Major Hurricane Irene

[Polar Bear]

000

WTNT34 KNHC 280555

TCPAT4

BULLETIN

HURRICANE IRENE INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 31A

NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL092011

200 AM EDT SUN AUG 28 2011

...IRENE MOVING UP THE MID-ATLANTIC COAST...WATER LEVELS RISING FROM

MARYLAND TO NEW YORK...

SUMMARY OF 200 AM EDT...0600 UTC...INFORMATIONSUMMARY OF 200 AM EDT...0600 UTC...INFORMATION

----------------------------------------------

LOCATION...38.1N 75.0W

ABOUT 15 MI...25 KM SSE OF OCEAN CITY MARYLAND

ABOUT 195 MI...315 KM SSW OF NEW YORK CITY

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...80 MPH...130 KM/H

PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNE OR 20 DEGREES AT 17 MPH...28 KM/H

MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...958 MB...28.29 INCHES

WATCHES AND WARNINGS

--------------------

CHANGES IN WATCHES AND WARNINGS WITH THIS ADVISORY...

NONE.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT...

A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...

* CAPE LOOKOUT NORTH CAROLINA NORTHWARD TO SAGAMORE BEACH

MASSACHUSETTS...INCLUDING THE PAMLICO...ALBEMARLE...AND CURRITUCK

SOUNDS...DELAWARE BAY...CHESAPEAKE BAY SOUTH OF DRUM POINT...NEW

YORK CITY...LONG ISLAND...LONG ISLAND SOUND...COASTAL CONNECTICUT

AND RHODE ISLAND...BLOCK ISLAND...MARTHAS VINEYARD AND NANTUCKET

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...

* CHESAPEAKE BAY FROM DRUM POINT NORTHWARD AND THE TIDAL POTOMAC

* NORTH OF SAGAMORE BEACH TO EASTPORT MAINE

* UNITED STATES/CANADA BORDER NORTHEASTWARD TO FORT LAWRENCE

INCLUDING GRAND MANAN

* SOUTH COAST OF NOVA SCOTIA FROM FORT LAWRENCE TO PORTERS LAKE

INTERESTS ELSEWHERE IN EASTERN CANADA SHOULD MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF

IRENE.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA IN THE UNITED

STATES...INCLUDING POSSIBLE INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE

MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

FORECAST OFFICE. FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA OUTSIDE

THE UNITED STATES...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR NATIONAL

METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE.

DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK

------------------------------

AT 200 AM EDT...0600 UTC...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE IRENE WAS LOCATED

BY AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT NEAR LATITUDE

38.1 NORTH...LONGITUDE 75.0 WEST. IRENE IS MOVING TOWARD THE

NORTH-NORTHEAST NEAR 17 MPH...28 KM/H...AND THIS MOTION ACCOMPANIED

BY A GRADUAL INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT

DAY OR SO. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF IRENE WILL MOVE

NEAR OR OVER THE MID-ATLANTIC COAST THIS MORNING...AND MOVE OVER

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND BY THIS AFTERNOON. IRENE IS FORECAST TO MOVE

INTO EASTERN CANADA SUNDAY NIGHT.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS REMAIN NEAR 80 MPH...130 KM/H...WITH HIGHER

GUSTS. IRENE IS A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON

HURRICANE WIND SCALE. IRENE IS FORECAST TO REMAIN A HURRICANE AS

IT MOVES NEAR OR OVER THE MID-ATLANTIC COAST AND APPROACHES NEW

ENGLAND TODAY. IRENE IS FORECAST TO WEAKEN AFTER LANDFALL IN NEW

ENGLAND AND BECOME A POST-TROPICAL CYCLONE SUNDAY NIGHT OR EARLY

MONDAY.

IRENE IS A LARGE TROPICAL CYCLONE. HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS ARE

LOCATED OVER A RELATIVELY SMALL AREA EAST OF THE CENTER.

TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 240 MILES...390 KM

FROM THE CENTER.

A SUSTAINED WIND OF 48 MPH...78 KM/H...AND A WIND GUST OF 68 MPH...

