Anyone in the path of Earl?

[Gob]

NAGS HEAD, N.C. – Hurricane Earl steamed toward the Eastern Seaboard early Thursday as communities from North Carolina to New England kept a close eye on the forecast, worried that even a slight shift in the storm's predicted offshore track could put millions of people in the most densely populated part of the country in harm's way.

Vacationers along North Carolina's dangerously exposed Outer Banks took advantage of the typical picture-perfect day just before a hurricane arrives to pack their cars and flee inland, cutting short their summer just before Labor Day weekend.

The governors of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland declared states of emergency, sea turtle nests on one beach were scooped up and moved to safety, and the crew of the Navy's USS Cole rushed to get home to Norfolk, Va., on Wednesday ahead of the bad weather. The destroyer was supposed to return later this week from a seven-month assignment fighting piracy off Somalia.

Farther up the East Coast, emergency officials urged people to have disaster plans and supplies ready and weighed whether to order evacuations as they watched the latest maps from the National Hurricane Center — namely, the "cone of uncertainty" showing the broad path the storm could take.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/tropical_weather

I've always wanted to experience some of the extreme weather you have in the USA. No offense meant friends, I know these storms, tornadoes, and other intense weather phenomena are highly destructive and cost lives, but man they must be something to live through.

[@meric@nwom@n]

I have lived right in Tornado ally all my life and have yet to see one. I have seen some destruction left by them but never seen one or lived through one. I imagine that my experience is typical.

[dales]

Earl who?

[Miles]

Oldr lives on Long Island he is, I think, the only one on this board on the extreme north eastern coast.

[Guinevere]

That would be me -- eastern massachusetts, south coast, 50 feet from the ocean, at sea level. As east as you can get without being on the Cape or Islands. And in the hurricane warning zone.

But my hatches are all battened down, everything loose has been stowed or secured, I've got extra water, extra batteries, and my wellies at the ready. I'm picking up the fixings for "Hurricanes" on the way home and plan to play zydeco all night long!

(and please god let me be this optomistic tomorrow AM)

[loCAtek]

Good Luck Guin!

I've been through many, many quakes, including the World Series quake; a hurricane while at sea, and tornado strength winds while in a airplane trying to land, et al.

[Gob]

Best of luck Guin, please keep us informed of how it goes!!


Anyone know how to get hold of O-n-W?

[Jarlaxle]

I'm also in New England, though much further from the ocean than Guin. Earl has been a non-event, pretty much...raining pretty steadily now, no wind to speak of.

[Guinevere]

Well it was indeed a non-event here, thank goodness, as the predictions even Thursday night were for a major storm event with 100 MPH winds and serious flooding. Even Nantucket didn't get the lashing predicted -- but that is the thing with tropical storms and why you still have to be prepared. They can just as easily wipe you out as miss you. We ended up with a little rain and a little wind, but it was over by 2:30 AM. Today there is some gusty breeze, moderate surf, and bright sunshine. Happy Labor Day weekend!

[Gob]

Ha, all's well that ends well then eh?

[Jarlaxle]

I confess I wasn't worried...my preparations were limited to topping off the gas cans for and running up my generator Thursday, putting my deck furniture in the garage, making sure both garage doors were closed tightly and latched, putting the locking bar on the toolshed doors so the wind can't pull them open, and making sure I had

My house has survived the three worst hurricanes to hit the area (1938, Carol in 1954, Bob in 1990) , as well as dozens (maybe hundreds) or Nor-easter storms since being built in the 1850's...I was not especially concerned.

[Scooter]

It made landfall in Nova Scotia on Saturday morning, reached the western coast of Newfoundland on Sunday. One death, not a lot of property damage, downed power lines left most of the province in the dark over the weekend.

[Gob]

Still, a death is a death, and that's a big shame.

[Gob]

Heard back from O-n-W, he's all safe and so is his family. He asked me to pass on his best wishes to all here.

He's got a new job which is talking up his time, but he's enjoying it to the full.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Howdy ho and thanks for thinking/checking on me. All was fine as Earl was little more then media hype. Of course it could have been much worse and thankfully it stayed way off the coast. Glad you made it through with about the same damage we had (which was none) Guievere.

Todays newspaper is complaining how the local gov and lighting company spent about $30million preparing and being ready for the storm between opening and stocking shelters and having electric crews ready in case pwoer went out widespread on teh island. Hell, what did they expect them to do? If the gov or LIPA (Long Island Power Authority) were not ready and the storm made a direct hit, they would also be the first to say "how come you weren;t ready?"

LAst big hurricane no one was ready for (hurricane Gloria back in 1985). We were without electricity for 7 days. T?hat and my son was only a week old, we had just moved into our house two months before that and a tree fell on the roof.

Be a Boy Scout and be prepared.