Hurricane Irene: is this lady NUTS?!

[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.

[Freedom]

Surfers have come some distance to enjoy the conditions! Beaches will close later today.

We have a high tide tomorrow at 7:45 AM and 8 PM. That 8 PM one is the high monthly tide. We've been told to expect a good 12 feet of additional water. Area reservoirs have been lowered in anticipation of all the coming rains.

The area colleges had move ins planned for this weekend; all students have been told to stay home and move ins will start Wednesday.

School was to start Monday in several communities, and this too has been postponed until further notice.

[pomtzu]

It started raining and blowing here at around 10 a.m., but nothing major, just the outer bands moving in. We're supposed to get the worst of it overnight tonight and into early tomorrow. I hate it when a big storm hits during the night - you can't see what's coming at you!
My son didn't take any chances with leaving the Harley in the potentially vulnerable garage, and took it into the Harley dealership in town to store it till the storm passes. That building is a lot safer and secure than our garage. I suggested a couple of days ago that he do this, but he nixed it. Mom was right again....

[Marigold2]

Here in Ohio I am pretty removed from the Lady, but my son is in NJ and niece is in CT.
I JUST WANT ALL OF YOU TO BE SAFE, TAKE HEED, TAKE SHELTER, TAKE FURBABIES WITH YOU AND MAY THIS BE MORE OF A WIMPER THEN A SCREAM WHEN IT FINALLY ARRIVES.

[Karen]

The heavy rains just started a little while ago here, and we're not supposed to get the brunt of the storm for another day or so. We'll see what the next 48 hours brings!