# Hurricane Irene...



## scout24 (Aug 25, 2011)

I don't think this is jumping the gun, we're going to see the effects of this storm starting here within the next 72 hours. It's projected to hit a bunch of areas that don't typically see storm activity like this, so I was thinking a thread to stay in touch with the CPF'ers that may be in harm's way and to discuss current conditions would be a good idea. I'm just north and west of NYC, prepared (fingers crossed) and hoping for the best. Please post with where you are if you're so inclined.


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## jtr1962 (Aug 25, 2011)

Flushing, about 2 miles east of Flushing Meadows Park. 60 feet above sea level, so we're not in a potential evacuation zone. My brother probably is. He lives right near the water in the Rockaways. He'll probably be staying with us for the duration of this.


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## StarHalo (Aug 25, 2011)

Make sure you've got a battery-powered radio set to your local news station; it could become very important over the next few days..


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## run4jc (Aug 25, 2011)

DC area. Our fortunes are still in question as related to the impact here. Just got through an earthquake - now a hurricane. Sheesh. 

UPDATE - yesterday tried to get my 11 year old, severely neglected generator to start - it wouldn't - can't get it repaired until next week. Broke down and bought a new economy Honda generator - I'll get the other repaired and put it on Craigslist or something...

BTW - thanks, Scout, for the advice!:thumbsup:


---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.898407,-77.227538


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## Mjolnir (Aug 26, 2011)

I am right in the middle of CT which seems to be directly in the path of many of the current forecast models. I am pretty far from the shore though, so hopefully the effects will not be as severe. I have about a dozen 18650 cells from laptops here waiting just in case though...


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## Meganoggin (Aug 26, 2011)

Get those cells charged and keep safe - good luck everyone.


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## EZO (Aug 26, 2011)

I've always found the web site Wunderground to have the most comprehensive hour by hour weather information at times like this. Just plug your zip code into the first link. Here is an excellent link for monitoring the progress of the storm. The computer models provide a lot more information than you'll usually get from your local radio or TV station.


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## DaveG (Aug 26, 2011)

Flashlight dept in local Target cleaned out.


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## gearhead1972 (Aug 26, 2011)

Yup about 50 miles north of NYC here. Batteries all charged yesterday, will be firing up the generator today and getting gas for it. Wife went shopping yesterday.


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## Xacto (Aug 26, 2011)

Other side of the pond, but after reading some details about Irene, I will try to stay up-to-date how it will develop. 

Best wishes and stay safe to the CPF members.... to all people in the area that will probably get hit.

Thorsten


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## scout24 (Aug 26, 2011)

Ezo- Thank you for the link! I went to my local Home Depot at 6:30 this morning, flashlights pretty much cleaned out, all common batteries were still available, but in very limited quantities. Blue tarps, work gloves, and generators obviously also picked pretty much clean. No chainsaws either, but plenty of bar and chain oil, as well as 2-stroke mix. Hope we need none of it… Hope everyone makes it out okay. Sheet plywood was also in very limited supply... as were gas cans.


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## carrot (Aug 26, 2011)

Charging up what Li-ion batteries I do own. Hoping I don't have to go to work on Sunday!!!


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## run4jc (Aug 26, 2011)

Just left Home Depot - glad I bought my generator when I did! HD had none - some flashlights, lots of batteries and some power tools. I have oil and gas for my chain saw, but I don't think the DC area is going to get hit as badly as some of you good folks in NY/NJ/CT. 

Bought some more charcoal and an additional full propane tank - lady at HD said they had been going full tilt since 8 this morning. I'm glad I have lots of water, filtration, MREs and tons of freeze dried food! Firearms and plenty of ammo, but don't expect to need that - still, this could be a dry run for a worse scenario some day. I hope this one passes and the 'some day' never comes! Good luck everyone -


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## gearhead1972 (Aug 26, 2011)

run4jc said:


> DC area. Our fortunes are still in question as related to the impact here. Just got through an earthquake - now a hurricane. Sheesh.
> 
> UPDATE - yesterday tried to get my 11 year old, severely neglected generator to start - it wouldn't - can't get it repaired until next week. Broke down and bought a new economy Honda generator - I'll get the other repaired and put it on Craigslist or something...
> 
> ...


Get some stabil brand fuel stabilizer, put it in your big gas can, and some in the generator tank. when your done using the generator, shut off the fuel and run it dry. Some of them have a drain plug on the fuel bowl. let that drain also. This ethanol gas we have now is the worst thing for carbs. I help out my buddy who owns a small engine repair shop, most all no start problems this year have been from the fuel. The ethanol severely reduces the shelf life of the gas and it absorbs moisture. Moisture reeks havoc on the carbs, and the ethanol eats away the rubber seats and seals.
Stay safe everyone


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## Satanta (Aug 26, 2011)

Well, I have been what is called a Prepper [[or Doomer- depending on whether you country country or the city.]] for several years.

My wife is mostly 'there' but not as hardcore as myself.

Moved into her house last year and have been trying to get her to see things my way.

She has a genny but no gas. She has plenty of camping gear including solar showers but little water storage capacity.

Now I am 'making do' and wrapping things up-better than most bit no where *near* my "500 gallons of drinking water/500 gallons gasoline/500 gallons propane/plus food for ten for a year.

We are 90 miles from the coast in NC. Not sure if it is going to brush us or landfall here then move North. We are expecting 115mph winds for what I gather.

Well, if we survive I think the light is now on in her head.

She was eyeing my EagleTac last night asking if I had batteries. 

Good luck and Godspeeed.


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## Ken_McE (Aug 26, 2011)

I have been promised a hurricane, I am expecting a hurricane, and by dog I want my hurricane! I understand it will be slightly used by the time it gets here, have a little mileage on it, probably be leaking a little rain and all, but still, I want my hurricane!


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## WDR65 (Aug 26, 2011)

Vehicles are full of gas and we've got plenty of diesel for our loaders. Chainsaws are sharp and generator is ready to go. I've got all my flashlights, headlamps and lanterns loaded up with fresh batteries. The forecast for us keeps changing but at the very least I expect to lose power for a day or so. Its been a while since I've been worried about one and we haven't taken one on the chin for 12 years but this one is gonna be close.


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## Paul6ppca (Aug 26, 2011)

Im in RI 3 miles from the coast.
All batteries charged and ready! Chainsaw ;check
water; check.
food ;check 
beer; double check


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## EZO (Aug 26, 2011)

scout24 said:


> Ezo- Thank you for the link! I went to my local Home Depot at 6:30 this morning, flashlights pretty much cleaned out, all common batteries were still available, but in very limited quantities. Blue tarps, work gloves, and generators obviously also picked pretty much clean. No chainsaws either, but plenty of bar and chain oil, as well as 2-stroke mix. Hope we need none of it… Hope everyone makes it out okay. Sheet plywood was also in very limited supply... as were gas cans.



You are welcome scout! Yeah, I've been a fan of Wunderground for years and they just keep getting better. For anyone who is interested there is a wealth of information. Try the interactive WunderMap; it is quite amazing. Click on some of the options on the right hand side of the page to see what I'm talking about. It is basically Google powered but well crafted for it's purpose.

I guess it's just human nature but some of us keep all the items you mention and more on hand as a matter of course and some folks don't have a candle, a book of matches, a single working flashlight or a can of tuna on hand in case of an emergency so they panic at the last minute and have to scramble at Home Depot and the supermarket.


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## StarHalo (Aug 26, 2011)

For those in the area or anyone listening online/using TuneIn; radio news stations in Irene's path doing news and coverage:

WHKT AM 1650 Hampton Road is taking calls and discussing evacuation routes 
WLTT FM 93.7 Wilmington is going to begin nonstop info and updates starting a 5AM local time tomorrow
WRJR AM 670 Chesapeake is taking calls and providing updates
WNIS AM 790 Norfolk will begin nonstop news at 11AM local time tomorrow


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## Mjolnir (Aug 26, 2011)

One of the latest forecasts for my area was predicting "only" 65 mph wind gusts, and 5-10 inches of rain. Luckily I live on the side of a hill, so flooding probably won't be an issue. I just hope the 50+ foot trees behind my house can stand the wind; I would hate to have one of them fall. Branches I can deal with, but a 3 foot diameter trunk falling on my house could be problematic.


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## EZO (Aug 26, 2011)

I too was relieved to see that here in Vermont we are "only" likely to get 65 mile per hour tropical storm gusts rather than the originally projected Category 1 74-95 mph hurricane winds. Then again I live about half way up a mountain. I have a remarkable 100 mile view from my deck and living room window but there's the rub, I am about as exposed as you can get to a storm like this. We have had wind events here where I thought my house would end up in Kansas! One time I awoke to find my large gas grill upside down in the snow and about 40 feet from the porch it had been stored on. Another time a 4x6 foot picture window was damaged in a wind storm. Luckily, it didn't shatter but the seals broke and it fogged up. It's getting boarded over this time. I just hope the other similar window that is too high to access will be OK. My property has still not fully recovered from the ice storm we had in 2008 and I have 4-5 foot diameter 200+ year old maple trees just outside! 

Just this week the local power company has been replacing all the wires along my road as part of a long planned project because they've been there for many decades. They must be thrilled with the timing. Who knows, maybe they will weather the hurricane better than those old wires.


