View Full Version : Here comes Irene
Astronuc
Aug25-11, 08:52 PM
The eye, or what's left of it, is suppose to graze us on Sunday evening. But were already getting some good rains today.
It look likes we're in for three days of rain. That usually means a fair amount of flooding in our area.
Good thing we got a basement flood protection system. :uhh:
Jimmy Snyder
Aug25-11, 09:02 PM
The latest forecast has Irene making a path directly through the sliding door in my den and out the front door on its way to Maine. I bought two gallons of water and filled the car with gas. I have a flashlight and fresh batteries. The laptop and cell phone run on batteries so I'll have that for communication. What am I forgetting?
Pengwuino
Aug25-11, 09:03 PM
To Run.
Astronuc
Aug25-11, 09:08 PM
The latest forecast has Irene making a path directly through the sliding door in my den and out the front door on its way to Maine. I bought two gallons of water and filled the car with gas. I have a flashlight and fresh batteries. The laptop and cell phone run on batteries so I'll have that for communication. What am I forgetting? Everything else requires electricity.
I thought of that song, too.
The latest forecast has Irene making a path directly through the sliding door in my den and out the front door on its way to Maine. I bought two gallons of water and filled the car with gas. I have a flashlight and fresh batteries. The laptop and cell phone run on batteries so I'll have that for communication. What am I forgetting?Did you stock up on your favorite foods, tape the windows, don't forget car adaptors for cell phones. They even sell briefcase size generators at Target to run small appliances and computers. I take it they are just large rechargeable battery packs, but not a bad idea.
For some reason every time we had a hurricane down in Houston, they said to fill the bathtubs with water, but I don't ever remember the water shutting off, I guess if a pumping station went down it might matter.
Candles, you must have candles!! A chafing dish with sterno is fun if the power goes out. Talk about a romantic dinner!
Jimmy Snyder
Aug25-11, 09:28 PM
Thanks Evo.
Q: Did you stock up on your favorite foods?
A: Yes, What do you figure, 20,000 calories a day? Actually, We have lots of canned goods. I have no idea how we'll cook them though.
Q: Tape the windows?
A: No, but I'm thinking about it.
Q: Don't forget car adaptors for cell phones.
A: Thanks for reminding me of that, I do have one.
Q: Generator?
A: No, and that means that anything in the fridge will go bad quickly. The people at Sears told me that they no longer sell generators, and now they've got customers clamoring for them.
Q: Candles?
A: Yes, my wife uses tea candles by the hundreds so we're well stocked.
Thanks Evo.
Q: Did you stock up on your favorite foods?
A: Yes, What do you figure, 20,000 calories a day? Actually, We have lots of canned goods. I have no idea how we'll cook them though.
Q: Tape the windows?
A: No, but I'm thinking about it.
Q: Don't forget car adaptors for cell phones.
A: Thanks for reminding me of that, I do have one.
Q: Generator?
A: No, and that means that anything in the fridge will go bad quickly. The people at Sears told me that they no longer sell generators, and now they've got customers clamoring for them.
Q: Candles?
A: Yes, my wife uses tea candles by the hundreds so we're well stocked.You're all set, now just hope that the electricity doesn't go out for long and the kids get bored.
Oh, do you have a lot of trees? A chain saw is a good thing to have. And if a power line goes down in your yard, DO NOT GO OUTSIDE!!
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/01/3-killed-in-backyard-electrocution-identified.html
Battery operated fans, a couple more gallons of water, duct tape (not really necessary...some people used to use it to tape windows... but everyone buys it when a hurricane is coming). Do you have enough ice?
Pengwuino
Aug25-11, 10:15 PM
If they don't sell gas generators, maybe a wind powered generator?
giggle.
lol that was funny Penguwino.
Insanity
Aug25-11, 11:05 PM
Q: Did you stock up on your favorite foods?
A: Yes, What do you figure, 20,000 calories a day? Actually, We have lots of canned goods. I have no idea how we'll cook them though.
Sterno burners, don't get hot enough to really cook with, but useful to heat things with. You can barely boil water with if you wait long enough. They're fairly cheap too.
Q: Tape the windows?
A: No, but I'm thinking about it.
Packing tape would work, at least if the windows blow, it may help keep shards from flying about. Getting it off any windows that don't may be tricky, but probably worth the safety step.
Q: Candles?
A: Yes, my wife uses tea candles by the hundreds so we're well stocked.
A lighter, zippo and matches. Candles are great, until you realize you can't light them.
Our electricity here would go out every time it snowed. I had a couple of those big 3 wick candles, and got the little metal grate out of the toaster oven, put it over the candle, and cooked with it. It can actually boil water and "fry" stuff. I also rigged the fireplace as a stove. A couple of bricks and a barbecue grate and voila! but for small things, the candle did the job. Also, candles do a good job of warming a room. I put the girls in my room and had dozens of candles going, not bad.
For light, if you have mirrors, place the candles on them, the reflected light adds so much. Even sheets of aluminum foil will help. If you are walking through a dark room, pointing the flashlight up at the ceiling will illuminate the room better than pointing it down at the floor.
Yes, I've been without electricty a LOT.
it's about time someone posted about .... OMG! we're going to DIE!!!!!!!! :cry:
"The worst storm of our lifetime."
Insanity
Aug26-11, 12:09 AM
I keep several lamps that can use either liquid paraffin or oil. Reading by lamplight is nifty.
Well NOW we hear that NYU and the VA hospital will be evacuated and those are where we were going in the event of an event and we are event family. Open to suggestions.
OmCheeto
Aug26-11, 12:13 AM
The eye, or what's left of it, is suppose to graze us on Sunday evening. But were already getting some good rains today.
It look likes we're in for three days of rain. That usually means a fair amount of flooding in our area.
Good thing we got a basement flood protection system. :uhh:
Should be an interesting Sunday chat then.
I've only been through one notahurricane in my life. It was down in Cabo. Impressed the hell out of me. Went from 3 to 2 to 1 and then sub-hurricane by the time it hit.
But 70 mph winds wizzing by your hot tub is pretty impressive, with the palm tree's spewing coconut's horizontally, rain falling horizontally, and, um, well, everything was pretty much moving 90 degrees out of sync with where it should have been.
My sister took a video that night. Might make a good U-tube for you to watch.
If you survive....
Hold on Astro.
I just wrote a post and got one of those bad gateway messages -_-
I was saying that one of the most annoying things after a bad hurricane is no water. It is good to have enough drinking water for at least three days. Usually the water is restored before the power, especially if the power lines are above ground. It is ideal to have at least a week worth of drinking water just in case there is a boil water order when the water is restored and you have nothing to boil water with (those little camping gas burners come in handy). Having tubs filled with water is really good for utility (flushing toilets, washing hands, etc.). And if the storm is a cat4 when it hits and your windows are not hurricane windows, it is best to stay away from them and weather the storm in a room with no windows. Sometimes the storm can pass ok with no damage to the windows, but it is much better to be safe than sorry :)
DoggerDan
Aug26-11, 01:47 AM
Good thing we got a basement flood protection system. :uhh:
The sound of that reminds me of either a mop or a very dry sheepdog who likes rolling around on wet floors.
wuliheron
Aug26-11, 06:22 AM
Well NOW we hear that NYU and the VA hospital will be evacuated and those are where we were going in the event of an event and we are event family. Open to suggestions.
When in trouble,
When in doubt,
Run in circles,
Scream and Shout!
wuliheron
Aug26-11, 06:24 AM
The latest forecast has Irene making a path directly through the sliding door in my den and out the front door on its way to Maine. I bought two gallons of water and filled the car with gas. I have a flashlight and fresh batteries. The laptop and cell phone run on batteries so I'll have that for communication. What am I forgetting?
Life vest.
Lobstermen are hauling out barges of their traps and seeking safe for harbor their boats. There are some regulations regarding when you can pull traps, but I understand those have been waived to allow the fishermen to recover as much gear as possible. Also, you don't want traps ripped from their buoys to remain on the bottom, trapping more lobsters and damaging the population. Inland, we probably will have nothing to deal with but heavy rain IF the remnants of Irene hits.
The morning after the remnants of Bob rolled through here, some friends and I headed north to fly-fish a short catch-and-release river that features some big brookies. Glad we brought the chain-saw and bow-saw. We had to resort to them frequently just to get the roads passable. Early morning, and the road crews had not yet gotten around to clearing trees off the roads.
Good luck, all you people up in the Northeast. I feel a bit guilty that all we're going to see here in northwestern South Carolina is maybe a couple of bands of light clouds.
The closest we've come in the time I've been here was Hugo in '89 which came ashore near Charleston and passed about 60 miles to the east of us, about 150 miles in from the coast. All the streets were carpeted with small tree branches, but there was no major damage.
The latest forecast has Irene making a path directly through the sliding door in my den and out the front door on its way to Maine. I bought two gallons of water and filled the car with gas. I have a flashlight and fresh batteries. The laptop and cell phone run on batteries so I'll have that for communication. What am I forgetting?Do you have enough wood for a cooking fire and some hot-dogs?
Jimmy Snyder
Aug26-11, 06:55 AM
Do you have enough wood for a cooking fire and some hot-dogs?
Yes, my house has a working fireplace and I have plenty of wood that I cut up from fallen branches on my property so I'm good. We even have a few hot dogs, but I am relying on food that doesn't need to be refrigerated.
A lighter, zippo and matches. Candles are great, until you realize you can't light them.Light-anywhere matches are a must! The ones that only light on the striker-strip on the side of the box may be useless if your'e in an adverse situation. Get strike-anywhere matches and store some in a nice sealed plastic container where you can get at them when you need them. You can light them up on about any solid rough surface.
In HS I had a friend who used to lug a bunch of them around in his pants pocket, and that was NOT a good idea. He said something sassy to his GF, and she slapped him on the leg. That's when his pants burst into flames. He didn't get burned too badly, but nobody let him forget stripping to his tighty-whities in the hall, panicking and hollering all the time.
but I am relying on food that doesn't need to be refrigerated.Got Twinkies?
Jimmy Snyder
Aug26-11, 07:08 AM
Got Twinkies?
Good idea. It's got a shelf life of 100 years.
Good idea. It's got a shelf life of 100 years.I think they are rated at 17 years, but that should get you through the weekend and a couple of days with intermittent power.
Astronuc
Aug26-11, 08:03 AM
We just received the tropical storm warning - already. IRENE is about 870 miles SSW of us.
Counties sound of us got a hurricane warning.
When in trouble,
When in doubt,
Run in circles,
Scream and Shout!
OK, did that. Next?
OK, did that. Next?Have a beer! Rinse and repeat.
So, what's the forecast, still heading for you?
Jimmy Snyder
Aug26-11, 08:30 AM
So, what's the forecast, still heading for you?
No change in the forecast. The eye will pass over my house at around 11:00 am, Sunday. It will be category 1 or 2 by then. Big deal, I've got a category 5 wife.
Now they say that if we get 3 to 5 inches of rain, then we can expect flash floods. The forecast is for a foot of rain and although my house has never flooded, there is a crick that passes through town and does flood from time to time.
No change in the forecast. The eye will pass over my house at around 11:00 am, Sunday. It will be category 1 or 2 by then. Big deal, I've got a category 5 wife.Please ask her to *itch-slap Irene before she comes to Maine. Lots of fishermen are curtailing operations and hauling up boats. 30-foot waves are nothing to sneeze at when you have small rocky harbors with steep gradients in their bottoms. You could lose a life-time's investment in no time.
Have a beer! Rinse and repeat.
Decent advice! {snort} arrr! And the stubborn daughter out on the island? {rinse} {glug}
wuliheron
Aug26-11, 09:29 AM
Decent advice! {snort} arrr! And the stubborn daughter out on the island? {rinse} {glug}
Tell her to put on a life vest, drink a beer, and run in circles.
I live in the Norfolk Va area where we can expect severe flooding at the very least, but my thoughts are with the people in North Carolina. Hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, you name it they always get hit the worst.
Astronuc
Aug26-11, 09:44 AM
All the states from NC to ME are affected. Coastal areas should expect high waves.
http://news.yahoo.com/state-state-look-dangers-prep-irene-012629732.html
I'm glad I'm out of Boston this week. New England is supposed to get hit hard. Right now, I'm in PA. We're still going to get some massive rain, but I think I'm far enough west to miss the brunt of the storm.
Good luck to everyone in it's path. Keep safe!
DaveC426913
Aug26-11, 10:07 AM
It'll never be closer than 1000 miles from us way up here.
But can't be too cautious.
So today I'm gonna bugger off some 3500 miles across the pond - and stay there for two weeks. I'll watch you on the news. If they get western news there...
Overreaction? :wink:
Tell her to put on a life vest, drink a beer, and run in circles.
I live in the Norfolk Va area where we can expect severe flooding at the very least, but my thoughts are with the people in North Carolina. Hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, you name it they always get hit the worst.
Thanks. She just called and is headed to Dave's. She is looking forward to raiding the bar, fridge, and she will feed your fish Dave. :biggrin:
FlexGunship
Aug26-11, 11:19 AM
All the states from NC to ME are affected. Coastal areas should expect high waves.
http://news.yahoo.com/state-state-look-dangers-prep-irene-012629732.html
I'm about 20 miles inland in NH. I suspect it will be another dud. I'm more worried about my mom, brother, and sister in NC. They're a good distance inland, but still in that red area on most diagrams. I can't seem to convince them to hit up a hotel for a few nights.
Oh well. I'm sure they'll be fine. My sister assured me that she would chain herself to the toilet. Maybe she's following the "Have a beer. Rinse and repeat" advice from above and the toilet is just a precaution.
wuliheron
Aug26-11, 11:51 AM
I'm about 20 miles inland in NH. I suspect it will be another dud. I'm more worried about my mom, brother, and sister in NC. They're a good distance inland, but still in that red area on most diagrams. I can't seem to convince them to hit up a hotel for a few nights.
Oh well. I'm sure they'll be fine. My sister assured me that she would chain herself to the toilet. Maybe she's following the "Have a beer. Rinse and repeat" advice from above and the toilet is just a precaution.
She may regret being chained to the toilet if it floods and the thing starts backing up....
