Hurricane Sandy

October 26, 2012 10:50 PM

"So, when we first started talking about the idea of this storm which will have far reaching effects for many along the eastern seaboard later this weekend and early next week, we were somewhat skeptical as to whether such an event could happen. It truly is an unusual occurrence – most hurricanes taking the path Sandy is currently on are whisked out to sea, with only rough surf and maybe some clouds along the majority of the east coast; but not this one – not Sandy."

Twenty-one years ago was the "Perfect Storm". Last year was Irene. This year, whether you call it Sandy or "Frankenstorm", the northeastern United States appears to be in the path of a dangerous Halloween storm once again.

The different models don't agree on the exact track, but the closer we get to the storm, the more it looks like one for the history books. Meteorologists are taking this one seriously. Basically, hurricane + nor'easter + full moon = lots of wind and water. Here are some resources that may help you track the storm, and what is going on in your area.

Weather Info: National Hurricane Center | Wunderground | Weather Channel | AccuWeather

State OEM offices: CT | DE | MA | MD | NH | NJ | NY | PA | RI | VA | VT | WV

State OEM Twitter accounts: CT | DE | MA | MD | NH | NJ | NY |RI | VA | VT | WV

City OEM Twitter accounts: NYC | Philadelphia | DC | Baltimore

Please prepare and stay safe.

posted by booksherpa (3916 comments total)

I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 11:00 PM on October 26, 2012 [60 favorites]

Thanks for putting this together.
posted by mwhybark at 11:01 PM on October 26, 2012 [3 favorites]

Immediately panic please. Buy milk, batteries, bread and gas. Maybe a generator and a chain saw. Or book a week's stay in Cleveland.

But do enjoy the hundreds of weather people explaining how you should stay inside, while standing outside. After all, everyone knows you aren't really reporting a storm unless you're out in it.
posted by Marky at 11:01 PM on October 26, 2012 [24 favorites]

If you lose net or other comms, your local public library may have such services that you can use post-storm.

Politico have a section of news and speculation on how Hurricane Sandy may affect the elections.

Wondering what the odds are on some elderly Conservative male politician shuffling onto TV and saying the hurricane is "The Wrath of God over Gay Marriage", or something similar.
posted by Wordshore at 11:01 PM on October 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've been following this through the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang - e.g. Capital Weather Gang on the most recent models/scenarios as of Fri afternoon.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:02 PM on October 26, 2012

So how will this effect The Weather Channel's overpublicized plan to name Winter Storms. Will the nor'easter colliding with Sandy still be named Athena? And will this then be headlined as "The Great Atmospheric Bitch Fight"?
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:06 PM on October 26, 2012 [8 favorites]

I got some groceries
Some peanut butter
To last a couple of days
But I ain't got no speakers
Ain't got no headphones
Ain't got no records to play.
posted by Nomyte at 11:07 PM on October 26, 2012 [46 favorites]

Insert Scorpions song here.
posted by blaneyphoto at 11:12 PM on October 26, 2012 [4 favorites]

This is God's way of saying we should reduce our carbon emmisions.
posted by humanfont at 11:16 PM on October 26, 2012 [59 favorites]

The only thing I'm worried about is my neighbor's dead ass tree falling on my house. I don't know how that thing is still standing.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 11:20 PM on October 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

ooh I've been waiting for this post. very well done.
Humans Built a Frankenstorm Factory, and Now We've Got to Live in It
posted by ninjew at 11:23 PM on October 26, 2012 [3 favorites]

Interesting that this could in fact affect the elections, though the states likely to be hit {sorry in advance for anyone there that I'm being analytical} are generally so blue that it isn't likely to affect the electoral college. Still, if urban port-city TURNOUT is held down, as it may well be in at least one major metro, that raises the slight possibility of an upside-down election -- you know, that thing that happened in 2000 where the popular vote and the electoral college disagreed. This is a possibility already mooted by Andrew Tanenbaum (electoral-vote.com), Ezra Klein, Pat Buchanan, and even in a guarded fashion by Nate Silver (with Romney winning the popular vote, but losing electorally, being the more likely scenario). In other words, this was being discussed BEFORE the aspect of hurricane complicity in voter-suppression efforts came up.
posted by dhartung at 11:23 PM on October 26, 2012 [3 favorites]

FWIW - The NWS is only predicting a 40% chance of tropical force (45 mph) winds along the NJ-Ny coast this Tue and Wed and only predicting about 3-7 inches of TOTAL rainfall for the same time period in the same area. You can see that for yourself by going to the NWS link that booksherpa provided.

A far less scientific approach might be to look at the headlines regarding the weather on the HuffPo. Per Irene last year I have found that the severity of the actual weather is often inversely proportional to the amount of headline space that the HuffPo is using to describe it.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 11:26 PM on October 26, 2012 [4 favorites]

[Life During Wartime (SMS YT)] [Burning Down the House (same)]

Because after that lyric snippet you know, you KNOW, it's what is called for here.
posted by mwhybark at 11:33 PM on October 26, 2012 [2 favorites]

Probability of impact in Canada: brown
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 11:34 PM on October 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have found that the severity of the actual weather is often inversely proportional to the amount of headline space that the HuffPo is using to describe it.

Well, let's fervently hope (in a spiritual manner if you are so inclined) that's the case.
posted by mwhybark at 11:36 PM on October 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

The NWS is only predicting a 40% chance of tropical force (45 mph) winds along the NJ-Ny coast this Tue and Wed and only predicting about 3-7 inches of TOTAL rainfall for the same time period in the same area.

....and depending upon where one might live in that region, flooding could still be a huge issue even if the general destructive force of a hurricane doesn't happen. Even though it may not be the APOCALYPSE STORM some think it may be, it's got a solid potential to disrupt plenty of lives for a couple days at least.
posted by blaneyphoto at 11:40 PM on October 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Go to your pile.*

What to do when all hell is breaking lose and nature is threatening to hurt you.

The 'pile' in emergency crisis speak consists of supplies and food and batteries and a radio, medicine, tools... and fresh water and some other stuff I'm forgetting right now, although a stuffed animal to hold on to is a good idea I think...
posted by Skygazer at 11:42 PM on October 26, 2012 [3 favorites]

Here is Environment Canada's latest "information statements". It's a page on the Canadian Hurricane Centre, which until now I didn't know existed.
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 11:44 PM on October 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Frankenstein makes a Sandwich
posted by Confess, Fletch at 11:48 PM on October 26, 2012 [5 favorites]

I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.

I wonder if doing LSD during a 'Frankenstorm', might be an interesting experience.

Who's with me? Acid Frankenstormers unite.
posted by Skygazer at 11:48 PM on October 26, 2012 [6 favorites]

Protip: stock up on cheap votive candles and get a few mason jars or whiskey tumblers, etc. Putting a candle in a vessel forces them to burn up the wax that would normally spill, making them last longer. You can get almost a full 24 hours out of them that way. You can also carry them around more easily.
posted by clarknova at 11:49 PM on October 26, 2012 [13 favorites]

Acid Frankenstormers Unite, is definitely going to be the name of my next psychedelic jazz combo.
posted by Skygazer at 11:50 PM on October 26, 2012 [4 favorites]

The 'pile' in emergency crisis speak consists of supplies and food and batteries and a radio, medicine, tools... and fresh water and some other stuff I'm forgetting right now, although a stuffed animal to hold on to is a good idea I think...

MetaFilter User One will be okay, then.
posted by Wordshore at 11:51 PM on October 26, 2012

Here's hoping y'all on the east coast at least get some cool rainbows out of this.
posted by philip-random at 11:54 PM on October 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

FWIW - The NWS is only predicting a 40% chance of tropical force (45 mph) winds along the NJ-Ny coast this Tue and Wed and only predicting about 3-7 inches of TOTAL rainfall for the same time period in the same area.

Yeah I was watching the news today at a public venue and people were all agog thinking the east coast was going to be wiped out until they mentioned that little detail. 45mph winds and a couple inches of rain is what we call Tuesday around here.
posted by fshgrl at 11:57 PM on October 26, 2012 [13 favorites]

Damage predicted by 'the media' vs actual damage.
posted by Wordshore at 12:07 AM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

"One for the history books"? You think maybe a four foot blizzard, two heat waves, a "skipped" winter, derecho, and october hurricane over the course of a few years in one city might be enough to get the "climate change" concept across...
posted by eurypteris at 12:17 AM on October 27, 2012 [22 favorites]

Wondering what the odds are on some elderly Conservative male politician shuffling onto TV and saying the hurricane is "The Wrath of God over Gay Marriage", or something similar.

Hey, don't be ageist! Plenty of young Conservative male politicians saying stuff like that, you know. A few females, too.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 12:55 AM on October 27, 2012 [4 favorites]

Frankenstorm or Hello Kitty Storm or whatever it turns out to be, all you coastal Bluvians take care.
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 12:58 AM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

Frankie's advice on the Frankensturm und drang. Hatches all battened here in Hell's Kitchen near the Hudson River.
posted by nickyskye at 12:59 AM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

45mph winds and a couple inches of rain is what we call Tuesday around here.

In my best Billie Holiday voice:

They call it Stormy Monday on the east coast,
but where fshgrl lives, Tuesday's just as bad
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:00 AM on October 27, 2012 [9 favorites]

Interesting that this could in fact affect the elections, though the states likely to be hit {sorry in advance for anyone there that I'm being analytical} are generally so blue that it isn't likely to affect the electoral college.

I'll be the second person being analytical, then. Your assumption is a little too strong. Virginia is one of the key swing states (it has the closest race in the most recent 538 post - 54.1% Obama). But VA isn't a homogeneous mix; the part that Obama is strongest in are the DC suburbs in Northern VA, which are also the most likely to be hit by Sandy. Obama's other strong points are mostly on the east coast of the state, also more likely to get hurricane damage.

Further north, Pennsylvania is a former swing state and a current pretty safe Democratic state; 538 has it going 52% Obama, 47% Romney. But the key to Obama's strength here is in Philly; 3 of the 4 strongest counties for Obama in 2004 were in the Philadelphia metro (the fourth is Joe Biden's home of Scranton). I did a little quick math, and if the only effect was to reduce voter turnout in the Philadelphia metro area, there would need to be a 50% reduction to put the state back to Romney. So this is an unlikely scenario.

