Hello fellow thinkpaders! Today I will be preparing for Hurricane Irene! I live in Maine, so its expected to be a weak category 1 or a strong tropical storm...the whole state is under a tropical storm watch, will be a warning by the end of today...but I'm use to blizzards and Nor'easters! Note the term "You know your in Maine when your snowblower has more miles then your car!" But, I will be strapping down the chicken coop and bring in lawn chairs and things that might blow away during the storm. Irene will be effecting Maine Sunday through Sunday night. Anyone else being effected by the hurricane?

If you look at the Hurricane Irene projected weather maps of the East coast and NY state, and notice the darkest green area...I live in that zone (same path as NYC since I live due north of there). Up to 10 inches of rain and sustained winds up to 80mph expected. It should be an interesting day tomorrow. Plus I may be offline for a few days if all goes bad.

Good luck to anyone unlucky enough to be in the path of Irene. We'll probably get the tail-end as severe storms next weekend.

We are ate the left-end of the path (east of Scranton PA, pointing upwards from landfall in NC).
So far just had some steady rain, otherwise we have the "silence before the storm".
It's gonna hit us around 11:00pm, we'll probably sleep through it, and find our garden (2 acres) covered in fallen trees in the morning, as well as no power for a few days.
God (or substitute your favorite) bless us all.

Hey guys,

I am in the heart of New York City. The storm is about to hit us fully in a few hours. It's beginning to howl right now as I'm typing. Winds getting stronger. But so far just "the calm before the storm" as mentioned above. Nothing major happening yet besides some steady rain. Zone "A" (low-lying and coastal regions having 370,000 residents) is under mandatory evacuation orders from city officials for the first time in the city's history. (I'm not in zone A) . It's the first time in 100 years that the center (eye of the storm) of a tropical weather system will pass right over Manhattan! All 3 major NYC airports are grounded. Subways will be completely shut down soon. There are serious concerns over flooding in tunnels and damage to bridges and skyscrapers. There is a danger that Irene may spawn isolated tornadoes. Heavy flooding and power outages are expected, but it seems we will be spared from major/deadly consequences by God's grace. I'm stuck inside for the rest of this evening and into tomorrow as the storm is about to hit us. I charged up my laptop and cell phone battery fully, but who knows if we may lose internet connection and even cell phone signals, besides power outages for a few days. I will just catch up on some Forum posts tonight, try to keep my cat Tiger calm, and spend some extended time in prayer I don't believe in the fury of mother nature but I believe in the Mercy of Father God, Who is in control of all things.

May our sincere thoughts and prayers be with the people of Florida, Virginia and North Carolina,where there was a loss of life because of the effects of the storm.

Daniel,
the little YP in NYC.

The worst is over, and the worst wasn't all that bad here really.
Heavy rain during the night from ca. 11:30pm till 5:30am Sunday morning.
Power-out between 6:00am and 8:30am EST.
It's still a bit windy, but only very little rain.
Back to business, I guess.

Well, so far nothing much has happened...just a bunch of heavy rain and high winds here in Maine. Some parts of the state have lost power, but I still have it!

Well, New York City appears to have escaped the worst of it. No major power outages, damage to infrastructure/ buildings, or fatalities. Some strong storm surges, flooding in lower Manhattan but nothing on a massive scale as feared. God has shown us Mercy. Maryland, New Jersey's coastline, and Connecticut were battered, with some deaths, and a sad report of a New Jersey firefighter who is now in critical condition after attempting a water rescue. He needs our prayers right now as he's lying there in the ICU.

Although no major damage resulted from Hurricane Irene here in NYC, it's good to have taken precautions. Better to have prepared for the worst and hoped for the best. Penn Station, bridges, subways, John F.Kennedy International Airport- everything will slowly return to a sense of normalcy. For now, everyone is just breathing a collective sigh of relief. Many, many, millions of people- are very grateful to God

Daniel.