Ivan Seeking
Aug26-11, 11:56 AM
The media has been running lists for emergency kits. One item that has been notably absent from the lists is, toilet paper. :uhh:
FlexGunship
Aug26-11, 11:59 AM
The media has been running lists for emergency kits. One item that has been notably absent from the lists is, toilet paper. :uhh:
Ivan, buddy... it's a hurricane. If you need toilet paper, you walk outside, remove your pants, and point yourself into the wind. If you're not clean after that, then toilet paper isn't what you needed.
Ivan Seeking
Aug26-11, 12:12 PM
Ivan, buddy... it's a hurricane. If you need toilet paper, you walk outside, remove your pants, and point yourself into the wind. If you're not clean after that, then toilet paper isn't what you needed.
Heh, the Irene baday, eh?
You were a scout weren't you? Gotta have toilet paper. Never get caught in a pinch without it!
FlexGunship
Aug26-11, 12:15 PM
Never get caught in a pinch without it!
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/picard-facepalm.jpg
(Source: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FacePalm)
Heh, the Irene baday, eh?
You were a scout weren't you? Gotta have toilet paper. Never get caught in a pinch without it!TP is good! If you have a home-made sparker made of lighter flints and a piece of hacksaw blade, you can start a fire even with minimal kindling.
Ivan Seeking
Aug26-11, 12:56 PM
Something else they often leave out is food and water for your pets.
Something else they often leave out is food and water for your pets.If your pets are sufficiently feral, they will eat you, and in the aftermath of a hurricane, there will generally be plenty of water around.
FlexGunship
Aug26-11, 12:58 PM
Something else they often leave out is food and water for your pets.
It's a hurricane, water should be in ample supply. And, well, if you have two pets, they can be food for each other; now we've reduced the problem to one of simple recursion.
Ivan Seeking
Aug26-11, 12:59 PM
If your pets are sufficiently feral, they will eat you, and in the aftermath of a hurricane, there will generally be plenty of water around.
Not clean water. If you have chlorine tablets to treat the water you're okay.
Well, it depends... if your are in an area that flooded and the water is contaminated with chemicals, chlorine may not help.
Not clean water.Duke drinks water from whatever source! I'd like him to only drink the clean tap-water that we put in his bowl, but that doesn't seem to be high on his list of priorities.
FlexGunship
Aug26-11, 01:04 PM
Not clean water. If you have chlorine tablets to treat the water you're okay.
Hold out for the next hurricane: Hurricane Dasani.
Seriously, though, there are ways to treat water with common household bleach. I don't know how to do it, and I wouldn't suggest trying it without reading about it and having it demonstrated for you by someone who is knowledgeable.
BLEACH DISINFECTION
Treating water with bleach is very effective at killing germs and it doesn't taste funny to most of us because this is basically what most city water supplies do. You need to have a bottle of plain liquid chlorine bleach and a dropper. The bleach should be 5 to 6 percent sodium hypochlorite with no preservatives and no additional ingredients. Do not use scented bleaches, color safe bleaches, powdered bleaches, or bleaches with added cleaners. You want the good old fashion stuff that smells like chlorine and burns holes in your clothes if you pour it right on them. Even this is hard to choose because it is now available in different concentrations. Ultra Clorox is a 6% solution instead of 5.25% but it is the same stuff. Keep a bottle of plain 5.25% or 6% chlorine bleach with no additives in the laundry room to use for water purification. Besides, this cleans sweat socks as well as any of the others.
To treat water with chlorine bleach, put the water in a clean container and add 16 drops of bleach for every gallon of water. Stir in the bleach and let the water stand for 30 minutes. If the water does not have a little smell of bleach, repeat the dosage of 16 drops per gallon and let it sit for another 15 minutes. If it smells of bleach now it is OK to drink. If it doesn't smell of bleach after two treatments, the water is too dirty to use. Throw it away and treat a new batch of water.
AMOUNTS OF BLEACH FOR ORDINARY CONTAINERS
1 quart bottle 4 drops of bleach
2 liter soda bottle 10 drops of bleach
1 gallon jug 16 drops of bleach (1/8 tsp)
2 gallon cooler 32 drops of bleach (1/4 tsp)
5 gallon bottle 1 teaspoon of bleach
(Source: http://biotech.law.lsu.edu/cphl/practice/water.htm)
The entire New York City transit system will shut down tomorrow at noon: subways, buses and commuter rail (to/from Long Island, Connecticut and northern suburbs). Trains to New Jersey, operated by New Jersey Transit, will also stop running.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/27/nyregion/new-york-city-begins-evacuations-before-hurricane.html?hp
The main concern is apparently with high winds. Most subway lines run at ground level or on elevated structures for part of their routes.
My guess as to why they're shutting down so early is that it takes time to get all the trains and buses to their storage facilities, and it gives workers a chance to get home somehow, or evacuate, before things get really bad.
They're only expecting a cat 1 or lower? Are the precations just along the shore then? (I just checked the revised forecast.)
FlexGunship
Aug26-11, 02:42 PM
They're only expecting a cat 1 or lower?
I was expecting a cat5 storm.
http://image1.masterfile.com/getImage/NjAwLTAyNzU3MDQwbi4wMDAwMDAwMA=AKmtEC/600-02757040n.jpg
(Source: http://www.masterfile.com/stock-photography/image/600-02757040/Close-up-of-Businessman-Holding-CAT5-Cables)
They're only expecting a cat 1 or lower? Are the precations just along the shore then? (I just checked the revised forecast.)That's minimal amount of cats! That's tolerable, if they stay to themselves.
Ah somebody called us?
http://www.wallpaperpimper.com/wallpaper/Animal/Cats/Five-Cats-3-ZWRE65XGFG-800x600.jpg
But good luck all.
Aww, kitties, I need kitties!!
Aw No! Cat 5 is not a good thing.
Ah in that case maybe take only the first to the right, that's cat one.
Threads merged? Cool :D How is everyone faring?
Astronuc
Aug26-11, 03:50 PM
Not too bad a forecast for us.
Sunday: Rain. The rain could be heavy at times. High near 70. Very windy, with a north wind between 45 and 55 mph, with gusts as high as 65 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts in excess of 4 inches possible.
South and East of us however will get more rain and stronger winds.
Meanwhile airlines are moving aircraft away from the area, and cancelling flights. I hope no one was planning on visiting the Washintong DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, NY, Boston area this weekend.
http://news.yahoo.com/airlines-move-planes-airports-prep-hurricane-irene-174327308.html
Aw No! Cat 5 is not a good thing.
That cat 2 reminded me i forgot to take my meds today. I hope we don't get a cat 2 :bugeye:
But we did just get our first NY warning. So I guess we can all call it a day here. We know it's coming.
Dave? did daughter make it up there yet?
...HURRICANE WARNING IN EFFECT...
SEVERE WEATHER ALERT
Forecast for Fri Aug 26 06:03 PM EDT
New York, NY
Hurricane Warning
View
Yay, looks like Irene will be downgraded to a tropical storm if it stays on course! Winds of 70 MPH are predicted for NY now.
Jimmy Snyder
Aug26-11, 05:59 PM
Don't forget to go through the 5 stages of hurricane preparedness:
1. Denial. In this stage, you laugh and make jokes about the hurricane. You should never do this because there is an irony factor at play in the world and you will soon regret your jokes.
2. Anger. In this stage, you wonder why the hurricane can't be in England for a change and leave us alone. This is futile because in Hartford, Hereford and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen.
3. Bargaining. In this stage you promise you will never again go to the seashore for recreation. This would actually work since by driving your car less, you won't be causing so many hurricanes. The problem is you never keep your promise once the hurricane leaves.
4. Depression. In this stage the tropical depression causes emotional depression. Don't succumb to the urge to go postal just because the hurricane does.
5. Acceptance. In this stage you strap yourself to the mast and shake your fist at the storm. You'll never give up, you'll never give up, that ship.
sourlemon
Aug27-11, 12:33 AM
Lolz jimmy. I'm still in stage 1. Will skip to step 6 tomorrow. Panic.
Jimmy Snyder
Aug27-11, 09:02 AM
It has started a fine mist and I guess it will progress to a heavy mist, sustained drizzle, measurable amounts of moisture, followed by rain, then cats and dogs, leading to elephants and rhinoceroses, hail, snow, and finally locusts.
The latest report has us 5 kilometers away from the windiest path. This means 58 mph winds instead of 74.
AP's interactive storm-tracker application is at variance with what Maine Emergency Management Agency is predicting. MEMA says the rain will start tonight with tropical storm conditions possible tomorrow, tapering off after midnight tomorrow.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/newsroom/hurricane-irene-interactive-east-coast-braces-impact-200535720.html
http://www.maine.gov/mema/weather/zone14.htm
Chi Meson
Aug27-11, 09:34 AM
1. Denial. In this stage, you laugh and make jokes about the hurricane. You should never do this because there is an irony factor at play in the world and you will soon regret your jokes.
Everybody around me (S.E. CT) is going BEZERK boarding up windows, trimming trees, stashing deckchairs, filling up bathtubs; and a generator can't be bought for love or body parts! I'm just watching this fear-stoked circus with bemused amusement!
2. Anger. In this stage, you wonder why the hurricane can't be in England for a change and leave us alone. This is futile because in Hartford, Hereford and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen.
It's starting to get annoying, because my neighbors on all sides of me are pestering me to pick up the scrap wood around my house. I've been building a deck all summer, and so I have some lumber here and there and everyone's thinking the wind is going to launch a 2x10 through their front portico. I'm all "Hey, if you are so concerned about your precious Anderson sliding glass door, go get some more plywood, oh that's right, Home Despot is all sold out, boo hoo!"
[Tomorrow, stage 3]
Chi Meson
Aug27-11, 09:41 AM
This is a nice site:
http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/tracker
Zoom in on New England, and notice that with 1-day to go, the entire state of CT is in CAT 1, zone.
Good thing that Long Island will buffer most of the storm surge. Good thing for CT that is, sorry Mr. and Mrs. Hamptons.
Did I mention that I live on the coast, and my neighborhood has been known for more than a century as "Windy Hill?"
Everybody around me (S.E. CT) is going BEZERK boarding up windows, trimming trees, stashing deckchairs, filling up bathtubs; and a generator can't be bought for love or body parts! I'm just watching this fear-stoked circus with bemused amusement!
It's starting to get annoying.
I have to say I agree with you Chi, I am not upset by this at all, whereas some people as you stated whip themselves into a frenzy. If this tropical storm, sits on top of us and churns then flooding could be a problem. I have a french drain system on the low side of my house, and it has survived a 4 inch rain dousing before. Granted, we had power, so the sump pump could function, as I remember, it wasn't for very long, if at all. All my drains are clear and attached at the moment. My major concern is losing power for an extended period, that may cause a problem, other than that, just bring everything inside, and take some pictures and video's. If the rollers get very big, I may take some wave video and post it. If they are not dramatic, I won't bother.
Rhody... :grumpy:
I have my generator fueled up and ready to go. Out here in the boonies, if we lose power, it could be out for a LONG time, especially if the outages are extensive. This thinly-populated road will be among the very last to have power restored. Heavy rains (saturated soil) and heavy winds often combine to uproot trees, so it's best to have a plan for running the chest freezers and refrigerator if the outage last much longer than a day.
Ivan Seeking
Aug27-11, 10:29 AM
I have my generator fueled up and ready to go. Out here in the boonies, if we lose power, it could be out for a LONG time, especially if the outages are extensive.
We have the same problem. When we do have a major event, we're at the end of the line. That's the only reason we still have a wood stove.
The media has been warned before about the dangers of overhyping a storm, next time that there is a real danger, people will be less likely to respond.
Get Real: Hurricane Irene should be renamed "Hurricane Hype"
http://news.yahoo.com/real-hurricane-irene-renamed-hurricane-hype-021402485.html
Ivan Seeking
Aug27-11, 11:39 AM
The media has been warned before about the dangers of overhyping a storm, next time that there is a real danger, people will be less likely to respond.
http://news.yahoo.com/real-hurricane-irene-renamed-hurricane-hype-021402485.html
Part of the problem is that you want to give people as much time as possible, but we don't know how the storm will turn out until the last minute.
Part of the problem is that you want to give people as much time as possible, but we don't know how the storm will turn out until the last minute.True, but the hysterics aren't wise. Take precautions, but don't go crazy. I guess I just have a good *feel* for hurricanes from having lived on the Gulf of Mexico for almost 30 years so it's easier for me to see what the hurricane is actually doing as opposed to the media hype. Of course a hurricane can be very erratic, so you need to watch them for changes.
We evacuated, since my front yard is the Chesapeake Bay (literally) we evacuated. Last I heard from friends-45 mph winds and rain so far. Had a lot of friends in VA beach who stayed. They reported power outrages already before the eye has even hit. We are just hoping the surge is under 7 feet, then no water in our house.
We have the same problem. When we do have a major event, we're at the end of the line. That's the only reason we still have a wood stove.
I on the very southern end of my REAs service area and ends just north of the states largest power utility which wheels power to the REA yet the last to get power restored. If my REA would only put in a substation there, the system would be much more reliable.
The media has been warned before about the dangers of overhyping a storm, next time that there is a real danger, people will be less likely to respond.
http://news.yahoo.com/real-hurricane-irene-renamed-hurricane-hype-021402485.html
One person has been killed so far. So a Cat.1 can still be serious.
gravenewworld
Aug27-11, 11:52 AM
Fill those bath tubs up with water. If the power goes out you could be without water for a while for the toilet.
Fill those bath tubs up with water. If the power goes out you could be without water for a while for the toilet.Yes, I once believed that toilets were electric. Then hurricane Carla struck and the toilets still flushed. :blushing:
gravenewworld
Aug27-11, 12:01 PM
Many people have well systems for water supply and water companies need electricity to clean and pump water out of their treatment plants. No pumps, no water.
Watch these morons (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP8L5LAsJhQ&feature=related) in the bahama's fast forward to the 20 seconds. See those rocks in the waves !!! They can break your ankles, legs, or worse. INS playing itself out, once again.
Rhody... :eek:
Many people have well systems for water supply and water companies need electricity to clean and pump water out of their treatment plants. No pumps, no water.I know, I mentioned that in a previous post. Although, even being hit with a cat 5 hurricane, we never lost water.