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## smokelaw1 (Aug 26, 2011)

Hartford Area CT here. Flashlights.....Lightpipe 70 charging, p7 mag...charged, Lamdba V2000, charged, small 24w hid, charged. 18650's charged (with backups) for two malkoffs (me and wife). Ra twisty, a few other small 123 lights with about 50 batteries. Three year old has her milky modded e1e (10 lumens....LONG runtime with a primary). Baby's room has a milky candle in it. Kitchen has a milky candle. 

Damn...food and water! I knew I forgot something. Just kidding, we are well stocked. No generator though, and I'm regretting that. 

Good luck everybody, let's hope it sputters and we just get a wind and rain storm. I'm in no mood for a hurricane.


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## StarHalo (Aug 26, 2011)

The outermost wall is now making landfall, from Hatteras to Savannah.

View from Cape Hatteras lighthouse as of 4:15PM local time:


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## smokelaw1 (Aug 26, 2011)

Just found out that the track of the eye is about 8 miles from my house:

nevermind. the paste didn't work. 

That said, looks like it's going to be a wild weekend. Stay safe everybody!


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## Sector7 (Aug 26, 2011)

I just walked past the local hardware store in NYC and people are going buck wild buying up all those big fat 6v lantern lights like there is no tomorrow.


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## scout24 (Aug 26, 2011)

Just got back from a recon run to my local supermarket and convenience store, didn't need anything, just checking to see what water and batteries they had. Grocery store was PACKED, and cleaned out of pretty much both. Convenience store was well stocked, just got a shipment of both.


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## daytec (Aug 26, 2011)

I guess I started a threadin the wrong section, anyhow, I'm in Raleigh NC . this really don't seem like anything close
to Fran, that truely kicked a bunch of behind around here.marty


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## Mtbmurf (Aug 26, 2011)

20 minutes outta hartford... I Run a large supermarket.... Make u glad ur a flashaholic... Dozen 18650 charged, 8 lipo 123 charged, 10 rcr123 charged and dozens of eneloops etc... All my old magz have new batts and led upgrades... Generator filled, gas cans filled, cars filled, chainsaw ready, sawz all blades ready... 
Seeing the thousands of folks running into my store looking for c and d batteries i get to giggle... I have thousands of aa and aaa batteries left but no others...
Home depot crazy packed around here and alot of gas stations out of gas or 10 deep lines....
Tomorrow am back to trailers of water bread and milk... Worked 6am to 8pm pounding hard today...


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## Mjolnir (Aug 26, 2011)

Smokelaw I am in the same area as you; for all this danger it should be sort of neat to experience the calm of the eye of a hurricane. 
Hopefully we will get hit by the west side, which apparently means more rain and less wind. Water I can deal with, but trees landing on my house not so much...


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## Mtbmurf (Aug 26, 2011)

P.s anyone ever charge with their Pila off a generator?? Is it ok??!!


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## StarHalo (Aug 26, 2011)

JFK, LaGuardia, Stewart, Newark, and Teterboro airports will close to inbound flights at noon tomorrow.


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## Samy (Aug 26, 2011)

Watching with interest from downunder. We have several high category hurricanes and severe flooding all through our summer a few months back so we're keen to see how the USA handles this one


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## StarHalo (Aug 26, 2011)

An east coast Twitterer posted an image of the battery section of her local Target:


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## carrot (Aug 26, 2011)

From NY Mag: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/08/hurricane_watch_2011_the_wrath.html



> Update XXI: As New Yorkers desperately hunt for flashlights, the bonds of society are showing some strain:
> Susan Lee had already tried Home Depot, and was striking out at Duane Reade when someone shouted out, "They have shipments of flashlights at the hardware store next door!" she recalled. Lee was part of a flood of customers mobbing the cramped and dimly lit store on Sixth Avenue.
> An employee arrived with a dolly loaded with boxes of flashlights and batteries. He sliced open the top layer of boxes and customers began shoving each other aside to get the goods.



I don't think New Yorkers have gotten this excited about flashlights in years. Got my batteries all charged up and ready to go...


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## Larbo (Aug 26, 2011)

Well the batteries are charged and the generator is ready, food water and spare propane for gas lantern on hand. Should be an interesting weekend.....


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## Woods Walker (Aug 26, 2011)

I charged all my NiMH AA/AAA for the headlamps and flashlights. No question we will not have power given the numbers of trees.


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## StarHalo (Aug 26, 2011)

2,200 without power in Brunswick County, NC
7,400 without power in New Hanover County, NC


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## Woods Walker (Aug 26, 2011)

All of the bottled water and most of the batteries were sold out. All of the local gas stations are closed for lack of fuel. I have water as part of my standard preps plus my water filter can pump it from anyplace. I have food and gas for the generator. Found a gas station a town over and filled up the truck. We are without power all the time, even after short thunder storms and find headlamps the most useful. The flashlights work best pointed towards the ceiling to light up the room. Looks like the eye will pass very near my house but don't know yet as this is still a day away.


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## LuxLuthor (Aug 27, 2011)

Wunderground is a nice site. I also like using http://www.stormpulse.com/atlantic when these hurricanes come up. Turn on all the display options, and you see a lot of interesting details.

I was a lot more worried here in New London, after seeing what Gloria did, but there is a lot more hype/fear mongering going on with this storm than is warranted (IMHO). It keeps decreasing in intensity and moving up the seaboard faster as far as I can tell. May be power outages here, but I'll be suprised if it stays Cat-1 over Long Island. When this started a couple days ago, I almost grabbed the Honda 6500, as my generic 5000W is now 18 years old...but cleaned up carb, new plug, oil, air filter...started right up.

The most amazing thing is the local Stop & Shop grocery gives gas discount points that build up before expiring after a month. Well we took both cars, and 20 gallons in empty containers over last night with 90 cents off racked up...and they were out of all regular and middle grades of gas already. So get this....in the interest of customer relations, they dropped their Premium grade selling for $4.18 down to the regular grade price, so our total ended up being 48 gallons of Premium @ $2.89 per gallon. That made this hurricane worthwhile.


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## StarHalo (Aug 27, 2011)

Irene has dropped to category 1 and has lost symmetry; still a threat due to size/duration and the storm surge.


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## Rat (Aug 27, 2011)

Good luck guys take care.


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## roadie (Aug 27, 2011)

hope everyone are safe 

and happily playing yr flashlights along the way ....

and the postal services will work after the storm brews over .... [ i got mail coming from the east coast of usa ...  ]


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## Larbo (Aug 27, 2011)

Stores around here are picked clean, I found this while getting ready.


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## scout24 (Aug 27, 2011)

Everyone in the grocery store this morning looked suprised that there was no milk, minimal water, and no C or D cell batteries left...


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## Vox Clamatis in Deserto (Aug 27, 2011)

I was supposed to fly to JFK this morning to move a Boeing out before noon. Change of plans, the original crew decided not to go to the hotel and will fly the plane out instead. Fine with me.:thumbsup:

Here is the characteristically cryptic Notice to Airmen that Kennedy Airport was to be closed to arrivals (but not departures it turns out) at noon local time today:

JFK 08/272 JFK AD CLSD EXC TKOF WEF 1108271600

And, the aviation weather forecast for JFK, looks like the storm will really start to hit the area about 7 pm today with gusts up to 70 knots by 10 am Sunday morning:

KJFK 271421Z 2714/2818 07006KT P6SM SCT007 BKN015
FM271500 09010KT 6SM -SHRA SCT007 BKN015
TEMPO 2715/2719 SCT015 OVC030
FM272000 08015KT 5SM -SHRA BR SCT007 BKN015
FM272300 09025G35KT 3SM RA BR OVC012
FM280400 09035G45KT 1SM +RA BR OVC007
FM281000 08045G60KT 1SM +RA BR OVC005
FM281400 05060G70KT 1SM +RA BR OVC005

Obviously, aviation operational information could use a little improvement on the user interface.:shakehead


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## Gimpy00Wang (Aug 27, 2011)

I'm near Springfield, MA -- about 20min north of Hartford. Ready for the fun. Illumination and communications devices all charged and ready. 2wd and 4wd vehicles full of fuel. Enough batteries to last a month -- if not longer. About 2wks of water. Tons of food!

- Chris


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## StarHalo (Aug 27, 2011)

438,000 without power in NC and VA alone.

Three fatalities; a car accident, a man struck by a falling tree branch, and one unreported. One child missing in Newport News. EDIT: Four fatalities, missing child confirmed dead.

Swanquarter, NC reports water flowing over a levee, severe flooding underway.

Mail service has not been interrupted in NC.

WNIS 790 is the only regional radio station I can find that is taking calls and providing updates.

The Weather Channel is noting that this Hurricane is uniquely large, with rain bands up to 450 miles from the storm center:


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## jamesbeat (Aug 27, 2011)

We're just north of the area of Long Island that's being evacuated.
We should be ok here because we're not in an area that's expected to be flooded, but we'll probably experience some power outages.
Family and friends who didn't understand my obsession with flashlights are beginning to understand now!
28 cells fully charged, 6 flashlights of various types ready to go (I have more, but I'm only using the most efficient ones)

Good luck everybody, stay safe.


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## StarHalo (Aug 27, 2011)

Power outage figures are now at 600,000+, NYC is considering deliberately cutting power to flood-prone areas of the city.