109 KM/H...WERE RECENTLY REPORTED AT A NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE

OBSERVING SITE NEAR NEWPORT NEWS VIRGINIA. SUSTAINED WINDS OF

TROPICAL STORM FORCE ARE STILL OCCURRING AS FAR SOUTH AS DUCK NORTH

CAROLINA WHERE A SUSTAINED WIND OF 48 MPH...78 KM/H...AND A WIND

GUST OF 68 MPH...109 KM/H...WERE ALSO RECENTLY REPORTED.

WATER LEVELS HAVE BEEN RISING RAPIDLY IN ADVANCE OF THE CENTER OF

IRENE...WITH RECENTLY OBSERVED STORM SURGE VALUES OF 3.2 FEET AT

OCEAN CITY MARYLAND...3.7 FEET AT LEWES DELAWARE...3.4 FEET AT CAPE

MAY NEW JERSEY...AND 3.5 FEET AT NEW YORK HARBOR.

RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 10 TO 14 INCHES HAVE ALREADY OCCURRED OVER A

LARGE PORTION OF EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN

VIRGINIA...WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNT THUS FAR OF 14 INCHES REPORTED

AT BUNYAN NORTH CAROLINA.

THE LATEST MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE REPORTED BY THE HURRICANE HUNTER

AIRCRAFT WAS 958 MB...28.29 INCHES. A NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE

OBSERVING SITE AT OCEAN CITY MARYLAND RECENTLY REPORTED A PRESSURE

OF 970 MB...28.63 IN.

[Polar Bear]

she is 189 miles from new york, so there by about there midday - 5 pm here.

atlanic city is also on the path at 93 miles. Gambling City on the coast with some interesting structures there for a 80 mph winds....not to mention proximity to the sea..

[Coast]

Irene begins to batter New York as the city is reduced to a ghost town and hours of torrential rain fuel fears of severe flooding

• Power outage for more than 36,000 customers in New York early Sunday morning
  
• Mayor warns New Yorkers will be waking up to possible hurricane and TORNAO damage
  
• The time for evacuations is over, Mayor Bloomberg says
  

Hurricane Irene began to batter New York City in the early hours of Sunday morning as heavy rain caused fears of severe flooding after the city had been reduced to a ghost town.

As the city nervously awaited Irene's powerful winds, power outages were reported across the city and authorities shut down the Port of New York and the Port for Long Island Sound.

The Palisades Interstate Parkway entrance to the George Washington Bridge was closed due to the terrible weather conditions, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. By 2am Sunday, more than 36,000 customers in the city were without power,most of them on Staten Island, Queens and outer suburbs, Con-Ed said. In his final address on Saturday night at 10.30pm, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a tornado warning was in effect for New York and that the time for evacuation was over. People now had to leave the streets, he said. Mr Bloomberg warned that could be a storm surge in the area at 8am which could lead to power outages across the city.

Deserted: People wait for a cab at Times Square in New York as rains fall before Hurricane Irene hits

'The edge of the hurricane has finally got upon us,' New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the more than eight million people who live in New York as he warned that tropical storm-force winds would hit the city. Times Square, often called the crossroads of the world, was sparsely populated, mostly with visitors, as Irene rolled into the city with full force. 'We just came to see how few people are in Times Square and then we're going back,' said Cheryl Gibson, who was vacationing in the city and had planned to go to the other side of the Hudson River on Sunday.

Splish splash: A taxi speeds by on 42nd Street at Times Square in New York as rains fall before Hurricane Irene hits

'We can't get to New Jersey and I'm not sure it's any better there,' she said. Mayor Bloomberg warned New Yorkers Irene was a life-threatening storm and urged them to stay indoors to avoid flying debris, flooding or the risk of being electrocuted by downed power lines. 'It is dangerous out there,' he said, but added: 'New York is the greatest city in the world and we will weather this storm.'

Some 370,000 city residents were ordered to leave their homes in low-lying areas, many of them in parts of the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan.

Unbelievable sight: Two men push a cart through a normally bustling Grand Central Terminal

But many were unwilling to evacuate. Nicholas Vigliotti, 24, an auditor who lives in a high-rise building along the Brooklyn waterfront, said he saw no point. 'Even if there was a flood, I live on the fifth floor,' he said. Flood waters forced officials in Hoboken, just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, to evacuate a storm shelter, the mayor of Hoboken, Dawn Zimmer, said on Twitter.