Jack21222
Aug27-11, 12:07 PM
Rain is falling here in Baltimore. It's not supposed to be real bad here... winds 25-40 mph, 3-5 inches of rain. But that's still fairly nasty.
We have two 55-gallon rain-barrels for that. Our drinking water comes from a drilled well with a submersible pump, so we have stocked up on water for cooking and drinking. No power = no water.
Ivan Seeking
Aug27-11, 12:13 PM
We have two 55-gallon rain-barrels for that. Our drinking water comes from a drilled well with a submersible pump, so we have stocked up on water for cooking and drinking. No power = no water.
Why can't you run your pump with the generator?
That's one of the first things I checked when we bought a generator. Course for us, nine months out of the year we have a creek, so in a worst case, during times when we are most likely to lose power, we still should have a water supply.
The media has been warned before about the dangers of overhyping a storm, next time that there is a real danger, people will be less likely to respond.
http://news.yahoo.com/real-hurricane-irene-renamed-hurricane-hype-021402485.html
With the storm coverage, this is the first time in a long time that I have been able to tolerate the Fox News Channel. :biggrin:
Back in our old house we could be (and once was) out of power for 5 days, but still have running water thanks to the town's large stand-pipes. Best of all, since the water heater was propane we could still have hot showers.
To anyone that has a sump pump, make sure you have a *working* battery backup for it.
Why can't you run your pump with the generator?It's a submersible pump hard-wired into 220V. My generator is 120V. Some day, I may splurge on a larger generator and an isolation box, so I can power most of the house, including the well pump.
It's a submersible pump hard-wired into 220V. My generator is 120V. Some day, I may splurge on a larger generator and an isolation box, so I can power most of the house, including the well pump.
What? You don't have one of these? :devil:
http://www.allproducts.com/manufacture100/tpg/product4.jpg
Ivan Seeking
Aug27-11, 12:30 PM
It's a submersible pump hard-wired into 220V. My generator is 120V. Some day, I may splurge on a larger generator and an isolation box, so I can power most of the house, including the well pump.
Not having 220/240 on the generator is unfortunate.
In an emergency, you can disconnect the main incoming power wires at your panel and connect to a 240 VAC generator [ours came with 120 and 240 onboard]. Then you can run everything normally as long as you monitor your loads. Just don't backfeed the lines or you could kill someone!
Proton Soup
Aug27-11, 01:02 PM
The media has been warned before about the dangers of overhyping a storm, next time that there is a real danger, people will be less likely to respond.
http://news.yahoo.com/real-hurricane-irene-renamed-hurricane-hype-021402485.html
it's a good point. i live in alabama, so i know who James Spann is. he's one of the better-respected meteorologists here and has been doing this for a long time. but as to the author's claim that 41 deaths in tuscaloosa were due to complacency... i don't know about that. i've lived here for over 40 years, and i don't remember even hearing of a storm this bad. we had a mile-wide path of destruction that bounced across several counties. and outcomes can be completely random. i helped clear debris on houses blown completely off their foundations, and people would be there who survived with hardly a scratch despite most of the house being gone.
but yeah, this hurricane is kind of crazy (http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2011/08/27/noaas-phony-hurricane-coming-on-shore-with-33-mph-winds/). maybe coverage is sponsored by Wal-Mart (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/26/us-retail-hurricane-idUSTRE77P4HK20110826)? just think, this could be the perfect storm that kick-starts our economy and pulls us out of the depression.
Astronuc
Aug27-11, 01:06 PM
The media shouldn't hype the storm, but folks shouldn't minimize the danger. A cubic meter of water has a mass of 1 metric ton, or 1000 kg. Moving at 10-15 mph can do a lot of damage, or can be fatal if one is slammed into hard immovable structures. An article on Yahoo indicated one person was severely injured by a rogue wave. Folks should not be out on piers or jetties in stormy weather like that which is pounding the shoreline from NC to Long Island.
It could be a damaging storm given the population density through which it is likely to pass. We're supposed to gale force winds, and in the past, that's done a fair amount of damage. If it is stronger, the damage will be more severe.
http://news.yahoo.com/hurricane-irene-2011-record-disaster-142603576.html
http://news.yahoo.com/irene-knocks-power-east-coast-refiners-cut-runs-144732990.html
Jimmy Snyder
Aug27-11, 01:07 PM
Someone died in NC from a heart attack while boarding up his house in preparation for the storm.
I think both politicians and media have been giving Irene more attention than it deserves.
OmCheeto
Aug27-11, 01:36 PM
...
but yeah, this hurricane is kind of crazy (http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2011/08/27/noaas-phony-hurricane-coming-on-shore-with-33-mph-winds/). maybe coverage is sponsored by Wal-Mart (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/26/us-retail-hurricane-idUSTRE77P4HK20110826)? just think, this could be the perfect storm that kick-starts our economy and pulls us out of the depression.
What are you talking about!? This is already a killer storm!
Hurricane Irene: First two deaths from storm are reported (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/08/hurricane-irene-first-deaths.html)
Oh wait.
A man in Nash County, N.C., was reported killed by a falling tree limb outside his home Saturday morning, local authorities said. On Friday, a man installing plywood on the window of his home in Onslow County, N.C., died of a heart attack,
a third man either fell or jumped off a bridge and has not been found.
hmm... Nash county winds: 18 mph. (http://www.weatherforyou.com/reports/index.php?forecast=zandh&pands=nash+county,north+carolina)
To all my friends on the east coast:
do not stand under trees!
and if you have a bad heart, stay in your La-Z-Boy!
I love this picture. It shows what electrical utilitie crews are or will be up against.
http://col.stb.s-msn.com/i/6B/9F3BC2D14732E11D6D5EAB62112ADB.jpg
wuliheron
Aug27-11, 02:49 PM
I love this picture. It shows what electrical utilitie crews are or will be up against.
That's nothing. The last big hurricane came after a drought had already weakened the roots of the trees and then sustained winds of over 100mph knocked them over like dominoes. We burned up chain saws left and right and I didn't get power back for a full 2 weeks. One friend of mine had two 80 foot oaks fall on both sides of his trailer and miss him by a few feet.
The first hurricane of the season is the one people tend to pay the most attention to and they've evacuated most of the real problem areas. I don't expect a lot of deaths this time around, but the flood damage could be severe. The eye of the storm is expected to hit the Norfolk area right around high tide.
Redbelly98
Aug27-11, 02:50 PM
The entire New York City transit system will shut down tomorrow at noon: subways, buses and commuter rail (to/from Long Island, Connecticut and northern suburbs). Trains to New Jersey, operated by New Jersey Transit, will also stop running.
Yesterday I heard that the Jets-Giants game, originally scheduled for tonight, had been moved to 2 p.m. The NY sports talk radio people were incredulous it wasn't cancelled, since it was already known that NY mass transit would be shut down well before then. [EDIT: now it looks like the game is moved to Monday.]
To anyone that has a sump pump, make sure you have a *working* battery backup for it.
As of this afternoon I have my power backup for our sump pump. On Thursday I ordered a 12Vdc-120Vac inverter; it arrived this morning. If the electricity fails then my car, with a set of jumper cables, powers the inverter which will power the sump pump. I tested this setup a couple of hours ago, so I know it works.
I've wanted some kind of backup like this for a few years now, since basement flooding is common in heavy rain around here. Irene has provided the motivation to finally get it done. Eventually the car will be replaced by a deep-cycle battery and charger.
What are you talking about!? This is already a killer storm!
Hurricane Irene: First two deaths from storm are reported (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/08/hurricane-irene-first-deaths.html)
Oh wait.
a third man either fell or jumped off a bridge and has not been found.
hmm... Nash county winds: 18 mph. (http://www.weatherforyou.com/reports/index.php?forecast=zandh&pands=nash+county,north+carolina)
To all my friends on the east coast:
do not stand under trees!
and if you have a bad heart, stay in your La-Z-Boy!The death toll is three now, a drunk driver ran into a tree.
IRENE DEATHS: Three People Have Died In The Storm
Troopers say 21-year-old Jose Corona was south on County Home and ran off the road, crossed the centerline and ran into a tree.
The Highway Patrol say they are investigating whether alcohol was involved, since alcohol was present on the scene.
http://www.witn.com/pittcounty/headlines/BREAKING_NEWS__Person_Dead_In__128521158.html
Breaking News - Hurricane causes insanity in media reporting
wuliheron
Aug27-11, 02:57 PM
Six people dead so far, but only one was indoors. A child in an apartment when a tree fell.
Eventually the car will be replaced by a deep-cycle battery and charger.
Now all you need is this.
http://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/13516799_is?wid=618&hei=618
http://www.target.com/p/Coleman-18-Watt-Solar-Battery-Charger-Kit/-/A-13516799
Chi Meson
Aug27-11, 05:50 PM
The storm is downgrading by the hour. Now it looks like only a "Tropical Storm" is gonna hit New England.
The storm is downgrading by the hour. Now it looks like only a "Tropical Storm" is gonna hit New England.I think we are in line for a tropical depression. I sometimes suffer from depression, and mainly when the weather is tropical, and I can't breathe.
Astronuc
Aug27-11, 05:56 PM
It appears that since the eye is over the coast, there is much less effect from the ocean, as well as the fact that the water north of NC is cooler.
The 1938 hurricane stayed further to the east over the ocean.
Now we are expecting a TS rather than a H in our area, and apparently less rain.
Chi Meson
Aug27-11, 05:59 PM
The death toll is three now, a drunk driver ran into a tree.
http://www.witn.com/pittcounty/headlines/BREAKING_NEWS__Person_Dead_In__128521158.html
Breaking News - Hurricane causes insanity in media reporting
Darwin in action, apparently.
A DUI death during a hurricane is hardly the fault of the hurricane. Might as well blame it on "Saturday."
Chi Meson
Aug27-11, 06:03 PM
I think we are in line for a tropical depression. I sometimes suffer from depression, and mainly when the weather is tropical, and I can't breathe.
I'm still looking forward to some 60 mph wind. At 80, I would be much more worried.
I'm still looking forward to some 60 mph wind. At 80, I would be much more worried.60 isn't so bad, though if the ground is saturated and if we get sustained 60mph winds quartering around from various directions, nature will find the weak spots of many old trees. Surprise!
Redbelly98
Aug27-11, 07:12 PM
Now all you need is this.
http://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/13516799_is?wid=618&hei=618
http://www.target.com/p/Coleman-18-Watt-Solar-Battery-Charger-Kit/-/A-13516799
Actually the plan is to get a battery with enough capacity to last a couple of days without a recharge. Between that and the car-as-generator, I'll be happy.
60 isn't so bad, though if the ground is saturated and if we get sustained 60mph winds quartering around from various directions, nature will find the weak spots of many old trees. Surprise!
Problem here (central NJ) is the soil really softens up when things get soaked, so the tree roots don't have a firm grip in the ground. The wind pushes over the tree, roots and all, without the tree actually breaking anywhere.
According to The Weather Channel, this storm covers an unusually large area, even if it is not that intense near the eye. That could make for lots and lots of rain.
Current reading from the Hampton Roads area (Virginia Beach, Norfolk, etc.) are that the high water mark has past and that we had a 7.54 foot high tide. This puts it about 3-4 inches lower than the 2009 Nor'easter, which means it was about a foot too low to actually enter my house. We will see when we get back to the house sometime later this week... Though it means our furnace is completely trashed, but at least we likely have no water in the house.
Jimmy Snyder
Aug27-11, 08:43 PM
Water has started coming into my basement and there is still forecast 20 more hours of heavy rain.
Water has started coming into my basement and there is still forecast 20 more hours of heavy rain.Slow moving tropical storms can dump tons of rain. TS Claudette caused flooding in Houston that had never been seen before. Water at second floor window level. 43 inches of rain in 24 hours
I hope your sump pump holds up.
Jimmy Snyder
Aug27-11, 09:31 PM
Slow moving tropical storms can dump tons of rain. TS Claudette caused flooding in Houston that had never been seen before. Water at second floor window level. 43 inches of rain in 24 hours
I hope your sump pump holds up.
I don't have a sump pump, just a 2 gallon wet vac. It doesn't work unless I work it and once I go to sleep, the water will build. What's worse, is that the water will still be coming in long after the rain stops.
The latest forecast has us back in the 74 mph wind zone. The ground was already soaked from previous rains and uprooted trees are expected. This past year half a tree fell and just missed my house. I cut down the other half as well as another tree that impinged on my house. Now there are two trees that are close enough to cause major damage and one is around 80 years old.
I don't have a sump pump, just a 2 gallon wet vac. It doesn't work unless I work it and once I go to sleep, the water will build. What's worse, is that the water will still be coming in long after the rain stops.
The latest forecast has us back in the 74 mph wind zone. The ground was already soaked from previous rains and uprooted trees are expected. This past year half a tree fell and just missed my house. I cut down the other half as well as another tree that impinged on my house. Now there are two trees that are close enough to cause major damage and one is around 80 years old.
I bought a portable pump from home depot for the times my basement flooded (water running in through the basement windows, exceeded the sump pump's capacity). I attached a garden hose to it and lowered it into the basement from the living room door and ran the hose across the living room and out of the nearest window. Fun times.
I hope you and your family come through the rain without problems.
Jack21222
Aug27-11, 09:55 PM
My power can't make up it's mind if it wants to be on or off. It's gone off about 6 times in the past 15 minutes. Currently on though.
russ_watters
Aug27-11, 09:58 PM
My girlfriend works at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia -- she'll be driving to work tomorrow morning...
Astronuc
Aug27-11, 10:02 PM
I don't have a sump pump, just a 2 gallon wet vac. It doesn't work unless I work it and once I go to sleep, the water will build. What's worse, is that the water will still be coming in long after the rain stops.
The latest forecast has us back in the 74 mph wind zone. The ground was already soaked from previous rains and uprooted trees are expected. This past year half a tree fell and just missed my house. I cut down the other half as well as another tree that impinged on my house. Now there are two trees that are close enough to cause major damage and one is around 80 years old. Ouch. I'd recommend having a submersible pump on hand. I finally got one - after I spent all night with a 5 gal shop vac and a 5 gal bucket with which I carried water upstairs all night in order to prevent the basement flooding. And the water kept coming even after the rain stopped.