A surfer in Florida died while surfing outsized waves created by the hurricane, making him the fifth Irene fatality despite not being anywhere near the actual storm.

There is no evacuation plan for the Rikers Island prison complex, so all 12,000+ prisoners and staff are "on their own."

The FM arm of the aforementioned WNIS has gone off the air; I am still unable to find several stations in the region that worked yesterday.

A clue as to why some stores are completely out of batteries is provided by a NYC blogger: "Ran across the street to the Duane Reade to pick up a two-liter bottle of Diet Coke. Waiting in line I found a woman buying a slew of batteries. When I asked her where her flashlights were for those batteries, her response back to me was 'I just wanted to have batteries. Just in case.' Huh. Yup, glad to see New Yorkers aren't hoarding at all."


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## alpg88 (Aug 27, 2011)

i,m in midtown nyc now, will be here on the job for at least 36hours, got camera with me, as for lights, i got xl200, and 2 modded lights, but here at work i got about 50 cheap 2d light, and about 50 glowsticks. so i wont be left in the dark, power is still on in midtown.


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## StarHalo (Aug 27, 2011)

A second person in Virginia has died from a tree that fell on a car in Brunswick County.

A 2.9 magnitude earthquake has been reported just west-southwest of Altamont, New York.

Water levels at Battery Park, NYC are already one foot over mean tide.

Columbia NC reports flooding with as much as 20 inches of water on some roads. Some buildings downtown have water coming in.

The Granby Street bridge in Norfolk, VA has collapsed.

Long Island police are asking that anyone who stays in their homes write their name and SS# on their forearms.


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## roadie (Aug 27, 2011)

jus saw this on yahoo news ...


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## Stress_Test (Aug 27, 2011)

carrot said:


> From NY Mag: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/08/hurricane_watch_2011_the_wrath.html
> 
> Update XXI: As New Yorkers desperately hunt for flashlights, the bonds of society are showing some strain:
> Susan Lee had already tried Home Depot, and was striking out at Duane Reade when someone shouted out, "They have shipments of flashlights at the hardware store next door!" she recalled. Lee was part of a flood of customers mobbing the cramped and dimly lit store on Sixth Avenue.
> ...


 

Jeez, it hasn't been all that many years since the big east coast blackout, has it? And they STILL don't have lights? 


Also, regarding batteries, has anyone seen whether there are still any CR123a or CR2 lithiums still left? There has been much speculation in the past about what cells would be the very last to go in a situation like this; maybe we can finally get an answer to that question!


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## jamesbeat (Aug 27, 2011)

StarHalo said:


> Long Island police are asking that anyone who stays in their homes write their name and SS# on their forearms.



No, they didn't.

Some areas of the island have mandatory evacuation orders, but only in the areas likely to be flooded.
This does not affect the majority of the island, and we have been told to stay in our homes.
Please don't start scaremongering.


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## scout24 (Aug 27, 2011)

My local grocery store, Stop and Shop, was out of C's and D's early this morning. Some AA and AAA, mainly "off" brand alkalines were left, along with decent numbers of CR2 and 123 "camera" batteries. Outrageously priced, single and two packs. I'm heading back tomorrow morning, it's only two and a half miles, to check again. Even 2016 and 2032's were still available, for the Photon/ freebie coin cell light fans. (Myself included.) Thankfully I don't need any cells, well stocked.


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## StarHalo (Aug 27, 2011)

jamesbeat said:


> Please don't start scaremongering.


 
As reported by Nick Confessore of the New York Times.



Stress_Test said:


> Also, regarding batteries, has anyone seen whether there are still any CR123a or CR2 lithiums still left? There has been much speculation in the past about what cells would be the very last to go in a situation like this; maybe we can finally get an answer to that question!


 
The answer is that they all go; of all the battery-section-Tweet-pics I've seen in the last 24 hours, none of them had any batteries left at all.


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## jamesbeat (Aug 27, 2011)

StarHalo said:


> As reported by Nick Confessore of the New York Times.
> .


 
No, misquoted.
He said that police in his parents town on LI had said that, not all of LI as implied in your post.
Not trying to start an argument, but chinese whispers might cause people to panic and endanger themselves.

Police often use the 'SSN on the arm' thing to scare people into obeying evacuation orders.


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## gearhead1972 (Aug 27, 2011)

all of my mothers side of the family are on Long Island, Her sister is up here at my moms but the rest stayed. I have been talking to them, and no such thing has been stated about names and SS#, nor has any of the local news casts. I will say this though, the town supervisor for Cape May NJ said this on the news last night, " If you are in the mandatory evacuation zone and chose not to leave please do this for us. Take a 3x5 index card, with indelible ink write your name, SS#, DOB, next of kin, and their phone number. Put it in your left shoe and tie it tight." 

As for the 123 batteries, I was in 3 stores today that carry batteries, Home Depot, Radio Shack, and Rite Aid. All were out of C, D, and 6v lantern, but had AAA, AA and it looked to me like the 123 were not even touched.


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## recDNA (Aug 27, 2011)

Wish I had a generator but at one gallon of gas per hour that's a lot of gasoline to store in the house. I also wonder if the thing would even run with the wind andbdrenching rain. I don't have an outdoor enclosure sobit would be out in the rain. Ibwonder if it would short circuit even if it runs with water driven intonit sideways at 50 mph?


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## Mjolnir (Aug 27, 2011)

It has been raining on and off here all day but so far we haven't gotten any wind yet. I have 10 fully charged 18650 cells (as well as a pair of 14500s and imr 26650s) and about 30 alkaline AAs as well as some D cells, so I should be fine for a while.


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## StarHalo (Aug 27, 2011)

Nine Irene fatalities total as of this hour.

Mayor Bloomberg has asked remaining NYC residents to not attempt to evacuate. Hotels have disabled air conditioning and grounded elevators. 135 Power outages in Staten Island; 267 In Brooklyn; 5 In Queens; 2 In The Bronx; 0 In Manhattan

80,000 Without Power In Atlantic City, NJ Region 

2,000,000 without power in Virginia

Washington DC announces no closure or delay of mass transit, no curfew; 9,155 without power.


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## Mjolnir (Aug 27, 2011)

I thought he said hotels didn't have to disable their air conditioners; at least that is what I got form his answer to the question at the press conference.


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## Bimmerboy (Aug 27, 2011)

We're ready over here with more flashlights, beer, and cigarettes than we know what to do with!  Actually, it's business as usual at the Bimmerboy residence, but that's beside the point.

I live on Long Island, but there will be no info in my shoe for authorities to notify next of kin... because I'm not wearing shoes. And, if my street develops the kind of lake it did 25 years ago, I'm going swimming... again!! To this day, I'm still the only one to have ever swam down my street, and am hoping this is my next opportunity.

BTW, I have plenty to say about how our northeastern politicians are reacting to this foretold armegeddon. The arrogant bossing us around, and acting like none of us could ever figure out how to save ourselves in the face of a little wind and rain, is something I absolutely abhor.


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## PhotonWrangler (Aug 27, 2011)

If more people would switch over to LED flashlights they'd need fewer batteries, leaving more on the shelves for others. If only more people would wake up to this. We have some flashlights based on 5mm LEDs with beefy battery packs that just run forever.


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## StarHalo (Aug 27, 2011)

Mjolnir said:


> I thought he said hotels didn't have to disable their air conditioners; at least that is what I got form his answer to the question at the press conference.


 
He asked hotels to comply, but it's not manditory.



Bimmerboy said:


> And, if my street develops the kind of lake it did 25 years ago, I'm going swimming... again!!


 
Pics or it didn't happen.



PhotonWrangler said:


> If more people would switch over to LED flashlights they'd need fewer batteries, leaving more on the shelves for others.


 
"The PhotonWrangler Super Survival Light, yours for the low low price.."


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## Monocrom (Aug 27, 2011)

Right now it's just past 11:30pm Saturday.

Worst of the hurricane is supposed to hit here in NYC at Saturday night / Sunday morning.

Currently just a normal rain outside my 6th floor bedroom window. Guess we'll see if it stays that way.


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## Mjolnir (Aug 27, 2011)

Well my gutters seem to be holding up so far. The wind is the one thing I am worrying about. If we really get hit with 80 mph gusts as predicted it could get nasty.

Now the waiting game begins...


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## StarHalo (Aug 27, 2011)

Now more than 170,000 without power in Washington region



Monocrom said:


> Worst of the hurricane is supposed to hit here in NYC at Saturday night / Sunday morning.


 
If it doesn't stray from its path, the center of the storm will pass within nine miles of the city at 1:30 PM your time Sunday.


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## Mjolnir (Aug 28, 2011)

OK the wind is picking up a bit now; the atmosphere definitely seems more energetic. I talked to a friend in northern Delaware who still has power and says there is not much wind there despite a tornado warning, but they are just getting bands of the storm, not the center.

Also, it just started thundering.


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## cdrake261 (Aug 28, 2011)

My wife's grandparents house isn't boarded up, I hope their house will be ok. They live in Baltimore


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## Philonous (Aug 28, 2011)

Funny how an event that ostensibly has no impact on you can nevertheless have a surprising impact on you. Although I live in a very different geographic area, this event has convinced me to get a TK41 with in-light, spare and reserve Eneloops to match, along with an AA keychain light (thinking Fenix LD15) to match my SC51. I'm also going to pick up a gas stove, and keep a bare-mininimum supply of water in the apartment. We never get 'big weather' like you guys, but of course everything's relative; because we don't get big weather, the system is barely designed to cope with even medium weather. Any kind of a gale and the power's down. With a (relatively!) bad winter expected, I think some forward planning might go a long way.


