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Original poster

Hurricane sandy

598 replies

OhYouBigBadBeast · 26/10/2012 22:09

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.

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Original poster
OhYouBigBadBeast · 30/10/2012 15:29

The FAA link is misleading. It reports no issues with Dulles. But most of their flights are cancelled

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TalkinPeace2 · 30/10/2012 15:29

Xiao - what about downtown - in the area of the 14th street substation?

sunshine will help though..

blackcurrants · 30/10/2012 15:30

We're fine, no power uuntil Monday. according to power company(!) Hoping. the water in our tank lasts that long or life will get a lot less fun very quickly. trees down everywhere and lots of loose live power cables whipping around, it's a bit nerve wracking !

CestTout · 30/10/2012 15:31

I'm staying with friends in Philly at the moment and we really escaped the worst where we are. Very lucky. Got good friends in Hoboken who sound like they are having a nightmare.

blackcurrants · 30/10/2012 15:32

Drizzly rain here in NJ.and intermittent mobile phone. and internet.access.

Original poster
OhYouBigBadBeast · 30/10/2012 15:33

Good to hear that the city is ok (but that doesnt include the subways and tunnels does it?) nor places like Queens with their huge fire and zone a in general.

Very good indeed though that your family is ok Xiaoxiong :)

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Original poster
OhYouBigBadBeast · 30/10/2012 15:34

hey blackcurrants - good to see you posting again :) bummer about the power and it sounds rather dodgy out and about. Is the wind still up a bit?

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Original poster
OhYouBigBadBeast · 30/10/2012 15:35

Who else are we waiting for to check in? MrsJ for sure....

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fledtoscotland · 30/10/2012 15:36

Good to see the live arrivals board at JFK! It's just saying in Bloomberg that it will operating "as normal" tomorrow

Viperidae · 30/10/2012 15:38

BA are telling me there are no flights out of New York for a full week as everything is fully booked. Don't know whether to hope for cancellations sooner or book it.

spamm · 30/10/2012 15:42

They are saying it will take 4 days to restore power and the system to the subway in NY, maybe more to some parts of the rail system as tracks are either underwater or washed away.

Dulles airport should be fine - it is only 7 miles away from me and we now only have rain and some light winds. They keep emphazising dangerous winds in the area, at least until 2pm today, but I do not see it now. The problem is going to be getting aircraft back to the right places and getting staff in.

We still have over 100,000 people without power in our area, but the only people I know without power right now are in NJ.

Original poster
OhYouBigBadBeast · 30/10/2012 15:44

fled - that would be good news indeed :)

viperidae. Tricky. I'd either book it or look to whether they can travel to another airport to come home sooner. I wouldnt count on cancellations because even if it does reopen tomorrow, there is going to be such a huge queue of people waiting for cancellations.

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OhYouBigBadBeast · 30/10/2012 15:47

I guess so many flights at dulles are cancelled today purely because at some point they had to make a decision on what to do?

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spamm · 30/10/2012 15:51

OK - I take that back. A friend in West Virginia has no power and a foot of snow. At least she does not neet to throw any food out - she is just emptying the freezer into boxes in the snow for now.

She has posted a photo on FB and it looks gorgeous to me - will be less gorgeous in a few hours when she is trying to feed the farm animals in snow later. But they are fine.

Also, DH checked on an older couple we have "adopted", who live about 15 miles away. Their power is back on and no damage to their property. All good.

Original poster
OhYouBigBadBeast · 30/10/2012 15:53

Feel very sorry for those in W. Virginia and no power! must be very brrrrrrrr.....

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Eliza22 · 30/10/2012 16:22

Oh Lord, we visited last week, for my 50th. Good job half-term wasn't THIS WEEK.

Feel so sorry for them. It looks devastating and very, very scary.

Original poster
OhYouBigBadBeast · 30/10/2012 17:03

close call for you Eliza! (Half term is this week round here. )

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Original poster
OhYouBigBadBeast · 30/10/2012 17:54

I just saw the Battery tunnel on Fox news. Shock i hadnt quite appreciated that it is flooded to the gunnels. Going to take an awful lot of pumping.
According to a power company 62% of New Jersey is without power. this map from one electrical company says it all in terms of power really. Huge area affected.

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LadyEvilBeagle · 30/10/2012 18:10

Is it just me that would find a storm like this absolutely awe inspiring?
The loss of life is tragic, but I kind of wanted to be in NY nice and safe in a fancy apartment and watch from my window.

Viperidae · 30/10/2012 18:33

Lady We live on the coast in NW England and often get high winds here. DS said the hurricane wasn't that bad for them as he'd had years of training here! When we get heavy rain with it there is something a bit exciting/scary about it.

I think with this it was the combination of wind, rain, tide and storm surge that has made it so big

spamm · 30/10/2012 18:35

Some amazing pics I had not seen here

LadyEvilBeagle - I know what you mean, but it was not awe inspiring to me, we all react differently. I remember being a teenager and going down to Southsea to watch the most amazing storm at night with friends. We stood on the wall and got soaked by waves - but I was young and had no responsibilities, except me.

I am older and feel more vulnerable, I have a child to protect and I am a homeowner and cannot envisage the heartbreak of losing my home. So it was scary and stressed me out. The big storms always do. My dh does not react the same way at all - he is stoic and just deals with it as it comes, so I irritate the hell out of him.

Original poster
OhYouBigBadBeast · 30/10/2012 18:47

I wouldnt want my property to be destroyed or friends and family put at risk. But yes, if a storm has to happen, then if I'm utterly honest I would like to witness it I think.

Mind you I have been in a couple of scary weather situations which made me think 'never again'!

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Triggles · 30/10/2012 19:07

We lived in Missouri for a few years when I was a child - a couple tornadoes spent down in the basement, along with regular tornado drills at school - that cured any desire to see a big storm.

spamm · 30/10/2012 19:09

The thing is, since we moved to the US 3 years ago, we have had: Snow storm (2 days), Snowmageddon (5 days and about 3.5 feet of snow), Hurricane Irene (yuk), Tropical Storm Flooding (wading through knee-high water to leave the office), the Earthquake, the famous Derecho (the MOST scary, because it was so fast and we had very little warning), and now Sandy.

I can cope with the snow - that I am fine with - and the only scary thing about the Earthquake was being on the 14th floor - I am still getting used to being in very tall buildings, I work on the 20th floor right now. But I hate the vulnerable feeling of the wind/rain storms. I never liked them in the UK (down south), and they are so much more wild here.

I am still trying to get used to this. I try and not do the weird panic shopping, and be reasonable - but I feel that I should at least prepare some stuff - not just ignore it. So this morning I had to empty out two big saucepans of water, and do the walk of shame in front of dh to put the bottled water away.

Triggles · 30/10/2012 19:15

walk of shame?? whyever would it be the walk of shame?

Only an idiot would not at least make basic preparations for this type of thing! You are right to make preparations just in case. There's a difference between panic buying and simply using common sense and being prepared.