Hurricane Irene: is this lady NUTS?!

[Freedom]

If you live anywhere along the USA east coast, you've been watching Irene's track. For the past 2 days, seems that New England will have a direct hit. We have alot happening here in Providence, making sure the hurricane barrier is operational etc. Jim Cantore of The Weather Channel is headed to Cape Cod and then coming down here.

So what is this person on Cape Cod from the Chamber of Commerce thinking?!

"We obviously want all our travelers to be safe, but right now we're encouraging people to keep their weekend plans," says Mitchell, who notes that the current forecast calls for the storm's biggest impact to be late Sunday and Monday.

And, she adds, she's hoping Irene will turn out to be a close relative of Earl - a hurricane that was aimed straight for the cape last Labor Day weekend, but wound up "passing quietly into the night."

"I woke up that Saturday morning (after Earl's no-show), and it was one of the most beautiful beach days I can remember," says Mitchell.

There is ONE road off the Cape, should they need to evacuate!

http://travel.usatoday.com/destinati...-list/416598/1

[Karen]

There are two, Sandy, roads off the Cape that is. You hear all the time, "2-hour backup at the Bourne, just 1/2 hour at the Sagamore" - and that's just a normal weekend!

I doubt anyone's paying attention to the Chamber of Commerce person anyway. My radio show producer, in Florida, is sure we are doomed up here!

[Freedom]

Thanks, Karen, I thought one. Still, the back up in an evacuation would be horrendous.

Florida thinks we are doomed? Yikes!

[Karen]

Florida thinks we are doomed? Yikes!

No, just one guy in Florida thinks we are doomed. Jack is a bit or a worrier, and discounts the fact that the cooler waters up here tend to blunt storms compared to what they get on Florida's Atlantic coast.

[pomtzu]

What an idiot! I wonder if this person has even been thru a hurricane? Guess the almighty dollar that might be lost on the upcoming holiday weekend the following week, is more important than human life.

Yes - Irene is going to give us a hug and kiss and blow in our ear too. It's not looking good at this stage of the game, but hopefully she'll loose some huff and puff and be downgraded. We can wish anyway........ I haven't been thru a major hurricane since I was a kid and living in RI, and I'm perfectly happy to keep it that way.

Everyone in Irene's path - please stay safe.

[happylabs]

What an idiot! I wonder if this person has even been thru a hurricane? Guess the almighty dollar that might be lost on the upcoming holiday weekend the following week, is more important than human life.

Yes - Irene is going to give us a hug and kiss and blow in our ear too. It's not looking good at this stage of the game, but hopefully she'll loose some huff and puff and be downgraded. We can wish anyway........ I haven't been thru a major hurricane since I was a kid and living in RI, and I'm perfectly happy to keep it that way.

Everyone in Irene's path - please stay safe.

I was thinking it was a money thing too. Keep the vacationers there as long as they can to make a buck.

Hope everyone stays safe. We are supposed to get the effects of it here on Sunday later here in Pennsylvania.

[davidpizzica]

Please batten down the hatches, everyone (including Donna!) in the path of hurricane irene. Here in Concordia country, we're just supposed to get rain from her, but who knows?

[cool4catz2]

Be safe everyone here at PT! Get all your emergency supplies in order. Lets hope for minimal to no damage like the 5.8 earthquake some of us experienced. Take care east coasters.

[Roxyluvsme13]

Stay safe everyone. Hopefully Irene won't be as bad as everyone is claiming :/

I'm glad Tennessee is landlocked, I don't know how I'd handle a hurricane.

[Alysser]

I seriously think the media and people who haven't been through a hurricane are making this out to be ALOT worse then it is going to be. Regardless, everyone stay safe!

[pomtzu]

I seriously think the media and people who haven't been through a hurricane are making this out to be ALOT worse then it is going to be. Regardless, everyone stay safe!

I couldn't disagree more. I've lived thru several hurricanes and many Nor'easters and have seen the damage that even a moderate storm can do. People now have advance warning, and unlike many years ago, have time to prepare, whether it means evacuating to a safer area, or just stocking in some extra food and water. I'd certainly rather be safe than sorry, and these early warnings give everyone the opportunity to do so. I wasn't even born when the 1938 Hurricane devastated parts of New England, but my parents were right in the middle of it. I've seen many, many pictures of it, and heard many stories also, and they were all very sobering. These storms are so unpredictable and can turn deadly, or go in the opposite direction and practically fizzle out, in a matter of hours. Mother Nature is fickle - don't underestimate her!

[phesina]

Prayers for all you East Coasters, be safe!

[Freedom]

My Dad remembers the 1938 hurricane, he was 12 at that time. Up in Lawrence, Mass., 12 feet of water on the main street, folks used canoes to get around. Down town Providence still has markers up for how high the water was in that one. Shouldn't happen again, as now they have the hurricane barrier.

The conditions are the same for Irene as they were for that one.

We aren't in an evacuation area, so not much to do to prep, here.

[davidpizzica]

I was thinking it was a money thing too. Keep the vacationers there as long as they can to make a buck.

Hope everyone stays safe. We are supposed to get the effects of it here on Sunday later here in Pennsylvania.

Happylabs, I think I'm safe enough here in western Pennsylvania. They're calling for rain, but that's all.

[Lillycat]

i have only been through one hurricane, tho it was a bad one.....not that there are any good ones.....i am really worried about Cape May tho on a personal level and for all on the east coast overall.....prayers in order.....