Anyway, keep calm, stay safe, but if things get rough remember to live up to the values of autonomous, generous citizenship that epitomise the American way. Heartless hoarders be damned; the benevolent and prepared be praised.


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## nbp (Aug 28, 2011)

Take care you guys in the NE. I have friends in NC who were a little west of the real action and just had branches down but I also have friends in NY and I hope everything goes alright for them and you guys. 

I agree with that post just before-stuff like this makes you think about how prepared you are for issues. I've got a BoB in my car with some essential supplies if I had to duck out to a friend's house with no time to prepare or I got stranded in my car somewhere; heck, I could make a rough camp and probably sleep outside if the weather wasn't too severe. But seeing people evacuate makes me wonder if there should be other things in there, or if I should have more provisions in the house. 

The one good thing is that we don't have hurricanes/earthquakes/tsunamis and other such widespread disasters here. Blizzards, yes, but those don't trap you for long, and you don't evac. Tornadoes do occur periodically, so that's something to consider, but extra provisions stashed don't really matter if your house is gone. I dunno, it's hard to think of all the possibilities. I am of the mentality to prepare for the most likely disaster, not necessarily cataclysmic post apocalyptic total societal meltdown scenario, although there are those people too, which I discovered reading up on BoBs. 

Anyways, that was sort of on-topic, haha.


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## StarHalo (Aug 28, 2011)

100,000+ without power in NJ

Wind gusting to 37 mph in Central Park; water level 3 feet above normal at the Battery, with high tide still approaching.


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## LuxLuthor (Aug 28, 2011)

Bimmerboy said:


> We're ready over here with more flashlights, beer, and cigarettes than we know what to do with!  Actually, it's business as usual at the Bimmerboy residence, but that's beside the point.
> 
> I live on Long Island, but there will be no info in my shoe for authorities to notify next of kin... because I'm not wearing shoes. And, if my street develops the kind of lake it did 25 years ago, I'm going swimming... again!! To this day, I'm still the only one to have ever swam down my street, and am hoping this is my next opportunity.
> 
> BTW, I have plenty to say about how our northeastern politicians are reacting to this foretold armegeddon. The arrogant bossing us around, and acting like none of us could ever figure out how to save ourselves in the face of a little wind and rain, is something I absolutely abhor.



Have to totally agree. Some of this "increased anxiety intensity" is from the 24/7 news cycles, Twitter, Facebook, Text Messaging, etc., and because everyone is on Adderall! Everything that happens now becomes an assault. I'm embarrassed to see what New Yorkers are letting happen--these are the same people who lived through 9/11 ??? 



PhotonWrangler said:


> If more people would switch over to LED flashlights they'd need fewer batteries, leaving more on the shelves for others. If only more people would wake up to this. We have some flashlights based on 5mm LEDs with beefy battery packs that just run forever.



From these dead hands....I have 18 incands, 3 HID's, 3 Spotlights locked and loaded. Also 3 LED's in case a power outage lasts more than a day.  Well actually, I have more than 3 LED's, but don't want to feed your evil plot. :devil:


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## LuxLuthor (Aug 28, 2011)

StarHalo said:


> 100,000+ without power in NJ
> 
> Wind gusting to 37 mph in Central Park; water level 3 feet above normal at the Battery, with high tide still approaching.


 
We should have the mods put a new label under your avatar: "Grim Reaper" LOL!


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## Norm (Aug 28, 2011)

PhotonWrangler said:


> If more people would switch over to LED flashlights they'd need fewer batteries, leaving more on the shelves for others. If only more people would wake up to this. We have some flashlights based on 5mm LEDs with beefy battery packs that just run forever.



Less demand for batteries = Lower everyday stock levels held by shops. 

Keep safe everyone, just been watching the vision on the 6 O'clock news. 

Just found this page for iPhone owners. 

Norm


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## StarHalo (Aug 28, 2011)

LuxLuthor said:


> We should have the mods put a new label under your avatar: "Grim Reaper" LOL!



The guy who was rumored to replace Osama Bin Laden has already been eliminated.

Ghostbusters 3 has been greenlighted for production.

This just became available:







A mod will be along shortly to remove the image, clarifying that I'm not the buzzkill


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## Norm (Aug 28, 2011)

Nah.......


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## LuxLuthor (Aug 28, 2011)

I'm in Minka heaven. Friday Night Lights was never the same without her.

My TV just made one of those "Oh Crap" warning noises, and now we have a Tornado Watch until 11am. It's bad enough that my wife is in Chicago on business, and our waterbed upstairs with tall A-frame windows look out into an Oak tree that we were thinking of taking it down this summer because insects have been attacking it....and guess which way the wind is blowing? LOL! I'm staying up on this other side of the house with my dog and the computer until this is over, or we lose power.

Time for some Scotch.


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## StarHalo (Aug 28, 2011)

LuxLuthor said:


> our waterbed upstairs with tall A-frame windows look out into an Oak tree that we were thinking of taking it down this summer because insects have been attacking it


 
If you have a chainsaw available, ignore the weather and go outside and start hacking; roughly half the deaths that have occurred so far are from falling branches, and then there's all the damaged houses and power lines..


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## cdrake261 (Aug 28, 2011)

LuxLuthor said:


> I'm in Minka heaven. Friday Night Lights was never the same without her.
> 
> My TV just made one of those "Oh Crap" warning noises, and now we have a Tornado Watch until 11am. It's bad enough that my wife is in Chicago on business, and our waterbed upstairs with tall A-frame windows look out into an Oak tree that we were thinking of taking it down this summer because insects have been attacking it....and guess which way the wind is blowing? LOL! I'm staying up on this other side of the house with my dog and the computer until this is over, or we lose power.
> 
> Time for some Scotch.


 


StarHalo said:


> If you have a chainsaw available, ignore the weather and go outside and start hacking; roughly half the deaths that have occurred so far are from falling branches, and then there's all the damaged houses and power lines..


 
That's it! Scotch and chainsaws....best. idea. ever.


So if you mistake your leg for a tree branch, the scotch will numb the pain and you'll die a legless death. Who am I kidding?


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## LuxLuthor (Aug 28, 2011)

Yeah, but look on the bright side. I won't just be a nameless statistic to StarHalo for his next post. 

Oh man, our electric power is going all wonky....decreasing...then back.....taunting me. Better go watch TV before it goes off.


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## cdrake261 (Aug 28, 2011)

LuxLuthor said:


> Yeah, but look on the bright side. I won't just be a nameless statistic to StarHalo for his next post.
> 
> Oh man, our electric power is going all wonky....decreasing...then back.....taunting me. Better go watch TV before it goes off.


 
How shall we identify you then? The scotch and chainsaw guy?


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## StarHalo (Aug 28, 2011)

An inebriated man in Connecticut cut off his leg in a chainsaw accident, mumbling to responders that it was so his adjacent bedroom would be safe for a woman named Minka..


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## cdrake261 (Aug 28, 2011)

StarHalo said:


> An inebriated man in Connecticut cut off his leg in a chainsaw accident, mumbling to responders that it was so his adjacent bedroom would be safe for a woman named Minka..


 
Minka the picture you posted? If so, damn lucky


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## Ajay (Aug 28, 2011)

Subway flooding in NYC, images from google....I think.
These images might have been from some time pre 2011. The last image is from May 4th 1996.(livescience webstite)
Thanks *alpg88 for pointing out my error in the dates of the pics.*

Let's see how long they take to get all that water out of the system from Irene nd get the trains running again. Lots of work.
They have pumps that remove water constantly from the subway even when it's not raining.


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## Nyctophiliac (Aug 28, 2011)

StarHalo said:


> The guy who was rumored to replace Osama Bin Laden has already been eliminated.
> 
> Ghostbusters 3 has been greenlighted for production.
> 
> ...




Is that Jane 'Minka' Seymour?

I'm in England where the last Hurricane we had was 1987, and I still feel the urge to stock up on cells and torches!

NO! Wait! That's completely normal for me. Pheww!



Seriously, stay inside and safe everybody in its path. Don't risk a roof tile in the face for a quick peek outside. Plenty of online videos will come.


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## LuxLuthor (Aug 28, 2011)

Minka Kelly. Look her up....and weep.

This is my idea of "going green" now that it's daylight in between rain squalls.














I can't believe we still have power. Limbs down all over outside, but none have taken wires down yet....knock on wood....wait....that doesn't sound smart....knock on formica.


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## alpg88 (Aug 28, 2011)

Ajay said:


> Subway flooding in NYC, images from google....I think.
> These images might have been from Friday 27th.


 
looks like these images from years ago.
1 all stations underground in the city have yellow edge mat, not one pic. has them.
2 cars look like old type, you don't see many of those now. 
3 subway was shut down at 12pm sat. there was no rain than, i mean there were small showers, but not nearly enough to create waterfalls like that. not to mention fri 27 was a dry day.


