Hurricane Sandy: advice from a hurricane person

[eastexsteve]

I hope none of you folks are in the path of Sandy. But, if you are, there are some things you need to consider.

It's only a cat 1 storm. There will be some high wind. But, nothing you can't ride out in a STURDY building. But, you WILL lose power. Perhaps for days. If you live on the coast, all bets are off. Get out now.

What you will see out of this storm is torrential rains and flooding. Prepare for it. Even if it means evacuating. If you decide to stay, make sure you and your car are on high ground. You will see water in places you never imagined.

If you invest in a generator, make sure you have enough fuel to last you for several days. Even a 5000 watt generator can use almost a gallon of fuel per hour under a full load. Plan on running it sporadically during the power outage. A few hours on and off will keep your fridge and freezer cool enough. And, small generators are also known to consume engine oil. Have a couple of spare quarts on hand. Remember, electricity and water are a bad combination.

Have plenty of food on hand that you don't have to cook. You might be without power for days. The power company will not begin repairs until after the storm has passed.

You will need water, and plenty of it. Drinking water is just part of it. Fill up every bathtub in the house. You may need to dip water out of it to manually flush your toilets. Make sure everyone in the house takes a bath/shower before the storm hits. Make sure all the laundry is done.

Batteries, flashlights, lanterns, and candles. 'nuff said.

Make sure your vehicles are full of gas. Even if you don't go anywhere, you may need them to recharge cell phones, listen to the radio, and even get in out of the cold. But, for gosh sakes, don't sit in a running car inside a garage! And, don't cook on a camp stove in the house!

I don't know about the northeast, but after a torrential hurricane down here in the south, the mosquitoes and flies are merciless.

Protect yourself. Disasters like hurricanes bring out the vermin (both two and and four-legged variety.)

[cubreporter]

What is this a photo of???

[Moonman62]

My advice is to relax. Prepare prudently but don't go nuts. The NHC is reporting hurricane force winds using some kind of government magic.

DATA FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT INDICATE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE TO THE INTENSITY OF SANDY HAS OCCURRED THIS AFTERNOON...AND THE CENTRAL PRESSURE HAS REMAINED NEARLY STEADY AT 951-952 MB SINCE THE PREVIOUS ADVISORY. PEAK 700 MB FLIGHT-LEVEL WINDS OF 78 KT WERE MEASURED IN THE SOUTHERN QUADRANT...BUT NO SFMR-ADJUSTED SURFACE WINDS OF HURRICANE FORCE WERE DETECTED IN ANY QUADRANT. HOWEVER...GIVEN THE EXTREMELY LARGE WIND FIELD OF SANDY...IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE AIRCRAFT MISSED SOME OF THE POCKETS OF STRONGER SURFACE WINDS. THEREFORE...THE INITIAL INTENSITY IS BEING MAINTAINED AT 65 KT.

[gotribe]

Don’t rely on it being hype, I hope you keep your eyes on the weather channel. Went through Hugo (cat 5) in the 80s. Not something to discount.

[Wilderness Conservative]

The tunnels NYC underground cables run along could be flooded. Thereby knocking out power.

[foxfield]

BTTT

[Marcella]

“Architecture in the Northeast doesn’t understand horizontal rain like we do in the South. Snow loads? You bet. but driven rain, sideways, for 3 hours? Nope. It’s gonna seep around window seals and door jambs, etc. If you put water up against a NJ/ NY/ CT residential structure at 40-50 MPH for 3-5 hours, and it is gonna get in. Too much hydraulic pressure, and too many gaps/ weaknesses in the seals and structure.”

This is true. I'm from Texas. Hurricane Ike was very strong and wide and my town is 100 miles north of Galveston where it came in - didn't matter - the winds were sideways in my town and it went on for many hours.

After it passed, I accidentally found water on my stone floor under a kitchen window. That window was locked solidly down - didn't matter - the sideways wind forced itself under that seal and water was on the floor.