The third electoral-vote scenario is if Sandy pushes westward hard, into Ohio. At that point, it would hit all of PA, so it would be back in the safe D column, but Ohio is the biggest battleground; about half of the simulations on 538 have it as the pivotal state. The southeastern corner of Ohio is stronger Republican territory, so the net effect would increase Obama's chances, but the odds of the storm getting there are much lower.

I think these latter two are less significant than the overall effect. Disasters are something a President (or someone who wants to "look Presidential") responds to, and a particularly good or bad response could change the perception of the candidate nationwide. Of course, touring hurricane damage in New Jersey or whereever means a candidate isn't attending last-minute rallies in Colorado or Florida, so there's a risk-reward thing.

But just because much of the mid-Atlantic is blue doesn't mean a hurricane won't have an effect - Katrina hit nothing but solid red states, but had it been in 2004 instead of 2005, Bush would almost certainly have been a one-term President.

Anyway, enough wonkery. Hopefully this storm passes with no significant impact for you folks out on the East Coast. Batten thy hatches!
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 1:09 AM on October 27, 2012 [5 favorites]

45mph winds and a couple inches of rain is what we call Tuesday around here.

I read this in Raul Julia's voice
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:09 AM on October 27, 2012 [5 favorites]

Protip: stock up on cheap votive candles and get a few mason jars or whiskey tumblers, etc. Putting a candle in a vessel forces them to burn up the wax that would normally spill, making them last longer. You can get almost a full 24 hours out of them that way. You can also carry them around more easily.

and if you're on lsd, it's easier to swing them around, making pretty trails...
posted by ennui.bz at 1:11 AM on October 27, 2012 [7 favorites]

That "trough" in the article blew through Illinois last night. There was intense rain, and the temperature dropped about 35 degrees in two hours. So even without the hurricane, you East Coasters have a mess headed your way. Combined, they'll be like some kind of nasty weather pliers.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 1:43 AM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

As someone who's been through a terrible hurricane, just leave.

If you're not going to leave, then please buy gasoline (lots of it), non-perishable foods that do not require heating, oil lanterns/flashlights/batteries or oil, and more cases of water than you can imagine you'll ever need.

Because I will tell you, if the storm is as bad as they say, and you stay behind and somehow manage to survive it, you won't have gasoline, fresh water, or food.

But really, just leave.
posted by Malice at 1:47 AM on October 27, 2012 [8 favorites]

And for god's sake, place Instagramming low on your list of priorities.
posted by Wordshore at 1:48 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

The only thing I'm worried about is my neighbor's dead ass tree falling on my house. I don't know how that thing is still standing.




I didn't know ass trees grew that far north.





(please be safe.)
posted by louche mustachio at 1:59 AM on October 27, 2012 [9 favorites]

And a protip if you're in NY and a dead ass tree does fall across the powerlines: ConEd will NOT know about it until you call them. Even if you see ConEd people walking around, they will NOT call it in. I had many an in depth conversation about this after a rather large and live-assed tree destroyed a nest of power lines, which proceeded to kill raccoons night after night with its live wires for nearly a week.
posted by digitalprimate at 2:09 AM on October 27, 2012

Also, lots of good tips and comments in last year's Hurricane Irene MeTa.
posted by digitalprimate at 2:12 AM on October 27, 2012

Wondering what the odds are on some elderly Conservative male politician shuffling onto TV and saying the hurricane is "The Wrath of God over Gay Marriage", or something similar.

If the storm is big enough to keep the elderly conservative male politicians at home, that might indeed affect the election.
posted by chavenet at 2:33 AM on October 27, 2012

My workplace is along the Hudson in NYC in an area where flooding happens. My workplace is a garden. I'm sort of terrified of the entire place getting flooded with brackish water and killing all the plants.

I think we'll do some focused grocery shopping this weekend, fill some containers with water, and so on.
posted by sciencegeek at 2:58 AM on October 27, 2012

So, will this be one of those storms where tv stations from unaffected states 500 miles away send an Action News truck and one of their StormTeam6 meteorologists to do on-location reports for their local news?
posted by Thorzdad at 3:52 AM on October 27, 2012

It feels ironic, but is probably only Alanis Morisette ironic, that this hurricane is likely going to fuck up my flight from NYC to New Orleans for Halloween.
posted by Diablevert at 4:12 AM on October 27, 2012 [4 favorites]

Maybe if we all dress in our costumes early we can scare the storm away.

I would avoid sexy costumes, though. As that will attract the storm system, you see.
posted by mccarty.tim at 4:46 AM on October 27, 2012 [6 favorites]

During the October storm in New England last year, NStar was completely unprepared for the damage and a good chunk of the area lost power for weeks. They also munged up their communications efforts, and affected residents had no idea what was going on or how long they had to wait to get power back. There was a huge backlash against the utility, government investigations, etc. This time around, our governor is putting NStar's feet to the fire and making sure they have a plan in place and a way of coordinating with residents.

I've already gotten an e-mail from NStar with emergency contact information if we lose power. They're asking everyone to call in outages, even if you think your neighbor already has, so they can get a clear picture of the affected areas. My workplace sent out several memos yesterday with emergency procedures and phone numbers to call in. I even got an e-mail from the FAA yesterday warning about the impact of the storm ("Don't fly in it!" - gee, thanks.)
posted by backseatpilot at 4:52 AM on October 27, 2012

Luckily I know my power goes out whenever someone so much as sneezes by the lines, and my basement floods consistently if it rains for more than an hour. So I know what's coming!
posted by OmieWise at 4:58 AM on October 27, 2012

This former New Yorker (and Bostonian before that) wishes all of you east coasters the best of luck with this storm. Here's a little tune I just wrote for all of you, based entirely on comments from this thread:

Sandy's Coming

I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue
now it's focused grocery shopping that I gotta do
heard the wind's gonna move 'bout 45 mile
but I'll be OK, I've got my pile
got my pile
got my pile

got my votive candles ready, you see
and I haven't forgotten the LSD
got guns for the looters and the zombies, too
cause a week in Cleveland's more than I can do
more than I can do
more than I can do

I won't be doing no Instagram
or wearing no sexy costume, ma'am
I'm mostly worried 'bout one thing, see
my neighbor's dead ass tree might fall on me
fall on me
fall on me
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:00 AM on October 27, 2012 [127 favorites]

I went through Hurricane Andrew with about a half dozen 10-12 year olds. In the middle of the night, we can hear my mom trying to get my father to go outside and move our car, which was naturally parked a foot away from the largest tree in the neighborhood.

As my father heads down the stairs in his robe, my friends and I collectively gather at the window on the second floor. IT IS POURING. IT IS WINDY. As my father opens the front door and takes four steps outside, his robe flies completely up and above his body. His head and arms are holding on, while the flannel flaps in the wind, and his nearly-naked body dances in the rain.

He did not move the car and the tree did not crash down onto it, but it took a while to live that one down.

For your kids, people, stay inside during a hurricane. Stay safe, everyone!
posted by AloneOssifer at 5:15 AM on October 27, 2012 [13 favorites]

Having just moved from WI to NH I was struck by the fact that these people won't STFU about Irene. I get it, you weren't prepared for it so it was a huge surprise.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing if this really will be a thing or not. My biggest worry is that I have a basement apartment,but I live on the side of a hill, and my front door is at the bottom of a "well"; the worry is that the water will wash down the road, up over the curb and down the stairs through my front door.
posted by Severian at 5:52 AM on October 27, 2012

Just checking the storm track - it looks like the eye is currently expected to hit land somewhere southern New jersey/Delaware.

My workplace is a big corporate thing, and they are GOING NUTS. I work for a couple of the department head muckitymucks and they're having a big conference call on the weekend to figure out the official plan of attack/contingency for the storm.

I actually live about 500 feet from the highest of the storm surge zones; I've told my bosses that right now, I plan to come in on Monday morning, but may want to leave in a hurry sometime Monday afternoon.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:55 AM on October 27, 2012

Prepping here in Pa.: Extra food for livestock; baking and laundering in advance; cleanout of flood-prone basement (decommissioning basement freezer, just in case); battery consolidation; flashlights/lanterns in most-used rooms; outdoor clean-up of items that could fly through the air; buckets under leaky spots in barn roof; drainage hoses unrolled; generator tested; spare propane bottle found; vehicles being parked as intelligently as possible, given the limitations. For once, I'm hoping that all this work will turn out to have been unnecessary...
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:58 AM on October 27, 2012

Sandy was just upgraded to hurricane status again.
posted by futz at 6:04 AM on October 27, 2012

I just moved to Boston a few months ago from the Midwest and have no conception of whether or not I should be concerned (sounds like it'll just be a lot of rain up here?) or what to do to prepare except buy groceries and beer and continue to study for my midterm on Monday. Welp.
posted by dismas at 6:10 AM on October 27, 2012

Sandy, the angels have lost their desire for us.
I spoke to 'em just last night and they said they won't
set themselves on fire for us anymore.
Every summer when the weather gets hot they ride that road
down from heaven on their Harleys. They come and they go.
And you can see 'em dressed like stars in all the cheap
little seashore bars, making love with their
babies, out on the Kokomo.
Well, the cops finally busted Michael Mann for tellin'
fortunes better than they do. This boardwalk life for me is through.
You ought to quit this scene too...
posted by gerryblog at 6:17 AM on October 27, 2012 [6 favorites]

Liquor, candles, and boardgames are all you need for the inevitable blackout, my friends
posted by Renoroc at 6:17 AM on October 27, 2012

Because I will tell you, if the storm is as bad as they say, and you stay behind and somehow manage to survive it, you won't have gasoline, fresh water, or food.

Eh, this is a New England hurricane, not a Gulf Coast one. Bad if you live on the coast, bad if trees falls on your house or powerlines, but not anything to do with survivability and not something that people will even think of evacuating from. If this same hurricane hit Florida, people would barely care.
posted by smackfu at 6:27 AM on October 27, 2012 [8 favorites]

The NWS is only predicting a 40% chance of tropical force (45 mph) winds along the NJ-Ny coast this Tue and Wed and only predicting about 3-7 inches of TOTAL rainfall for the same time period in the same area.

