"Hurricane" Irene, Part 4...that should be about it from here...

Okay!  It's now 10:21 am Eastern Time as I write this, back to work at WITF.  My colleagues, Tim Lambert and Megan Lello are working it on 89.5, but I have not had time to really listen in; getting ready for very abbreviated sports reports for KYW 1060 in Philly.

I needless to say didn't sleep an awful lot; found plenty of things to do around the house while keeping an eye and ear out on things.  Had a couple of minor power outages, but the electricity came right back on. 

The worst of the storm has moved northward...

http://www1.whdh.com/video/7newslive

I haven't watched Boston TV in years, even when I go up to visit.  Looks like they're doing their best.  I give kudos to the NBC 4 crews in New York for doing a very good job, without sounding like they're covering the end of the world.  A lot of local and some cable outlets could take lessons from those folks.

I finally awakened this morning to find still windy conditions and occasional bursts of rain.  The house survived the night okay, and the property looks good.  Couple of big downed limbs, but one of those was already headed for the ground anyway.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150275719565787.336997.552340786&saved#!/media/set/?set=a.10150275719565787.336997.552340786&type=1

Not a lot of exciting pictures, sorry to say.  My old friend Alexandra who lives in NYC said Irene was all hype.  She certainly still caused plenty of damage along the coast.

Another old friend Ardyth rode out the storm on Long Island, in the mandatory evac. zone:  she reports they had power nearly all night, some heavy waves washed over the boardwalk onto the beach, but flooding has closed a number of highways.  So no one's going much of anywhere.

Irene is now a tropical storm, but still can cause trouble as it blasts through New England and into Canada.  But it looks like we came out of it without too much difficulty. 

Anyway, I do not expect to blog much more about the storm, unless something really unusual happens.  I did this mostly as an exercise of my skillz; keeps you busy and going.

I well remember the days when we had to go mad trying to rig any possible way of getting information, begging, borrowing and pirating if need be.  The Internet has made it easier, though not always perfect.

Looks like we're cool...now back to your regularly scheduled blog...haha!

Irene Update, Part 3

This will need to be short...it's about 1:30 in the morning Eastern Time as I write this...we are now getting lashed by wind and rain here in the Midstate.  Bear this in mind:  I am a good 90 miles west of Philadelphia.  This is a storm here, with continuous rain and winds; go that far east, and think of how rough it is.

I was roused by a sound that didn't shake me, but it was enough:  power outage.  Momentarily, thankfully, and I was able to get things back up.  Cold, clammy conditions, forcing me to close my bedroom window.  With it closed, you can feel and hear the situation outside.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Watch-Live-Storm-Tracker-Hurricane-Irene-Coverage-128389848.html

I've been watching NBC 4 (hooray for the Internet and streaming!), or listening throughout the night; they have done damned fine work.  New York is getting it now...what you can hear on the stream as well as see proves it's getting worse.  Now look at this:

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/feature?section=weather&id=8320373

This ABC affiliate's fine weather link shows Irene has not yet hit New York.  It will not be paralell to Philadelphia until 8 am.  Now, that is telling.  While Irene appears to be weakening a little, it's still powerful.

The storm appears to be skirting the Jersey Shore, but it's on track to move on New York, especially the western edge of Long Island, then into Connecticut, through New Hampshire and into Canada.

Now, we are getting some higher winds, gusting up...they are talking of storm surges.  We saw what it did in Japan, with the tsunami; we're not going to have that but it's still dangerous.  3-8 feet along the Jersey Shore.

Anyway, I must crash again...a long day tomorrow, and I'm sure I'll have much more to report as my day wears on.

Again, be safe, all...

Irene Update, Part 2

So far, the night in the Midstate has been pretty quiet...we've had steady rainfall for more than four hours, and also a bit of wind.  Nothing too terrible.  My NOAA Weather Radio tripped only once about 35 minutes ago.