In the morning, I was able to find one a few avaliable pumps at a local store, but they didn't have any hosing. I went to a hardware store and bought the last few feet of 1-1/4 inch drain hose. That saved my basement from flooding.
I put the submersible in the lowest part of the basement, but I had to be with it because it was on the floor, not in pit/sump.
After we had two weekends of serious rain and flooding about 4 years ago. We decide to install a basement drain and sump system that collects the ground water and pumps it out to the front of the property. We've not had a flooding problem since.
Chi Meson
Aug27-11, 10:43 PM
11:45
Here it comes...
Astronuc
Aug27-11, 10:47 PM
11:45
Here it comes... Winds, or heavy rain?
We've had rain on and off since early afternoon, but no substantial wind.
Chi Meson
Aug27-11, 10:52 PM
Wind gusts are picking up. We just had the first one that made that spooky noise when it goes around the corner of the house. We are still a good 6 hours away from the "real thing."
And the damn thing's been upgraded for our forecast now! It's back to CAT 1 through CT and RI (look out Rhody). Long Island is going to get hit pretty hard.
Wind gusts are picking up. We just had the first one that made that spooky noise when it goes around the corner of the house. We are still a good 6 hours away from the "real thing."Let's hope the rain lets up before it gets there.
I remember my last hurricane, we were living in a new subdivision and homes were being built on my street. I was watching the rain going sideways when a port-a-potty came flying by. The eye passed over us, then when the rain started back up, it was going the opposite direction.
Hope you don't have any damage.
Wind gusts are picking up. We just had the first one that made that spooky noise when it goes around the corner of the house. We are still a good 6 hours away from the "real thing."
And the damn thing's been upgraded for our forecast now! It's back to CAT 1 through CT and RI (look out Rhody).
Eh, I don't believe it. Is your source NWS ? Hard to believe it can hit colder water and temps and still gain strength. I hope I don't have to eat my words. Knock on wood, Flying port-a-potties, eh Evo, hmm... there aren't any in my neighborhood so I don't need to worry about that.
I did do one important thing though, brought in my three ghost pepper plants with over 50 peppers, some near being ripe, the seem to turn yellow before turning red. Will post some pictures tomorrow.
Rhody... See some of you in chat. No winds here yet though.
P.S. NWS says winds in the mid 60's with gusts no more than 71 mph in the am tomorrow, tropical storm, not even a Cat 1. The uninformed and sensationalist media drive me crazy, it's all about ratings and not facts.
Winds are relatively calm here, and I can't hear the rain on the roof, so it's got to be light at worst.
OmCheeto
Aug27-11, 11:22 PM
I don't have a sump pump, just a 2 gallon wet vac. It doesn't work unless I work it and once I go to sleep, the water will build. What's worse, is that the water will still be coming in long after the rain stops.
The latest forecast has us back in the 74 mph wind zone. The ground was already soaked from previous rains and uprooted trees are expected. This past year half a tree fell and just missed my house. I cut down the other half as well as another tree that impinged on my house. Now there are two trees that are close enough to cause major damage and one is around 80 years old.
If you know anyone in the neighborhood who has a boat, you might borrow their 12v bilge pump.
http://cloudfront.zorotools.com/product/full/3P996_AS01.JPG (http://www.zorotools.com/g/00058157/k-G0666967?utm_source=google%20shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google%2BShopping%2BFeed&kw={keyword}&gclid=CMbb44iH8aoCFeoaQgod01-kOg)
They are designed to fit regular garden hoses, so no need for special piping. Just cut off the female end of the hose and fit it right onto the pump. But they do lose capacity the higher you have to lift the water, so you might have to do like I did and have one pump filling a bucket with a pump in that bucket also.
GPH of Water @ 0 Ft. of Head: 500
GPH of Water @ 3.35 Ft. of Head: 360
GPH of Water @ 6.7 Ft. of Head: 260
GPH of Water @ 12.5 Ft. of Head: 0
http://home.europa.com/~garry/emergency12vbasementdewateringsystem.jpg
If you have enough garden hoses, you can connect them all together from the last pump and drain these to the lowest point in the yard. This reduces the head on that pump.
The pumps draw about 1.9 amps each, so if you needed 3, that would be about 70 watts, which would give you about 18 hours of pumping capacity from a typical marine deep cycle battery (http://www.bimart.com/skudetail.aspx?loc=k.304857_s.51A_c.168A_d.5&nm=Electrical).
I wish I lived closer. I have the whole system (http://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=3462168&postcount=753) ready to go.
Om, you are on the wrong coast! Your red-neck engineering makes you a valuable resource and you are not advantageously deployed.
I used a pump like this, all I did was attach a regular garden hose, drop the pump into the water and the hose ran all the way up the stairs from the basement and pumped like the hose was at full force. It was awesome.
This one is 1/4 HP, 1,260 GPH, but they have 1/2 hp if you need more.
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&R=100165653&catEntryId=100165653
Jimmy Snyder
Aug28-11, 12:02 AM
Thanks for the advice. I'm not going out to buy any pumps just now nor tomorrow either. The solutions provided are overkill for my situation anyway. Since water started coming in I only got a gallon or so. The wet vac can keep up with it as long as I stay awake. Just now it isn't raining and there hasn't been any measurable water come in. So my floor is damp, but no puddled water anywhere. This will change of course, but I'm not expecting more than a gallon or two per hour. This is the first hurricane I've experienced in this house so I can't say for sure.
Thanks for the advice. I'm not going out to buy any pumps just now nor tomorrow either. The solutions provided are overkill for my situation anyway. Since water started coming in I only got a gallon or so. The wet vac can keep up with it as long as I stay awake. Just now it isn't raining and there hasn't been any measurable water come in. So my floor is damp, but no puddled water anywhere. This will change of course, but I'm not expecting more than a gallon or two per hour. This is the first hurricane I've experienced in this house so I can't say for sure.That's good, but you've got to sleep. Where's your daughter?
Containment
Aug28-11, 01:08 AM
I know we had some bad flooding here this year and man it sucks. I hope everyone is safe out on the east coast tonight.
Chi Meson
Aug28-11, 03:22 AM
4am and the power just went out. Am txtng from phone. Must remember to use vowels. (wow the phone puts them in for me)
Trees r doing the Crazy.
Astronuc
Aug28-11, 05:08 AM
Thanks for the advice. I'm not going out to buy any pumps just now nor tomorrow either. The solutions provided are overkill for my situation anyway. Since water started coming in I only got a gallon or so. The wet vac can keep up with it as long as I stay awake. Just now it isn't raining and there hasn't been any measurable water come in. So my floor is damp, but no puddled water anywhere. This will change of course, but I'm not expecting more than a gallon or two per hour. This is the first hurricane I've experienced in this house so I can't say for sure. Our first experience with a wet basement was as you described - it was damp and then puddling, and I could keep up with a shop vac. However, over the years, the flooding just got worse because underground channels developed. My house sits at the base of a shale ridge, and there are several acres behind us. Two channels probably developed, one at each end of the house.
The last severe flood, the hydraulic pressure was so great that there were two jets of water spewing through cracked mortar between cinders blocks. The inflow was probably 1-2 gpm at it's max. Once I pumped the water down, I could see it percolating up through a crack in the floor. The basement floor is the lowest point on the property, and that's where the water wants to go. At worst, I had 8 inches of water in the basement. The lady next door had about 1 foot of water in her basement. Her property is about a foot below ours.
We've had continual rain alternating between heavy and moderate all night long. According to the radar, we may be getting fairly heavy rains in the next hour or two. So far, we haven't lost power, although some neighborhoods have.
Jimmy Snyder
Aug28-11, 05:58 AM
Don't look so sad, you're doing a heck of a job Ireney, and you'll always be a category 5 in my heart. I dozed off at 3:00 am and got up at 6:00. It was raining steadily, but not heavily when I went to sleep and still is now. The wind amounts to no more than a gentle breeze and I am not exaggerating. Of course, I can't say what the missing 3 hours were like. If I read the weather.com map correctly, the eye is almost due east of us about 50 miles away. We still have power.
I'm going to have to take the wet vac back to the store for a refund. It was not able to remove more than about 2 gallons from my basement. In the past I've had more water in my basement, as much as 10 gallons I would say. And while we did have sustained heavy rain for many hours yesterday, I think the total rainfall was worse when I had the 10 gallons than it was in past 18 hours or so.
While I agree that the weather channel and other media have hyped this thing to a large extent, I don't think they did a bad thing. This had the potential to be much worse for me than it has been so far, and it's too early to call it a local dud. However, they may be suffering from the Jonah effect. Jonah warned the people of Nineveh to shape up or face divine punishment. They shaped up and then laughed him out of town when no disaster came. In this case I think the hype saved many lives and the media now may be subject to ridicule for their efforts. Of course, I've also heard the usual refrain that this hurricane is yet another proof of global warming.
Astronuc
Aug28-11, 06:50 AM
I think because the eye pretty much traveled along the coastline, or slightly inland, Irene is not a strong as it could have been if the eye had stayed over water. Like Jimmy S, we're getting continuous rain, but no strong winds. The winds have been little more than a breeze with an occasional gust. We just have to wait and see what this afternoon brings as the storm system passes by us.
Redbelly98
Aug28-11, 07:51 AM
There are 2 or 3 trees down in our two next door neighbors' yards. One lies across our back yard, another is blocking a lane of our street. I can also hear our sump pump running a lot of the time, pretty glad that we have it.
Jimmy Snyder
Aug28-11, 08:13 AM
There are 2 or 3 trees down in our two next door neighbors' yards. One lies across our back yard, another is blocking a lane of our street. I can also hear our sump pump running a lot of the time, pretty glad that we have it.
There's a rather largish twig of a dozen or so leaves that fell about 50 feet from my house. That's it. The crick that runs through town overflowed its banks, but the only thing that got flooded is the parking lot. I went down to the Delaware river to see how high it got. I saw a duck swimming in it and the water reached up to its butt.
Pretty windy here, with bands of rain, sorry to hear you lost power Chi, Rhody child stayed with a friend near the beach, they lost power so she drove home, what a nut !!!
Just checked the sump and it is none dry, for the moment. Will report a bit later, if the power holds out and of course the cable for internet.
Rhody... out...
FlexGunship
Aug28-11, 08:38 AM
Don't forget to go through the 5 stages of hurricane preparedness:
1. Denial. In this stage, you laugh and make jokes about the hurricane. You should never do this because there is an irony factor at play in the world and you will soon regret your jokes.
I'm sitting in the middle of it right now and I'm STILL in this stage. Can't tell the difference between this "tropical storm" and 30% of New England rainy days.
EDIT: I'm actually considering going out for a drive. Only because I want to experience more of this. I know it's stupid, but I feel a little ripped off. They say the safest place to be during a hurricane is your car, right?
FlexGunship
Aug28-11, 08:41 AM
4am and the power just went out. Am txtng from phone. Must remember to use vowels. (wow the phone puts them in for me)
Trees r doing the Crazy.
lol@chi
Jimmy Snyder
Aug28-11, 09:02 AM
S&P has downgraded Irene to AA+.
Redbelly98
Aug28-11, 09:06 AM
EDIT: I'm actually considering going out for a drive. Only because I want to experience more of this. I know it's stupid, but I feel a little ripped off. They say the safest place to be during a hurricane is your car, right?
Uh, no they don't! Maybe if you absolutely have to be outside, but you're still better off inside a building.
S&P has downgraded Irene to AA+.
:rofl:
Astronuc
Aug28-11, 09:16 AM
They say the safest place to be during a hurricane is your car, right? No responsible person would say that. The safest place is in a strong building. Houses would be better than cars, but high winds can damage houses, or send trees into them. Cars can be easily crushed by trees or branches as some have found out already. Cars can be flooded or tossed around in high enough winds.
If too many people go out, it makes it more difficult for emergency vehicles to respond.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/satellite.shtml
Apparently there is significant flooding in Philadelphia and NY City.
Hope you're doing OK, Russ!
don't worry, the govt will help us all.
I hope everyone is safe
Torrential rains here, but no heavy wind yet. In the worst-case, after the rains saturate the soil, gust winds can topple trees, crushing cars and houses and taking out the power.
Astronuc
Aug28-11, 10:08 AM
From the radar, it looks like the west side of what would have been the eyewall is going over the top of us. The rain has gotten heavier, but it's not the worst we've ever experienced. Last year, we had a very heavy downpour of between 2 to 3 inches per hr from a cell the developed on top of us. The rain was so heavy that we could not see most of the backyard from the window. We lost part of the maple tree as a result.
Surprisingly the wind has been relatively mild.
Ivan Seeking
Aug28-11, 10:50 AM
I feel a little ripped off.
Me too. If I have to watch this much news coverage of an event, you guys could at least provide a few decent disaster scenes.
Astronuc
Aug28-11, 11:17 AM
I just checked the basement sump, and it's taking two streams of water, each about a gal/min. That then is pumped out to the right of way along the street, which is now a pond. Better to have a pond in the front yard than in the basement.
Me too. If I have to watch this much news coverage of an event, you guys could at least provide a few decent disaster scenes.
http://www.fema.gov/news/disaster_totals_annual.fema
Pick your year, pick your state, pick your disaster, go to pictures and look to your hearts content.
While every disaster is different, they all look much the same.
Much wisdom by most and a storm that fell apart (thank goodness) premature, the major damage will be flooding inland.
Now that storm is well over land, it is speeding up, so hopefully it will move along and not park over us and keep dumping rain.
OmCheeto
Aug28-11, 11:49 AM
They say the safest place to be during a hurricane is your car, right?
No responsible person would say that.
More deaths!
Officials say that at least two people have been found dead in New Jersey in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. ....
“She left her house, went in her car and was swept away"
The Salem County woman had called 911 after her car had been washed away by a flash flood. The woman, who has not been publicly identified yet, was found dead in her car around 9:30 a.m.
Car = Dead.
Stay home!
According to Jack Burns, director of Hudson County's Office of Emergency Management, a man was found dead shortly after 10 p.m. in Kearny, but no other details have been released about that yet.