'Hoboken faces the worst case scenario. Flooding has begun. Moving Wallace Shelter residents to state shelter in east Rutherford," the mayor's tweet said.

Completely soaked: A Hasidic Jew makes his way home as heavy rain falls in Brooklyn, New York, late Saturday night

Hours earlier, the normally bustling streets had emptied out and the rumble of the subways came to a stop. New York buttoned up Saturday against Hurricane Irene, which threatened to paralyse Wall Street and give the big city its worst thrashing from a storm since at least the 1980s. City officials cautioned that if Irene stayed on track, it could bring gusts of 85 mph overnight that could shatter skyscraper windows. They said there was an outside chance that a storm surge in Lower Manhattan could send seawater streaming into the maze of underground vaults that hold the city's cables and pipes, knocking out power to thousands and crippling the nation's financial capital.

Late night grocery run: A man braves torrential rain to get some supplies in Brooklyn on Saturday night

Earlier in the day, Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered the first mandatory evacuation ever in New York. More than 370,000 people were told to be out by 5 pm from low-lying areas on the fringes of the city, mostly in Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Many New Yorkers seemed to take it in stride, staying off the streets and hunkering down. Some planned hurricane get-togethers and hot tub parties. 'We already have the wine and beer, and now we're getting the vodka,' said Martin Murphy, a video artist who was shopping at a liquor store near Central Park with his girlfriend.

Never before seen: Times Square subway station, with no one there

'If it lasts, we have dozens of movies ready, and we'll play charades and we're going to make cards that say, "We survived Irene,'" he said. All subway service was suspended because of the threat of flooding in the tunnels — the first time the nation's biggest transit system has shut down because of a natural disaster. Sandbags and tarps were placed on or around subway grates. 'Heed the warnings,' Bloomberg said, his shirt getting soaked as the rain fell in Coney Island. 'It isn't cute to say, "I'm tougher than any storm." I hope this is not necessary, but it's certainly prudent.'

No snarl ups here: The normally crowded entrance to the Holland Tunnel in Manhattan

Bridge to nowhere: The Brooklyn Bridge, normally one of the busiest in the world

People arrived in a trickle at a shelter set up at a high school in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. Some carried garbage bags filled with clothing; others pushed carts loaded with their belongings.

They were evacuated from a public housing project in Brooklyn's Red Hook section. Tenants said management got them to leave by telling them the water and power would be shut off at 5 p.m.

'For us, it's him,' said Victor Valderrama, pointing to his 3-year-old son. 'I didn't want to take a chance with my son.'

Streets of fear: The entrance to the Midtown Tunnel West Bound

Lights are on but no one's there: A spooky view inside the Midtown Tunnel West Bound

The lone runner: A man heads north on the Hudson River Greenway ahead of the arrival of Irene in Lower Manhattan

Getting out of the rain: New York National Guard officers run towards the Sixty-Ninth Regiment Armoury where they are staying

In Times Square, shops boarded up windows, put sandbags outside entrances and the street performer known as the Naked Cowboy, who stands at the Crossroads of the World wearing only underwear and a guitar, had a life vest on. Construction came to a standstill across the city, and workers at the World Trade Centre site dismantled a crane and secured equipment. The mayor said there would be no effect on the opening of the Sept. 11 memorial on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Con Edison brought in hundreds of extra utility workers from around the country. While the foot of Manhattan is protected by a seawall and a network of pumps, Con Ed vice president John Mucci said the utility stood ready to turn off the power to about 6,500 customers there in the event of severe flooding. Mucci said it could take up to three days to restore the power if the cables became drenched with saltwater, which can be particularly damaging. The New York Stock Exchange has backup generators and can run on its own, a spokesman said.

