Tropical storm Irene approaches

[shel90]

I am hoping this one will take the same track as Floyd did. I was in St Augustine when Floyed brushed the coast. It eventually went back out to sea. This storm is large like Floyd was. All of you guys are in my thoughts too.

Floyd hit Maryland when my ex hubby was driving from AZ with the moving truck. I was still in AZ at the time. He said that it was sooo nasty and scary.

Stay safe!

 

[shel90]

Uh oh!

weather.com - Map Room - Satellite Map, Weather Map, Doppler Radar Northeast U.S. Threat Level

Threat level is low for Baltimore which means we need to watch it as well. Glad that we got our emergency supplies all packed up and ready.

My neighbor said when Hurricane Isabel hit this area in 2003, the power was out for almost 2 weeks in my neighborhood. A potential risk for that again with this storm.

 

[deafskeptic]

I'm glad you're prepared for this storm in case the worst happens to your area.

 

[dogmom]

I'm thinking safe and good thoughts for all fellow AD'ers concerned about/in path of this hurricane

 

[Babyblue]

It is scary.. it is expected to reach a Cat 4 storm before making landfall. Reba, and who ever live in SC and NC.. you guys REALLY need to watch this.. it looks like it is heading towards y'all.

 

[deafskeptic]

I'm thinking safe and good thoughts for all fellow AD'ers concerned about/in path of this hurricane

I'll be keeping all those who have to face this hurricane in my thoughts and I hope that the hurricane doesn't go where OB lives.

 

[radioman]

What difference tropical storm versus hurricane?

othere posters is correct. but many named storms start as tropical depression or TD. it either gains strength into hurricanes or fades out. If it becomes a hurricane strength then it will always become TD and fade. many times when a named storm gains hurricane and hits gulf of mexico or east coast, I gotta watch for them too as it becomes TD by the time its hits new york state and rains here heavy and maybe blow a few things over. Its not the same as reba and I feel for her... it just suxs all the way around...
but mother nature wants to clean up the manmade mess .

 

[Reba]

If Irene continues to turn to the east, she will avoid landfall on the US. That will be good.

 

[whatdidyousay!]

If Irene continues to turn to the east, she will avoid landfall on the US. That will be good.

We'll not know until this weekend if the hurricane will hit here. If Newburyport get hit, Plum Island will be in big trouble! There a lot of erosion going on already. A couple of houses been lost already.

 

[Tousi]

We'll not know until this weekend if the hurricane will hit here. If Newburyport get hit, Plum Island will be in big trouble! There a lot of erosion going on already. A couple of houses been lost already.

Where are you at?

 

[KristinaB]

Irene's threat to South Florida all but gone; Bahamas and Carolinas brace for monster

Irene now a Category 1; threat to S. Fla. all but gone as Bahamas, Carolinas brace for monster

ENLARGE PHOTO

ENLARGE PHOTO An image released by the NOAA made from the GEOS East satellite shows Hurricane Irene on Aug. 23, 2011 as it passes over Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The storm is on a track that could see it reach the U.S. Southeast as a major storm by the end of the week. (AP Photo/NOAA)
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wunderground Hurricane Irene update on The Daily Downpour. If you missed it, listen to the podcast here! http://t.co/1z1ALa4
9 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

wunderground Dr. Masters says, "#Hurricane #Irene slides toward Bahamas; Strong #earthquake rattles eastern U.S." Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog : Hurricane Irene slides toward Bahamas; Strong earthquake rattles eastern U.S. : Weather Underground
29 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

AtlanticWatch A landfall that degenerates #Irene could be better than a hurricane that goes up the entire coast, fueled by the Atlantic's heat.
37 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

AtlanticWatch Out of the forecast cone does not = out of the woods. Cone is anywhere the CENTER of #Irene could go. Tropical force winds extend 205 mi out
39 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

hurricanetrack For those of you not quite up on your Hurricanes: 101, here is a nice video tutorial to get you started:... Understanding Hurricane Hazards - YouTube
41 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

hurricanetrack For all of our followers in the Northeast- are you ready for a hurricane? Do you really know what to expect? If... For all of our... | Facebook
48 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

AtlanticWatch From Miami to NYC, all of the U.S. East Coast is vulnerable to tropical storm or #hurricane winds. Wind probabilities: Hurricane IRENE Wind Speed Probabilities
about 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favorite

AtlanticWatch #Hurricane #Irene may be a Category 3 Wednesday night. Track models are in "remarkably good agreement" for next 72 hrs.
about 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favorite

stormpulse #Hurricane #Irene, 5:00 PM, Advisory 14, 90 mph winds (H1), 20.9 N 71.5 W, 976 mb, moving WNW at 9 mph Hurricane Irene, 2011 / Stormpulse / Hurricanes, severe weather, tracking, mapping
about 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favorite

hurricanetrack NHC now forecasting Irene to skim the NC Outer Banks w/ a potential rare hurricane hit in Northeast: Hurricane IRENE...
about 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favorite

