Comments on: Hurricane

By: parker

parker — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 23:00:27 +0000

“Hopefully my house will be able to withstand the wind, but I don’t believe it’s ever been tested like this before. It was built in 1956, so hopefully they built them sturdier back then.”

Our house was built in 1904, it is sturdy. In 2006 a tornado passed 3 blocks away with 100+ mph winds and sent a 2×4 from who knows where, like a spear, through an upstairs window (we were in the basement). Otherwise, no damage.

Best wishes for all in the path of this storm.

By: rickl

rickl — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:42:54 +0000

Good luck, roc scssrs! It looks like the center of the storm will be closer to you than me. 5:00 pm storm track I've noticed that the wind tends to come and go in waves. I wouldn't call them gusts. It's windy for a few minutes; then it calms down for a few minutes.

By: roc scssrs

roc scssrs — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 20:47:37 +0000

Good luck, rickl! You too, Neo. I’m on the south side of Philly, too damn close to a creek. As you say, rickl, not too bad so far, but it looks like a long night. I’m glad it sped up; let’s get this over with!

By: rickl

rickl — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 20:20:21 +0000

Here in the northern Philly suburbs, I just got home from work. My boss closed up early since it was pretty quiet all day. Many places are closed around here.

It’s been raining lightly but steadily most of the day. The wind has been gradually picking up. I don’t have a wind gauge, but I’d guesstimate it’s as high as 30 mph.

It hasn’t been too bad–so far.

I heard a report on the radio on the way home that said the storm has sped up and should make landfall about 6:00 pm. This morning it was 8:00. Good. Might as well get it over with, and the faster it moves through the better.

I stopped at a 7-11 on the way home and was able to buy some bags of ice for my cooler, just in case. I got there in the nick of time, as it was almost all gone.

By: neo-neocon

neo-neocon — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 18:21:18 +0000

southpaw: I’d have to fly cross country to find a relative not already in the path of the storm.

I lost power for about 15 minutes about a half-hour ago, and then it was restored. For now.

By: southpaw

southpaw — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 18:18:27 +0000

Mr Frank and Reticent and Neo,
not only does power prevent pumping of fresh water, it also prevents pumping of waste water aka sewage, which tends to fill up the pipes if you know what I mean. And even though there may be gasoline and food available as it is trucked in after the storm, nobody has power to pump the gasoline or refrigerate food. Natural gas tends to be less sensitive, but as Mr Frank points out, you don’t run a furnance blower without electricity.
In my case, losing sewage pumps was the only reason we got power back when we did- it was deemed a health hazard for the neighborhood manholes to be overflowing. These storms turn your otherwise normal suburban neighborhood into a primitive camp pretty fast.
Neo I truly hope you avoid anything serious and stay healthy, and if possible, go stay with a relative. Before a storm, nobody ever believes anything will happen to them, nevertheless, there are casualties after every storm like this.

By: Mr. Frank

Mr. Frank — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 13:11:29 +0000

With tornadoes and hurricanes the path of destruction is usually fairly narrow which means you can move perpendicular to it to get to supplies. This Sandy event is so widespread that getting to areas that are operating normally could be tough. Fill your gas tanks in advance because gas pumps don’t work without electricity.

It’s a good idea to have a stash of cash in small bills. Credit cards don’t work with no power.

By: JimBobElrod

JimBobElrod — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 12:40:49 +0000

Just to give you an idea of how large an area Sandy is affecting, the NWS is predicting waves up to 33 feet in Lake Michigan along with 60+ knot winds.

By: Mr. Frank

Mr. Frank — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 12:30:41 +0000

As Southpaw points out, power loss in the winter is much more serious than in hot weather. Even if you have a gas furnace you need electricity to run the blower. In extreme cases broken pipes can be a problem.

By: rickl

rickl — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 06:13:58 +0000

Here’s a good comment from Ticker Forum, by someone who sounds like he knows what he’s talking about:

http://tickerforum.org/akcs-www?singlepost=3059189

So if I understand it correctly, the barometric pressure is what is usually seen in a Category 3 hurricane, but since Sandy is extra-tropical, the storm’s power is more spread out and not concentrated in high winds near the eye.

And it could strengthen even further.

(That’s an excellent discussion thread, by the way.)