I don't think that percentage is very meaningful since it's all about the track of the storm. If NY/NJ doesn't get it, then CT or DE will. At this point, it's not like 40% chance of storm, 60% chance of nothing.
posted by smackfu at 6:30 AM on October 27, 2012

"One for the history books"? You think maybe a four foot blizzard, two heat waves, a "skipped" winter, derecho, and october hurricane over the course of a few years in one city that has legalized gay marriage might be enough to get the "climate change" concept across...

Fixerated for our current political reality, sadly.

If you're not going to leave, then please buy gasoline (lots of it), non-perishable foods that do not require heating, oil lanterns/flashlights/batteries or oil, and more cases of water than you can imagine you'll ever need.

It's a lot cheaper to just pick up a cheap used 12-gauge down at the pawn shop and use that to harvest food, fuel, and other supplies from your well-stocked neighbors. Don't be the hard-working ant, be the happy wasp and live off of the fat of the land.

More seriously, I'm struck by how poorly our brains and/or our society handles intermittent threats, like these storms in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. They come just often enough for people to talk about them and agree that they are a Big Deal, but not often enough to force serious changes in things like building codes or shoreline development regulations.

I also suspect that the super prevalent mythology of "we are tough, independent, flinty people living in a tough, flinty land" doesn't help -- it was perhaps somewhat applicable when that region's population lived mostly on small farms and in tiny towns; but now almost the entire eastern seaboard is functionally a single urbanized conglomeration and the majority of people live much more suburbanized lives.

Best wishes, hugs, and candles to all the Metafilter people over there!
posted by Forktine at 6:32 AM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

Please record that, flapjax, that's awesome.

I'm in the South of France now, which is expecting its own storm. Nothing like Sandy, but wind of 45-50 mph, and gusts up to 75-80 mph expected tomorrow. Today it's more like 25-30 mph
winds. I ran around yesterday getting everything outside that could get blown around indoors or, if it was too big, somewhere safer.

I have lots of American friends who happen to be traveling into or through the worst-hit areas, so I'm paying extra attention to this one.

I don't have much in the way of non-obvious advice, except that if you're traveling and might run into delays, pack things with you that will make it easy for you to rest and relax. A couple of hours of napping in situations like that can really make it a lot more bearable.
posted by Kattullus at 6:34 AM on October 27, 2012

QUICK THERE'S STILL TIME TO ENGAGE IN HEDONISTIC HALLOWEEN EXCESS
posted by The Whelk at 6:35 AM on October 27, 2012 [5 favorites]

I first heard about this storm from my brother, who lives in Kuala Lumpur. This New Yorker plans to be stocked up on beer, bourbon, and cake. Unfortunately, this New Yorker's office floods very easily, so we will probably have to spend Monday moving computers and getting crap off the floor.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 6:46 AM on October 27, 2012

This is a very odd storm. Look at this. This is a water vapor image from satellite. You can see the core of Sandy, bu all that red/orange? That's very *dry* air -- so dry that there aren't any clouds.

Basically, 40 miles SE of the center of this storm, you're in clear blue skies. Well, clear blue skies with 50kt winds.

Normally, this much dry air kills hurricanes fast. And yet, we're showing 962mb central pressure -- acutally, a dropsonde at at 1317Z 27-Oct (0917EDT) reported 944mb. Sandy's not only not dying, it's getting stronger.
posted by eriko at 6:50 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hmm. Looking at that data again, it appears the dropsonde may not have made it to the surface. So, I'm discounting that 944mb. 962mb is *still* a very low pressure.
posted by eriko at 6:55 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

I need a PR person. How did "Frankenstorm" and "Snowpocalypse" get so big?

When Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath screwed over black people so directly, I dubbed it "Storm Thurmond." That never quite caught on, and I am bitter.
posted by flarbuse at 6:57 AM on October 27, 2012 [27 favorites]

Why do I feel like after 9/11 anything even slightly out of the ordinary is a major emergency? Not to downplay a real and present danger, but must we all live in a constant state of fear? Do we aleays need to be told by the state and the media to stay indoors for our own good, to say something if we see something? Is it possible there's something else going on here?
posted by nowhere man at 7:01 AM on October 27, 2012 [7 favorites]

Fear sells.
posted by The Whelk at 7:01 AM on October 27, 2012 [16 favorites]

When Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath screwed over black people so directly, I dubbed it "Storm Thurmond." That never quite caught on, and I am bitter.

I'm sure in about eighty years or so, folk will acknowledge that to be its rightful name.
posted by Jehan at 7:02 AM on October 27, 2012 [5 favorites]

I'm actually reasonably concerned about street flooding in my area because of all the dead leaves that are prepared to block storm drains. On the other hand, I live on the third floor.
posted by maryr at 7:02 AM on October 27, 2012

Drama sells. Fear controls.
posted by nowhere man at 7:10 AM on October 27, 2012 [12 favorites]

We have a nice dead tree leaning towards our house. It doesn't have any leaves on it so it won't catch the wind too badly, and it survived last year's Octoberstormapocalypsaggedeon and Irene, so here's hoping it'll survive this one. The tree guys are supposed to remove it this winter. Maybe it'll fall and save me some money.

Sounds like this one won't be too bad, but there seems to be a lot of unknowns. One thing I do know is that if it's over-hyped people will complain, and if it's under-hyped people will also complain. Best just to pay attention to the reports, be prepared, and hope for the best. I lost power for five days after Irene and three days after the October storm.

Hope it's a dud, everyone. Be safe.
posted by bondcliff at 7:11 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Greetings from New Orleans. Forgive me for laughing hysterically as I feel your pain.

Seriously, take this storm seriously. Do not be fooled by winds of "only" 45 kt. We recently greeted a fellow named Isaac down here. Pissant little category one storm, we laugh at those, right? New levee system stood up great. Not so great for the folks outside of the new levee system who took the 15 foot storm surge. Flooded out thousands of people and even more amusingly a chemical storage depot none of which had ever flooded before.

Low pressure is bad because it pulls up that lens of water which creates the storm surge. High winds are also bad, but even modest winds spread out over a large area can be even worse. And Sandy is a very, very big storm. It is already pushing water. Katrina was only Cat 3 when it hit us, but the storm surge was more typical of a Cat 5 because the storm had been stronger offshore and it was so goddamn big. And Sandy is a very, very big storm, which will get even bigger as it goes extratropical.

When Katrina hit NOLA we were #3 on that list of most-at-risk cities. Miami was #1.

And New York City was #2.

If you can get away from this thing, please do so while you can.
posted by localroger at 7:20 AM on October 27, 2012 [18 favorites]

Eriko, I was thinking about that, too. I used to work for the Southern Regional Climate Center (NB: I am NOT a climatologist or hurricane expert, I was the database guy), and I have some dim recollection that it was Georges (maybe) that was looking really nasty until some dry air entrained the upper circulation, destabilized the eye wall, and pretty much broke-up the storm.
posted by wintermind at 7:22 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

FRANKENSTORM

Stay safe, everybody.
posted by mintcake! at 7:26 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Last year my emergency hurricane preparations involved getting two cupcakes and buying a rain poncho from the dollar store.

This year I will prolly get three cupcakes just to be safe. Maybe some of that seasonal cider.
posted by elizardbits at 7:28 AM on October 27, 2012 [17 favorites]

I'm going to blast You're The One That I Want from Grease out the window via boom box for the remainder of the storm.
posted by The Whelk at 7:30 AM on October 27, 2012 [10 favorites]

I'm going to blast You're The One That I Want from Grease out the window via boom box for the remainder of the storm.

Well, then, if the storm has any taste whatsoever it'll whisk your boom box straight out the window and send John and Olivia's hideous little number to the watery grave where it belongs.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:35 AM on October 27, 2012 [12 favorites]

I just moved to Boston a few months ago from the Midwest

The weather geek in me loves magenta. Still, the highest average wind speeds that are going to be kicked up in New England (not in the direct track) range around an average of 53 mph on Monday at Chatham, Massachusetts and 44 mph at Old Orchard Beach, Maine. All out of the northeast, a Nor'easter. Perhaps your first!

For contrast, the average wind speed on Mount Washington, New Hampshire was 24.1 mph this past August. Mount Washington has seen one 24 hour period where the average wind speed was 129 mph but, of course, that was not an average day.

A good kiteboarding breeze might run around 15 to 18 mph (depends on a few other factors, too) - although that would typically be steady and out of the southwest at Chatham. In my untrained opinion, hurricanes tend to be very gusty around New England - very large differences in wind speed in any given minute. The storm on Monday might gust up into the 70mph range at Chatham in any moment at it's currently predicted height at around 3 to 6 pm. A sudden jump of 20 mph of wind speed is not typical weather around here.

I believe the average wind speed in Boston is 15 mph; I think that is the same average as The Windy City. If you work downtown, you will find it very difficult to use an umbrella while trying to protect yourself from the rain as you leave work on Monday. Downtown works like a gusty wind tunnel and a hard rain makes things miserable. Your experiences may vary.
posted by relish at 7:36 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've only been in DC a year and didn't move here from a hurricaney area, so this is kind of new to me (I sure know how to prepare for blizzards, though!). I mean, they're apparently distributing Free Sandbags in town today, but I honestly don't know what I'd do with a sandbag if I had one.

I do have water, nonperishable food, cash, flashlight, that sort of stuff, but more importantly zombie repellent a jar of Nutella. Fingers crossed.
posted by theatro at 7:41 AM on October 27, 2012

I'VE GOT CHIIIIIILLLS
posted by elizardbits at 7:42 AM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

because of all the dead leaves that are prepared to block storm drains

The emergency management people were apparently telling people to get out today and clear storm drains, rake and bag leaves that could block storm drains, etc. Seems like a good common-sense precaution.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:46 AM on October 27, 2012

I thought this song was going to be like Katrina and ruin a pop song for me but apparently I thought this song was "Sandy" for YEARS. It's NOT it's DANDY.

