To all those in NC and NY, along with the eastern states

[vercetti2021]

My prayers go out to you, Please be safe during Irene. :hide:

I have family and friends that live out there so i'm scared as well. I'm really tempted to drive to Virginia to help them.

[Harmony Blue]

1. Irene looks meaner than Gloria

don't underestimate this hurricane.

[one_voice]

6. I remember Gloria...

I was pregnant with my daughter during that hurricane. My then mother-in-law's name was Gloria. The irony..

[doublethink]

2. Irene means 'Peace' in Greek ....

Yes prayers are in order, whatever anyone believes in or not in here. Peace to you all in the way of this storm.

[Firebrand Gary]

3. Please get out of the way of this storm.

[DLnyc]

4. Your good wishes are appreciated.

In case people are interested in a little local geography:

New York City is somewhat "nestled" at the corner of a north-south shoreline (New Jersey coast) and an east-west shoreline (Long Island's South Shore). So it's pretty hard for New York City to get a direct hit from an open-sea hurricane. The southern edge of Brooklyn and JFK airport can get some bad flooding, and certainly we can get some scary wind blowing things around, but most of New York City proper, I would guess, will get a very rainy, windy day but not catastrophic flooding like New Orleans, since any hurricane that reaches us necessarily has some portion of its winds travelling over land instead of water.

Long Island, on the other hand, is flat and sandy and sticks out into the ocean. In my opinion, that could be a kind of scary place to be in a hurricane.

Of course, the coastline has no effect on the huge volumes of rain that might fall 'upstate' (going north from New York City up toward Canada). I would expect a lot of misery to small homeowners and farmers. Most of this misery, in my estimation, won't make the news since its just 'little people' and too diffuse to cover easily from a comfortable trailer with a satellite dish. Sorry if that sounds bitter, but that's my experience around here.

So, long story short, I think NYC might be the 'sexy story', but not the place where the majority of pain is likely to land.

[KittyWampus]

8. lower Manhattan could flood incredibly easy. High winds would be intensified in "channels" created

by walls of buildings. Manhattan is an island surrounded by water.

[democrat2thecore]

12. Exactly - nt

[democrat2thecore]

11. Well.....not quite

The Weather Channel just did a story about NYC and "worst case scenarios," that have been feared for years. They reminded us that Manhattan is an island and that the soil and other issues make this potentially that very worst case scenario. It doesn't need a direct hit. The torrential rain with this storm at even Cat 1 hurricane winds would cause incredible infrastructure problems, including flooded subways and JFK underwater. Not to scare anyone, but they're just having to tell it like it is and they've had people on who have warned about this for years.

This storm also has a wind field that is unbelievable for an Atlantic storm. From TWC: "It all starts with Hurricane Irene's incredible wind field. As of Thursday evening, tropical storm-force winds were up to 430 miles wide. This is the distance from Baltimore to Portland, Maine!"

[DLnyc]

14. Soil? Manhattan is made of rock.

The type of rock is called "Manhattan schist".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_schist

South Brooklyn and the south end of Queens (JFK) could be sandy and have bad flooding problems. I guess some parts of Manhattan have a good layer of soil. But mostly it's solid rock.

New York is a nightmare on a good day. About 8 inches of snow can create chaos. I'm sure things will be a huge mess. But, with all due respect, the "Weather Channel" might be hyping this story just a little bit.

But we will see what we will see, I guess.

[customerserviceguy]

5. My lady and I are talking about getting out of Dodge this weekend

We have an obligation on Saturday, but at eight PM, we're through with it. We might just have the bags packed in the car, and start heading west. In a few hours or so, we'll be out of range and ahead of anybody else who follows us. Wonder if it's still possible to get a motel room?

[OHdem10]

7. Prayers and good vibes to all facing danger.

[richmwill]

9. I'm approximately 60 miles inland of NYC...

I'm hoping that will mean just a rain/high wind storm for my area. For all those in NYC and Long Island- my thoughts are with you all, hoping for the best possible scenario.

[GreenPartyVoter]

10. I'm waiting until Sat to see what shape Irene is in. (Am in Maine) Still hoping it

goes out to sea or dies down, but in the meantime all my southern family have to contend with her. :(

[gauguin57]

13. Git yer butts inland ... and stay safe!

Take care, everyone!