I hope this thing weakens significantly as it gets into the cooler water and starts to interact with land, but it looks like things are going to be chaotic for at least the next few days.

Stay safe everyone!

I'm thinking of getting a ride to a spot 62 miles North of here this afternoon, maybe tomorrow morning early.

Given the approaching winds, I should have a 30-40 knot tailwind riding due South. It always happens before a hurricane here.

I'd love to ride a 2-hour metric century, or come really close. According to the tracking, 6 am to 8 am may be perfect.

time to test out the fenders and new rain jacket eh?

I like this idea! Doesn't the wind change, as a hurricane passes? Could get a tailwind one way, then the other? Hard to time it, though.

And you get a nice quiet time in between to eat lunch.

Yes, we had a southeast wind starting on Wednesday, then it switched to west yesterday afternoon. Too bad I can only ride so far east before I hit the Atlantic.

It looks like the 2pm update from the NHC has reduced the intensity a bit, I'd be surprised if it's still a hurricane by the time it gets to NY.

New England resonse: "Storm? that's not a storm. I remember hurricane Andrew. Now that was a storm. Etc." I have plans to eat dim sum during the hurricane, and it will be AWESOME. On a more rational note: don't do anything exceedingly stupid on a bicycle during a storm. Good luck.

I have been in enough hurricanes such that I know they aren't to be taken lightly. Even if the hurricane is not a high-category storm and you aren't in the direct path of the eyewall, hurricane-force winds can extend out many miles and spin-off tornados can be totally unpredictable and very numerous inflicting severe damage. The storm surge can devastate costal regions and torrential rains can and will inflict flooding. Our niece and her family are due in Alabama this weekend from Virginia Beach and I am very thankful they will be here. All of you on the eastern seaboard, please prepare and our prayers are with you!!!!!!

Hope my rickety garage holds up, or there's likely to be a serious n-1 situation, not to mention a bizarre Wizard of Oz scene, minus Miss Gulch.

Best of luck, guys and gals. Stay safe Robbie :speedy:

Be sure to wear very loose-fitting clothing, it acts like a sail and might enable you to achieve speeds of up to 90 MPH, at least until a utility pole puts your lights out!:D

My place in Brooklyn isn't in the flood zone, so the only thing I really have to worry about is the trees in the yard, and my motorcycle--and some kind of meeting of the two. They're shutting down the subway and bus at noon on Saturday, so I am going to sit tight. I wish the spokes I was expecting had come in, that would give me something to do. Oh well. Thanks for worrying about us!

Good show, old man!

Or do you mean the foot?

I am a bit west and south of Robbie, so we should fare well. So far just a bit of rain and some breezes. Bicycles come in handy AFTER the storm. I was in Charleston, SC when Hugo came through in '89, in Fayetteville, NC when Fran came through in '97 and in Mobile after Katrina in '05. Now for Katrina I bailed and went to J'ville, FL. But I was back in Mobile within 48 hours. Bicycles work best for getting around, and quite often you can get into places that are closed to motor vehicle traffic.

Looks like the NE is in for a pasting, their biggest problem has been the massive rains they have been getting, the ground is saturated which is going to cause flooding problems. Interestingly enough, most people that die from hurricanes die from drowning!

We stay prepared this time of year, I never let my vehicles get below half empty and fill up promptly ahead of the crowds, we also keep plenty of emergency supplies on hand. It pays to be prepared....however one thing that has recently puzzled me is the suggestion to keep some extra cash on hand. Around here all the stores are POS (Point of Sale) and cannot process anything if the power is out, nothing has prices on it. I know, I have been in the store when the power went out and we all had to leave stuff and come back later if we wanted it:wtf:

BTW got a stack of wheel building supplies so I have plenty of indoor activity if it really rains tomorrow.:thumb:

Aaron:)

My wife didn't seem to like the idea of driving me 60 miles north and dropping me off, especially as it looks like it needed to be done at 5 am. I remain convinced it would have been one heck of a ride. She remains skeptical.

Something about it being stupid.

Women. Everything has to make sense.

Where's the fun in that?

I was going to be riding in this century ride tomorrow in central Delaware. Not anymore ...

It's 3:33 am and we're catching the outer bands. Tornadoes have done most of the damage thus far.
The outer eye wall has just started to touch the outer banks with 90-100 mph winds as the storm's NW quadrant digs into NC.

The eye is 50 miles off shore. It hasn't wobbled; that is good. If you look at a map, I-95 is getting tropical storm force winds, and US-17 is the borderline for hurricane force winds. Currently, there are about 60,000 people out of power, and that's expected to rise. Camp Lejuene area is getting hammered. Not a lot of reports from the coast, which is normal, as few people are there. Of course, one drunk person has called in and asked if it will get any worse, as the hurricane seems to have interrupted his hurricane party.

There is a good webcam still working at Topsail Island, showing the waves hitting the pier. If you see it, keep in mind the pier is two stories above the water. Flooding is not currently as bad as feared, because the major rivers are only up 6-8'. The main flooding right now is areas that cannot drain, especially roads and low-lying areas.

This seems to be a steady storm, which makes it much more predictable. Rainfall is more than anticipated, and my guess is that the heavily populated areas farther north are going to have some real problems with rain. Draw a line parallel to I-95 and roughly 30 miles east of it, and you're looking at 10" or rain or more, 60-80mph gusts.

It's a little more east than folks thought, which is good, and it's still a Cat 1 on it's west side, and a Cat 2 on the east side.

Sleeping, of course, is not part of the equation. If you are on the eastern shore of MD, up through Delaware, PA/NJ and NYC/Long Island, and you're reading this, either hunker down or head inland, even now. It's going to be a long Saturday, here, but a rough Saturday night up in major metro areas of the NE.

http://www.surfchex.com/nags-head-web-cam.php
(some web cams for you)

I'm looking at the bright side .. they're predicting some very nice waves from Monday thru Wednesday on the Maine coast. Road trip!

You can do it NYC! Be safe.

Scott

For NC stuff, the best web site, right now, is WRAL's.
http://www.wral.com/

The beach is not quite the vacation spot it was yesterday.
Power has been sporadic. Plenty windy.
Good news: the storm seems to have a hole in the southern side, so there won't be as much rain.

Northward of NC, I think I'd get prepared for power outages and a heck of a storm.

Especially flooding from the wind pushing water back up into rivers.

Saw Lyle Lovett and his Large Band last night. He sang Good Night Irene for an encore. A poignant moment and a heckuva good concert.
Battening down more hatches today.

Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking.

Our rain is scheduled to start mid-afternoon, winds picking up to ~50mph tomorrow. So there's this guy in the next block running a leaf blower on the minor debris in the street in front of his house. Gotta' make the place look good before the wind and rain and hail and fire and brimstone make it look like a mess tonight and tomorrow.

Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking.

Ryan?

Ya, you coastal folks watch out.

14:55 hours, saturday. Cape Cod. and the rain from the leading edge just started. Just finished lashing down anything lash-able, including trying to save my tomato plant cages and green bean towers with tent stakes and parachute cord, filling two kayaks halfway with water, hobbling the cats, securing the old ladies, etc., etc. Good luck everyone and keep yer powder dry.

yeah. he checks c&v once every two weeks. he should see this mid September.