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## NonSenCe (Aug 28, 2011)

a guy who is brightly lit by flashlights, strobes and all, holding an chainsaw muttering about pretty brunettes into his scotch bottle.. doesnt sound like the person police wants to approach without utmost precaution.. 

hope all is good there in hurricane area.


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## scout24 (Aug 28, 2011)

Skies lightening up here, hope everyone is doing well. Lots of flooding, still have power, not much wind damage thankfully...

Some deer bedded in the back yard...






Going towards town...







Neighbor's tree...







Parking lot for local repair shop...







1/2 mile from me...







Their neighbor...


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## London Lad (Aug 28, 2011)

Stay safe and good luck guys


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## gearhead1972 (Aug 28, 2011)

One thing I found out when the power went out at at 4:41 am, the most useful light was my 3 mode ITP A3. All my other lights just seemed too bright


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## Mjolnir (Aug 28, 2011)

So far it seems like my area has gotten about 9 inches of rain. The power is still on and the wind isn't really getting much worse. I am in an area with a lot of tall trees which are sheltering my house from the wind, but the tops of the trees are getting blown around. I haven't lost power at all and haven't had any flooding issues (since I live on the side of a hill) and the primary debris on the road is leaves and small twigs.


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## LuxLuthor (Aug 28, 2011)

Crap...my power went out after that last post...in retrospect, knocking on formica didn't work. Posting this from m Scotch wearing me down...Minka dreams!y dorky cell. Generators are wonderful!


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## angelofwar (Aug 28, 2011)

Stress_Test said:


> Also, regarding batteries, has anyone seen whether there are still any CR123a or CR2 lithiums still left? There has been much speculation in the past about what cells would be the very last to go in a situation like this; maybe we can finally get an answer to that question!


 
They all go eventually, BUT...I saw a pic posted on BBC yesterday...The only battery left was CR123's and coin cells. So, I think that answers the questions as to which sell out FIRST. Seems C & D Cells


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## JacobJones (Aug 28, 2011)

Finally got the answer to the age old question. Makes sense really when you think about it, there are so many more people who use alkaline powered lights than people who use lithium ones. And more devices use the alkaline batteries, even the people who use lithium torches have probably been using portable radios powered by alkalines. can't think of any other examples. And because few devices use the lithium batteries people have probably got loads sitting around not getting used because only their flashlights use them, whilst all the alkaline people have been using them in toys, mp3 players, and many othe things. Also it's likely that most of the alkaline batteries people have are cheap low quality ones that don't last very long. 

Just my opinion, what's yours?


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## DM51 (Aug 28, 2011)

Bimmerboy said:


> if my street develops the kind of lake it did 25 years ago, I'm going swimming... I'm still the only one to have ever swam down my street


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## PhotonWrangler (Aug 28, 2011)

Reporter doing stand-up on Irene gets covered in, uh, "sea foam"... :sick2:


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## Mjolnir (Aug 28, 2011)

Somehow I still have power despite the fact that all of the half dozen people I have talked to in the area don't. It is only misting now but there are still some wind gusts but they are probably 40 MPH or less (its hard to tell down here at ground level with all of the trees sheltering me from the wind).


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Aug 28, 2011)

Danbury, CT and really not much impact where I am. Lots of rain, wind not too bad, still have power.

Interesting note: went to the Lowe's by me yesterday to purchase some non-hurricane related stuff for garage storage. C and D batteries all sold out, but there were so many AA, AAA and 9v batteries it was silly.


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## Ajay (Aug 28, 2011)

alpg88 said:


> looks like these images from years ago.
> 1 all stations underground in the city have yellow edge mat, not one pic. has them.
> 2 cars look like old type, you don't see many of those now.
> 3 subway was shut down at 12pm sat. there was no rain than, i mean there were small showers, but not nearly enough to create waterfalls like that. not to mention fri 27 was a dry day.



Thanks for pointing that out. I edited my original post.

My windows leaked a bit and some branches down but no real damage in my immediate vicinity.


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## Sub_Umbra (Aug 28, 2011)

Only time will tell the true ramifications of this storm and its evacuation(s). Those affected are lucky that their politicians are not faced with making the decision to evacuate 3-5 times a year as many mayors must. Already the news articles have started calling the storm a 'no show' and questioning the justification of the costs of the evacuation to the City, to business and to families and individuals.

*Perfect Storm of Hype: Politicians, the media and the Hurricane Irene apocalypse that never was*

For an overview of some of the less often illuminated problems evacuations pose, some may wish to read this:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/4x556kr


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## jtr1962 (Aug 28, 2011)

No power outages here, just a few downed tree limbs. I'm personally not critical of officials for putting into action plans which may have been unnecessary in hindsight. We just don't know how these storms will turn out until they're over. The old adage better safe than sorry rings true here. Besides, it's not like so many hurricanes come this way that we'll face the danger of people ignoring warnings from too many false alarms.

Just a gut feeling, but I think Irene was a dry run for something big coming later this year.


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## StarHalo (Aug 28, 2011)

gearhead1972 said:


> One thing I found out when the power went out at at 4:41 am, the most useful light was my 3 mode ITP A3. All my other lights just seemed too bright


 
Yep, in an actual power outage situation, anything more than a few dozen lumens becomes overkill. Suddenly those high lumen and throw ratings become a lot less important..



LuxLuthor said:


> Posting this from m Scotch wearing me down...Minka dreams!y dorky cell. Generators are wonderful!


 
That's some quality scotch!



JacobJones said:


> Just my opinion, what's yours?


 
The only batteries that you're guaranteed to have are the ones you've stocked beforehand.



Sub_Umbra said:


> Already the news articles have started calling the storm a 'no show' and questioning the justification of the costs of the evacuation to the City, to business and to families and individuals.


 
I'd like to see the authors of some of those articles share them with the families who lost loved ones..


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## PhotonWrangler (Aug 28, 2011)

StarHalo said:


> I'd like to see the authors of some of those articles share them with the families who lost loved ones..



Absolutely. And I'd like to know where these guys were before the storm hit. They didn't have any more idea of how bad it would be then the rest of us.


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## EZO (Aug 28, 2011)

Sub_Umbra said:


> Only time will tell the true ramifications of this storm and its evacuation(s). Those affected are lucky that their politicians are not faced with making the decision to evacuate 3-5 times a year as many mayors must. Already the news articles have started calling the storm a 'no show' and questioning the justification of the costs of the evacuation to the City, to business and to families and individuals.



I think New York City's Mayor Bloomberg put it well in his news conference yesterday when he expressed his strong hope that many of the precautions he had ordered to be taken would in the end prove to have been unnecessary. It seems better to cause inconvenience and invite after the fact armchair analysis and criticism than risk a tragedy due to inaction.


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## PhotonWrangler (Aug 28, 2011)

EZO said:


> I think New York City's Mayor Bloomberg put it well in his news conference yesterday when he expressed his strong hope that many of the precautions he had ordered to be taken would in the end prove to have been unnecessary. It seems better to cause inconvenience and invite after the fact armchair analysis and criticism than risk a tragedy due to inaction.



I agree 100%. Katrina has taught us lessons that have paid off this time. We should never forget those hard earned lessons regardless of the media or armchair quarterbacks.


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## Sub_Umbra (Aug 28, 2011)

It will be easier for folks up East than it is on the Gulf coasters, IMO, as they have fewer events of this type. Multiple storms in a single season make the true economic and personal costs of evacuations dictate that we take the whole process more seriously. Poor judgment regarding government evacuation orders is not sustainable on economic or emotional levels.



jtr1962 said:


> ...The old adage better safe than sorry rings true here...


The problem is that '...better safe than sorry...' just can't be made to work in all *real world Public Safety situations.* People often have that very same attitude regarding commercial air travel -- where it doesn't work, either.

Simply put, the airlines could spend more for planes that would crash even less but *it would cost the customer more money.* That would cause some of them to drive little cars instead of fly which means that more of them will die in transit on their journey, mile for mile, because of the 'safer' plane. Life is complicated.

With evacuations the problem is that a mayor may cavalierly make it cost so much to citizens that eventually they dig in their heels and promise '...never again...' Once the populous *has been trained* to ignore all evacuation orders they will be in much more danger. This has happened in many places, over and over again.


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## jtr1962 (Aug 28, 2011)

Well, I'm not a big fan of evacuations myself. I honestly think it makes more sense for places which experience these things regularly to beef up their infrastructure so citizens can just remain in place. Evacuations are always going to be a hit or miss affair. NYC didn't order a mass evacuation of the entire city, nor would that have been even remotely feasible without at least a month's notice. It made perfect sense to me to shut down mass transit in order to make it easier to restart the system after the storm had passed. What should really be done now is to see where infrastructure was inadequate to deal with this sort of thing, and upgrade it.


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## Monocrom (Aug 28, 2011)

jtr1962 said:


> No power outages here, just a few downed tree limbs.



My neighborhood is the same. Ironically, no downed tree limbs. Irene passed by here like a heavy rainstorm at best.


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## Lightdadark (Aug 28, 2011)

Here's the leading edge coming in... VA


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## PhotonWrangler (Aug 28, 2011)

Wow, what a scary sight, Lightdadark. Do you have a link to a full size image?


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## Solscud007 (Aug 28, 2011)

*Hurricane Irene flashlight use*

So my fiancee and I are out of power thanks to Irene. We lost power after lunch. We took a nap and then went out. Everything is closed exceptbfor a handful of businesses. 