We're safe.
posted by The Whelk at 7:46 AM on October 27, 2012

So, what are the odds of getting a Transbridge bus from western NJ to Port Authority to JFK for a flight on Tuesday night?
posted by TWinbrook8 at 7:52 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

"We're not trying to hype it," National Weather Service meterologist Paul Kocin tells Bloomberg News. "What we're seeing in some of our models is a storm at an intensity that we have not seen in this part of the country in the past century."
...
Oh, and there's also a full moon on Monday. As that affects tides, the concern about storm surges along coastal areas grows.
...
"A very prominent and respected National Weather Service meteorologist wrote on Facebook last night, 'I've never seen anything like this and I'm at a loss for expletives to describe what this storm could do.' "

posted by futz at 7:59 AM on October 27, 2012 [4 favorites]

Having just moved from WI to NH I was struck by the fact that these people won't STFU about Irene. I get it, you weren't prepared for it so it was a huge surprise.

At least in Vermont it had little to do with being prepared and a lot to do with a storm that exceeded 100 year levels impacting 80+ year old infrastructure and historic settlement patterns within the floodway of extreme events. I don't know about NH, but in Vermont the damages well exceeded $1,000 per citizen of the state. That would be over an $8 Billion dollar storm proportionally in NYC. Except NYC has more money to deal with it. It is perfectly understandable that folks would talk about an event that happened just over a year ago and cost them that much.

And all of that is setting aside the loss of life and homes and the emotional toll in a pretty small place.

I honestly hope all the folks who are complaining that Irene didn't live up to the hype get to make the same complaint about Sandy. Because you'd rather be them than the folks who are still trying to figure out how to get past the aftermath.
posted by meinvt at 8:04 AM on October 27, 2012 [21 favorites]

nickyskye: Frankie's advice on the Frankensturm und drang. Hatches all battened here in Hell's Kitchen near the Hudson River.

Holy crap, Frankie's not only wise and concerned about the PEOPLE IN NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY, but also a bit of a natural born clown.

This is good.
posted by Skygazer at 8:06 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Having just moved from WI to NH I was struck by the fact that these people won't STFU about Irene. I get it, you weren't prepared for it so it was a huge surprise.

It's not that.

I grew up in Vermont. Lived there for 20 years. Still live in New England, so I'm there quite a lot even if I don't have residence in the state anymore.

IRENE FUCKED SHIT UP.

I have never - and my parents have never - seen a storm do so much damage. Entire towns were cut off for days, sometimes weeks. Roads simply disappeared. Houses quite literally washed away. It was a huge mess. The state is still cleaning up and is barely back to normal a year later, and in a lot of cases, that's a new "normal."

So the reason people won't STFU isn't that they were surprised. It's that it was a big fucking deal.

Anyhow.

In Boston now - gonna stock up on some nonperishables and candles, but really what I fear is that if I'm stuck in an apartment without electricity for days on end with a toddler.... something something go crazy something something.
posted by sonika at 8:08 AM on October 27, 2012 [32 favorites]

And New York City was #2.

New York is a bit of an odd case. Manhattan itself is very susceptible to flooding since a lot of it is only a few feet above sea level, and there is an awful lot that would be fucked up by a flood like the subways. But the suburbs 20 minutes out have hills sufficient that there is no flood risk from the ocean.
posted by smackfu at 8:18 AM on October 27, 2012

smackfu, only parts of Manhattan are at sea level.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:27 AM on October 27, 2012

A meteorologist friend is freaking about the nature of this storm. It both fascinates and terrifies him. From his description it will have more of the character of an extreme Nor'easter once combined with strong sustained winds (rather than typical hurricane/tropical storm gusts) and lots of precip and storm surge. Batten down the hatches mateys.
posted by caddis at 8:37 AM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

"One for the history books"? You think maybe a four foot blizzard, two heat waves, a "skipped" winter, derecho, and october hurricane over the course of a few years in one city might be enough to get the "climate change" concept across...

Not a lot of people in power in that city stick around for more than a few years, though, and at least half of them are paid very well to specifically NOT get the point of climate change, so...
posted by Navelgazer at 8:40 AM on October 27, 2012

How Irene Lived Up to the Hype, Nate Silver's analysis last year
posted by argonauta at 8:40 AM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

So, what are the odds of getting a Transbridge bus from western NJ to Port Authority to JFK for a flight on Tuesday night?
Probably higher than the flight taking off on time.
posted by MtDewd at 8:49 AM on October 27, 2012

I love how hurricanes aren't a big deal when they hit Florida, but when a category 1 hurricane (or maximal tropical storm, depending on the forecast) is about to get anywhere near New York City, it's all of a sudden The Most Important Thing Ever.

All this while Toronto and Cleveland are supposed to get more rain from it than New York.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 8:50 AM on October 27, 2012 [4 favorites]

Here is the latest possible landfall map from weather.com.
posted by futz at 8:51 AM on October 27, 2012

Chris Christie has asked people not to leave the house Monday or Tuesday, and be prepared for 7-10 days of power outages. That puts us past election day.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:57 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

I love how hurricanes aren't a big deal when they hit Florida, but when a category 1 hurricane (or maximal tropical storm, depending on the forecast) is about to get anywhere near New York City, it's all of a sudden The Most Important Thing Ever.

Hey, that's New York, baby. In a nutshell.

"I've heard it said so often
that I almost do believe
that this town's the smack dab center of the world"
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:01 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Having just moved from WI to NH I was struck by the fact that these people won't STFU about Irene. I get it, you weren't prepared for it so it was a huge surprise.

How do you "prepare" for a storm that washed out hundreds of roads and dozens of bridges? Even tough Wisconsin can't "prepare" for something like that. You wouldn't shut up either if your town was one that was cut off for weeks because the roads were gone.

Knock wood, everyone here who's snarking about weather overhype or about how super-prepared their home town is will be able to have the last laugh because the storm does a last-minute swing out to sea and the most damage anyone will see are soaked weather reporters.
posted by rtha at 9:22 AM on October 27, 2012 [5 favorites]

and be prepared for 7-10 days of power outages. That puts us past election day.

Doesn't that just mean 7-10 days is the worst case?
posted by smackfu at 9:25 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

I live directly on the water in Brooklyn. My roommate was here during Irene and he says we'll have to evacuate. Time to frantically text people and ask if they have free couches!

I love how hurricanes aren't a big deal when they hit Florida, but when a category 1 hurricane (or maximal tropical storm, depending on the forecast) is about to get anywhere near New York City, it's all of a sudden The Most Important Thing Ever.

Well, we're not set up to handle them! It's like when a couple inches of now shut down my North Carolina hometown when I was a kid. It's not because we're pussies- it's because the city of 500,000 people has two snow plows and none of the buses or cars have snow tires.
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:25 AM on October 27, 2012 [7 favorites]

Oh man, that one reporter last year, I think in Virginia Beach? Covered in gross foam? He was so grumpy and hated everyone around him, I felt we had a spiritual connection.
posted by elizardbits at 9:25 AM on October 27, 2012 [9 favorites]

Well, we're not set up to handle them!

Neither is Florida. There's no hurricane equivalent of snow plows and snow tires.

For reference, the check-in counter at Dulles Airport is higher above sea level than nearly all of Florida.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 9:35 AM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

lol forever
posted by ninjew at 9:35 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Parts of NYC really are very vulnerable to flooding, and the population is a lot more dense than in Florida; evacuation is more difficult, etc.

Irene really beat the crap out of VT and the Catskills. The Watershed Post - a news site for the small towns of the NYC watershed area, run by a friend of mine - covered the incredible damage in the Catskills from Irene, and they are getting ready to do the same for Sandy. If you are in a flood-prone area, the message from town officials up there goes, just get out now.

Even in areas that are not prone to flooding, lots of rain + wind means a lot of downed trees. Given events of the last few years in the mid-Atlantic, I think widespread week-long power outages are very possible.

Early voting opens Sunday in Maryland.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:36 AM on October 27, 2012

I live directly on the water in Brooklyn. My roommate was here during Irene and he says we'll have to evacuate. Time to frantically text people and ask if they have free couches!

Meanwhile I'm on a bus headed for Brooklyn right now (well, the bus is headed to Manhattan, then the subway takes me the rest of the way.) I'm supposed to return to DC on Monday. This should be an interesting week.
posted by Navelgazer at 9:38 AM on October 27, 2012

What the heck is the matter with you people? Sure, you're stocking up on supplies --- the board games, the food, the milk and batteries are all covered, but won't someone think of the toilet paper?!?

On the other hand, I voted early this last week, so that's taken care of. And who do we see to make sure this mess gets to keep the name 'Frankenstorm' permanently? 'Sandy' is okay, but it's hard to be scared of a Sandy.
posted by easily confused at 9:43 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

There's no better website for tracking U.S. weather than Crown Weather Services. Its tropical weather information is especially comprehensive and finely documented. Here is the page dedicated to Hurricane Sandy.
posted by swlabr at 9:45 AM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

Just a reminder that there's a Baltimore meet-up scheduled for Tuesday!

Early voting opens Sunday in Maryland

Early voting opened today in Maryland (or at least in Baltimore. Surely it's the same state wide?)
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:47 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Having just moved from WI to NH I was struck by the fact that these people won't STFU about Irene.

Some of us won't STFU about the Blizzard of '78. When a storm fucks stuff up, people remember.
posted by bondcliff at 9:50 AM on October 27, 2012 [11 favorites]

Early voting opened today in Maryland

Quite right, I was wrong about Sunday.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:51 AM on October 27, 2012

How do you "prepare" for a storm that washed out hundreds of roads and dozens of bridges?

You prepare by building infrastructure sized and located appropriate to historical and predicted weather events. But that's not what we do. Where I live (and across much of the US), a bunch of undersized bridges were built over the last fifty years or so in open violation of engineering standards and local regulations -- they knowingly chose to save a few dollars by building bridges that were too low, too short, and with inadequate wing walls. (And I am talking undersized by historical standards -- relative to the predicted impacts of climate change, the bridges are even more inadequate.)

