[americanophile]

...ya, ok, it's going to be really windy for a matter of hours. The media coverage is practically apocalyptic.

[advertising guy]

amen....so if I got this right...it’s gonna rain and the wind is gonna blow

[Moose4]

The wind isn’t as big a problem as the rain and surge will be around NYC. Yeah, they may well get hit with borderline hurricane winds in some areas depending on the storm track, and there will be minor structural damage and broken windows and endless pictures of flapping street signs and ripped awnings.

But Irene will also push several feet of water up from Jamaica Bay and Long Island Sound and the Hudson and East Rivers into low-lying areas, in addition to a possible 8-12” of rain on top of a fairly wet summer. No, it’s not going to be the end-of-the-world scenario that the media is hyping. But you’re probably looking at widespread loss of power and disruption of transport due to bridges being closed and subways being knocked out or flooded, in a city of 5+ million people. They’re overreacting, because that’s the media and it’s what they do. But I seriously doubt it’s going to be pleasant or fun up there if Irene gets anywhere close to NYC, which it probably will.

}:-)4