A sitting target awaits: The skyscrapers of New York underneath stormy skies on Saturday evening as the rains come ahead of the winds

Pedestrians walk past sandbags used to control possible floods at downtown Manhattan

Eerie avenues: A lone man walks past a boarded up Flatiron Building, left, while pedestrains walk across a virtually traffic-free Fifth Avenue

Con Ed also shut down about 10 miles of steam pipes underneath the city to prevent explosions if they came in contact with cold water. The shutdown affected 50 commercial and residential customers around the city who use the pipes for heat, hot water and air conditioning. Irene came ashore in North Carolina on Saturday morning, slightly weakened but still powerful, and was expected to roll up the densely populated Interstate 95 corridor. More than 8.3 million people live in New York City, and nearly 29 million in the metropolitan area. A hurricane warning was issued for the city Friday afternoon, the first since Gloria in September 1985. That storm blew ashore on Long Island with winds of 85 mph and caused millions of dollars in damage, along with one death in New York. While Bloomberg strongly cautioned against staying put, he also said no one was going door-to-door to force residents out. And many apparently chose not to go.

No go area: In the city that never sleeps, The Times Square subway station is spookily silent

Bravely staying open: A store clerk awaits late customers in Brooklyn on Saturday night

An MTA worker locks a gate at the subway at Grand Central Station

Shutting down: Ticket agents remove the stanchions which form the ticketing lines at JFK International Airport

The city opened more than 90 evacuation shelters with room for about 70,000 people. But by early evening, only about 5,500 had checked in, officials said. The evacuation order went unheeded by many tenants at a large public housing complex in Brooklyn. 'Oh, forget Bloomberg. We ain't going anywhere,' said Evelyn Burrus, 60. 'Go to some shelter with a bunch of strangers and bedbugs? No way.' The area's three major airports - LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark Liberty - closed at noon to arriving flights. Departing flights were to be shut down by 10pm. Subway trains began grinding to a halt at noon.

We're waiting: A volunteer puts up a sign in a shelter centre at Newcomers High School in Queens

The transit system won't reopen until at least Monday, after pumps remove water from flooded stations. The subways routinely flood during even ordinary storms and have to be pumped out. The city's transit system carries about 5 million passengers on an average weekday. The last time it was seriously hobbled was an August 2007 rainstorm that disabled or delayed every one of the city's subway lines. It was also shut down after the 9/11 attacks and during a 2005 strike. Many New Yorkers were left to hail taxis. To encourage cab-sharing and speed the evacuation, taxis switched to zone fares, meaning passengers were charged not for the mileage on the meter but according to which section of the city they were going to.

Out and about: Yuria Celidwen tastes the rain in a nearly deserted Times Square as Irene lurks around the corner on Saturday night

Covered up: A woman and her son walk through Times Square

Boilers and elevators were shut down in public housing in evacuation areas to encourage tenants to leave and to prevent people from getting stuck in elevators if the power went out. Some hotels were shutting off their elevators and air conditioners. Others had generators ready to go. Dozens of buses arrived at the Brooklyn Cyclones minor league ballpark in Coney Island to help residents get out. Nursing homes and hospitals were emptied.

At a shelter set up at a high school in the Long Island town of Brentwood, Alexander Ho calmly ate a sandwich in the cafeteria. Ho left his first-floor apartment in East Islip, even though it is several blocks from the water, just outside the mandatory evacuation zone. "Objects outside can be projected as missiles," he said. "I figured my apartment didn't seem as safe as I thought, as every room has a window."

http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz1WJ1LX4KR

Hurricane Irene is expected to go ashore near the border of Nassau County and Queens at about 9 a.m., threatening some 80,000 homes worth more than $35 billion with storm surge, forecasters and analysts said. Irene may still be a Category 1 hurricane, with winds of at least 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour, when its center makes landfall on its way toward Canada, said Tim Morrin, a National Weather Servicemeteorologist in Upton, New York. The storm, packing as much as 20 inches of rain, will hit near the time when tides are high across much of the region, according to published tide tables.

“With the storm surge and the amount of water it brings, the most important aspect is to just evacuate,” said Scott Little, vice president and general manager of CoreLogic Inc. Spatial Solutions in Austin,Texas. “I don’t see a lot of change between now and the time it hits. Obviously, the lower the storm surge, the lower the damage.” Hurricane Irene made its first landfall early yesterday on North Carolina’s outer banks, flooding roads and knocking out power to more than a million homes and businesses, according to local utilities. Five storm-related deaths have been reported. Irene weakened as it crossed land, although it remains a Category 1 storm with winds of 80 mph. The storm was about 195 miles south-southwest of New York City, and was causing water levels to rise from Maryland to New York, according to a center advisory at 2 a.m. New York time.