Similarly, pretty much everywhere in the US people have been allowed to build houses and businesses within historic floodways -- places that have flooded repeatedly within living memory, and again climate change makes this worse, not better. Levees have been used as bandaids, but they are often undersized, poorly maintained, and inadequate to withstand extreme events; worse, they increase downstream impacts because of reduced natural upstream flood attenuation.

Changing those things is how you prepare; telling people to buy candles and canned food is comparatively a total joke.
posted by Forktine at 10:01 AM on October 27, 2012 [29 favorites]

I am both glad that my trip to the East Coast was last weekend and reminded that the last time I visited New Orleans, I flew out on the last plane they let leave before Ivan hit. Maybe I should just stay put.

(Seriously, though, stay safe, folks. We've got a bunch of warning on this one and it doesn't make sense not to use it.)
posted by restless_nomad at 10:02 AM on October 27, 2012

I was going to go next week and upgrade my phone and get one with an internet package. Might be better if I went and did that today. Not saying cell service won't be affected by Sandy, but would probably be restored before any electricity if they're saying to prep for 7-10 days without power.

Looking on the bright side, the temperatures are currently mild here in the Philly burbs, not hot where you have to worry about your food spoiling real quick and not cold that you have to worry about not having heat.
posted by NoraCharles at 10:04 AM on October 27, 2012

That "trough" in the article blew through Illinois last night. There was intense rain, and the temperature dropped about 35 degrees in two hours.

Oh, so like Melbourne in the spring time then.
posted by Hello, I'm David McGahan at 10:04 AM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

Welp, I'm flying into Burlington, Vermont on wednesday night. Something tells me I may get stranded in Chicago.
posted by Hazelsmrf at 10:04 AM on October 27, 2012

There was no historical precedent for Irene in Vermont.

Likewise, there was no historical precedent (in human time) for the earthquake that cracked the Washington Monument and did other damage - should they have seismic building requirements that match California's? Perhaps. But in the real world, budgetary items have to be prioritized. If you live in a place that is a zillion times more likely to get blizzards and not hurricanes, you prioritize your infrastructure needs for blizzards.
posted by rtha at 10:06 AM on October 27, 2012 [7 favorites]

And/or summer/winter/autumn.
posted by Hello, I'm David McGahan at 10:06 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Some of us won't STFU about the Blizzard of '78. When a storm fucks stuff up, people remember.

kinda like last year when that massive blizzard hit Chicago at rush hour and basically entombed an entire traffic jam on Lake Shore Drive in an epic snowdrift. people just left their cars and the city spent days removing snow and abandoned cars and buses. and they LOVE their blizzards here. those guys camp out in the cabs of their plow trucks as soon as the radar starts picking up the precipitation.

Homer: Oh Lisa! There's no record of a hurricane ever hitting Springfield.
Lisa: Yes, but the records only go back to 1978 when the Hall of Records was mysteriously blown away.

Kent: ...and the weather service has warned us to brace ourselves for the onslaught of Hurricane Barbara. And if you think naming a destructive storm after a woman is sexist, you obviously have never seen the gals grabbing for items at a clearance sale.
Marge: [growls] That's true... but he shouldn't say it.
posted by ninjew at 10:21 AM on October 27, 2012 [5 favorites]

> I'm going to blast You're The One That I Want from Grease out the window via boom box for the remainder of the storm.

Well, then, if the storm has any taste whatsoever it'll whisk your boom box straight out the window and send John and Olivia's hideous little number to the watery grave where it belongs.

And then Lloyd Dobler will emerge from the storm, wordlessly smack you up the back of the head, and then turn and walk back into the storm again.

(Unscathed. Because John Cusack is impervious to rain.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:29 AM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

NASA’s Time-Lapse Video of Hurricane Sandy is Terrifying, Beautiful
posted by homunculus at 10:30 AM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

There was no historical precedent for Irene in Vermont... Likewise, there was no historical precedent (in human time) for the earthquake that cracked the Washington Monument and did other damage

I don't think that's true. There have been repeated extreme storm events in Vermont, including hurricanes -- according to this, the hurricane in 1938 took down a third of all trees there, and the one in 1927 took out 1200 bridges. And the first result on google for "Maryland earthquake history" is this from the USGS and has a surprisingly long list; even if the 2010 quake may have been the strongest on record, it wasn't something totally foreign to the area.

Like I said, as both individuals and as a society we don't do a good job of thinking about and preparing for intermittent events, for whatever reason, and part of that is treating each one as far more unique than it actually is.
posted by Forktine at 10:37 AM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

Excellent comment by emergency specialist Herrdoktor from the Metatalk thread on Hurricane Irene has some great advice (and it's where I got the "Go to your pile" thing) on emergency planning and how to deal emotionally.

{Hurricane Irene got MeTa'd to keep the main thread on the blue, free of extraneous talk and commentary and for emergency updates and whatnot. Might be a good idea this time around as well, when the time comes...}
posted by Skygazer at 10:41 AM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

Thanks, Ollie.
posted by schmod at 10:47 AM on October 27, 2012

Does Sandy have nuts?

Be safe, guys.
posted by yoga at 10:53 AM on October 27, 2012

Maryland here. In the past 365 days I have been without power for about 30. The longest stretch about 8 days. So I expect be offline for multiple days, until a power crew from Georgia or Indiana shows up to clear the line. My solutions for living without power are simple and cheap:

1. Cook with a grain-alcohol fuel backpacking stove. Grain alcohol doesn't give off poisonous fumes and can be used indoors and fuel available anywhere anytime at the local store for cheap (and has many uses like antiseptic). I like the BrassLite stove.

2. Light with an Aladdin oil lamp. Use filtered clear oil to keep smell down. Gives off decent heat too.

3. Water will be offline (well pump) - Fill big pots in the kitchen with tap water for cleaning and flushing toilet (every 3 days - this is the worse part). Under-sink reverse-osmosis tank holds enough drinking water for 2+ weeks.

4. If it's deep winter and power is off long enough to threaten pipes freezing, I have a tiny portable Honda generator to power a wood pellet stove, but that's a rare case.

5. Entertainments = books (paper), Kindle loaded with books, audiobooks on MP3 player. These can all be re-charged using the computer UPS.

So.. I can last 2+ weeks without power. Probably forever assuming I can keep buying the fuel. It's break from modernity, I look forward to being offline, even though the first two days of no Internet suck.
posted by stbalbach at 10:54 AM on October 27, 2012 [21 favorites]

Take the amount of beer and liquor you're going to buy, and double it. (Most Washingtonians learned this one during the Absurd Winter of 2010)
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 11:00 AM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

There have been repeated extreme storm events in Vermont, including hurricanes

Fair enough - I'd forgotten about '38.

And so did everyone in Vermont. This is human nature - see all the infrastructure in places that are vulnerable to tsunamis. But there is truly a need to weigh priorities when it comes to deciding what to spend your infrastructure dollars on. Do you spend them on preparing for the thing that might happen every 50-100 years, or do you spend them on preparing for stuff that happens every five? Sometimes you can do both, sort of. But you're always going to have people who live in tornado zones and hurricane zones and earthquake zones and flood zones. You can't force them all to move away from those places. You can educate them about how to be as prepared as possible for the most likely events and protect your critical stuff as best as possible, but there just isn't any way to plan for (and pay for) every possibility.

I remember in the Irene meTa, while the storm was still happening, there were a few mefites who were playing meteorologist and declaring (from looking at weather maps) that the effects couldn't possibly be as bad as people were saying they were - people who were actually in the places where bad things were happening. I get that we all want to act like we'd be ready for anything, from blizzards to zombie hordes, because feeling like you're in control and have thought of things that other people haven't is better than feeling like "oh fuck, I have no idea what I'd do if [thing] happened," but all too often it comes off in threads like this as "You weaklings, we over here in this place would do it so much better than you, you dummies!" and that's just really unattractive and gross. (I'm not saying, Forktine, that you do this, but too many people do and it's tiresome.)
posted by rtha at 11:47 AM on October 27, 2012 [10 favorites]

Low pressure is bad because it pulls up that lens of water which creates the storm surge. High winds are also bad, but even modest winds spread out over a large area can be even worse. And Sandy is a very, very big storm. It is already pushing water. Katrina was only Cat 3 when it hit us, but the storm surge was more typical of a Cat 5 because the storm had been stronger offshore and it was so goddamn big. And Sandy is a very, very big storm, which will get even bigger as it goes extratropical.

Yeah, that's where it gets scary. The full moon makes the tide higher, and if you multiply the extra couple of inches of water height across the area of the storm, that's a LOT of extra water being sloshed of onto the shore by the storm surge.
posted by gjc at 11:55 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

rtha, I remember that derail from the meta very clearly, watching the bridge near my house wash away and being told more or less that I'm a wuss and that we are making things up. Not helpful. Lets let Frankie handle the amateur meteorologist duties and the rest of us can speak to what's in front of us.
posted by Xurando at 11:59 AM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

U.S. Satellite Plans Falter, Imperiling Data on Storms

What If We Didn't Know Hurricane Sandy Was Coming? The New York Times reports that dying satellites threaten our ability to forecast storms in the years ahead.
posted by homunculus at 11:59 AM on October 27, 2012 [4 favorites]

I get that we all want to act like we'd be ready for anything, from blizzards to zombie hordes, because feeling like you're in control and have thought of things that other people haven't is better than feeling like "oh fuck, I have no idea what I'd do if [thing] happened," but all too often it comes off in threads like this as "You weaklings, we over here in this place would do it so much better than you, you dummies!" and that's just really unattractive and gross. (I'm not saying, Forktine, that you do this, but too many people do and it's tiresome.)

I agree totally. I'm on the other side of the country, but it's not like I'm any better prepared -- I'd last about three days before needing to shoot the neighbor's dog for dinner, and about a week before I'd need to start thinking about doing the same to the neighbors.

That said, I disagree with this:

But you're always going to have people who live in tornado zones and hurricane zones and earthquake zones and flood zones.