I planned for such an event. Loads of batteries. Im running my 18650 surefire U2 body with a kerberos dropin and tail standing on medium. Curious what the run time will be.

As my main lights I am using my Ti quark AA on a 14500 and my Sunwayman V10A bored for 17500. when thise die out I can use the pack of AA. 

I have two headlamps at the ready. SF Saint and Icon AA. 

So for light we are good. But it is so Boring!!! Well off to read a book.

Share your Irene experiences.


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## gearhead1972 (Aug 28, 2011)

*Re: Hurricane Irene flashlight use*

Power went out at 4:41 am. At that time I turned on the night light feature of my energizer weather ready lantern. Found out that my Itp A3 is the most useful light in the middle of the night. 

Right now I have the generator running powering the big and small fridge, Fios ONT, router, one cable box and TV and 2 lamps. Once I turn the genny off for the night I have the energizer lantern, a coleman cpx 6 lantern, an old 12v Husky halogen that I modded to a Philips 12v 3 watt led, and a Dewalt 18v flashlight modded to a sylvania 12 volt led puck. The last 2 items I have run tested for over 24 hours straight. I have 9 Dewalt 18v batteries charged for the light and the radio. 

Just wish I had my well pump wired to the generator

I'm gonna go plug in the Keurig and have a cup of coffee right now


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## Solscud007 (Aug 28, 2011)

*Re: Hurricane Irene flashlight use*

Boy, sounds like you got it rough haha. One nice thing about our apt is that our stove ajd oven are gas operated. Although not quite sure how to run a gas powered oven. Stoves I can light with a match. Not so sure about the oven. Also im using my smart phone to use internet. I picked up a backup battery, to charge up my phone, thanks to borders stores closibg sales.


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## Gimpy00Wang (Aug 28, 2011)

Lightdadark said:


> Here's the leading edge coming in... VA


 
Great shot!

- Chris


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## LuxLuthor (Aug 28, 2011)

PhotonWrangler said:


> Reporter doing stand-up on Irene gets covered in, uh, "sea foam"... :sick2:



Best part is the article: 



> He noted that he had immersed himself in organic material. That "organic material" was most likely the effects of raw sewage pouring into the water during the storm.
> 
> 
> "It doesn't taste great," he said.
> ...







Mjolnir said:


> Somehow I still have power despite the fact that all of the half dozen people I have talked to in the area don't. It is only misting now but there are still some wind gusts but they are probably 40 MPH or less (its hard to tell down here at ground level with all of the trees sheltering me from the wind).



http://www.cl-p.com/outage/outagemap.aspx?MenuID=4294985440

Count your blessings. Check this CL&P Electric Co map of power outages. We got our power back after about 13 hours. Makes you realize how dependent you are on electricity. I wanted to make a BLT since we have a gas stove, but then you have to toast the bread, and I didn't want to deal with overloading the generator, so had fried eggs instead.

Lucky for me, the aforementioned tree fell away from my waterbed/bedroom. Unfortunate for my neighbor's house however. I thought I heard something significant last night through the pleasant fog of the Dalmore 18.







LightaDark, impressive storm front photo. Did you take it? If so you should submit it somewhere that photos like that are submitted.


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## Napalm (Aug 29, 2011)

*Re: Hurricane Irene flashlight use*



Solscud007 said:


> So my fiancee and I are out of power thanks to Irene.



Actually you're out of power thanks to the way the power grid was designed and built.

Nap.


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## turbodog (Aug 29, 2011)

Source for information:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?241581-Master-thread-for-disasters-and-generators.

Lots of issues have already been covered.


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## Mjolnir (Aug 29, 2011)

Wow, almost all of eastern CT is without power. I would have figured that western CT would fare worse because of the storm path, but I guess there are a lot of factors that affect outage durations.


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## LuxLuthor (Aug 29, 2011)

The general deal with this hurricane is the higher winds were on the eastern side of the track, and higher rain on actual track and western side. Contributing to the problem was a lot of moisture softening the ground, but also it has been so long since we had significant wind to flush out the older, diseased trees...it didn't take much to topple them. We were supposed to have a lot of dutch elm trees taken down that were seen to be bad by inspectors over the last few years. They went around spraying them all with red "X's" and almost immediately, all the tree-huggers flooded the city council meetings, got petition signatures, letters to local newspaper, phone calls, etc. They were all happy that 75% of the scheduled tree removals were cancelled. Driving around my neighborhood today, most of the dozen downed trees I saw were those marked with the red "X's". When you walk your dog regularly, you remember them.


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## Mjolnir (Aug 29, 2011)

LuxLuthor said:


> The general deal with this hurricane is the higher winds were on the eastern side of the track, and higher rain on actual track and western side. Contributing to the problem was a lot of moisture softening the ground, but also it has been so long since we had significant wind to flush out the older, diseased trees...it didn't take much to topple them. We were supposed to have a lot of dutch elm trees taken down that were seen to be bad by inspectors over the last few years. They went around spraying them all with red "X's" and almost immediately, all the tree-huggers flooded the city council meetings, got petition signatures, letters to local newspaper, phone calls, etc. They were all happy that 75% of the scheduled tree removals were cancelled. Driving around my neighborhood today, most of the dozen downed trees I saw were those marked with the red "X's". When you walk your dog regularly, you remember them.


 
Well nature does have a way of removing old growth and making way for new trees, whether it be by fire or by wind.

I just drove around town a little and a good portion does seem to be completely in the dark; I can hear the hum of generators everywhere. There is also significantly less light pollution so I can see much more of the night sky, although it is still nothing compared to what one can see in truly isolated places like the adirondacks.


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## StarHalo (Aug 29, 2011)

Half of all Maine electrical customers (residential/commercial/industrial) are without power.

Scott Adams, artist of the Dilbert series comic strip, is asking Windham NY residents to check on his elderly father, who is not reachable by phone or car.


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## Mjolnir (Aug 29, 2011)

I came across this page showing the flooding in Windham and it appears to be catastrophic:
http://www.watershedpost.com/2011/windham-irene-update
Its amazing how much geography affects the damage; we got over 8 inches of rain here (windham apparently got 10) and they have full scale devastation while most of our flooding is no longer present except for some reasonable sized puddles on the side of the road. Of course, my town isn't next to any large rivers.


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## cdrake261 (Aug 29, 2011)

IPL from Indianapolis are headed to east coast to help restore power


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## headers (Aug 29, 2011)

We had a lucky break (NNJ area).

My slightly clueless neighbors came over Saturday afternoon and asked if they could borrow a flashlight for the duration. All D-cells within 20 miles had long sold it it seems. I let them have a Mag 3D with random LED dropin. 

I had a Surefire 6P with M61W in my left pocket and a 9P with M91W in my right pocket the whole time. I cooked a leg of lamb on the BBQ Saturday night and that was pretty fun. We timed it between the bands of rain using the radar. That was pretty much all I used the lights for. We lost power for a minute at some stage but otherwise were just plain lucky with the trees etc, we live on top of a hill with lots of large oaks. The top of the hill is great for avoiding flooding but gives us more wind.


Hope everybody else here is OK.


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## iapyx (Aug 29, 2011)

Lightdadark said:


> Here's the leading edge coming in... VA


 
This looks very threatening, but at the same time it shows that nature can be so beautiful. Incredible.

Have you all noticed that almost simultaneously typhoon *Nanmadol* visited the Phillipines and then Taiwan:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14700887
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/28/typhoon-nanmadol-taiwan-philippines_n_939937.html


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## EZO (Aug 29, 2011)

In 40 years of living in Vermont I have seen every kind of severe weather you can experience but never anything like the rain we got from Hurricane Irene. Fortunately, we never really got the 75 mile an hour or more winds that were predicted but boy did we get rain! The ground was very saturated to begin with and after about 24 hours of fairly steady rain, the sky just opened up and dumped between 5 and 7 more inches within several hours. Many of the roads around here were washed out. Historic covered bridges were washed away along with some houses and quite a few cars and sadly a young woman as well. The dam at the pond on my property partially gave way as the berm began to fail and the emergency spillways became overwhelmed but fortunately this didn't result in a catastrophic and potentially life threatening failure. There are entire communities that have been stranded from the outside world due to flooding, damaged roads and washed out bridges and the National Guard is trying to figure out the logistics of how to deal with this because this has happened in communities throughout the state. Apparently, nearly every river, stream, lake and pond in the state overflowed their banks and most of the state has been declared a federal disaster area because of how widespread the damage is.

The closest large town to where I live is Brattleboro Vermont. The lower section of the town was completely flooded as the Whetstone Brook that flows through it rose to unprecedented levels. This brook can rage a bit during the annual Spring run-off as it feeds into the Connecticut River but keep in mind the dictionary definition of "Brook" when you watch the following videos.

*BROOK - noun - a small, natural stream of fresh water*


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## Mjolnir (Aug 29, 2011)

OK I went a town over and the flooding was staggering; a river that was previously about 30 feet wide is now a half mile wide lake in some places. Lights are out all over the place, and trees are down too. The rivers aren't raging torrents, but there is more flooding here than I have ever seen in my life.