Hurricane at Impact

“A gradual increase in forward speed is expected,” according to aNational Hurricane Center analysis. “The center of Iren will move near or over the mid-Atlantic coast this morning. Irene is forecast to move into Eastern Canada Sunday night.” Irene may become the most powerful storm to strike New York since Hurricane Gloria in 1985. It may inflict $6.5 billion in overall economic losses on the U.S. before being absorbed in other weather systems somewhere over Canada or the Atlantic early next week, according to estimates by Kinetic Analysis Corp. Gloria’s strength was between categories 1 and 2 when it made landfall on Long Island. CoreLogic estimates 80,861 homes in New York City and Long Island valued at $35 billion are vulnerable to damage from storm surge if Irene remains a Category 1 hurricane. Irene may have caused between $500 million and $1.1 billion in damage to the Bahamas earlier this week, according to estimates by AIR Worldwide in Boston.

Wind Differences

Amtrak will halt train operations in the Southeast, Mid- Atlantic, Northeast and New England today, according to a company release. Irene’s winds will be stronger at higher elevations, so high-rises in New York and other major cities will experience more intense buffeting than lower structures, according to the hurricane center. “So you have to worry about falling glass and windows being blown out,” said Bill Leatham, a meteorologist with Hometown Forecast Services in Nashua, New Hampshire.

The Northeast is also experiencing higher tides because of a new moon, so a storm surge now will be higher than it would at other times of the month, said Michael Schlacter, chief meteorologist at Weather 2000 Inc. in New York. If Irene’s losses exceed $1 billion, it will be the 10th such costly natural disaster in the U.S. this year, a record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The U.S. has suffered $35 billion in losses due to nine separate events so far in 2011, according to NOAA.

Emergencies Declared

President Barack Obama declared emergencies for North Carolina, Virginia, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, while New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered the first mandatory evacuation in the city’s history. In North Carolina, 10 major roads were flooded after Irene made landfall near Cape Lookout, on the Outer Banks. Irene weakened from a Category 3 storm with 120-mph winds earlier in the week, and North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue said the hurricane wasn’t as powerful as first expected. The storm still needs to be respected, said Tom Kines, senior expert meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania.

“If a thunderstorm rolls through with 50- to 60-mile-per- hour winds, we know what kind of damage that can do,” Kines said by telephone today. “It can knock a tree over or damage a house and that is just a gust. Imagine what it can do over a more prolonged period?”

No Complacency

No one should discount the storm “just because they’re not getting 100-mile-per-hour winds,” Kines said. Transit systems in New York and New Jersey were shut down in advance of the storm and evacuations were ordered in New York, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia. Hurricane warnings were posted for Cape Lookout, North Carolina, northward to Sagamore Beach in Massachusetts, including New York City, according to the hurricane center. Tropical storm warnings are in effect north of Sagamore Beach to Eastport, Maine, according to the weather service. Wind and rain warnings were issued for parts of Quebec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland, according to Environment Canada.

Irene’s hurricane-strength winds stretch 85 miles from its center. Tropical storm-force winds of at least 39 mph extend 240 miles from the core. Rainfall of 10 to 14 inches were recorded over eastern North Carolina and extreme southeastern Virginia, according to the hurricane center. Water levels have been rising “rapidly” in advance of the center of Irene, with a storm surge of 3.2 feet at Ocean City, Maryland and 3.7 feet at Lewes, Delaware, the center said

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-27/hurricane-irene-may-remain-category-1-storm-as-it-hits-new-york-on-sunday.html

[Polar Bear]

good photos on this limk..I forget which beach but there are the pictures out on the beach where the water has been taken away by Irene but which will be returned with flooding as she comes through..if that makes sense.

http://www.philly.com/philly/photos/Irene_slams_NC_Virginia.html?cmpid=102540079

Edited August 28, 2011 by Polar Bear

[weatherobsuk]

Entrance to New York Harbor buoy 44065 reporting a 15ft surge. Irene still coming up the coast of New Jersey.