Yes, all of us live in areas affected by natural disasters. But permitting people to put housing developments in historic floodways, or to continue building bridges that don't meet even minimal engineering standards, or to locate sewage plants in the path of predictable storm surges, turns a natural disaster into a man-made disaster, and yet we keep doing it. It's the backdrop to all of these big storm events, and it's the backdrop to all of the discussions about climate change and weather patterns.
posted by Forktine at 12:04 PM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

Having just moved from WI to NH I was struck by the fact that these people won't STFU about Irene. I get it, you weren't prepared for it so it was a huge surprise.

What had happened was that even though the storm's track was basically a direct hit on NYC, all the rain was up in the clouds over the city and wafted over and around onto PA, western NY and New England. So the city didn't get hit all that badly. NYC was popping champagne and the media was breathing a sigh of relief while New England was getting washed out.

Ironically, a stronger hurricane might not have done as much (water) damage because some of the rain would have stayed up in the storm until it passed back out into the sea.
posted by gjc at 12:05 PM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oh, the failing satellites! I saw that yesterday. Infrastructure, yeah.
posted by rtha at 12:10 PM on October 27, 2012

Yes, all of us live in areas affected by natural disasters. But permitting people to put housing developments in historic floodways, or to continue building bridges that don't meet even minimal engineering standards, or to locate sewage plants in the path of predictable storm surges, turns a natural disaster into a man-made disaster, and yet we keep doing it. It's the backdrop to all of these big storm events, and it's the backdrop to all of the discussions about climate change and weather patterns.

That's an issue that came up in Illinois and Missouri last year or the year before. There was a bunch of farmland in MS that was in a "spill zone" where the river would historically flood every few years. The Army Corps of Engineers built levees around the river to protect that land, as well as many cities along the river(s). But the caveat was: farmers got the farmland very cheap because in the event of a 100 year storm, the Army would have to blow out some of the levees to reduce pressure and save cities. The farmers forgot, or never paid attention to, that caveat, maybe because it was their grandfather who signed the papers. So they were up in arms at the possibility. Yes, it would be bad for them. But they forgot that the this possibility was part of the bargain of making the land productive in the first place.

And I think that's the problem with some of this. We build sewage plants because we were getting sick with cholera every damned year. We have to put them lower than the cities because that's the reality of gravity. Maybe we planned to put in berms, or maybe we just took the bargain that 100 years of disease free living was worth the possibility of one really shitty storm.
posted by gjc at 12:20 PM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

one more dead town's last parade: Well, we're not set up to handle them!

Neither is Florida. There's no hurricane equivalent of snow plows and snow tires.

Well, speaking up from Florida here, yes we are. We know we're hurricane-prone, so our building codes are stringent. Houses built in my zone have to be able to withstand winds in excess of 120 mph, because I'm not on the coastline. If I were, those codes might require structural strength to withstand up to 150 mph winds, but living on the coastline is pretty much a damned irresponsible thing to do in a state that is mostly just as sea level. Insurance costs for those that do are sky-high for good reason.

Our house is brick over wood frame, and we have wood beams built in over our windows. We store plywood sheets, cut to fit each of our window frames and correspondingly numbered in case we have to board the windows up. Takes less time that way; time can be an important factor in storm preparation. We keep the sheets on a ventilated metal shelf hanging from the garage ceiling (wood's treated, but you don't want it getting damp or moldy) which doesn't impede the garage door from rising (though in a storm, you back your car wheels inside the garage against the garage door, to provide additional stability). Lots of folks have aluminum shutters to protect their windows instead. Windows are generally double insulated, too, against the wind.

Keep in mind, too, that we are a state formed on limestone, so we don't have any (or very few) basements to get flooded, and all of our streets are designed with water drainage in mind because we are the thunderstorm capital of the world. So, yes, we flood, but we are prepared for flooding as best we can be.

We have standing evacuation plans in effect; yesterday, the bridge to the beaches here closed down once winds reached 50 mph. In the event of a serious storm, both sides would be used to bring people from the coastlines back to the mainland. Hotels will offer residents a discounted rate if they have to put up somewhere because of storm evacuation. Schools were closed (though honestly the kids could have easily gone, as we've seen much worse rain and winds then the outer bands of Sandy caused and they've gone to school) because the buses are high-profile vehicles and they don't drive them over any of the bridges once winds are in excess of 35 mph, just to be extra safe (think of the children!). Schools also close first because they are designed to be shelters in the event of a serious storm hitting (which honestly is pretty rare).

Most of our new utilities are made to be underground, too; my neighborhood is old enough that ours aren't and it sucks, because FPL doesn't handle storms as well as TECO (Tampa Electric Company, near where I grew up). We're fine today, but despite the wimpiness of yesterday's storm action, which was just the outer rain bands of Sandy, I understand 1000 people were out of power. That's dismal performance, when winds only reached in the 50s, and the rainfall was pretty negligible. Still, we also know from experience that it happens, so we have a backup, gasoline powered generator which fortunately we haven't had to use yet. If we did, we'd run it out on the porch, which is half-covered with trussed and reinforced roofing, because you don't want to breathe in any fumes from that thing.

One thing I can tell Mefites up there in New York is certain is that the weather guys on television are going to hype the hell out of this, because that's what they always do. The National Weather Service is your true friend. Despite emergency round-the-clock television storm coverage, updates on positioning come from the NWS, and when a storm gets close enough, they update the positioning of the storm every 3 hours. Your news station may have Doppler weather coverage to let you know what's going on locally, I know we do here. They'll come in and tell us, often by street names, if a tornado's sighted nearby.

Lots of water is always good to have one hand, because of flooding and also because you could be under a boiled water contamination warning after the storm. If it looks like it will be bad, in addition to having a few gallons bottled water on hand, fill up the bathtub. That's the water you use for flushing your toilet in case that happens.

Charge up everything in case the power goes out. Someone upthread said they were stocking up on milk(?); drink it fast if the power goes out because sour milk sucks. You want things you don't have to refrigerate, like peanut butter, and other non-perishables. Get extra cash out of the ATM and if you have a car, gas it up now.

I doubt it will turn into the perfect storm everyone is dreading. Just prepare for the worst and hope for the best and you'll be fine.
posted by misha at 12:20 PM on October 27, 2012 [25 favorites]

I remember in the Irene meTa, while the storm was still happening, there were a few mefites who were playing meteorologist and declaring (from looking at weather maps) that the effects couldn't possibly be as bad as people were saying they were - people who were actually in the places where bad things were happening.

Oh my god that was so hilariously infuriating. The followup "lookit me lookit me lol i was rite" comments the next day were even worse.
posted by elizardbits at 12:30 PM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

That person has already posted in this thread. My hope is that the mods have requested that the individual refrains from any further engagement.
posted by vers at 12:40 PM on October 27, 2012

Big Deal, but not often enough to force serious changes in things like building codes or shoreline development regulations.

Not sure how true this really is. Since the 1990s most US communities have transitioned to the International Building Code^ (previous there were about three regional US models) and that includes requirements for handling wind load and uplift forces, which has been a moneymaker for companies like Simpson Strong-Tie. I'm currently trying to get a barn rebuilt in Wisconsin and my local authority wants me to anchor it to the non-existent foundation -- I may have to use ground anchors, like they use for trailer homes. Obviously the wind load here is nominal compared to a hurricane-strength area, but I do need to comply whereas 10-20 years ago I would not have.

Flood maps have also been enormously influential on where building takes place; even if there are grandfathered structures, you can't build new residential, for instance, on the bottomlands of most US rivers anymore.
posted by dhartung at 12:42 PM on October 27, 2012

One thing I can tell Mefites up there in New York is certain is that the weather guys on television are going to hype the hell out of this, because that's what they always do. The National Weather Service is your true friend. Despite emergency round-the-clock television storm coverage, updates on positioning come from the NWS, and when a storm gets close enough, they update the positioning of the storm every 3 hours.

There was so much maudlin, overdramatized bullshit in the NY/NJ metro-area during hurricane Irene with all those local news vans finding the most terrible spot they could and going into histrionics and hyperbole just to provide a sensationalized, ratings winning-spectacle for their viewers, even when most of the area really avoided the worst of it (Irene got way more serious as it traveled further into the Western facing states of New England IIRC).

Kinda reminds me of the presidential race and how overwrought, news organizations seems to be about making this whole thing a nail-biter down to the wire over-sensationalized hysterical fucking overblown SPECTACLE...

Man, fuck the over-sensationalizing news bastards...after the Irene circus the local commerical media here in NYC created, I told myself I'd take everything they said with a pound of salt.
Which is all to say, yeah, I'm sticking to the NWS more the closer Sandy moves to NY&NJ...

Maybe NPR, too. Maybe.

Definitely not any Fox news TEH FREAK STORMZ IZ COMING (!!!) Armageddon jive...
posted by Skygazer at 12:45 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well, speaking up from Florida here, yes we are.

Speaking from experience: there's plenty you can wear, and plenty you can put on your car, to make winter storms bearable. You can't plow storm surge water off the roads.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 12:46 PM on October 27, 2012

Links that didn't make the final version of the post:
Hurricane Forecast Computer Models
ECMWF Wikipedia (Euro forecast model)
ECMWF site
Global Forecast System Wikipedia
GFS site
Twitter feeds: @twc_hurricane, @stormpulse, @NHC_Atlantic
communicating during an emergency
amateur radio station at NHC
rain totals
glossary of NHC terms
posted by booksherpa at 12:47 PM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

If I'm reading this NOAA map correctly is the tri-state of CT only going to get a maximum of 2"? That contradicts everything I've been reading about 15-20" possibilities.
posted by any major dude at 12:58 PM on October 27, 2012

If only we'd built the enourmous space mirrors we could blast away that troublesome high pressure system over Greenland.
posted by humanfont at 1:00 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Nothing, and I mean nothing, could possibly go wrong.
posted by Kattullus at 1:05 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

any major dude, I don't know about CT but apparently the NYC area could 15" rain + a big storm surge. You can look up expected storm surges for various spots in the tristate area on this tool from Stevens:

Urban Ocean Observatory at the Center for Maritime Systems Storm Surge Warning System

I made a trip to Target this morning to get a couple gallons of water, and it was like a scene out of Mad Max. Good times. The one thing that struck me was the number of families putting only 2 gallons of water in their cart. Hmm... I don't know, maybe they have more water stashed at home? Or they're smart & know it won't be so bad so they won't need to lug all this water home. I loaded up on 8 gallons for the two of us, figuring that if we're going more than 4 days without water in Jersey City we're in a bigger world of hurt than I can deal with here.
posted by lyra4 at 1:09 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

any major dude, I think the contradiction is mostly because we just don't know for sure where Sandy is going to go until it goes there. Right now it's on a course to make landfall around Delaware, but it's not impossible that it could turn up towards CT instead. And we don't know for sure how fast or slow it's going to be moving; there's a lot of water in the storm, so if it stalls out over the same area for days at a time, that's going to be much more rainfall than if it traveled inland relatively quickly.

