Some Sandy Observations

Just read the 11 am update saying Hurricane Sandy's winds are up to 90 mph -- if they got to 96 it would be Category 2 instead of Cat 1 -- and the storm's pressure of 943 mb, according to Phillyweather.net, is typical of a Cat 4 storm. So there's this incredibly large storm, pretty intense, and atmospheric conditions are causing it to basically make a left turn into the coast near Atlantic City. Such a sharp turn for a hurricane in this region is close to unprecedented, and the fact that it's gotten a bit stronger even though it's moving north and away from more tropical waters is very unusual.

Between this and last year's Hurricane Irene and those ridiculous Snowmageddon blizzards a couple of years ago and lots of other things, don't tell me global warming isn't screwing up our weather. Don't waste my time with that tired non-scientific right-wing stupidity.

Anyway, it's a very strange couple of days. I'm nervous about my roof holding up under the expected rainfall, and couldn't fall asleep last night. I got the newspaper delivered, though, even with the state of emergency being declared. (Might be a different story tomorrow morning.) I finally started to read it and dozed off for about 2 hours. I imagine I'll be sleeping on and off since I'm not leaving the house.

The local TV stations and the Weather Channel are going non-stop with storm coverage but it seems like there's nothing on any stations that warrants my watching it for very long. Coverage ranges from inane to inept. 

So far, except for the time I was sleeping, it seems like it hasn't rained to an extreme extent. The brunt of it is still south and west. The good news is, if what I'm reading is correct, the landfall might occur a little earlier than previously thought. Phillyweather.net pegs it at between 4 pm and 7 pm. If so, perhaps it'll clear out of here sooner.

I might update this later. Maybe even with video.

UPDATE 1: Took some video around 4:20 pm. Just rain and some wind. The worst of it is still to come, they say.



UPDATE 2: Another video. Since it's getting too dark I don't know if I'll bother taking any more. Lot more wind, lot less rain at this time (6:15 pm).



UPDATE 3: 10:15 pm. Can't see much because it's too dark. Listen to the wind, though. Tree branches were really swaying.

An Irene Dream

"Jed! Jethro! Elly May! Vittles!!!"

As I start to write this it's 5:30 am. The center of still-barely-a-Hurricane Irene is just off the coast of New Jersey on its way north. At the weather station where official readings are taken (ostensibly at the airport but the physical location of the weather station is actually just across the river in New Jersey) we've had 5.50 inches of rain. There are a few hours where heavy rain can still fall, and the highest wind gusts may also occur.

Somehow there is still no water coming through my roof. This is borderline miraculous. For a short period, during an intense rainfall that was blowing against the back of my house, water was coming into my kitchen, where there's a door (leading to the deck) that is not particularly well-sealed. It was coming not just at the bottom of the door but also from the top. That was a little freaky.

And despite many dire warnings, the power has stayed on except for a blip of 15-20 seconds. This could change, of course.

Although I semi-planned to stay up all night, I decided around 1 am to try and sleep and I eventually managed to doze off. I got maybe 3 hours' worth, I woke up a couple of times, and now I think I may just stay up. Meanwhile, I had a weird dream about this crap:

Come On, Irene!

Some people stock up on water, batteries, etc. when a hurricane threatens. But that's not how I roll...

Picture this as a 1.5-liter bottle. Now picture six of them in my fridge.

I anticipate not sleeping at all Saturday night and Sunday morning, when the worst of the storm hits. Between the sights and sounds of heavy rain and wind, following the latest reports on Irene, anticipating the possibility of the power going out, etc., I think there's no way I could fall asleep if I tried. (And if the power goes out, I have batteries for a radio and flashlight. I just have to make sure my cell phone and iPod are fully charged.)

Besides, in a couple of past really heavy rainstorms (including the nearly five inches on the 14th of this month) my roof began to leak a bit, with water dripping around or through the ceiling fan in my bedroom. So if it does this again, I don't want to be in bed when it happens. I really fear that sooner or later a truly serious leak will develop or the roof will just cave in or something, and I have no money to get it fixed. God (or whomever) help me if that happens.

P. S. Because the title of this post has been overused by millions, you probably have this song in your head.

P.P.S. Here comes Irene now!

"How do you like yer possum, Lowell, fallin' off the bones tender or with a little fight left in it?"