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=44065

Also downtown Manhattan under Tornado watch at this time, as Irene's bands make their way through the city from the outer edges.

[Coast]

[Iceberg]

High tide in a couple of hours as well.

Looks like tides on the shore are between 4-6ft high than normal atm.

Forgot to add that NYC is very lucky that Irene didn't get her inner core together after the first ERC this would certainly have been quite a bit strong with lower pressure and a higher storm surge.

Edited August 28, 2011 by Iceberg

[onlyME]

Iceberg,Irene still has 958 mb pressure and it still can make dangerous storm surge.

Note that the winds in Irene increase with height;skyscrapers will receive stronger winds than the low buildings.

[lottiekent]

This is a link to a webcam located on the 16th floor of a building in midtown Manhattan - very wet and windy!

http://live.reuters.com/Event/Hurricane_Irene3

[knocker]

Latest New York radar and radial velocity. Quite a few flood areas but not that windy. US 0600z chart.

[BARRY]

http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/timessquare/ nice link to webcams

[Nick F]

2 tornado reports across Virginia, and 1 across Delaware which included damage to 15 homes:

1249 2 NNW SANDBRIDGE BEACH CITY OF VIRGINIA VA 3674 7594 A TORNADO SEVERELY DAMAGED A HOME IN THE 3300 BLOCK OF SANDPIPER ROAD.. (AKQ) 1730 CHINCOTEAGUE ACCOMACK VA 3795 7536 TORNADO DOWNED TREES AND CAUSED MINOR PROPERTY DAMAGE. (AKQ) 2235 2 SW LEWES SUSSEX DE 3876 7518 AROUND 15 HOMES DAMAGED IN THE

NASSAU STATION AND TRADEWINDS SUBDIVISIONS SW OF LEWES. ONE HOME DEMOLISHED.

They seem to think winds will gust to 80mph across Long Island and 60mph across New York City. Not so strong now and could have been much worse. Rosehearty in NE Aberdeenshire has had winds reach 67mph this morning!

The Hurricane still looks spectacular on Satellite though and the surge along with the large rainfall amounts could still do some serious damage.

[Snowangel-MK]

http://www.bbc.co.uk...canada-14695511

Dominator on BBC news !!

[Polar Bear]

http://www.bbc.co.uk...canada-14695511

Dominator on BBC news !!

Yep BBC news 24 has it as breaking news and has been filiming around NY.....just looks to me like one of our windy rainy autumns...although not with the storm sturge. They reckon tornados could appear over NY too..

[Polar Bear]

one of the readings from sandy hook bouy off nyc and long beach...wind though seems quite light.

[butler_son]

http://www.news12.com/articleDetail.jsp?regionId=2&articleId=229134&position=1&news_type=news&rand=90879558&ionId=2&ion_name=NJ&autoplay

News stream from New Jersey.

[Polar Bear]

hmms bbc new reporter just reported live in nyc...no wind, no rain at all...storm surge about 5 ft they reckoned but tide on its way out.

irene has also been downgraded to a tropical storm.

[weatherobsuk]

It'd be interesting in the analysis of this, to see what determined the NHC to keep Irene up to CAT1 status right into the Lower New York Bay with literally 20 minutes to go before forecasted landfall into the city, only for them to reclassify the storm TS despite the same reading being released for the past 12hr.

Irene coming out of Virginia Beach was the last strongest recorded winds by ground obs (chasers) at 72mph, although even this gust wasn't sustained to categorise Irene at CAT1. Windfield maps show the field around the barocyclonical low (which at TS it is) on the strongest side to the East, where doppler showed strongest convection that should have brought gusts lower to ground level to the West. This is more indicative to me of a TS undergoing Cyclogensis and sustainability through a Barocyclonic Leaf that was aided by Irene interracting with a occuluded front to her West coming in mid-states.

Did the NHC keep her at CAT1 just to rally up the statistic totals for 2011? it's been known that they tend to play with the figures statistically in order to show their data offset can be validated if a season is unusually weaker/stronger than on average. I'm going to love reading the analysis and what excuse NHC has on keeping a cold-core system, barely maintaining gusts of 60mph, nevermind 75mph sustained. holding that warning right up until NYC 'til 'zero hour.'