So, 2" is probably much more likely than 15-20"... but if everything lines up just right, the higher figures are not impossible, and from both a media-sensationalism perspective and a "better safe than sorry" perspective, it's no wonder that they're emphasizing worst-case scenarios.
posted by Jeanne at 1:10 PM on October 27, 2012

if you have a car, gas it up now.

YES DO IT SERIOUSLY DO IT DO IT DO IT.

I was running near empty the day before the October snowstorm in Western MA last year that caused mass power outages. I didn't think much of the idea of a blizzard in OCTOBER, so I didn't worry about needing a full tank of gas - figured I'd just gas up the next time I went out. When we lost power and it was clear that with a small baby (my son was 7mos old) that I'd need to find a place with *heat* - I decided to head up to my parents' place in Vermont. Drove up to stop and fill up just off the next exit and wouldn't you know - still no power. Also, gas stations need power to work! Imagine that! I had 10 miles left on my tank. The nearest gas - according to some marginally helpful State Troopers who stopped by - was 18 miles away.

My baby and I paced the parking lot quite a bit while waiting for my mom to come down from Vermont to rescue us with a can of gas. The number of people I saw in the same situation was incredible. I don't know what they did as they all drove off, but I kept hearing it "I don't have enough gas to get [there]!" Yeah, well, me neither.

Had I a car, I'd be filling it up today - no question.

(Only two people that day asked if the baby and I were alright. Two. So, another reminder - when you're in a storm and freaking out about yourself remember that everyone else is in the same predicament and maybe lend a hand if you can.)
posted by sonika at 1:10 PM on October 27, 2012 [6 favorites]

Pages I'm following on Facebook (mostly NJ centered): NWS - Phila/Mt Holly, NJ OEM, Northeast Weather, NJ Weather Blogs, Eastern PA Weather Authority, Severe NJ Weather, Jersey Shore Hurricane News. Only the first two are from an official agency, the rest are amateur meteorologists and weather geeks, but they've been doing a decent job so far.

Also, here for river flood stage if you're somewhere prone to flooding.

I'm off to volunteer at a basket auction for a charity started by someone at my congregation in the aftermath of Floyd 13 years ago. I hope we raise a LOT of money tonight - they're going to need it in the days to come.
posted by booksherpa at 1:12 PM on October 27, 2012 [5 favorites]

Some of us won't STFU about the Blizzard of '78. When a storm fucks stuff up, people remember.

I remember that. We lived on a lake and my brother and I had to walk across the frozen lake to get to the store. It got dark very quickly and I remember great relief when we saw our porch light on the hill above the lake coming home. I was 13 or 14.

This is surreal because right now it's so mild and clear here. We're not even sure if we will get anything here in the lakes region, but I feel for our shore brothers and sisters. Stay safe!
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 1:16 PM on October 27, 2012

Irene may have been overhyped in NYC but I can tell you that further south in Princeton, the after effects were horrific. It wasn't that bad--downed lines, lots of trees-- in the beginning, but then the water levels started to rise and rise, closing major roads and bridges. Many people in the Philly suburbs outside of the historic flood paths complained about the amount of money spent on rescue efforts and flood control and damage, just because they were lucky enough to not be directly affected. I am hoping this time people are more prepared and more charitable.

This time we're holing up in exurban Philly with three cakes, an emergency generator, a well, and an enormous puppy, which is frankly sounding way better than work on Monday...
posted by jetlagaddict at 1:22 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Won't a lot of the weaker trees already have been taken down by Irene?
posted by smackfu at 1:35 PM on October 27, 2012

“But here's the problem ... the computer forecast models that all the forecasters will lean on so heavily have no chance of getting this exactly right. Models are either configured (numerically, in terms of the mathematical equations that drive them), to handle either tropical system well, or what we call mid-latitude systems well, that is ones with warm and cold air clashing. There is no model that handles both well. If there were we would have one great model and my life would be far less stressful. The hurricane will merge with colder air and energy from the jet stream and transition from a tropical system into what we call an extratropical one. Historically the computer forecast models are not good when this happens.”

This is an excerpt from comment on Reddit quoting a “local meteorologist”. If you want to read the entire comment you can find it here.
posted by Huplescat at 1:35 PM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

The hurricane will merge with colder air and energy from the jet stream and transition from a tropical system into what we call an extratropical one. Historically the computer forecast models are not good when this happens.”

Screw the computer. All you have to look at is the examples we have of this happening in the past. You don't need a computer to see this will be a bad, bad thing.

I was born in New Orleans and generally treat hurricanes as a nuisance. In my entire life here I have only ever evacuated for Georges (which took a turn at the last minute and fucked up Alabama and Florida instead of us) and Katrina.

If Frankenstorm was headed even remotely my way I would be packing the car. Now. This thing is going to fuck up somebody's shit, and I say that as somebody whose shit got fucked up.

NOLA once got shut down for a couple of days by half an inch of snow. We simply don't have the infrastructure to deal with that, so all the bridges froze over (and you can't get from anywhere to anywhere else in southern Louisiana without crossing a bridge) and there was no salt or sand or equipment to spread same. East coasters, you don't have hurricane protection. We do, and we still get nailed, but you will get nailed by storms we would laugh at.

And I'm not even laughing at this storm.

If you are in the path of this storm please get out now. NOLA barely managed to pull off a contraflow evacuation before Katrina. Houston clusterfucked the attempted evacuation before Rita. And we expect this shit. If you can, GET OUT NOW.
posted by localroger at 1:59 PM on October 27, 2012 [6 favorites]

Sandy likely to be a multi-billion dollar disaster for the U.S., Dr. Jeff Masters, Weather Underground Wunderblog, 5:28 PM GMT on 27 October, 2012

I expect Sandy's impacts along the mid-Atlantic coast and New England coasts to cost at least $2 billion in insured damage and lost business, and there is a danger the storm could cost much more. Steve Bowen, meteorologist for insurance broker AON Benfield, put it this way for me this morning: "Given the level of losses associated with Irene last year and the current projections of extended high wind, heavy rainfall, coastal surge and an inland flooding threat for many of the same areas with Sandy, it would not come as a complete surprise to see a multi-billion dollar economic loss." Sandy should bring sustained winds of 50 - 70 mph with gusts over hurricane force to a large section of coast. With most of the trees still in leaf, there will be widespread power outages due to downed trees, and the potential for a billion dollars in wind damage.

cf. August, 2011 archive containing posts about Irene
posted by ob1quixote at 2:11 PM on October 27, 2012

localroger, I think (and hope) you are being a bit alarmist. There have been zero evacuations that have even been hinted at yet.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:17 PM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

This weekend I am visiting good friends here in Wilmington, VT which got walloped by Irene last year. Folks are rightfully 'jumpy.' I just hope that they don't get hit again, since much of the low-lying parts or town and many of the local farmsteads were devastated and are still under renovation ... with a lot more work to do.
posted by ericb at 2:27 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think localroger is indeed being a bit alarmist. We'll see.
posted by Justinian at 2:28 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Have there been any Cantore sightings on the weather channel yet? Because that's when you know the hurricane means business.
posted by troika at 2:31 PM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

roomthreeseventeen, there are no hints at evacuations? Fire Island was evacuated already (because it's difficult to get to). Part of the problem is that every media outlet and meteorologist is saying "we're not sure where it's going to land and we're not sure exactly how bad it's going to be, but it could be bad".
posted by Brian Puccio at 2:34 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

There have been zero evacuations that have even been hinted at yet.

Wrong. More than 'hinted at' and climbing in number and scope.

As storm approaches NY, Fire Island evacuation ordered, transit shutdown contemplated.

Manasquan issues mandatory evacuation orders due to Hurricane Sandy.

Hurricane Sandy: State orders evacuation of prison inmates in Cumberland County.

Hurricane Sandy Update: Powerful Winds, Evacuation Recommended for Shoreline Towns.

Hurricane Sandy may force evacuations in NYC.

posted by ericb at 2:41 PM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

Forecasters on Hurricane Sandy: 'One for the record books'.
posted by ericb at 2:45 PM on October 27, 2012

"May force evacuations" is not a Katrina-force evacuation. Come on.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:45 PM on October 27, 2012

Maryland is doing voluntary evacuations from Queen Anne's county and Harford County. Thus far they are planning to keep the bay bridge open.

New Jersey is evacuating Cape May with mandatory evacuations for all barrier islands.
posted by zia at 2:47 PM on October 27, 2012

I'm up here at the top of Manhattan, right on the western edge overlooking a steep drop down to the Hudson. No way it could flood up here, so looks like we'll be here for the storm. There is a building being demolished across the street (6 floors and they've only knocked down the top floor); hopefully there isn't too much debris flying around from the demolition site. Irene gave us a trial run on how to get things ready; here we go again! Stay safe, friends!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:52 PM on October 27, 2012

Localrogers is being alarmist. If you're on the coast, you should get out, but I'm just north of dc, and I'm just preparing to not have power or water for a few days.
posted by empath at 2:53 PM on October 27, 2012

If you live in NYC and you have family in Jersey or Connecticut, you might have a better time there than in the city. But maybe not. This seems like a storm where "shelter in place" will be reasonable for most affected people who aren't actively being evacuated by officials; but that doesn't mean it'll be a good time, especially if you haven't gotten water and good stored up.