AtlanticWatch #Hurricane #Irene downgraded to a Category 1 w/ 90 mph winds, moving WNW at 9 mph. 50 mi SSW of Grand Turk Island.
about 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favorite

wunderground #Hurricane #Irene is near 20.9N 71.5W and is moving WNW at 8 mph. Hurricane Irene : Tracking Map : Weather Underground
about 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favorite

wunderground #Irene is now a cat 1 #Hurricane with winds of 90 mph, gusting 121 mph, min. pressure of 976mb Hurricane Irene : Tracking Map : Weather Underground
about 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favorite

NHC_Atlantic Hurricane #Irene advisory 14 issued. #Irene lashing the turks and caicos islands. NHC Active Storms
about 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favorite

NASAHurricane ATLANTIC UPDATE on Hurricane Irene: NASA Satellites Measure a Large Hurricane Irene - Full story here: CAPTION... NASA's Hurricane Web Page's Photos | Facebook
2 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

hurricanetrack Better linking with this one: http://t.co/wkp6MVW
2 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

hurricanetrack A look at Euro from Dr. Maue's site rendered by yours truly to see both the 96 & 120 hour positions: www.hurricanetrack.com/e...
2 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

wunderground BREAKING: The Daily Downpour today at 4:30 ET, 1:30 PT. We will talk about earthquakes/Irene. Listen for the latest! http://t.co/mJI8MPh
2 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

sprint To contact loved ones following earthquake, please use text msgs rather than call. Call delays due to temporary mass calling event.
3 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

stormpulse Low-potential disturbance (20%) 90L Stormpulse / Hurricanes, severe weather, tracking, mapping A broad low pressure area centered a couple hundred miles southeast of the Cape Ver
3 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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By ELIOT KLEINBERG
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Updated: 5:35 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2011
Posted: 5:21 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2011
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Irene's potential threat to South Florida as even a tropical storm event mostly went away this morning.

Officials said that at most, Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast would see breezes in the 20 to 30 mph range as the storm passes to the east.

That, of course, could change.

But for now, attention is turning to the far-flung and fragile islands of the Bahamas, where a potentially calamitous major hurricane could plow through starting tonight.

And along the U.S. eastern seaboard, leaders from the Outer Banks to New England focused on a forecast path that keeps moving east.

The question: Will it shift far enough to spare the coast altogether?

"The spread in the guidance increases by (Friday), ranging from the coastal mid-Atlantic states to well offshore," National Hurricane Center senior specialist Dan Brown wrote in a forecast discussion.

On Tuesday morning, the forecast cone for Irene slid away from Florida.

Tropical storm force winds extend more than 200 miles, but forecasters said today it's still unlikely they'll have to issue tropical storm watches or warnings for Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast.

What the area likely will see Thursday: sustained winds of 15 to 20 mph at daybreak, growing to 25 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 35 mph, meteorologist Alex Gibbs said from the National Weather Service's Miami office.

"You go inland just a few miles, it will drop off," Gibbs said.

But, he warned, "any slight deviation to the west on this track can increase those winds."

The weather service also said seas could be as high as 18 feet Thursday night.

And while the Bahamas traditionally block erosion from storms passing to the east, as Irene moves toward Florida's central east coast, wind-driven swells likely will come down toward the Jupiter area, perhaps bringing erosion to those northeast-facing beaches. The potential stretches up the Treasure Coast as well, Gibbs said.

But, he said, by then, the storm will be "passing by pretty quick," so damage could be limited.

Some will want to know the best shot at great surf conditions. That'll be Friday, Gibbs said. But, he warned, "it will be a rough ocean (from) Wednesday night through Thursday night."

The hurricane center's 5 p.m. advisory placed Irene about 670 miles southeast of Palm Beach and about 50 miles south-southwest of Grand Turk Island. It had slowed, moving west-northwest at 9 mph, and was expected to reach the southeastern Bahamas tonight and the northwestern Bahamas Wednesday night.

Irene was declared a hurricane at 5 a.m. Monday and jumped to Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with top sustained winds of 100 mph, on Monday evening.

It stayed that way most of today, then dropped to 90 mph, Category 1, this afternoon.

Models still make Irene a borderline Category 3 storm by Wednesday evening. And by midday Thursday, moving through the Bahamas, Irene's top winds would be 125 mph - only 5 mph below the threshold for Category 4.

Bahamians need no prompting about catastrophic storms. In an address to citizens this morning, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham noted that today's the 19th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew's devastating passage through the Bahamas in 1992; the next day, it visited upon South Florida one of the nation's greatest disasters.

"All residents are urged to complete their preparations in a calm and orderly fashion immediately," Ingraham said. ""On behalf of our country, I ask the prayers of the clergy and others for the safety of the people of our Bahamas. The threat then would turn to the U.S. east coast.

