina though could they?

Michael Bloomberg is on the weather channel doing a live update. He is reminding people that trees with leaves hold water and are therefore heavier. Really? Do people need telling this? Isnt it obvious? People are apparently calling the wrong number for downed trees and flooding which is clogging the 911 switchboard :(

The evacuation systems in New York are absolutely clear.
ConEd have hundreds of trucks on high ground ready to roll.
The subways were shut and sandbagged before the water rose
FEMA learned their lesson and Bloomberg is a decisive person.

NO, He seemed good. I was just shocked that he was telling people the basics. I would have thought common sens would have guided them to stay in side, stay away from tress etc. They seem to be very well prepared.

Mayor Bloomberg is doing a very good job.

"Common sense" Hmmm. If it was the UK, how many twits would be out on the sea walls trying to get pictures ....
Some of the pictures of people wading through surging floodwaters .....

I predict it'll be falling branches and power outages that cause the biggest problems, but that's based on a tourist's view. There have been evacuations around the broken crane near the wtc site and around Battery Park at the bottom of Manhattan.
badkitten they said the eye of the storm has disappeared- is that bad?

Stripy, I think people just need to hear reassuring stuff that they've already thought of. No point in advising them of something that they can't possibly fix in the height of the storm.

I think high tide at The Battery isn't for another 3 hours and its is at almost 9ft already.

yeah apparently there were idiots at Point Pleasant beach this morning trying to surf! they were arrested

Helpyourself, it means its transitioning to an extra-tropical storm, so now it's probably not technically a hurricane. Doesn't mean it's any weaker though and indeed is likely to be even a bit stronger for a while.

:( I wasnt having a go at Bloomberg! I was just surprised. but yes, OYBBK I think that is probably right.