Sandy, aka here we go again...

[ny biker]

Sitting here watching storm forecasts for Sandy/Frankenstorm.

Hoping everyone in its path makes it through with minimal impact.

[Koronin]

Stay safe. We're in coastal NC and supposedly we're past the worst of it for us. The rain should end sometime tomorrow and the wind should be gone by Tuesday here. It was not as bad as they were forecasting for us. Ended up mostly with a light rain that started last night. Right now we're actually getting some heavier rain than we had all day, but the winds haven't been bad at all. Actually have had regular storms with much stronger winds than anything with this so far. I hope all in it's path are as fortunate to have it be much less impact-full than it's being forecast to be.

[withm]

Sigh,
I've brought in all my deck furniture and plants. Done laundry, run the dishwasher, charged up all my electronics, cleaned out anything questionable from the fridge. We rarely get power failures, and winds in the 75 mph range should be ok. Yeah, trees will come down, and I'll just have to hope one doesn't land on my house. I'm evacuating in the morning.

The big threat for me is serious flooding. I live at about 3' above sea level. I'd thought about parking over at the bike shop where the elevation is about 5' and walking home, but then there is this pesky mandatory evacuation order to deal with and they don't issue those capriciously. Then again, who wants to be the one that said, sure you can stay home, no problem.

I went over to the ocean just at dusk to see what was going on. The wind was gusting to 30kt easily, and it was high tide. Or should I say, extremely high tide - to the foot of the dune and the waves were easily 8' or more in the surf zone, and forecast to build to 19' over the next couple days. A couple days of that will make the high tides really interesting. The rain has just started, and I guess it's going to rain for the next 3 days. Oh joy!

[azfiddle]

Be safe everyone.

[ny biker]

Don't forget the full moon making the high tides higher than usual.

I'm far enough away from the Potomac, and up on a hill, and on the second floor of the condo building, so I don't have to worry about flooding for my home.

I went grocery shopping yesterday before the insanity hit the stores. I have lots of batteries for flashlights (and my bike headlights, which can double as rather bright flashlights ), plus a new lantern that I picked up after the big power outage in July. I've also got the smartphone with the really good battery that I bought in July, and I kept the old smartphone so I can use that to play solitaire and removem without draining the battery on the new phone.

Tomorrow I'll fill up as many pitchers and water bottles as I can fit in my refrigerator and freezer. I'm running the dishwasher tonight and will do laundry tomorrow. I'm also meeting a friend for lunch tomorrow, and will fill up the gas tank and hit the ATM on my way home.

My real concern is my parents up on Long Island. I expect the main roads in their town will flood. They're on a hill so they'll be dry, but they will be cut off in the event of an emergency.

[Crankin]

Cleaned up the leaves, so nothing gets caught in the drains in our yard (we live on a hill). Took down the wind chimes, whirly gig, and checked the yard for anything that needed to be done.
Did laundry, got cash and groceries. Running the dishwasher now. We have a supply of batteries to last a lifetime. Got the cell phone charger for the car out of DH's car and put in my car.
Made sure I have enough canned food and stuff I can heat on the stove (I have gas) and am making some turkey meatballs. Dug out the manual can opener.
Will fill up the car later, but I probably will go up to my office in the AM, which will use up gas, so may fill up again. I have to get some billing stuff done at the office, but the rest of day is my clients who live within 12 miles of my house. We are getting mostly the wind effects and some rain, according to the weather folks. We are on the edge, thankfully, of the really bad stuff.
Glad I no longer live in a house with a well. At least I can flush the toilet, use the water if the power goes out. We have a municipal utility in Concord, so if the power goes out, it's usually back within a few hours. Last year, in the Halloween snow storm, our power was out for 4 hours and the surrounding towns were like 4-7 days.
But, I wish DH wasn't away.

[tealtreak]

Don't forget the full moon making the high tides higher than usual.

I'm far enough away from the Potomac, and up on a hill, and on the second floor of the condo building, so I don't have to worry about flooding for my home.

