Bracing for the hurricane. Here in NYC the public transportation is hutting down at noon. Those of you in the affected areas take care of yourselves and be safe.                                                 

Be safe, Sister.  You and everyone in the path of Irene.

Hold on girl, out on the West Coast we're thinking of y'all and sending out positive vibrations.  We were talking last night about how surreal the notion that NYC would be 'closed for the weekend' is.  But I have total confidence in New Yorkers, you'll show 'em how its done.  Rock 'em.

SCORPIONS - Rock You Like A Hurricane (Moscow '97)

I would recommend gtfo of there.

The total population that is potentially impacted is 55 MILLION people, there are 2 million under evacuation orders now.  So it's not as easy as it sounds.

I wouldn't worry, it's only a cat 1 right now and still should be by the time it reaches you.  In Florida, nobody evacuates unless it's a cat 3 or higher so I'd be really surprised if there's major damage from a cat 1.  Do stay indoors though

Yeah, kinda like all of us out West were LOAO at people running outside during the earthquake, because around here a 5.9 doesn't even rate getting up from the breakfast table.  But prepared is better than not prepared.  And even at a Cat1 there could be lots of flooding with the storm surge on top of the high tide.

The wind speeds may be lower, but still don't underestimate a storm. When Fay hit Florida in 2008 it was only classified as a tropical storm, but some towns were almost totally underwater. People were going down the street in boats. These storms can spawn tornadoes too, and you might not see it amid all the rain.

Stay safe those in the NE, and do heed warnings that are given.

I think that the concern with this hurricane is not its strength but the fact that it is likely to hit densely populated, low-lying areas where people are not accustomed to this kind of weather.

And the fact that a lot of that area is pretty low-laying, and very flood prone.  That and it's impacting four or five out of every ten Americans, and numbers like that get coverage.  Also, NYC is not just some town, it's pretty much the real capitol of American in just about every important way.

I'm 15 miles south of Boston, I did all my prep. Batteries for the flashlight and 247 bags of Funyuns!

Yay funyuns!

Like several of my friends I keep my most special and awesome bottles of wine in my earthquake kit, because if it's going to be The Big One (as we refer to it) then we might as well go out in style.


My 'kit' is actually a 20 gallon garbage can on wheels sitting in a corner of the living room.  My tent, sleeping bags and all that other stuff is in there, roll and go.  (And it's out in the open - quite the decorating statement if I do say so myself - because you might not be able to open doors.

Near DC it is pretty windy and rainy atm, It seems like flooding is going to cause the bulk of the damage around here though.

Here's a little sunshine for you East Coasters

Stevie Ray Vaughan Couldn't Stand the Weather Live 85

While Irene isn't big in wind speed, it's a HUGE storm and has been pretty slow moving.  Imagine a "little Cat1 hurricane" punching you over a period of 18 hours.  You'll be worn out and pretty beat up.  And most of the areas it's hitting are unprepared for this kind of storm.  Florida would shrug it off.  Not so with NY, where they may see flooded subways, not to mention Battery Park and Ground Zero.

Here, in ol' Chicago, the weather has been absolutely GORGEOUS!!!  Last night we took a stroll downtown.  I can't remember weather this beautiful in the last decade, maybe more.  Day after day, paradise perfect.  We had a friend in from Detroit and she just couldn't say enough about what beautiful weather we've had here.

It looks like cool, dry Canadian air is coming down over us and Irene is taking it in.  Maybe our Northeast friends will be spared by this air weakening the storm and pushing it offshore.  We're keeping our fingers crossed!

I'm currently in the Philly area, some areas around me have been evacuated. Most of my family is in Jersey. Supposedly there is a strong chance of a  tornado in the area now.
I'm just eating the emergency rations waiting for something to happen.

Please be safe East Coast friends... Our thoughts are with you

Hugs

- Virginia

Hugs to all the Easties from Australia. Keep safe. Flooding is really nasty, we lost several people this year in floods. Very unpredictable particularly when you are not use to them

Cindy

Im in Mass and its supposed to hit in the morning. im more scared of the tornadoes than the flooding and everything. i hope everyone affected stays safe! ill be in my basement tommorow..