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## Ken_McE (Aug 29, 2011)

iapyx said:


> Have you all noticed that almost simultaneously typhoon *Nanmadol* visited the Phillipines and then Taiwan:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/28/typhoon-nanmadol-taiwan-philippines_n_939937.html



For the American perspective on other peoples weather see:

http://bigthink.com/ideas/21121

Scroll down to picture.


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## Samy (Aug 29, 2011)

Mjolnir said:


> there is more flooding here than I have ever seen in my life.



Same happened here in Australia earlier this year! I heard that 41 people have died from the storm so far. Stay safe over there! 

Hopefully there are fully prepared candlepowerforum members in those blacked out areas enjoying the chance to use their flashlights in the dark 

cheers


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## 276 (Aug 29, 2011)

I just got power back an hour ago i am both happy and sad. It was pitch black where i live and i got to use some of my big lights like Tk70 except the HID's. But having AC is makes me so happy.


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## Mjolnir (Aug 30, 2011)

276 said:


> I just got power back an hour ago i am both happy and sad. It was pitch black where i live and i got to use some of my big lights like Tk70 except the HID's. But having AC is makes me so happy.


 
I know how you feel; everyone was telling me how lucky I was that I hadn't lost power; they didn't know that sitting on my nightstand I have my Eagletac, my L-mini II, my quark mini AA, my ROP and 10 fully charged 18650s all ready to go... Of course, I don't actually want to lose power because of the massive inconvenience that it would cause. I just want a justification for all of my lights...


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## EZO (Aug 30, 2011)

Hurricane Irene's 10 day life in 15 seconds, courtesy of NASA.


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## maxray (Aug 30, 2011)

Here in my community in RI the power is still out - since 6am Sunday. Practically all of my lights have had some use, especially the tail standers. My Novatac 120p has been my main standby, and the Surefire 6P with M61 (with mcclickie) has been an excellent room lighter. Preon 2 has been in the pocket as a backup. My wife has been toting the C2 Centurian with M60F. A cheapo Coleman Dcell lantern is on bathroom duty. Last night My Petzl Tika XP came in handy as I sat on my deck carving a walking stick for my daughter - we had lots of branches down so thought I would put some oak to good use plus, i find if I pretend I am camping, having no power sometimes seems a little more fun  In short - these great lights and my stockpile of batteries has really paid off. 

Incidentally a group of us in our neighborhood got together Sunday night at a friends house, and the inevitable flashlight discussion came up as I tried to subtly add the 120p and 6p into their attempts at lighting with candles and multi-led cheapos. But the "wow!'s" came out and I had to divulge my secret life as a flashlight geek!


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## iapyx (Aug 30, 2011)

Ken_McE said:


> For the American perspective on other peoples weather see:
> 
> http://bigthink.com/ideas/21121
> 
> Scroll down to picture.


 
Yeah yeah, I know... It's a sad thing.
"but ours sure was way worse"


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## Max (Aug 30, 2011)

In prep for Irene, my wife ran out on the Thursday before to buy some supplies in advance. I new that I had dozens of AA and AAA batteries handy, but I have an LED lantern and a battery-operated radio that run on D batteries, and I had no spares. So, I asked my wife to pick up some D batteries if she happens to see them.

She comes home with D batteries and two of those standard cheapo plastic 2D incandescent flashlights. She said she picked them up so that we'll have an extra flashlight just in case.

In my head, I'm thinking, "Do you have _any_ idea how many flashlights we already have in this house?" 

But, that's not the sort of thing you say out loud when you're preparing for a disaster. I barely flinched when she said, "I got good ones. They had these other ones in the store that were like $20 for a flashlight. I am _not_ going to pay $20 for a _flashlight_!"

Thankfully, although many of our neighbors had flooding and lost power, we made it through with just a few momentary losses of power.


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## EZO (Aug 30, 2011)

As the devastating aftermath of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene slowly reveals itself to us here in Vermont it has left us all with our jaws dropped. The historic 158 foot long lattice truss Bartonsville Covered Bridge has been swept away in a flash flooding of the Williams River. This bridge was built in 1870 and survived the historic floods of 1927, previously considered Vermont's greatest natural disaster as well as the historic hurricane of 1938 but it couldn't survive Hurricane Irene. Folks who don't live around here might not appreciate what it is like to lose such a landmark, not to mention the inability to cross the Williams River at this spot for the first time in 141 years. Apparently, we have lost at least three major covered bridges to Irene but it is believed that there are others that have not been reported yet. 

Here is the bridge before the storm.





Here is the video of the bridge being swept away as caught by a local resident with her Flip camera.
(NOTE: There is some profanity being uttered here but the emotion in this woman's voice certainly makes her choice of words understandable.
Although there is a sanitized version of this video on YouTube I made the judgement to present this version because it more fully expresses
what people are feeling about these events. I hope a few emotional four letter words won't offend anyone but if a moderator finds this objectionable let me know and 
I will swap the video for the version with the sad music)



Here is the damage to the Quechee covered bridge and a video of the flood waters overtaking it.


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## nbp (Aug 30, 2011)

Max said:


> In prep for Irene, my wife ran out on the Thursday before to buy some supplies in advance. I new that I had dozens of AA and AAA batteries handy, but I have an LED lantern and a battery-operated radio that run on D batteries, and I had no spares. So, I asked my wife to pick up some D batteries if she happens to see them.
> 
> She comes home with D batteries and two of those standard cheapo plastic 2D incandescent flashlights. She said she picked them up so that we'll have an extra flashlight just in case.
> 
> ...



You've been here 10 years and your wife still doesn't know about your flashlight addiction? Oh you are good. :bow:


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## Paul6ppca (Aug 30, 2011)

:twothumbs


nbp said:


> You've been here 10 years and your wife still doesn't know about your flashlight addiction? Oh you are good. :bow:


 
Funniest thing Ive read here !


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## LuxLuthor (Aug 30, 2011)

Paul6ppca said:


> :twothumbs
> 
> Funniest thing Ive read here !


 
+1 Major props.


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## Monocrom (Aug 31, 2011)

The oddest twist to hurricane Irene is that several hours after it had passed by certain parts of NYC with barely any physical damage done, Time Warner service went down for over two days. That includes cable, internet, and digital home phone service. The last being the worst for many elderly residents as more than some were now trapped in their homes with no way to contact loved ones for assistance. While you expect digital home phone service to go down if there's a blackout, it can go down as well if Time Warner's systems decide to act up. (Even several hours after a natural disaster has passed by an area with little damage done.)

Checking on elderly neighbors in one's building isn't always easy. Thankfully none in mine seem to have suffered badly. Regular phone service wasn't interrupted. And those who still have a dedicated land line were happy to help out those who didn't.


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## Bimmerboy (Aug 31, 2011)

I'm back! Power's been on again for a good while, but didn't get a chance to post until now. 40 hours without electricity from 1:30 AM Sunday to 5:30 PM Monday. We were lucky... my brother, sister-in-law, and nephews are only a few blocks away, and still without power, as are friends around various parts of Long Island.



StarHalo said:


> Pics or it didn't happen.


It didn't happen.  Not enough water this side of the storm.

I soooo wanted to swim the street during a hurricane in the middle of the night! _That_ would've been unique. The last time was just a major rainstorm during the day. However, no one else followed me in, so the title is still all mine. :devil:

I have pics of that day, but not of me in the water. I spotted your challenge shortly before the lights went out, so the plan to eliminate all doubt was duct taping a throw light to the front porch, pointing it toward the middle of the expected lake, setting up the camcorder, and waiting in the dark (well, not really... I am a flashaholic after all) until about 4 AM before giving up on any serious rain. Ate dinner, went to bed.



LuxLuthor said:


> Everything that happens now becomes an assault. I'm embarrassed to see what New Yorkers are letting happen--these are the same people who lived through 9/11 ???


It's terrible. I'm embarrassed as well.

9/11? We were gone before that. 



LuxLuthor said:


> Posting this from m Scotch wearing me down...Minka dreams!y dorky cell.


Hahahaha... my personal favorite post of the thread.

BTW... Minka's pretty damn cute!



DM51 said:


>


LOL... _sea foam free_ dreams!


Next post... my SHTF lights used during the apocalypse (group photo forthcoming), and how I entertained myself Sunday night/Monday morning before the novelty wore off.


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## StarHalo (Aug 31, 2011)

Bimmerboy said:


> I spotted your challenge shortly before the lights went out, so the plan to eliminate all doubt was duct taping a throw light to the front porch, pointing it toward the middle of the expected lake, setting up the camcorder, and waiting in the dark (well, not really... I am a flashaholic after all) until about 4 AM before giving up on any serious rain. Ate dinner, went to bed.


 
Valiant effort


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## LEDAdd1ct (Aug 31, 2011)

We were out of town, and I am really sorry I missed this. My dad is a ham and has antennas all over the yard, and we have five cars in the driveway. Before we left, my dad said, "Everybody needs to put their keys on the dining room table, in the event the cars need to be moved."

"Cars need to be moved?" I asked, "Why would the cars need to be moved?" 

"It's hurricane season," my dad said, "a car might need to be moved or repositioned if a major storm comes."

Well, we had fun making fun of him and his "super planning" attitude. 

