Friday, August 26, 2011

New York City Waiting for Irene: What to Expect When the Storm Arrives

We last visited the WSJ's Metropolis blog on August 31, 2010: "Hurricane Earl Forecast: Storm Increasingly Likely for New York" which had a link we purloined for Wednesday's "Hurricane Irene May Skirt Carolina Coast, Target New York City".
Here's their Irene coverage:
Friday 8:34 AM

With New York, New Jersey and Connecticut all under states of emergency, the reality of Hurricane Irene’s looming impact is starting to hit home for most tri-state residents.

Hurricane warnings now extend northward up the East Coast to New York Harbor and beyond, foreshadowing a truly extreme event. A dangerous rise in ocean levels, half a day of 75+ mph sustained winds, and 10 or more inches of rainfall over the next 72 hours are all likely.

If you live in Zone A, please follow directions and evacuate if requested. If at all possible, complete your preparedness steps by Friday. Once Saturday rolls around, it will be too late. MarketWatch’s Jennifer Waters has a list of 10 survival tips for the vast majority of us who have never seen a hurricane before. Believe me, if there ever was a time to heed the warnings of local officials and follow a Red Cross preparedness checklist, this is it.

HURRICANE TRACKER: See the latest Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms, and look back over past seasons.
The latest computer models continue to be in remarkable agreement around a likely landfall for Irene as a Category 1 or 2 hurricane somewhere between the Jersey Shore and central Long Island. The National Hurricane Center has barely changed their forecast track in the last 24 hours, which gives me even more confidence that Greater New York is Irene’s final destination.

As of 5 a.m. Friday, Irene is still right on NHC’s forecasted track — and right on the borderline of major hurricane status.

Irene will be a once-in-a-lifetime storm for most New Yorkers. Seriously, when Jim Cantore sets up his live broadcast from Battery Park, you know it’s for real.

A few years ago, Munich Re did a study on a strong hurricane traveling up the East Coast to make landfall in New York City. The estimated insured losses would be upwards of $100 billion, according to the study — the same order of magnitude as a certain hurricane that devestated New Orleans six years ago....MORE

Thursday 7:16 PM
New York Transit System Prepares for Full Shutdown
Thursday 5:41 PM
In the Hamptons, Distant Storm Spoils the Party
Thursday 4:55 PM
NYC Preaches Pet Preparedness Amid Hurricane Anxiety
Thursday 4:32 PM
Hurricane Who? How Irene Got Her Name

And many more. They're on it.