Maybe it's that guy who jumped off the bridge in North Carolina.
I just checked the basement sump, and it's taking two streams of water, each about a gal/min. That then is pumped out to the right of way along the street, which is now a pond. Better to have a pond in the front yard than in the basement.
You might consider, if the basement walls are main support for the house and water inside is kept low, the water pressure pushing in on the walls from outside (depending on height) will have a tendency to push the walls inward. If the walls are compromised the foundation strength might be at risk.
Letting water build up inside might be a wise choice ? A flood policy would cover utilities in a basement, but not much else.
If you have a flood policy, you might have some potential coverage for a damaged foundation.
Just something to consider.
Ron
Chi Meson
Aug28-11, 11:51 AM
The worst is already passed by. There wAs very little rain while the wind was windiest. We got to watch our neighbors tree snap in half. I immediately thought "fuel!"
(Turbo understands)
Yep! There is usually a lot of fuel to be had after storms like this. Some people will pay you to come take it away!
Chi Meson
Aug28-11, 11:57 AM
lol@chi
Lol@yrslf. Safest place is under large tree!
Ivan Seeking
Aug28-11, 12:00 PM
http://www.fema.gov/news/disaster_totals_annual.fema
Pick your year, pick your state, pick your disaster, go to pictures and look to your hearts content.
While every disaster is different, they all look much the same.
Much wisdom by most and a storm that fell apart (thank goodness) premature, the major damage will be flooding inland.
I was just joking, or course. :biggrin: Yes, I'm glad this wasn't as bad as it might have been. I was particularly concerned about the potential of flooding in New York City. With all of the homeless and whatnot, that might have gotten really ugly. And in money terms, even Wall Street was in jeopardy! Not good.
Truthfully, however, I have been annoyed that since this started, we haven't seen anything about Libya, or anything else for that matter.
Encarta
Aug28-11, 01:17 PM
What's this about duct taping windows criss-crossed? All you see in Facebook and Twitter are of people duct taping their windows in X's against the supporting frames. When asked, they say that duct taping it will prevent the windows from resonating to the natural frequency of the winds outside.
Redbelly98
Aug28-11, 01:48 PM
Supposedly the tape helps contain the glass fragments when the window breaks.
CosmicEye
Aug28-11, 02:06 PM
What a weak storm. Iexpected a little more I guess. Im kind of disappointed that it was expected to be a cat 2 or 3 by the time it was by DC, but it was barely a cat 1.
People are stupid. There have been numberous deaths of people being hit by falling trees while they were driving. a) what is so important that you have to drive, even if it is just a cat 1, b) people dont realize that rain doesnt kill, trees do.
Some people were even seen jogging with their dogs in the middle of it like its a pleasant spring shower. What are people thinking?!? I dont get it.. They deserved to die
Encarta
Aug28-11, 02:16 PM
Supposedly the tape helps contain the glass fragments when the window breaks.
I don't think it would. But, what about this: The windows of one's house could resonate to the natural frequencies of the winds outside, causing it to break. Does that sound like a dubious claim at all?
Ivan Seeking
Aug28-11, 02:21 PM
I don't think it would.
Why?
Jimmy Snyder
Aug28-11, 02:25 PM
I don't think it would. But, what about this: The windows of one's house could resonate to the natural frequencies of the winds outside, causing it to break. Does that sound like a dubious claim at all?
The tape would change the natural frequency of the glass. But what if it changed it to match the wind?
Encarta
Aug28-11, 02:51 PM
Why?
Criss-crossing duct tape on windows, I fail to see how it could prevent debris or even strong winds directly blowing against the window pane from breaking it into a thousand different pieces.
Maybe if you applied the tape to the entire window, leaving no part exposed, you would maybe have a better chance at reducing the work required to clean up the window.
Redbelly98
Aug28-11, 03:01 PM
Supposedly the tape helps contain the glass fragments when the window breaks.
I don't think it would.
I'm not claiming it works, but this is what I heard on the radio (WNYC, an NPR affiliate) Friday. The person making the claim was George Contreras, professor of emergency and disaster management at Metropolitan College, on The Brian Lehrer Show. I'm inclined to believe someone like that before I believe some people posting in Facebook.
Criss-crossing duct tape on windows, I fail to see how it could prevent debris or even strong winds directly blowing against the window pane from breaking it into a thousand different pieces.
It's not to prevent breakage, it's to better contain the breakage (according to the above source).
Making a cross of heavy tape on a window may help restrain the glass so that it will break into larger pieces instead of shattering. I'm not about to try it out.
Dadface
Aug28-11, 03:11 PM
Taping windows also gives some protection against bomb blasts.The method has been used for many years for example during the blitz of world war two.
Encarta
Aug28-11, 03:17 PM
Taping windows also gives some protection against bomb blasts.The method has been used for many years for example during the blitz of world war two.
Be that as it may (although it still sounds far-fetched), I don't think that's just by criss-crossing windows.
Be that as it may (although it still sounds far-fetched), I don't think that's just by criss-crossing windows.You do a fair amount of criscrossing, you dont just make an X and you should use masking tape, I pity the people that put duct tape on their windows. It's only for helping with pickup of broken glass, and it does prevent the glass from flying. When did the myths about it strengthening windows or this frequency BS start? Oh yeah, the internet... :uhh:
Chi Meson
Aug28-11, 03:39 PM
Well that's it then. All over but for the cleanup. I eyeballed a good cord n a half of nice wood for the next winter. Trouble is my only working chainsaw is electric
And I don't think we'll get any of that for a few days yet.
I'd loan you mine Chi but you live a long 'way away, and I might need it before this is all over.
Jimmy Snyder
Aug28-11, 03:54 PM
Patches of blue have appeared. Now the sun is shining.
A black walnut tree broke in half last month in a thunderstorm. One place got wind gusts over 100mph. But we're in Kansas, so no one cares.
Jimmy Snyder
Aug28-11, 03:56 PM
A black walnut tree broke in half last month in a thunderstorm. One place got wind gusts over 100mph. But we're in Kansas, so no one cares.
I care. No way do I want that stuff in South Jersey.
Just went to Walmart. They are completely cleaned out on flashlights and D cells. I actually found a pack of D cells in the middle of a C cell bin, so I lucked out. But I've never seen a Walmart so empty on camping/emergency supplies.
Astronuc
Aug28-11, 04:13 PM
A black walnut tree broke in half last month in a thunderstorm. One place got wind gusts over 100mph. But we're in Kansas, so no one cares. We care.
Driving through it right now. It sucks
wuliheron
Aug28-11, 04:51 PM
A black walnut tree broke in half last month in a thunderstorm. One place got wind gusts over 100mph. But we're in Kansas, so no one cares.
Black walnut is particularly weak. It makes pretty furniture and good firewood, but I wouldn't want any growing near the house.
Black walnut is particularly weak. It makes pretty furniture and good firewood, but I wouldn't want any growing near the house.The ravine next to my house is full of them. Because they are so far down in the ravine, they are no threat, the just fall into the ravine.
Still a shame when a tall tree breaks in half though.
We don't have black walnuts here, but we have butternut trees, which are just as prone to wind-damage. Trouble is: they tend to grow very tall and large, and when they come down, they can cause all sorts of damage.
Thanks to the saturated soils, we are losing trees at a rapid clip. Fire and police are scrambling to clear the roads. There have been a couple of emergency calls in the last hour or so, for which the ambulances have been unable to get by blockages to pick up the patients.
Rain has slowed, but winds are speeding up with gusts anticipated at 60 mph. That's plenty to uproot trees from the saturated soil, so I might not be on-line much longer.
Proton Soup
Aug28-11, 05:36 PM
we found out the hard way that pecans lose limbs too easily as well.
shame about the black walnuts. they taste great, even though getting the meat out is a dirty, messy chore.
wuliheron
Aug28-11, 06:02 PM
The ravine next to my house is full of them. Because they are so far down in the ravine, they are no threat, the just fall into the ravine.
Still a shame when a tall tree breaks in half though.
Its called free firewood, and there's nothing shameful about free. If you prefer though you can think of it as the "circle of life" and just let it rot there.
P.S.- Those beautiful black streaks in the wood (called "figure" in any wood) are where the grain is weakest and growing on a slope it will be so full of splits and cracks its useless for furniture.
Its called free firewood, and there's nothing shameful about free. If you prefer though you can think of it as the "circle of life" and just let it rot there.Good firewood, I wonder if I can make it down to where the tree is? Well, obviously I can get down there, question is can I get back out, the tree fell on the steep side. My poor little dog got too close to the edge and started sliding down until he hit a tree, he had a very hard time getting out and he wasn't that far down.
wuliheron
Aug28-11, 06:43 PM
Good firewood, I wonder if I can make it down to where the tree is? Well, obviously I can get down there, question is can I get back out, the tree fell on the steep side. My poor little dog got too close to the edge and started sliding down until he hit a tree, he had a very hard time getting out and he wasn't that far down.
If its that steep and you aren't familiar with handling chain saws and winches I'd let it rot.
If its that steep and you aren't familiar with handling chain saws and winches I'd let it rot.Chain-saw + Evo = gruesome death.
Redbelly98
Aug28-11, 07:34 PM
Warning: keep remaining fingers away from blade!
Warning: keep remaining fingers away from blade!Warning: Keep remaining limbs from chain as long as you have hand on the grip and a finger on the throttle.
wuliheron
Aug28-11, 08:05 PM
There are chaps and gloves you can buy these days that make chain saws safer then ever. You can literally run the saw over your leg and it stops instantly before you even get scratched. However, that doesn't help if the chain saw bucks or the log rolls over you.
Proton Soup
Aug28-11, 08:08 PM
find another way into the ravine. hike in from the bottom with a hand saw, and carry out one piece of wood per day. now you've got an upper/lower body workout to keep you busy til winter. :biggrin:
Jimmy Snyder
Aug28-11, 08:09 PM
There are chaps and gloves you can buy these days that make chain saws safer then ever.
I used to have a business selling chaps to gay caballeros.
Who is that gaucho, amigo?
Redbelly98
Aug28-11, 08:34 PM
find another way into the ravine. hike in from the bottom with a hand saw, and carry out one piece of wood per day. now you've got an upper/lower body workout to keep you busy til winter. :biggrin:
That would get tiring, carrying all that wood up and out the long way around. Instead, drop all the wood in place at the bottom of the ravine. Use some of it to build a sturdy beaver-style dam. Hike back to the top, wait for the rising creek waters to deliver all that loose wood into your waiting arms. Saweet!
that would get tiring, carrying all that wood up and out the long way around. Instead, drop all the wood in place at the bottom of the ravine. Use some of it to build a sturdy beaver-style dam. Hike back to the top, wait for the rising creek waters to deliver all that loose wood into your waiting arms. Saweet!lol!
Maybe I can pay a couple of sturdy teen boys to tie ropes to it and we can haul it up the side.
lol!
Maybe I can pay a couple of sturdy teen boys to tie ropes to it and we can haul it up the side.
Only if you have a different brand of teens than I do. Last year, I offered to pay minimum-wage (cash and tax-free) to a teen to stack firewood for me. He showed up for part a day, and part of another and then dropped off the Earth. Earlier, he had been complaining that he'd have to earn over $400 to take student-driver training, but as soon as actual wood-stacking was involved, his enthusiasm for earning money disappeared.
A picture a member drew of me sawing a limb off of a tree.
http://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=576571&postcount=72
A picture a member drew of me sawing a limb off of a tree.
http://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=576571&postcount=72
:rofl: love that
We've got bridges completely gone, and roads washed out. Still I have electricity. What a mackerel!!
I have to be so happy about the diminishing winds. Maybe I can have Internet and music tonight!
Astronuc
Aug29-11, 07:01 AM
Far from a dud, hurricane Irene caused the worst upstate flooding in years
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Hurricane-Irene-Hudson-Valley-Floods-New-York-128567338.html
And police and emergency responders had to rescue loads of stupid people who decided to drive their cars into flood waters or take their boats or canoes into unsafe streams.
It nice - cool and sunny. The rain stopped about 12 hours ago, but our basement sump is still receiving a strong stream of water. Fortunately, we did not lose power during the storm.
Astronuc
Aug29-11, 08:49 AM
It took me about an hour to get to work this morning, when it normally takes 13 minutes. One of the major roads through the area was close due to flooding.
A colleague is trying to get to Washington DC, but flights were cancelled, Amtrak is not operating, and many highways (including Interstates) and roads are impassable, and others are congested.
Jimmy Snyder
Aug29-11, 09:22 AM
Below is a link to some snapshots I took this morning in town.
Picassa album. (https://picasaweb.google.com/jsnyder527/Irene#)
Astronuc
Aug29-11, 09:32 AM
The Trenton railroad station is flooded after the nearby Assunpink Creek rose to record levels and overflowed its banks, sending a torrent of water flowing through residential streets to the Delaware River.
SEPTA buses, trains and trolleys are operating, but service is suspended on the Cynwyd, Paoli/Thorndale, Norristown, and Trenton lines because of residual storm-related problems.
N.J. Transit rail service remains suspended until further notice, except on the Atlantic City Rail Line, and bus and light rail lines are running on a modified schedule, the agency says.
Amtrak says its trains are operating between Philadelphia and Washington but not between Philadelphia and Boston.
A different article - Philadelphia copes with outages, flooding after Irene
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/128571183.html
Much further north, the Mohawk River in upstate NY, west of Albany/Schenectady may reach record flood levels. That is 100 - 150 miles N/NNW of NY City.
Below is a link to some snapshots I took this morning in town.
Picassa album. (https://picasaweb.google.com/jsnyder527/Irene#)
Except for the water everywhere, it looks like a beautiful day. I hope you and your wife are reunited soon!
Below is a link to some snapshots I took this morning in town.
Picassa album. (https://picasaweb.google.com/jsnyder527/Irene#)
That was great!! I noticed that people had abandoned hope of even taking small boats to cross the great expanses of flood waters. I hope that someday you and your wife are reunited amid the chaos.
wuliheron
Aug29-11, 09:47 AM
It took me about an hour to get to work this morning, when it normally takes 13 minutes. One of the major roads through the area was close due to flooding.