My dad managed to get hold of one of this friends, and with his wife, was able to crank down the main antenna mast which was not damaged. The top of one tree sheared off and knocked one of his "X" shaped ham antennas, and another large limb fell down over our beautiful tomato and lettuce garden. A medium limb fell directly in front of my car, just missing the hood and windshield, while the other four cars were all unscathed. Tons of leaves and some smaller twigs litter the property, and there is a giant limb in the front of the yard where we place the garbage cans, though we have no idea how it got there or where it came from.

Though I am glad the house and cars were not damaged, I am sad to have missed this event. I love watching the radar, watching storms, losing power, seeing the barometer fall before my eyes, and witnessing nature's power. I hope _everyone_ who sustained damage can afford to fix it, and I hope those areas of New York, Connecticut, Vermont, and New Jersey that were so completely devastated get things back together as best they can. 

I'm off to help clean things now.


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## LuxLuthor (Aug 31, 2011)

LEDAdd1ct said:


> ... I am sad to have missed this event. I love watching the radar, watching storms, losing power, seeing the barometer fall before my eyes, and witnessing nature's power.



Never fear, Katia's here (landfall is doubtfull)...but hurricane season doesn't end until November 30th.


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## iapyx (Aug 31, 2011)

You have five cars??? I don't even have five flashlights. Well ..... barely. 
How many flashlights in each car ?


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## S1LVA (Aug 31, 2011)

I lost power on Sunday at 7 a.m. and I still don't have it 

S1LVA


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## Monocrom (Aug 31, 2011)

Bimmerboy said:


> I'm back! Power's been on again for a good while, but didn't get a chance to post until now. 40 hours without electricity from 1:30 AM Sunday to 5:30 PM Monday. We were lucky... my brother, sister-in-law, and nephews are only a few blocks away, and still without power, as are friends around various parts of Long Island.


 
Was your neighborhood the one on the news, the one that the President of L.I.P.A. visited? 

I thought the residents were going to skin him alive. The only thing the angry mob of residents didn't have were pitch forks and old fashioned fire-on-a-stick torches. I noticed he got out of there pretty quickly after just a handful of remarks from residents while the news cameras were rolling. He declined to mention if he'd be visiting other neighborhoods that day, when asked by a news reporter. One resident said it best when she mentioned that the only reason the workers and clean-up crews were there is because *he *was there. "When you're not here, they're not here either."

A nice P.R. move that clearly backfired. He retreated to the safety of his office.


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## LEDAdd1ct (Aug 31, 2011)

LuxLuthor said:


> Wunderground is a nice site. I also like using http://www.stormpulse.com/atlantic when these hurricanes come up. Turn on all the display options, and you see a lot of interesting details.



Those two are the exact same "go to" sites I check frequently for weather data, with the only tweak being that I prefer http://classic.wunderground.com/ to the new version. I love stormpulse, and wish I had a screenshot of Irene over the mid-Atlantic.




LuxLuthor said:


> Never fear, Katia's here (landfall is doubtfull)...but hurricane season doesn't end until November 30th.



Yeah, looks like Katia will be staying out at sea. However, it sure is true we have plenty of time for more interesting weather to make its way here before things calm down.



iapyx said:


> You have five cars??? I don't even have five flashlights. Well ..... barely.
> How many flashlights in each car ?



Each member of the family has one car, and there are five of us.  

I have a glow in the dark Pelican 2440 in my car with Energizer lithiums, and the other people are still in need of good car lights. 



S1LVA said:


> I lost power on Sunday at 7 a.m. and I still don't have it
> 
> S1LVA



What state are you in?


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## S1LVA (Sep 1, 2011)

I am in RI.
Day 5 of no power. We do have city water so we can flush.

Off to take another cold shower and start the day.

S1LVA


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## cdrake261 (Sep 1, 2011)

Cold showers are the best showers, IMHO


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## LEDAdd1ct (Sep 1, 2011)

Lost power for 2.5 hours this afternoon while picking up Irene's mess. Branches and twigs and _logs_ all over the yard. Got lots of mud between my toes (very pleasurable summer feeling) and felt good about the lifting and dragging. I am guessing that they cut power in order to restore electricity to a particular section. Power came on in time for supper. Keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Katia.


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## EZO (Sep 1, 2011)

Thirteen Vermont communities were completely cut off from the rest of the world as a result of the flooding that resulted from Tropical Storm Irene. There have been some great stories emerging about citizens taking matters into their own hands rather than waiting for the the authorities to arrive. Makeshift bridges have been built, access roads have been dozed and leveled without waiting around for some bureaucrat to issue permits that would otherwise be required and people have been gathering for daily community meals made with items from their gardens and thawing freezers. Anyone who's lived around here long enough knows this is the classic Yankee Vermonter spirit that one sees at times like this. One town has no electricity or cell or land line telephone but one resident has been able to use his generator and satellite internet service to connect with the outside via email and Facebook and he has become something akin to the town telegraph office. In another town a local gallery owner took inventory of who in town needed medications and coordinated with a medical center miles away to get prescriptions delivered on foot, bicycle and all-terrain vehicle. A guy delivered medicine by fording the Williams River on horseback where it flooded out Route 103 in the town of Rockingham. 

Here's the video.


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## LEDAdd1ct (Sep 2, 2011)

Holy cow! That's truly epic!

That horse deserves a spa after this.


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## LuxLuthor (Sep 2, 2011)

Ezo, what a great story and video. Thanks!!!!!!


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## LuxLuthor (Sep 2, 2011)

LEDAdd1ct said:


> Keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Katia.



It's especially interesting to turn on the "Forecast Models" radio button in upper right corner.


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## LEDAdd1ct (Sep 2, 2011)

Thanks for the tip, Lux, as I never noticed that button before. Does that mean the majority of the current models have Katia coming to the East Coast? Are there probability or percentages assigned to each route?


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## EZO (Sep 2, 2011)

LEDAdd1ct, You mentioned that you were away so perhaps you missed the discussion earlier in this thread where I suggested using the excellent site Wunderground for tracking the storm. Then, LuxLuthor recommended the also excellent Stormpulse. Now I use both. Both sites offer some similar features but Stormpulse charges a fee for many of the higher end functions that Wunderground offers for free and unlike Stormpluse it is not quite as focused on tracking storms so I find myself gravitating to Wunder for that reason and the depth of data it offers.

Since I am more familiar with Wunderground, and to sort of answer your question try the Hurricane Katia computer modeling page. Once there try clicking on any or all of the 14 boxes at the top of the page for a wide range of information about the projected course of the storm. 

Especially, try the WunderMap page which I find to be the most powerful interactive weather map on the internet. It is essentially a highly customized online hybrid of Google Earth with a lot of data not available on Google earth. It is very similar to Stormpulse in that you click on radio buttons on the right hand side of the page for different functions and overlays but it is far more configurable. For example, unlike Stormpulse you can zoom out and see the entire planet several times over! You can also zoom into an incredible micro level of detail. I like that you can change the opacity, fill and sensitivity of various overlays so for example you can engage the satellite imagery to look at the cloud layers but you can dial them down so you can see through them or turn them off. You can also animate and control the radar function. The map offers a dizzying array of information.

To get started, go HERE and then zoom out until you get the northern hemisphere including the Atlantic Ocean. Then click on Hurricane in the menu on the right hand side of the page. Getting back to your original question try the "Potential Track Area" button in the hurricane menu. Once you get your feet wet with this try experimenting with the other functions to see what the hurricane is up to. The map can constantly refresh itself so you can just leave it up on your screen to monitor the storm. (edit: If you engage too many radio button functions at the same time it can slow down the updating of the display to some degree because the site is running many scripts simultaneously.)

In my view this latest version of the Wunderground site is perhaps the most comprehensive weather site available. Some folks miss the "Classic" Wunderground site and I did too at first until I started to explore what they are offering here.


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## LEDninja (Sep 2, 2011)

I clicked on the Stormpulse link. Looks like Tropical Depression Thirteen is closer.

Update.
Just saw "U.S. states declare emergency as Tropical Storm Lee forms" on the CTV news website.


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## StarHalo (Sep 2, 2011)

Keep an eye on Lee, if any of that mess makes landfall, it's 10+ inches of rain.. New Orleans AM news stations are currently running scheduled programming, so they're okay for now..


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## EZO (Sep 2, 2011)

StarHalo said:


> Keep an eye on Lee, if any of that mess makes landfall, it's 10+ inches of rain.. New Orleans AM news stations are currently running scheduled programming, so they're okay for now..



StarHalo, NO! they're talking up to 20 inches of rain, not 10!
Gulf Braces for Rain From Tropical Depression


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## Sub_Umbra (Sep 2, 2011)

*Re: Hurricane Irene flashlight use*

Lee is going to be a PITA here in Pirate Town but at least there will be no surge or high winds. We worry about *slow moving systems* dumping many, many inches of rain.


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## LuxLuthor (Sep 3, 2011)

They list the various models that have all sorts of assumptions and assessments of variables. They only go out so far. Despite it looking like it is heading for east coast, these usually veer northward and stay out to see...but not always.


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## nbp (Sep 3, 2011)

We had some severe storms early this morning and the power's been out a couple hours. I feel for those on the coast who haven't had it in days. Tbe irony is I'm going camping this weekend but getting ready to go this morning is tougher. I guess we're starting early.


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## Empath (Sep 4, 2011)

A series of posts of a tangential nature (storing bottled water) have been moved to the Master Thread For Disasters And Generators thread.


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