Hurricane Irene: is this lady NUTS?!

[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.

[pomtzu]

For those of us from and currently living in Rhode Island - some shelters from the storm. Info from the ProJo -

Warwick must think that they're invincible! But then again, they didn't call Vets "The Hurricanes" for nothing.................

[chocolatepuppy]

Many prayers for all in the storms path...please be safe.

[Freedom]

RI is now in a state of emergency; a hurricane warning is up; and the local TV is doing round the clock coverage. All low lying, Class A evacuation zones now have mandatory evacuation orders, so folks are packing up and relocating. Three areas must be vacated by 5 PM today, the rest by 10 AM Sunday.

Class A is for Tropical Storms and Cat 1 hurricanes.
Class B is for hurricanes Cat 2 or higher.

Several nursing homes are now doing scheduled evacuations, well in advance of the storm.

I am not in an evac area.

Outdoors is so bare, it looks like winter, lol. Everyone has put away all the outdoor furniture.

We will be on the right side of the storm, high winds, and rain of 5 to 10 inches on Sunday. (Left side of the storm gets more rain, less wind). We can expect gusts up to 80 MPH, and steady winds over 60 MPH.

Last night I walked Marlin about 9:30, the sky was so clear! This morning we have heavy cloud cover and it is slowly getting denser. We are definitely in "the calm before the storm," not a leaf is twitching, all the birds are silent except for 3 raucous crows.