So Sandy's coming for a visit

[pbray]

Wishing the best to everyone in the storm's path. Here we're bracing for wind and rain, with locals twitchy remembering the damage from Irene just last year.

It's an interesting experience living here as a major storm bears down-- in Binghamton there were multiple local TV stations anxious to keep you up to date, and a local newspaper which liveblogged breaking news on their website. Not to mention a local NWS office. Here the nearest TV stations are located a fair distance away. Ditto for the NWS, and the newspaper that serves this geographic area has a minimal online presence. Forecasts for this area are notoriously unreliable and unspecific.

My inner fantasy writer mocks how dependent we've become on instant news updates, doppler radar and satellite storm tracking. And I can't help thinking back to my mother's story of how in the 50s she tried to drive from Cape Cod to Connecticut in a major hurricane, not realizing it was anything more than a bad rainstorm until she was stopped by a police roadblock. With no radio in the car, she and her sister had no idea what was going on.

Luckily I'm a tad better informed. I've made the appropriate preparations and am settled down ready to watch how this plays out. They're saying rain and high winds here starting Monday afternoon, lasting through Tuesday, then possibly round two later in the week as the storm turns back east to head out to sea. Here's hoping we come thru unscathed.

Comments

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

Stay safe! I've only ever been in one hurricane, on the south coast of Egland (our only hurricane in about 100 years). I was on top of a hill and had only been there for 2 weeks, so I thought it was normal, if a bit windy. It wasn't until the next morning, when we saw a lorry blown across the road, that it occurred to us that something might be a little unusual.

[libwitch.livejournal.com]

ah, yes. the days of pre-internet and cell phone basically! We used to drive back and forth to college only to find out that the entire highway had been closed for the whole distance when we pulled off at truck stop (oh yeah, 17 beens' closed for hours, been pulling us off here. where you coming from? "Oh" i would reply, "I uh, just drove 300 miles down that road in my geo metro....")

I bought a nws weather radio yesterday. I figured that in case of power outage, I would prefer not be entirely in the dark, so to speak, and at least I can get some info off of that.

Much luck riding this out. Perhaps we can see this as a prelude to what might be a fun winter?

[sylvia-rachel.livejournal.com]

Stay safe! (And dry. It's been raining practically nonstop here since yesterday morning -- echoes of Sandy, we're told.) It's all good as long as you're well supplied with batteries, non-perishables, and warm clothing...

[lagilman]

At this point I'm not even looking at the news or radar - if something happens, I'll hear the sirens. All other situations, I'm just hunkering down.

The real worry will come on Wednesday, when we're supposed to start the caravan from NYC to B'mton to Toronto... right along the same path Sandy's taking. *glares*

[mtlawson.livejournal.com]

You stay safe, okay?

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

I remember doing that in Wales once, in the early 90s. I was in an area where the car radio couldn't get a signal, and ended up driving through a major snow storm. It was interesting...
Take care and stay safe.

[kateelliott.livejournal.com]

I once got caught on the road in a massive blizzard (although I did make it home all right). It wouldn't happen today. And that was only, like, 15 years ago.