The guys at HurricaneTrack & crazymother.tv were discussing the very same thing. How this 'hurricane' never had any sustainable CAT1 force gusts even when it was going through the Carolinas, and watching the live feeds I was nodding my head and agree'ing with them. Is it the scale which is wrong? expecting sustained winds even though the obs have recorded them offshore, yet the msm and NHC are continually repeating a threat which is non-existent (making people even more wary next time it happens), or just a case of liasoning between the agencies? Its way too presumptious to tell I know given Irene is barely passing Manhattan as the TS she now is, but its a question that needs to be asked if not sooner than later, given we are still in peak Hurricane season.

[bluearmy]

It'd be interesting in the analysis of this, to see what determined the NHC to keep Irene up to CAT1 status right into the Lower New York Bay with literally 20 minutes to go before forecasted landfall into the city, only for them to reclassify the storm TS despite the same reading being released for the past 12hr.

Irene coming out of Virginia Beach was the last strongest recorded winds by ground obs (chasers) at 72mph, although even this gust wasn't sustained to categorise Irene at CAT1. Windfield maps show the field around the barocyclonical low (which at TS it is) on the strongest side to the East, where doppler showed strongest convection that should have brought gusts lower to ground level to the West. This is more indicative to me of a TS undergoing Cyclogensis and sustainability through a Barocyclonic Leaf that was aided by Irene interracting with a occuluded front to her West coming in mid-states.

Did the NHC keep her at CAT1 just to rally up the statistic totals for 2011? it's been known that they tend to play with the figures statistically in order to show their data offset can be validated if a season is unusually weaker/stronger than on average. I'm going to love reading the analysis and what excuse NHC has on keeping a cold-core system, barely maintaining gusts of 60mph, nevermind 75mph sustained. holding that warning right up until NYC 'til 'zero hour.'

The guys at HurricaneTrack & crazymother.tv were discussing the very same thing. How this 'hurricane' never had any sustainable CAT1 force gusts even when it was going through the Carolinas, and watching the live feeds I was nodding my head and agree'ing with them. Is it the scale which is wrong? expecting sustained winds even though the obs have recorded them offshore, yet the msm and NHC are continually repeating a threat which is non-existent (making people even more wary next time it happens), or just a case of liasoning between the agencies? Its way too presumptious to tell I know given Irene is barely passing Manhattan as the TS she now is, but its a question that needs to be asked if not sooner than later, given we are still in peak Hurricane season.

i believe that the strongest winds were offshore to the west of the storm centre. the winds near the coast may only have been trop storm levels but if they are recording sustained > 74mph somewhere in the system, then i assume it retains cat 1 status.

[coldfingers]

Just makes me laugh when the governer of Conneticut just said, "We are still being impacted with gusts of wind up to 40 mph." Gusts? 40mph? lol, hide under the bed time. Tell that to the Islanders in the north of Scotland, they will die laughing.

And before I get shouted down I do realise this had the potential to be deadly and they were right to take precautions but I do wish they would admit it wasn't as bad as could have been.

Edited August 28, 2011 by coldfingers

[stewfox]

http://www.news12.co...ame=NJ

News stream from New Jersey.

Loved the comment, turn around don't drown. Re Car and driving

[lfcdude]

Tottenham 1-4 Man City... spurs 4-1 down at home at the minute.. city look good... spures look poor... could be a interesting season spures and ars will struggle.. well liverpool and city look good.. don't rate chelsea there very poor but winning still... wont last much longer the way there been playing.. united.. well i think there goali.. will hamper there chances

[peterf]

aye overhyped as usual by the yanks,but better safe than sorry i supose.

[The PIT]

Sounds all a bit naughty I wonder what people in the keys and New Orleans think of all the fuss. Looks like the media hype overtook official thinking so they kept it higher level longer than they should have. Well I'll guess they'll have to get used to over-hyped warnings just like we have to do.

[cyclonic happiness]

I agree, I don't remember being evacuated when the burn's day storm hit, we just had forecasters telling us to be careful and that storm was alot worse than this one and it affected the whole of europe too, bet they didn't evacuate either?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns'_Day_storm