Have been through two other hurricanes here before Ike and didn't have the window water problem. Anyway, the next time I will put padding against that window to soak up water so it doesn't get on the wood window sill and floor.

Sideways rain, have seen plenty of it.

[Florida native]

What do you suggest for Manhattan residents living on high floors? At least our electricity comes through underground cables.

The higher you are, the higher the winds, and if it floods in you area, those underground cables will be under water.

[onona]

My kid’s at McGuire. Same story.

Guess they gotta live through it a time or two.

Sigh

[Blacksheep]

Where are you?

[FreeReign]

Hurricane Sandy: advice from a hurricane person

My sister-in-law lives on a canal just off the Great South Bay. This mornings high tide saw water already spilling into her back yard.

So my advice to her was to sandbag the doors, grab the cats and evacuate.

The good news is that she took my advice.

The bad news is that she and her cats are staying at my house.

[Roccus]

Rockaway peninsular and Jamaica Bay...NYC

[Marcella]

Your sister-in-law: “The bad news is that she and her cats are staying at my house.”

That’s funny, except I have a sister-in-law that lives on the Texas coast and doesn’t have squat in preps and she would come to my house, too, and she’s a wild eyed liberal - I’d rather put up with the cats than her liberal crap.

[Bon mots]

ALL OF YOU YANKEES WILL DIE IN HURRICANE SANDY!

Did that work?
Did I get your attention?
Good. Because that is what the MSM is trying to do.
They want to blow up this stupid CAT 1 storm as if it's a combination of Katrina, the Asian Tsunami and the 1909 San Francisco earthquake combined, to the point that it dominates the front pages of they left-wing MSM right up until the day after the Presidential election.

You see, this replaces Benghazi on the front page.

BENGHAZI, LIBYA!

You are all being manipulated into forgetting all about it.
This storm is nothing. It looks big on the map, it is being hyped in order to kill the Benghazi scandal in the week before the election.

---

Remember Irene!

Irene was CAT 3

This stupid Sandy looks huge on a satellite map, but is only a CAT 1 storm for Chrissakes.

[crusty old prospector]

Fill up your bathtub and sinks with water so you can flush the commode if they cut your water. Probably too late for any food, batteries, candles, etc. You can fill up all your glasses as well. Water may be in short supply for a while.

[TalBlack]

Where does your sis live? I’m in Deer Park. I moved my truck from a truck yard on the south side of Main Street Babylon (near the grt south bay) to a spot a few miles north. I was afraid of floods. However, now I worry a tree might hit it. DId you hear any estimates as to how high the water is expected to climb the south shore? I’ve heard nothing in this regard. Your sisters experience is worrysome.

[darth]

Check the auto parts dept. at Wallymart or other automotive supply. They are used to convert 12V DC to 120V AC for stereos in cars.

Check the wattage on the sump pump and buy a big enough inverter.

[Roccus]

It’s not so much the velocity of the wind that’s the problem, it’s the rain, direction of the wind and the duration of both.
Inland, 48 to 72 hours of heavy rain with gusts that may hit 40-60 and trees get uprooted....plus flooding.
On the shore, 48-72 hrs. of wind pushing water into the inverted “V” of NY Bight plus water being pushed down LI Sound...all mixed with moon tides...will cause a lot of flooding problems.

[workerbee]

We’re not discounting it, but nor are we buying into the frenzy the media would have us believe.

We’ve been down this road many a-time with the weather folks. Too much “reporting” is geared towards panic, over-reaction, and ratings. In Maryland, where I am, we get the same type of nonsense for 1/2 inch of snow that we’d get for 2 feet.

I’m not convinced that Sandy will be as much a threat as they say. MAYBE it will.... but the media has overdone too many “nothings” to the point where we’re numb to much of their reporting.

[Bon mots]

Like I said, you’re all gonna die in this storm.

Just forget about Benghazi, okay?

:)

[My hearts in London - Everett]

Thank you for the great idea/advice. Will run out tomorrow early to track down an inverter and another heavy duty extension cord.