A colleague is trying to get to Washington DC, but flights were cancelled, Amtrak is not operating, and many highways (including Interstates) and roads are impassable, and others are congested.
Welcome to the future. With the greenhouse effect, industrialization, and overpopulation you can expect this to become a fairly regular occurrence. Already some of the worst flooding has occurred in known flood plains where people were warned not to build. Within fifty years the estimates are that i95 will require 18 lanes one way and you'll be able to drive from NY to Miami without ever leaving the city.... weather permitting of course.
The midwest has been suffering from terrible floods all year, not nearly as bad as the great flood of 1993 when this part of the country was mostly under water, and of course, there are now houses were there were lakes back in 1993, people will never learn.
Many of the roads are prone to flooding and just about every street has major construction going on right now to add super drainage, makes it a nightmare to try to get anywhere though.
wuliheron
Aug29-11, 10:01 AM
You'd think people would have gotten the message after New Orleans, but denial still lingers.
You'd think people would have gotten the message after New Orleans, but denial still lingers.
People have short memories once the mess is cleaned up.
Astronuc
Aug29-11, 10:42 AM
I took a picture earlier of a house a few blocks from my office. The local creek was flowing out the window of the basement. There are many flooded homes. I'm going to go out again later, but I think there's probably a pile of debris blocking flow down stream of the creek, which winds its way through the town. Some parts are not easily accessible because of private properties.
A friend who lives near Chi M mentioned that central Connecticut got flooding. Some guy thought it would cool to canoe down main street in the rushing water. His canoe capsized and he was swept into the river. The retrieved his body down river.
Update: I've attached two images taken a couple of blocks from my office. The car in the driveway is on the south side of a creek/brook. The depth is about 10 feet or so from the rod surface. The water is up to bottom of the bridge deck. In the back ground is a floating oil tank, and a car repair shop that is underwater. Several car in the parking area were in 3+ feet of water.
The house in the second photo is on the north side of the creek. The water is backed up. The water is flowing out of the window, so there is more water behind the house trying to get to the creek.
Jimmy Snyder
Aug29-11, 11:09 AM
You'd think people would have gotten the message after New Orleans, but denial still lingers.
The people of my town have been in denial since 1677. The town was settled because of the crick. A dam and a mill race were soon built and thus yesterday's flooding became inevitable. I think the townspeople are ready admit that the past 330 years have been a huge mistake and relocate the whole shebang to the Gobi desert.
We lost power briefly several times during the day yesterday, probably due to switching at substations to cope with down power lines. This road is quite susceptible to outages, but somehow, we didn't lose power. The severe T-storms and micro-bursts of earlier in the summer might have taken down most of the weaker trees.
The state has localized road damage due to flooding, including roads that are washed out and in need of rebuilding, and we lost some bridges, too. Major rivers don't seem to be too much of a problem, but they will likely crest later after water arrives from headwaters in the mountains. All in all, quite a bit of damage from the rains. Irene was only a tropical depression when she hit, but still packed a bit of a punch.
Q_Goest
Aug29-11, 12:12 PM
Pennsylvania consists of Philadelphia on one end, Pittsburgh on the other, and West Virginia in between. I'm just north of Allentown and power here has been out since Saturday night. PP&L Electric says they have tens of thousands of homes without power and it's been like,,, almost 2 days now.
Other than that, not much happened. Couple trees down...
I have a renewed disrespect for PP&L. Glad we didn't get a hurricane through here!
FlexGunship
Aug29-11, 12:32 PM
Uh, no they don't! Maybe if you absolutely have to be outside, but you're still better off inside a building.
:rofl:
No responsible person would say that.
Uh, it was supposed to be ironic.
wuliheron
Aug29-11, 12:36 PM
The people of my town have been in denial since 1677. The town was settled because of the crick. A dam and a mill race were soon built and thus yesterday's flooding became inevitable. I think the townspeople are ready admit that the past 330 years have been a huge mistake and relocate the whole shebang to the Gobi desert.
We have regular flooding where I live too, but no water is worse then too much. Eventually people raise their houses off the ground or move to higher ground. After the last hurricane we had an entire town raise their houses ten feet off the ground. Less then a block away I have a state owned marsh that during the hurricane came right up to my front door. The worst problems occur when the population explodes and unscrupulous land developers begin corrupting the political process.
wuliheron
Aug29-11, 12:42 PM
People have short memories once the mess is cleaned up.
Its not just short memories, but greed and denial triumphing over sanity. Some have even suggested NY was hit because they recently legalized gay marriage and it was God's wrath. Remember, these are the same Americans that recently 60% of them suspected their president wasn't even a citizen and still believe in ghosts and creationism.
Jack21222
Aug29-11, 12:59 PM
Damage report from a Baltimore suburb:
Power lines down in front of my next-door neighbor's house, as well as a few houses down and around the corner, crossing the street. A large tree fell across the road, taking out the power lines with it. The power lines being hit by the tree caused a domino-like chain reaction, and 4 poles are down. Cannot see what the tree landed on, but the closest pole is in splinters and smashed a mailbox.
We lost power at 3am Sunday morning, and we have not yet seen a utility truck. It might be a week before I get electricity back, and maybe even longer for Internet, because cable lines were run from that pole.
There were half a million people without power here in Maryland, so it's hard to guess when we might get service restored.
We have a gas generator to power my sister's hospital bed, the refrigerator, and a fan.
I'm posting from my phone, which I had to charge in my car.
For a "dud," this has been a serious disruption to my life.
Astronuc
Aug29-11, 01:17 PM
I think we caught a bullet or grenade rather than a cannon ball or artillery shell. Irene has been pretty destructive in our area and further north.
West, north and east of us, there are several towns underwater. Some roads and bridges have been washed out, homes and businesses have been washed out or severely damaged.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/videos-show-upstate-york-vermont-irene-flooding-153510538.html
The scanner is still very busy today, as light winds topple trees out of saturated soil and they come in contact with power lines. Some of the smaller rivers locally (mostly fed from the western mountains) have experienced flood surges, at times over-topping nearby roads by 4-5 feet. Irene is getting in the "last word".
Oops. Military Drives Under Water (http://www.wjactv.com/video/29011644/index.html?source=CNN)
Oops. Military Drives Under Water (http://www.wjactv.com/video/29011644/index.html?source=CNN)
:confused: Just...wow. Wonder if they were just following the GPS.
I wonder if part of the problem with downed power lines there is because, you have your lines on poles.
Where I live there are no utility poles to be seen, everything is underground. Some of the rural and older areas around here still have poles.
Jack21222
Aug29-11, 02:41 PM
Whenever power and Internet are restored, I'll post pictures in this thread of the downed poles on my street. The utility company just came by to assess the area. With any luck, I'll have power by tomorrow evening.
I wonder if part of the problem with downed power lines there is because, you have your lines on poles.
Where I live there are no utility poles to be seen, everything is underground. Some of the rural and older areas around here still have poles.
There are over 10 million Poles in US, which is apparently not enough to put power lines above ground in all states.
I wonder if part of the problem with downed power lines there is because, you have your lines on poles.
Where I live there are no utility poles to be seen, everything is underground. Some of the rural and older areas around here still have poles.Maine is very rocky, ledg-ey (if that's a word) and rural. It would be prohibitively expensive to bury everything. We also have severe winter weather and rocks that migrate upward on ice-lenses every winter, which makes burying fiber-optics problematic because you can't possible trench the cables deeply enough to escape damage from such rocks.
If all utilities, data companies, phone companies got together to share the cost of burying cables and wires and fiber-optic bundles, rural counties like mine would still have all that crap draped between poles. It's just not cost-effective to bury everything. I was the IT manager for a large ophthalmic practice when a start-up data company wanted us to tie in as they connected Bangor, Waterville, Portland, etc via buried optical-fiber bundles. I asked for assurances regarding reliability, and their willingness to pay for us to revert to phone-based systems if their network failed. I was unable to obtain any such assurances, and the owners of the practice opted to stay with copper when they read my report.
There are over 10 million Poles in US, which is apparently not enough to put power lines above ground in all states.:rofl::rofl::rofl:
Astronuc
Aug29-11, 02:54 PM
I wonder if part of the problem with downed power lines there is because, you have your lines on poles.
Where I live there are no utility poles to be seen, everything is underground. Some of the rural and older areas around here still have poles. We have a lot of utilities above ground. Newer, more recent, construction tends to put services underground.
We have a lot of utilities above ground. Newer, more recent, construction tends to put services underground.At our last house, we were in a "modern" subdivision (30+ years) and the phone and electrical service were buried all through our neighborhood, but only from the street to the houses. Transformers were housed in buried vaults, and that set-up was not without its faults. Growing pains.
Transformers were housed in buried vaults, and that set-up was not without its faults. Growing pains.
Ever since I worked for a power utility, mentioning underground vaults with transformers brings back bad memories. Not good for workers when they are in there when a circuit shorts to ground. :cry:
Jimmy Snyder
Aug29-11, 03:33 PM
The Delaware river has just slightly overflowed its banks in Burlington, NJ. There are hundreds of trees and branches floating in the river making a kind of logjam island in the center. It's funny to watch the waterfowl treating it just like an island. There is more flooding in my town than I realized this morning. Even though my house is high and dry, most of the roads leading to it are flooded. The weather today is fine, you couldn't ask for better.
Maine is very rocky, ledg-ey (if that's a word) and rural. It would be prohibitively expensive to bury everything. We also have severe winter weather and rocks that migrate upward on ice-lenses every winter, which makes burying fiber-optics problematic because you can't possible trench the cables deeply enough to escape damage from such rocks.
If all utilities, data companies, phone companies got together to share the cost of burying cables and wires and fiber-optic bundles, rural counties like mine would still have all that crap draped between poles. It's just not cost-effective to bury everything. I was the IT manager for a large ophthalmic practice when a start-up data company wanted us to tie in as they connected Bangor, Waterville, Portland, etc via buried optical-fiber bundles. I asked for assurances regarding reliability, and their willingness to pay for us to revert to phone-based systems if their network failed. I was unable to obtain any such assurances, and the owners of the practice opted to stay with copper when they read my report.You can run fiber optic on poles.
You can run fiber optic on poles.We already do, but the comments about burying utilities are inapplicable to sparsely-populated regions in harsh climates.
We already do, but the comments about burying utilities are inapplicable to sparsely-populated regions in harsh climates.My comment was about the problems with so many outages is that those areas have aerial wires, outages are to be expected any time there's a bit of wind or ice.
My comment was about the problems with so many outages is that those areas have aerial wires, outages are to be expected any time there's a bit of wind or ice.I'm pretty sure that there are bean-counters at the power companies that balance the cost of overtime for storm repairs, calling in crews from adjacent states, provinces, etc vs the cost to harden those utilities by burying the transmission lines. It is a business decision. Consumers don't get to make those decisions. The Maine Public Utilities Commission (a toothless lackey of the utilities, IMO) and the utilities themselves make those decisions.
I have to say I agree with you Chi, I am not upset by this at all, whereas some people as you stated whip themselves into a frenzy. If this tropical storm, sits on top of us and churns then flooding could be a problem. I have a french drain system on the low side of my house, and it has survived a 4 inch rain dousing before. Granted, we had power, so the sump pump could function, as I remember, it wasn't for very long, if at all. All my drains are clear and attached at the moment. My major concern is losing power for an extended period, that may cause a problem, other than that, just bring everything inside, and take some pictures and video's. If the rollers get very big, I may take some wave video and post it. If they are not dramatic, I won't bother.
Rhody... :grumpy:
ACK !!! I am back, 29 hours without power !!! The storm did not dump much rain, well to the west of us. But the winds were in the 80's, gusts, I where I live. I went outside about 1 pm on Sunday and had to lean into it. I know what 80 mph feels like because I do it (every once in awhile, cough cough... on my beast of a bike). We were lucky because if the rain had buried us we would be a week without power, because of ten times the number of trees being down. I took some HD video if the front yard, tree's bending in big wind gusts and got sand blasted at the beach taking more DD video. I will post in the next couple of days, and provide a link.
For sure a 2000 watt gas generator will be on my short term list, if we had gotten 10 or more inches of rain, my basement would have flooded for sure. My backup plan was to put bailing buckets near the sump hole, great plan, huh ?
The generator would allow us to keep the pump, fridge and one TV running, perhaps the modem and router and one laptop as well.
We dodged a bullet. BTW the island I live on was knocked out by one of those huge towers that hold three high tension wires on each side, the deliver about 440,000 volts each, one of the insulators failed in the wind and dropped the high voltage line on the ground, causing it to FAIL !!!
The failure maybe lack of maintenance on the insulator's, can't be sure, but it knocked out about 40,000 people's power. There are coming back, one zone at a time. Both hurricane Bob and Gloria pummeled the same wires with 110 - 120 mph wind gusts, but those same insulators did not fail that time, hard to say for sure what caused it.
I was starting to have PF withdrawal, and I must say, it isn't pretty, anyway I am back.
Did anyone miss me ? Turbo ? I haven't read to the end of the thread yet so I apologize. I will after I post this.
Rhody... :biggrin:
Astronuc
Aug29-11, 06:28 PM
My comment was about the problems with so many outages is that those areas have aerial wires, outages are to be expected any time there's a bit of wind or ice. In the local city, many power lines are under the street, as is the case in NY City. Ocassionally there are shorts, or sections shutdown due to flooding.
The matter: Would Burying Power Lines Reduce Power Outages? is discussed here:
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/29/140042767/would-burying-power-lines-reduce-power-outages
Basically, it costs considerably more to bury power lines. One rule of thumb is a cost differential of $1 million/mi, or buried lines cost 10x overhead. And as for risk, it's trading one kind of risk for another.
In the Northeast, much of the ground is rock, so burying utilites is problematic, especially where the limited earthen ground is subject to flooding.
On my way home from work, I stopped in the local neighborhoods to see some of the flooding, which had subsided a little. It's still a problem for homeowners along the creek that had overflowed. The water was down a few inches but still high enough to flood basements. I could also smell fuel - probably gasoline and diesel fuel.