Reports have been interesting, from different places, via Twitter:

RT @usedwigs: NJ News Traffic Advisory: Please avoid Highway 9, it's jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive. #hurricane

It's so wet at Fenway, fans are playing 'Marco Scutaro', not 'Polo'... "Marco" from 1st base side, "Scutaro" from 3rd... #hurricaneirene

Those are the more humorous ones.  A old boss of mine had a boat near the Rappahannock, and hopefully got that to safety. 

On Long Island, an old friend of mine, and nearly 3/4 of her condo have stayed, despite the evac. order; Ardyth's reports include:

"Just starting to get some wind, been raining on and off all day."

"Lightning and thunder just arrived." (10:02 pm, Eastern)

"...the worst of it is not due to arrive for a few more hours."

"The only thing I'm really concerned with is the storm surge @ high tide tomorrow.  There's a canal 2 blocks away."

"We can't leave the house now...I hear the wind howling now."

Those all in the space of about 10 minutes.  Ardyth is Long Island tough, so they should be alright. 

My old friend Alexandra has just chirped in from NYC:  "All good...Irene is hype...just some wind and rain here."

Well...we'll see...let's hope the track of the storm continues off the coast, as this shows:

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/feature?section=weather&id=8320373

This is pretty neat...anyway, I am appreciative to NOT be in the middle of it, not for nothing.  I've been through two hurricanes, and survived countless Nor-Easters to respect Mother Nature.

NBC 4 has done a very good job of covering the storm tonight; still doesn't look like the worst is there yet...appears to be about 2 am for the city, by a rough look at the above link's model.

Mayor Bloomberg is talking once again...will go check this out.

I think I'll get down for a bit...I likely will be awakened by anything that goes down outside my bedroom window...if the storm doesn't wake me, the cats will!

Again, be safe, my friends and all others...

Irene Update from Midstate PA...

A pretty quiet evening on the whole for this part of the Mid-Atlantic; my guess is we in the midstate are going to get off reasonably lightly.

The past 2-1/2 hours have had light to moderate rains and breezy conditions, but nothing serious.  That could change as the night goes on.

http://www.my9tv.com/subindex/news/live_video

An interesting steady cam on the Jersey Shore somewhere...the sound of the wind, the rain hitting the camera and the ground is different.  There are some voices, but I don't know if they're camera minders or people just out for "fun."

http://www.weather.com/tv/tvshows/Livestream

The Weather Channel has done pretty well on the coverage today and tonight, mostly because the Drama Queens aren't on much, if at all.  The people who do the real work are at it, and it's good work so far.

Now if you've watched any of this, the closer to shore you are the more dangerous this is.  Then, there are some people who have no clue whatsoever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY4gJoKwtAQ&feature=player_embedded&has_verified=1

What do you want to bet someone's gonna demand that idiot be charged for indecent exposure?  Actually, the whole world now knows he's a moron, so that should be enough shame for him...do have to admit though, it was pretty funny.

Twitterverse for me is pretty quiet, don't have a lot of followers.  Some of the comments and re-tweets are pretty funny.  A literary agent named JC reports her cousin in Vermont is terrified she will die.

Um...as a native Vermonter, the storm's not going up there...she stands a better chance of being butted by an irate deer while jogging than dying from the storm.

I'm so having too much fun...no specific duties until tomorrow morning.  Quiet day at WITF, covering KYW Sports...wall to wall weather coverage of course:  Phillies game postponed, Union match postponed, just about everything shut down and done till the storm passes through. 

I thought tonight might be a good stretch of my skills as a blogger, to keep you in the loop.  Just for fun more than anything; right now, pretty quiet.  Still very light rain, and the wind has again picked up, but nothing too terrible at this point.

The cats are pretty calm about it all; you can generally tell if something's up, based on their behavior.  Baldrick I think was a bit worried early on yesterday, but now everyone's laid back.

Hell, even the deer are back...more pics on my new folder on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/tory.gates

Yeah, having too much fun here...I will see what else there is to do while listening and checking in on things.

If you're in the zone, I wish you safety through this time and to be careful. 

1 million w/o power in the Mid-Atlantic, heavy gusts in Virginia; I'd check with friends down in the VA/DC region earlier...it's getting a bit more hairy now, I'm sure.

Okay...again, be safe!