Emergency managers up and down the coast are starting to activate plans, including for evacuation, and despite the many competing news stories, from the economy to Libya, "people are aware we have a hurricane out there," FEMA administrator Craig Fugate said.

"You almost have to be on a hair-trigger decision," he said. "You don't have time if you're wrong."

In South Florida, local emergency managers will stay on guard until the threat is completely gone, Palm Beach County Assistant County Administrator Vince Bonvento - who leads emergency management efforts - said this morning.

"We're very fortunate that that's all, at least for now, that we could be experiencing," Bonvento said.

This is the toughest time for Bonvento and his counterparts. Irene is so close that any unforeseen turn toward the coast would leave little time to react.

"We're very fortunate that that's all, at least for now, that we could be experiencing," Bonvento said.

This is the toughest time for Bonvento and his counterparts. Irene is so close that any unforeseen turn toward the coast would leave little time to react.

Because officials need that lead time, at times in the past, they've pulled the trigger on school closings, shelter openings, and other emergency actions in anticipation of a storm that never arrived.

"The next day it was an absolutely beautiful day and everybody was critical," Bonvento said. "It appears, based on the current models, that none of that protective action is going to be necessary. But we can't let our guard down."

Because of that, "we think probably (Wednesday) afternoon at the absolutely latest would be our drop-dead decision time."

If any shelters open at schools, classes will be called off for the entire system, rather than cause the chaos of having some schools open and some closed, Bonvento said.

If nothing else, Bonvento said, Irene's threat was a good opportunity to test everything, and he said he's been pleased so far.

"We were just totally prepared," he said. "Everything went well."

 

[Beach girl]

wait a min... you live in Virginia, don't you?

I live in Virginia in the winter, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina in the summer. So that means we are potentially right smack in the bull's eye of the current predictions for Irene's track.

You know that little "arm and elbow" of a tiny strip of land that's just off the coast of North Carolina? The tip of that "elbow," an isolated island, is Ocracoke, which is under mandatory evacuation orders for tourists, starting tomorrow a.m.

We are about 70 miles north of there, on that tiny strip of land.

 

[Tousi]

I live in Virginia in the winter, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina in the summer. So that means we are potentially right smack in the bull's eye of the current predictions for Irene's track.

You know that little "arm and elbow" of a tiny strip of land that's just off the coast of North Carolina? The tip of that "elbow," an isolated island, is Ocracoke, which is under mandatory evacuation orders for tourists, starting tomorrow a.m.

We are about 70 miles north of there, on that tiny strip of land.

Uh Oh!! I assume you will be hightailing it outta there....if you haven't already?

 

[dogmom]

stay safe Beach Girl and everyone!

 

[Beach girl]

We'll wait at least one more day before deciding. We will stock up on some emergency provisions, make sure both cars are gassed up, etc., and keep an eye on it.

Ocracoke ALWAYS orders tourist evacuations, because the only way off the island is by ferry. Once the winds and waves start up, the ferries quit running.

People who live there nearly always stay, even when the tourists leave.

 

[Tousi]

We'll wait at least one more day before deciding. We will stock up on some emergency provisions, make sure both cars are gassed up, etc., and keep an eye on it.

Ocracoke ALWAYS orders tourist evacuations, because the only way off the island is by ferry. Once the winds and waves start up, the ferries quit running.

People who live there nearly always stay, even when the tourists leave.

Wow......the ones who stay, where do they go? Underground?

 

[Smithtr]

wow that is terrible bad news! scared

 

[rockin'robin]

My sisters are in N.C. ...I was also there when Floyd hit, but it wasn't too bad, no damage to my house and I lived in a no flood zone at that time...I did evacuate tho'...
I really feel sorry for those living near the Beaches in Carolina, as my sisters do...here in Jacksonville, we are expecting high waves, up to 11' (as per the news)...so the surfers will all be out there. And since I live right on the river, I'm hoping it don't overflow the enbankment! Which it probably won't...I've been hallucating about seeing alligators walking in my yard!

 

[shel90]

We'll wait at least one more day before deciding. We will stock up on some emergency provisions, make sure both cars are gassed up, etc., and keep an eye on it.

Ocracoke ALWAYS orders tourist evacuations, because the only way off the island is by ferry. Once the winds and waves start up, the ferries quit running.

People who live there nearly always stay, even when the tourists leave.

As of now, the models are showing Balitmore as a high threat of getting hit by Irene as a strong Category One. So, I will monitor the news and if it is still the same or worse by Friday (the predictions), I will have to check on my emergency supplies and go food shopping. I can imagine the nightmare the lines will be.

I am supposed to work at my 2nd job on Sat (group home) and I am wondering if they will order me to come in if has been determined that Irene will definitely hit us.

 

[LoveBlue]

...go food shopping. I can imagine the nightmare the lines will be.

. No worse than when you're expecting 2 inches of snow.