And I was treated to an example of 'stupidity being trumped by ineptitude'. Some idiot swiped a plastic garbage container from a city park and attempted to set off down the rushing creek! He failed when the can tipped sideways and he ended up in the water, while still hangin to a fence. The container floated off down the creek. Had he succeeded in getting into the creek proper, he likely would have drowned, or otherwise been bashed on the rocks of the waterfall further downstream.
Chain-saw + Evo = gruesome death.
I read what I missed. Just caught up on a few gems in the thread, like this one...
Nice Turbo... funny, I was thinking the same thing when the storm was knocking them down. We must think alike...
Rhody...
A picture a member drew of me sawing a limb off of a tree.
http://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=576571&postcount=72
That's a beauty Evo. We all know you wouldn't do that, but other horrendous side effects could befall you. The movie "The Final Destination XX" comes to mind.
Rhody...
DoggerDan
Aug29-11, 06:48 PM
Most utilities are underground, here, including fiber. Then again, I live in Colorado.
I don't know why people keep building their houses on the sand, particularly sandy spits known to shift significantly over time. One woman in a video said, "You see people who have built their lifetime dream and then lose it."
Oh, wah. Next time build your house somewhere other than a high-risk hurricane and flood zone. Either that or build it to withstand the elements.
Video: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/videos-show-upstate-york-vermont-irene-flooding-153510538.html
Astronuc
Aug29-11, 07:03 PM
I don't know why people keep building their houses on the sand, particularly sandy spits known to shift significantly over time. One woman in a video said, "You see people who have built their lifetime dream and then lose it." I caught that same comment. It just boggles my mind that people build multi-million dollar dwellings only 15 to 20 feet above mean sea level on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, where one can expect to have a major hurricane during a given 30 year period, or less in some cases.
On the other hand, most people cannot afford to buy a house that could withstand a hurricane or tornado.
There were very few homes build to withstand hurricane conditions on Bolivar peninsula. They got slammed during September 2008.
http://geology.com/usgs/hurricane-ike-pictures.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Ike
I do not want to be in the path a hurricane like Andrew or Ike.
ACK !!! I am back, 29 hours without power !!! The storm did not dump much rain, well to the west of us. But the winds were in the 80's, gusts, I where I live. I went outside about 1 pm on Sunday and had to lean into it. I know what 80 mph feels like because I do it (every once in awhile, cough cough... on my beast of a bike). We were lucky because if the rain had buried us we would be a week without power, because of ten times the number of trees being down. I took some HD video if the front yard, tree's bending in big wind gusts and got sand blasted at the beach taking more DD video. I will post in the next couple of days, and provide a link.
For sure a 2000 watt gas generator will be on my short term list, if we had gotten 10 or more inches of rain, my basement would have flooded for sure. My backup plan was to put bailing buckets near the sump hole, great plan, huh ?
The generator would allow us to keep the pump, fridge and one TV running, perhaps the modem and router and one laptop as well.
We dodged a bullet. BTW the island I live on was knocked out by one of those huge towers that hold three high tension wires on each side, the deliver about 440,000 volts each, one of the insulators failed in the wind and dropped the high voltage line on the ground, causing it to FAIL !!!
The failure maybe lack of maintenance on the insulator's, can't be sure, but it knocked out about 40,000 people's power. There are coming back, one zone at a time. Both hurricane Bob and Gloria pummeled the same wires with 110 - 120 mph wind gusts, but those same insulators did not fail that time, hard to say for sure what caused it.
I was starting to have PF withdrawal, and I must say, it isn't pretty, anyway I am back.
Did anyone miss me ? Turbo ? I haven't read to the end of the thread yet so I apologize. I will after I post this.
Rhody... :biggrin:
Welcome back, Rhody :smile:!
Welcome back, Rhody :smile:!
Thanks Lisa, at least somebody noticed, sniff sniff... hehe... just kidding.
I don't care to repeat that experience ever again.
I brought my hot peppers inside, they did fine, back in the sun tomorrow, waiting for the lot to turn red. May try some seeds on large not ripe ones to see how hot they are. Any more takers on seeds ? I will have a ton of them to mail to PF'ers only, Astro, want some more ?
Rhody...
OmCheeto
Aug29-11, 08:50 PM
Thanks for the advice. I'm not going out to buy any pumps just now nor tomorrow either. The solutions provided are overkill for my situation anyway. Since water started coming in I only got a gallon or so. The wet vac can keep up with it as long as I stay awake. Just now it isn't raining and there hasn't been any measurable water come in. So my floor is damp, but no puddled water anywhere. This will change of course, but I'm not expecting more than a gallon or two per hour. This is the first hurricane I've experienced in this house so I can't say for sure.
A gallon! I had a gallon leaking into my boat about every 15 minutes yesterday.
http://home.europa.com/~garry/pfemergencyboathurricanedewateringsystem.jpg
I'm keeping my system.
Here's my next idea for your problem....
http://www.janitechcorp.com/products/equipment/Traditional%20Cotton%20Cut%20End%20Wet%20Mop.jpg
Went to local Stop and Shop to pick up items for dinner yesterday. They got power back at 1 pm, this was around 6 pm or so. They were putting all the refrigerated/frozen food back on the shelves. They had an 18 wheel truck with containers to hold it, and another 18 wheel refrigerated truck with new stuff and dry ice to boot. The manager who answered a product question had been at work 36 hours straight to make sure everything was taken care of and no food was lost. I would say she went way above and beyond the call of duty to make sure they stores losses were kept to a minimum. Other food stores only had dry foods, etc... so I assume that meant they had to throw their refrigerated/frozen food out. Kudo's to the resourceful manager at our local market.
Rhody...
We came back to find a lot of debris in our yard and only 2 downed branches. Neighbors said we lost power for about 30 hours or so, but it was back on by the time we got home yesterday late afternoon. It appears that the outage was not directly linked to the storm as it was a motorist hitting a pole which caused the outage by us.
The storm surge plus high tide created at flood of about 2 feet 10 inches in my garage - which was about 6 inches lower than the 2009 Nor'easter. That was good news - means no water in our first floor. We did however get flooding in our cellar where the furnace is - so that will have to be replaced - not a huge worry in southeastern Virginia in August. :smile:
All the reports and data I have seen seem to indicate that Irene was not a hurricane once it hit us near Virginia Beach and Norfolk. Has anyone else seen any data? My neighbors were all in agreement that the winds were quite minimal and seemed to be less than the 2009 Nor'easter and much less than Isabel.
That is not to minimize the damage, the rain and flooding were very bad. As we were driving back from the Shenandoah area, we saw many more downed trees in Richmond/Williamsburg than in Norfolk/Virginia Beach area.
Astronuc
Aug30-11, 08:28 AM
We came back to find a lot of debris in our yard and only 2 downed branches. Neighbors said we lost power for about 30 hours or so, but it was back on by the time we got home yesterday late afternoon. It appears that the outage was not directly linked to the storm as it was a motorist hitting a pole which caused the outage by us.
The storm surge plus high tide created at flood of about 2 feet 10 inches in my garage - which was about 6 inches lower than the 2009 Nor'easter. That was good news - means no water in our first floor. We did however get flooding in our cellar where the furnace is - so that will have to be replaced - not a huge worry in southeastern Virginia in August. :smile:
All the reports and data I have seen seem to indicate that Irene was not a hurricane once it hit us near Virginia Beach and Norfolk. Has anyone else seen any data? My neighbors were all in agreement that the winds were quite minimal and seemed to be less than the 2009 Nor'easter and much less than Isabel.
That is not to minimize the damage, the rain and flooding were very bad. As we were driving back from the Shenandoah area, we saw many more downed trees in Richmond/Williamsburg than in Norfolk/Virginia Beach area. If one checks the archive for IRENE, it was still classified as a hurricane as is approached NJ.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2011/IRENE.shtml?
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2011/al09/al092011.public_a.031.shtml?
BULLETIN
HURRICANE IRENE INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 31A
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL092011
200 AM EDT SUN AUG 28 2011
...IRENE MOVING UP THE MID-ATLANTIC COAST...WATER LEVELS RISING FROM
MARYLAND TO NEW YORK...
SUMMARY OF 200 AM EDT...0600 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...38.1N 75.0W
ABOUT 15 MI...25 KM SSE OF OCEAN CITY MARYLAND
ABOUT 195 MI...315 KM SSW OF NEW YORK CITY
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...80 MPH...130 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNE OR 20 DEGREES AT 17 MPH...28 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...958 MB...28.29 INCHES
BTW - Tropical Depression 12 has evolved into Tropical Storm Katia and is expected to develop into a hurricane during the next 5 days. It may be a Cat 2 by the time is passes Puerto Rico.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2011/KATIA.shtml?
Jimmy Snyder
Aug30-11, 08:39 AM
My neighbors were all in agreement that the winds were quite minimal and seemed to be less than the 2009 Nor'easter and much less than Isabel.
In my neighborhood of South Jersey it was close to a dead calm during most of the hurricane. I can't explain that.
In my neighborhood of South Jersey it was close to a dead calm during most of the hurricane. I can't explain that.
Jimmy,
Most likely because of the bulk of the hurricane was west of you ?
We got mostly wind on Sunday during the day, and the bulk of the rain we did get came in Saturday evening.
Rhody...
If one checks the archive for IRENE, it was still classified as a hurricane as is approached NJ.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2011/IRENE.shtml?
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2011/al09/al092011.public_a.031.shtml?
BULLETIN
HURRICANE IRENE INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 31A
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL092011
200 AM EDT SUN AUG 28 2011
...IRENE MOVING UP THE MID-ATLANTIC COAST...WATER LEVELS RISING FROM
MARYLAND TO NEW YORK...
SUMMARY OF 200 AM EDT...0600 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...38.1N 75.0W
ABOUT 15 MI...25 KM SSE OF OCEAN CITY MARYLAND
ABOUT 195 MI...315 KM SSW OF NEW YORK CITY
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...80 MPH...130 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNE OR 20 DEGREES AT 17 MPH...28 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...958 MB...28.29 INCHES
BTW - Tropical Depression 12 has evolved into Tropical Storm Katia and is expected to develop into a hurricane during the next 5 days. It may be a Cat 2 by the time is passes Puerto Rico.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2011/KATIA.shtml?
Astronuc,
I am aware of what the NHC has said, but if you look at the data from the weather stations - specifically Langley Air Force Base (near NASA Langley) and the Virginia Beach and Norfolk stations, they never registered sustained winds above 60 mph - gusts were typically constrained to less than 70 mph.
You can see an example here: http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KLFI/2011/8/27/DailyHistory.html
EDIT:
I finally found the link I was looking for: http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2011/08/when-did-irene-stop-being-hurricane.html - in this post, Cliff Mass (a professor of Atmospheric Sciences at University of Washington) discusses the data from the buoys and stations in NC. I was specifically interested in Virginia and the data near my house when I started looking. But his argument still holds for my area as we were after landfall.
My guess is that it may have to deal with how windspeeds are measured/modeled for hurricanes and how they extrapolate to the max readings.
wuliheron
Aug30-11, 08:55 AM
The storm surge plus high tide created at flood of about 2 feet 10 inches in my garage - which was about 6 inches lower than the 2009 Nor'easter. That was good news - means no water in our first floor. We did however get flooding in our cellar where the furnace is - so that will have to be replaced - not a huge worry in southeastern Virginia in August. :smile:
All the reports and data I have seen seem to indicate that Irene was not a hurricane once it hit us near Virginia Beach and Norfolk. Has anyone else seen any data? My neighbors were all in agreement that the winds were quite minimal and seemed to be less than the 2009 Nor'easter and much less than Isabel.
That is not to minimize the damage, the rain and flooding were very bad. As we were driving back from the Shenandoah area, we saw many more downed trees in Richmond/Williamsburg than in Norfolk/Virginia Beach area.
I thought the only cellars left in southeastern Virginia these days were old root cellars.
Before my power went out in Chesapeake we had sustained winds of 85mph and gusts over 100mph. That's right up there on the boarder between tropical storm and hurricane strength. It spawned at least two hurricanes in NC and one in Sandbridge that severely damaged an entire block of houses. The last Nor'easter did seem to have higher peak winds, but I don't know if I could compare the two for overall strength.
Isabel was definitely worse then both those storms, but it also hit after a drought when the tree roots were weak. Usually you expect these things to knock over the dead trees and smaller ones, but it knocked over all the largest and healthiest trees!
I thought the only cellars left in southeastern Virginia these days were old root cellars.
Before my power went out in Chesapeake we had sustained winds of 85mph and gusts over 100mph. That's right up there on the boarder between tropical storm and hurricane strength. It spawned at least two hurricanes in NC and one in Sandbridge that severely damaged an entire block of houses. The last Nor'easter did seem to have higher peak winds, but I don't know if I could compare the two for overall strength.
Isabel was definitely worse then both those storms, but it also hit after a drought when the tree roots were weak. Usually you expect these things to knock over the dead trees and smaller ones, but it knocked over all the largest and healthiest trees!
Yeah, I didn't know that the furnace was in the cellar when we rented this place. But we were right on the Chesapeake and I love living on the water - except when we get hit by hurricanes/tropical storms/nor'easters.
I heard about the tornadoes (I assume you meant torndado when you said hurricane above) - that just seems like pouring salt on the wound - nasty storms around here.
Regarding the overall strength - I cannot attest to it as I ran for the hills - but my neighbors were all in agreement that this was nothing compared to Isabel. But they felt it was fairly quick compared to the Nor'easter - which was a multiday event for us - we had 3 tides that produced 2+ feet of water around my house.
I am surprised by your estimates of the wind, but I cannot check the data since NAS Oceana's weather station went down before the storm - that is the nearest station for checking wind speeds I believe.
I had a friend pass this link (http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/08/hurricane-irene/100138/) on, so I thought I would share it, some amazing pictures from all up and down the east coast. Puts things in perspective, doesn't it ? I feel for those who are cut off because the roads are out in VT and NY. They have no way to get help, at least at the moment. The good news, if there is any in this situation, I can't speak for NY, but I can Vermont, those folks help their neighbors and are pretty good at coming up with creative solutions in difficult circumstances. This is mostly from dealing with winter blizzards over the past hundred years or so. I have been told there were times as a small child of being trapped in our homes for a week because of a blizzard. Sounds like time to call out the Army Corps of Engineers and National Guard to the most isolated and hard hit areas.