I went grocery shopping yesterday before the insanity hit the stores. I have lots of batteries for flashlights (and my bike headlights, which can double as rather bright flashlights ), plus a new lantern that I picked up after the big power outage in July. I've also got the smartphone with the really good battery that I bought in July, and I kept the old smartphone so I can use that to play solitaire and removem without draining the battery on the new phone.

Tomorrow I'll fill up as many pitchers and water bottles as I can fit in my refrigerator and freezer. I'm running the dishwasher tonight and will do laundry tomorrow. I'm also meeting a friend for lunch tomorrow, and will fill up the gas tank and hit the ATM on my way home.

My real concern is my parents up on Long Island. I expect the main roads in their town will flood. They're on a hill so they'll be dry, but they will be cut off in the event of an emergency.

With you on the concern for Long Island- I have a son at Kingspoint....... (USMMA)

[jyyanks]

Manhattan is closing down the transit system as of tonight. Schools are closed tomorrow, as is my office. In the burbs, I know we're going to lose power so determining now whose house we should go. Biggest concern for us are 4 giant pine trees on my neighbors yard that are sure to come crashing down on us so trying to clear the upstairs of any valuables and hope for the best.

[PamNY]

There's talk of a pre-emptive power shutdown in lower Manhattan to protect equipment, so I'm filling water jugs just in case. We have food and batteries, and my apartment building staff is very good. I think we will be okay.

Taking the dog out will likely be a problem, but that's minor in the great scheme of things.

Hope everyone stays safe and comfortable.

[thekarens]

As someone who has been through a couple of hurricanes I feel for y'all. Stay safe!

[Koronin]

Good luck to all. The rain here has stopped, just the wind which will last through Tuesday and the gusts here are no worse than any other regular storm. I have seen some pictures from the Outer Banks of NC, mostly of Hatteras Island and there is a lot of flooding there. Milo Beach (Rodanthe, Salvo, Waves) appear to be taking the worst of it (which is typical as this is the smallest strip of land). There has been 1 definite house collapse into the ocean. It's the 2nd house from what is referred to as the S-Curves which are totally flooded. This house was condemned after Irene last year and no work was done to it, so no one was in the home. Anyone who watched the movie Nights in Rodanthe, this house at the time was the 3rd home from the S Curves as Serendipity was the first, but was moved father south 3 years ago. This area is prone to flooding with a minor storm, so the flooding was expected and the only evacuations were called were for visitors to please leave since they would be stuck on the island if they did not. No evacuations called for residents. I hope those who are still in her path will be safe.

[Shellyrides]

I will be lighting a BIG candle tonight to hope for the safety of all in this storms path. I just hope there "Frankenstein" monster storm ends up being more along the book lines and less of a horror movie!

[Crankin]

All the schools are closed tomorrow. I am wondering if it's really going to be that bad here. It's raining out, been raining all day, but no wind really, yet.
I'm ready, although not sure what I am going to do about work tomorrow. One client (the one who lives right near me) cancelled already.

[Owlie]

My dad's up in Boston these days... Hopefully Frankenstorm isn't as bad as expected.

Stay safe, everyone.

[ny biker]

Pam, I read that if you live on a high floor you should consider finding a lower place to stay, because winds will be even worse at higher levels.

Federal government is closed tomorrow, schools closed, Metro system closed, local governments closed, public library announced that no books are due between now and sometime next week.

Yet I know several people who are expected to go to work because their employer plans to be open. Which is just stupid, I think.

I usually go to the gym for weight training on Mondays, but I went today instead. Also met a friend for lunch, just to get out of the house. Then I went to pick up a few non-storm things at Target, which was not at all crowded.

I received an email from Verizon and a phone message from Comcast with info about reporting outages and how to get information during the storm. My credit card company sent an email saying that they will not charge late or overdraft fees for the next several days.

I also received an email from Tim Kaine, who is running for Senate, asking people to take any campaign-related yard signs indoors until the storm is over.