Rhody...
wuliheron
Aug30-11, 10:58 AM
I heard about the tornadoes (I assume you meant torndado when you said hurricane above) - that just seems like pouring salt on the wound - nasty storms around here.
Virginia also has a local phenomena known as a "cluster storm" that resembles a tornado. The US in general has more then its share of violent weather and Virginia is actually one of the milder places. The West Virginia mountains protect us from the worst of the winter storms, and the barrier islands from the summer ones. Central Virginia is even rated 2nd in the nation for temperate weather with the longest springs and falls you'll find anywhere.
Thankfully, it seems that someone in state Government is on the ball in Vermont,
Food airlifted into Vermont towns cut off by Irene (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44324289/ns/weather/?google_editors_picks=true)
NEWFANE, Vt. — Vermont on Tuesday began airlifting food and water to a dozen towns cut off by Irene, while New Jersey saw new flood evacuations, and across the East Coast power outages, while down by half, impacted millions.
At the Killington ski resort in Vermont, some 400 people were stranded due to road damage, and part of a lodge had collapsed in the earlier rain and flooding, NBC affiliate WPTZ-TV reported Tuesday. Another news link, here: From Waterbury to Wilmington, Vermonters shocked by Irene's destruction (http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110830/NEWS07/108300301/From-Waterbury-Wilmington-Vermonters-shocked-by-Irene-s-destruction?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPA GE)
Rhody... :redface:
P.S. Update from someone who lives near there, they claim it is FEMA who is making the airlift possible. I hope they bring bulldozers and other heavy equipment as well. They are going to need it.
Wrong place to be when storm-waters surge.
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Trucker-s-vehicle-stuck-between-lost-Maine-bridges-2147125.php
Eh, I don't believe it. Is your source NWS ? Hard to believe it can hit colder water and temps and still gain strength. I hope I don't have to eat my words. Knock on wood, Flying port-a-potties, eh Evo, hmm... there aren't any in my neighborhood so I don't need to worry about that.
I did do one important thing though, brought in my three ghost pepper plants with over 50 peppers, some near being ripe, the seem to turn yellow before turning red. Will post some pictures tomorrow.
Rhody... See some of you in chat. No winds here yet though.
P.S. NWS says winds in the mid 60's with gusts no more than 71 mph in the am tomorrow, tropical storm, not even a Cat 1. The uninformed and sensationalist media drive me crazy, it's all about ratings and not facts.
After reading my post the other day, I must admit after reading post Irene news reports and looking at hundreds of pictures of the damage, I was wrong :cry:, this sucker did a lot of damage in unexpected ways to unsuspecting states, like Vermont for instance, not to mention the midatlantic states, and Connecticut and New Jersey. What a mess.
Rhody...
After reading my post the other day, I must admit after reading post Irene news reports and looking at hundreds of pictures of the damage, I was wrong :cry:, this sucker did a lot of damage in unexpected ways to unsuspecting states, like Vermont for instance, not to mention the midatlantic states, and Connecticut and New Jersey. What a mess.
Rhody...Vermont had some terrible roads and bridges that were literally falling apart, it's no wonder even a storm this small caused so much trouble. I used to drive from Saratoga Springs, NY to Bennington, VT at least once a week, a bridge we had to cross was in such bad shape that only one car was allowed to cross at a time, they made it a single lane and you could not get onto the bridge until the other car was off of the bridge, and the speed limit was 20MPH, maybe it was 10mph. I was terrified every time I had to cross it, but going around it would have added an extra hour to my drive. During bad weather, I did go the long way.
My barber cut my hair today. I was about her first customer after she got her license. It has been at least 30 years. Anyway the reason for the Irene link is: She is still without power, though water-damage around here was minimal. People on hilly/rural roads are about the last to get any renewed power. No power to a rural road with 4-5 families with wells and cattle pumps? We are too busy and we'll get to you. The business comes down to "how many paying customers can we get back, and how fast?"
Isn't there anybody at the utility who is smart enough to realize that they ought to be grabbing the low-hanging fruit (easy safety-resets, by employees in their ubiquitous pickups, with hot-sticks) etc at least to make nice with people who might live out in the woods, but might be influential in town governments?
My barber cut my hair today. I was about her first customer after she got her license.
She is still without power, though water-damage around here was minimal. People on hilly/rural roads are about the last to get any renewed power.Funny, during bad ice storms and blizzards, (back when I lived in a rural area) I'd call in an outage from my home phone and get a recording that they expected restoral in 2 weeks, not even an option to speak to a real person.
Then I called from one of my AT&T home office lines (I worked for AT&T out of my house), reached a special task force person for critical services on the first ring, time to repair...3 hours. My neighbors never knew how they got service back so quickly. I think the longest were were out was when the poles had to be physically replaced, that took a few days, but still not the weeks we were told as resididential customers.
Being without internet is having an effect, A friend of ours showed up, unannounced so she could check her e-mail on her laptop.
She is having internet withdrawal, specifically, e-mail and Face Plant. Amazing, those little hits of dopamine on her brain made her stop by. And her left eye was twitching from the stress of not getting her fix.
Rhody... :bugeye:
Redbelly98
Aug30-11, 08:30 PM
Here is an informative link, it is a map of recent U.S. rainfall at the NOAA site.
Click the link, check "Last 5 Days" (or whatever period would cover from last Friday), and zoom around the east coast.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ridge2/RFC_Precip/
Note the section of NC receiving 20+ inches (50+ cm), and the red band running northward indicating 6-10 inches (15-25 cm) of rain.
Astronuc
Aug30-11, 08:40 PM
The Life of Hurricane Irene from Caribbean to Canada
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=108951491
Astronuc
Aug30-11, 08:49 PM
Here is an informative link, it is a map of recent U.S. rainfall at the NOAA site.
Click the link, check "Last 5 Days" (or whatever period would cover from last Friday), and zoom around the east coast.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ridge2/RFC_Precip/
Note the section of NC receiving 20+ inches (50+ cm), and the red band running northward indicating 6-10 inches (15-25 cm) of rain. We're in the 8-10 inch band since Friday, and in the 14-16 inch band for the last 30 days. We've had 16-18 inches in 3 days before - in two consecutive weekends - which is which we got the basement flood prevention system.
It's very strange to see cool dry sunny days. One can smell a musty odor in the air, especially when driving through areas that flooded.
Guard choppers from Illinois to assist Vermont recovery effort (http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110830/NEWS02/110830022/Guard-choppers-from-Illinois-assist-Vermont-recovery-effort-?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs)
These will help, I hope they have a supply of of jet grade diesel fuel onhand (this can be airlifted in if needed as well). The Blackhawk's can lift about 4.5 tons of supplies. The Chinooks (D version) can haul about 13 tons of supplies. This should help in the short term.
Vermont had some terrible roads and bridges that were literally falling apart, it's no wonder even a storm this small caused so much trouble. I used to drive from Saratoga Springs, NY to Bennington, VT at least once a week, a bridge we had to cross was in such bad shape that only one car was allowed to cross at a time, they made it a single lane and you could not get onto the bridge until the other car was off of the bridge, and the speed limit was 20MPH, maybe it was 10mph. I was terrified every time I had to cross it, but going around it would have added an extra hour to my drive. During bad weather, I did go the long way.
I agree Evo that some of the bridge's, covered ones at least should long since have been replaced, but river erosion that caused adjacent roads to collapse, nothing could have been done to prevent this from happening.
Rhody... :smile:
Astronuc
Aug31-11, 08:11 PM
The storm was not small by any means. It was a Cat 1 by the time it not to NJ and quickly decreased to a tropical storm, but it dumped a lot of rain in Pa, NY, CT, VT. Some areas have had the worst flooding on record. VT and upstate NY got is particular bad in terms of rainfall, and some places were already saturated from rains earlier in the week or previous weeks.
Windham Wiped Out- Lance Wheeler Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu9djEpUUwk
Some farmers have lost all of their crops due to flooding. Even if they could harvest, they can't sell it because it is considered contaminated. And some land is contaminated with fuel and sewage.
We've had more rain (15-18 inches) in three days, but that was an isolated cell.
During the storm, most of our county got more than 6 inches, with one stretch getting 8-10 inches. We'd aslo had 2+ inches of rain during the Thursday and Friday before Irene rolled over us. Several counties N and W of us had similar widespread rainfall, and some areas go 10 to 16 inches of rain. Many areas in the Catskills are valleys, to all that rain ran off the mountains and down into the valleys, and basically took out whole towns.
Some more pictures (http://interactives.wwlp.com/photomojo/gallery/929/26/irene-aftermath-in-western-mass/irene-aftermath/) from my neck of the woods. Hard to believe, grew up in Western Mass.
Rhody... :uhh:
Astronuc
Sep1-11, 08:14 AM
At the moment, it looks like hurricane Katia is aimed at the Carolinas. It's track is a bit further north than Irene's. It's also possible Katia will become Cat 3.
But where will it go? We'll have a better idea next Wednesday.
At the moment, it looks like hurricane Katia is aimed at the Carolinas. It's track is a bit further north than Irene's. It's also possible Katia will become Cat 3.
But where will it go? We'll have a better idea next Wednesday.
ACK !!!
Rhody...:eek:
At the moment, it looks like hurricane Katia is aimed at the Carolinas. It's track is a bit further north than Irene's. It's also possible Katia will become Cat 3.
But where will it go? We'll have a better idea next Wednesday.
I think current forecasts are calling for the front that is over the great lakes region right now to swing southeast and be over the atlantic coast by Monday - this should hopefully push Katia up-up and away...
See here: http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/day0-7loop.html
Some more pictures (http://interactives.wwlp.com/photomojo/gallery/929/26/irene-aftermath-in-western-mass/irene-aftermath/) from my neck of the woods.
Aqua Vista Campground - so true.
Going to pick up a Honda EU2000i generator after work. Whisper quiet, 1.1 gallon fuel tank, auto-idle fuel saver feature and built in 12 volt inverter that converts AC to DC then back to AC with smoothing software that produces smoothed AC power, safe for the most sensitive electronic gear. Runs about 5.5 hours at 1/2 load. This will ease my anxiety over a flooded basement (financially significant) and spoiled food (not so financially significant). I hope we never need it, but it will come in handle for things other than emergencies I am sure. Like camping trips, track days, etc...
Rhody... :biggrin:
P.S Just got it, it weighs 47 lbs and is about as big as eight toasters stacked in a rectangle, starts on one pull, if you stand 5 feet from it, you can hear someone talk normally, if you stand 20 feet away you can barely tell it is running at all, 53 db Amazing. The biggest worry with this little unit is being stolen. They are hot items for thieves.
Jack21222
Sep1-11, 01:22 PM
Power came back on at 3pm yesterday (3.5 days out) and the internet returned about an hour ago (nearly 4.5 days out). Here are some photographs of why:
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll312/jackmitcham/IMG_0095.jpg
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll312/jackmitcham/IMG_0093.jpg
And here's the tree that fell that started that chain reaction:
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll312/jackmitcham/IMG_0094.jpg
This video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=smwv-J7BJ3U) put to music sent by a friend who grew up in central Vermont puts things in perspective.
The only vehicle that can navigate this section of RT100 to RT107 is a four wheeler.
Watching this you really get a sense of what a ton of fast flowing mountain water can do.
Rhody... :bugeye:
Astronuc
Sep3-11, 09:35 AM
Katia is tracking further north than Irene, and the predictions seem to indicate it will turn north about middle of next week.
Hopefully Katia will follow Jose and Franklin, and dissipate over the north Atlantic. Unfortunately, that's not good for Bermuda or shipping in the W. Atlantic.
Central Maine Power company expects to clear the last power outages today. Reed and Reed have crews (including my neighbor-a crane operator) clearing out the debris from the washed out bridges on Route 27, and they hope to have temporary bridges in place by next week sometime. In the meantime, the folks in Rangely, Stratton, and Eustis can't expect rapid-response EMS service from Kingfield - they have to route ambulance calls to Farmington. Irene was no slacker!
Jimmy Snyder
Sep3-11, 10:41 AM
If you look at the latest tracking map and extrapolate linearly, they don't cross over my house, but it looks like my garage will get it and get it good.
I don't know if the forecasters are being optimistic with that "jog" in Katia's predicted path or not.
http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/tracker
Jimmy Snyder
Sep4-11, 10:10 AM
I don't know if the forecasters are being optimistic with that "jog" in Katia's predicted path or not.
http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/tracker
Might be right. I just got back from Patagonia where I noticed a butterfly flap its wings.
Astronuc
Sep4-11, 10:15 AM
I don't know if the forecasters are being optimistic with that "jog" in Katia's predicted path or not.
http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/tracker Well Katia is supposed to turn north while SE or ESE of Hatteras. Hopely it will keep turning out to the NE well south of LI.
We're supposed to be getting remnants of Lee. It will be interesting to see the effect of Lee on Katia.
It would also be unfortunate if Katia hugs the east coast.
It would also be unfortunate if Katia hugs the east coast.That's for sure! Our roads and bridges are already in poor shape from Irene.
This post could be titled "Baby, it's wet outside!" The "scattered showers" that were forecast for today have been non-stop rain and the already-saturated soil is too soft to anchor tree roots properly. There is just a hint of a breeze (at times), but the Anson fire department has been called out for a tree that has toppled onto power lines and is on fire.
My garden is soaked, my backyard pond is pretty full, though not yet overflowing, but enough already! I haven't been able to tend to my mowing and trimming on the few relatively dry days that we have had, because I'm still throwing in firewood for the 2012-2013 season. If the lawn gets much taller, I may have to consider borrowing a bush-hog for my Kubota. :/
Jimmy Snyder
Sep7-11, 03:25 PM
The ground here was saturated before Irene came. Irene flooded the town and Lee dumped a lot of rain here. If Maria swings by to take a shot at us we may sink altogether.
The ground here was saturated before Irene came. Irene flooded the town and Lee dumped a lot of rain here. If Maria swings by to take a shot at us we may sink altogether.
How do you solve a problem like Maria?
Jimmy Snyder
Sep7-11, 03:30 PM
How do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
A flibbertijibbet, for sure.
vBulletin® v3.8.7, Copyright ©2000-2012, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.