Good luck East Coast. I miss you, but not as much as I usually do.
posted by gerryblog at 3:06 PM on October 27, 2012

Alarmist? Well OK. If you're well upslope and not in a place that will get flooded with DO NOT FORGET possibly historic rainfall upslope, then yeah just stock up on Doritos and bottled water.

I have now lived through several events where people who thought they were safe got flooded out. My wife was a tenant in the early 1980's when she was in college, and her elderly then-landlords died in Katrina because they thought they were safe. I no longer take anything for granted.
posted by localroger at 3:09 PM on October 27, 2012

Cheetos, Roger. Stock up on Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
posted by indubitable at 3:36 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

I may be in Baltimore on Monday/Tuesday, if so I will send updates from the hotel bar.
posted by carter at 3:38 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

When such a large area is going globe hit, where would us East Coasters all GO - conceivably? I'm in Boston, planning for several days without power/water, but it's unclear where - within a day's drive - anything is gong to be BETTER. I'd say my parents' house in VT as it's inland... but Irene proved that's not a safe bet.

Just say in' when we're talking "The Entire Northeast" - "get out now" isn't really a viable option for everyone. Unless Iowa's prepared to put us all upon a futon or something.
posted by sonika at 3:45 PM on October 27, 2012 [8 favorites]

Hey, Here's one good thing about Sandy, @Elbloombito is back, and killing it!

Coño Edisono que might losero los poder. Fill los pots con agua y buy el flashlighto!
posted by Skygazer at 3:54 PM on October 27, 2012 [9 favorites]

More @Elbloombito:

Por favor to que stay insidero. El raiño esta weto y dangerouso! Vamos con su vamos bag to un sheltero!
posted by Skygazer at 4:02 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am so excited for the presumably upcoming bilingual mayoral speeches on NY1. His appalling gringo accent delights me beyond reason.

also i look forward to not going to work for as many days as possible next week, obviously.
posted by elizardbits at 4:06 PM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

Just remotioning my favorite comment from zirene

REMEMBER IF ANY RAIN FROM THE HURRICANE TOUCHES YOUR SKIN YOU BECOME A HURRICANE STAY SAFE
posted by The Whelk at 4:06 PM on October 27, 2012 [22 favorites]

My favorite @Elbloombito: Por favor to not eato el junk food or drinko el soda. El stormo es coming y los fatties esta muy dificil to que evacuaté!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:07 PM on October 27, 2012 [8 favorites]

More from @Elbloombito, combining two critical situations:

Por favor to not eato el junk food or drinko el soda. El stormo es coming y los fatties esta muy dificil to que evacuaté!
posted by zia at 4:09 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

El preview, personas!
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:10 PM on October 27, 2012

And on preview.... I see I'm not alone!
posted by zia at 4:10 PM on October 27, 2012

I think the best thing that'll come to me (southern NJ) from Sandy is that Elbloombito account!
posted by kimberussell at 4:11 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

*going globe hit = going to be hit.

Yes, yes, I know there's an edit button now but I had to retrieve a sodden toddler from the tub. He was doing hurricane evacuation drills.
posted by sonika at 4:14 PM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

Here in inland Maryland, I'm bracing for heavy rains and possible power outages. My biggest concern, actually, is the MARC train, which I take to work. I may be working from home for a few days, if even that can be managed.

Also, DC area Mefites may want to compare Sandy to last June's derecho:

Sandy is a slow-moving, large-scale storm capable of strong winds and heavy rain over an extended period. Whereas the derecho devastated locations across the D.C. area in a matter of minutes. Impact-wise, we’d recommend preparing for the same impacts as the derecho - downed trees and the potential for multiple days without power.

On the positive side, utilities and local governments and the public will have had several days warning this time versus several hours (if that) for the derecho. So, there’s a chance the impacts may not be quite as bad or last quite as long. But you should prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
posted by Cash4Lead at 4:20 PM on October 27, 2012

According the National Hurricane Center wind speed probabilities, New York City has a 66% chance of tropical storm force winds and a 7% chance of hurricane force winds.
As far away as Baltimore there is a 52% chance of tropical storm force winds.
(The numbers are in knots, multiply by 1.15.)
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:20 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

When such a large area is going globe hit, where would us East Coasters all GO - conceivably? I'm in Boston, planning for several days without power/water, but it's unclear where - within a day's drive - anything is gong to be BETTER. I'd say my parents' house in VT as it's inland... but Irene proved that's not a safe bet.

Just say in' when we're talking "The Entire Northeast" - "get out now" isn't really a viable option for everyone. Unless Iowa's prepared to put us all upon a futon or something.

The point isn't for everyone to go, it is about preparedness. Be ready to go if you have to. Be ready to stay put if you have to.

Nobody is saying the East coast is going to be uninhabitable and everyone's got to get out. They are saying that there are good chances that some people in some areas are going to have some trouble. Nobody knows exactly where. If are unlucky enough to be in an affected area, you should be prepared to react appropriately.
posted by gjc at 4:29 PM on October 27, 2012

Some good advice from user 7683.
posted by Danf at 4:31 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

A funny reaction: I went to pick up a couple of random grocery errands today and overheard a couple having a small debate in the aisle beside me as they were trying to select what was their best option for "emergency coffee". (Only in Brooklyn would you hear two people arguing about whether their emergency rations should or should not be fair trade organic.)

A more serious reaction: the city's announced that it will know by tomorrow afternoon whether they will start shutting down the subways, commuter trains, and buses starting at 7 pm tomorrow night.

...Whoashit.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:31 PM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's interesting that for most people, the hurricane's impact completely depends on whether we lose power.
posted by smackfu at 4:36 PM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's the "downed trees" part that worries me, we're on a hill backing up to some woods.
posted by kgasmart at 4:37 PM on October 27, 2012

And for people in NYC the real impact will be if the subway's running.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:47 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

the real impact will be whether or not i get punched in the face by a toddler at westside market again

that little fucker
posted by elizardbits at 4:56 PM on October 27, 2012 [14 favorites]

NWS does seem to now have upgraded it's wind predictions to a 70% chance of tropical storm winds along the Jersey coast now. Keep in mind that only means sustained winds of 39mph which isn't exactly Stormegeddon. Here in Tahoe we regularly get spring/summer thunderstorms with winds twice that for hours on end. 55 mph wind speeds along the coast are currently predicted to be less than a 20% probability. Rainfall potential for the full five day period in the Penn / NJ and NY areas is still predicted to be only from 1 to 6 inches (Seattleites call that a "drizzle").

On the other hand the HuffPo is now claiming the following:
Freak Storm Hurtles Towards East Coast

Meteorologist: 'Threat From This Situation Is Serious As A Heart Attack'

Why It's So Dangerous
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 5:05 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

WELP - FINE THEN I'm going to go out for some Halloween Hedonism. Line forms to the left dudes.
posted by The Whelk at 5:08 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

BESLEEVE YOURSELF, TROLLOP
posted by elizardbits at 5:09 PM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

I GOT SO MANY SLEEVES UP IN HERE.
posted by The Whelk at 5:12 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

ewww.
posted by futz at 5:15 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

They're talking about as much as 6" of snow down here in the mountains of western NC:
850MB TEMPS WILL DROP TO
AROUND FREEZING IN HIGHEST ELEVATIONS SUNDAY EVENING AND SNOW WILL
BEGIN AT THAT TIME FOR THE HIGHEST PEAKS. SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH MONDAY...BUT THE HIGHEST SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WILL BE MONDAY
NIGHT AND TUESDAY. TOTALS OVER 6 INCHES FOR THE TOTAL EVENT FOR
HIGHER ELEVATIONS.

My elevation isn't super high (3100 ft.) but we're in the area very prone to northwest flow snow events. The way this thing is supposed to move will probably give us a good bit of NW flow, but we'll see what really happens. I've got to split some wood in the morning, though.
posted by Red Loop at 5:16 PM on October 27, 2012 [4 favorites]

y'all gon make me lose my sleeves

up in here up in here
posted by elizardbits at 5:18 PM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm going to arrive in various bars around the city screaming WHERE THE HEDONISTIC HURRICANE PEOPLE AT?
posted by The Whelk at 5:19 PM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

I have a freezer full of caribou meat I'd hate to lose in a blackout and it's way too much to cook and eat now.

Meat-up!
posted by stargell at 5:23 PM on October 27, 2012 [8 favorites]

I got a freezer full of produce if y'all want to make that meat-up a well-rounded one.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:26 PM on October 27, 2012

Spitbull fill the freezer to the top with water jugs if you have now then don't open it! If its a decent one it'll be ok for 4 days at least.
posted by fshgrl at 5:28 PM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

The hurricane will merge with colder air and energy from the jet stream and transition from a tropical system into what we call an extratropical one. Historically the computer forecast models are not good when this happens.

“Screw the computer. All you have to look at is the examples we have of this happening in the past. You don't need a computer to see this will be a bad, bad thing.”

I appreciate your concerns, as a Nola veteran, but the problem with this storm is that we have no good examples of this odd congruence happening in the past. “The perfect storm” came close but it wreaked its havoc way offshore, and we only had a few ships, limited satellite data and, at best, some weather buoys out there to watch the thing unfold.

I have a bad feeling about this thing too, but I’m an alarmist by nature and it could just be another symptom of the general malaise I’m feeling as this awful election season approaches its climax.
posted by Huplescat at 5:35 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

podkanye, it would be great if you linked to the sites that are supporting what you are saying. The more informed we are, the more we all benefit.
posted by futz at 5:44 PM on October 27, 2012

The level of hedonistic hurriance people seems low
posted by The Whelk at 5:57 PM on October 27, 2012

flhurricane.com always has a good roundup of news, speculation, and links.
posted by carter at 5:58 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

All we're getting down in TX right now is a little rain, but I stocked up on the St. Arnold's Christmas Ale (which I would happily drink all year long) in solidarity. Those that keep their internet connection please keep the rest of us posted.
posted by emjaybee at 5:59 PM on October 27, 2012

Whelk, I think the real panic will hit tomorrow.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:59 PM on October 27, 2012

yes, everyone panics when the whelk is hungover

it is a cause for great alarm
posted by elizardbits at 6:02 PM on October 27, 2012 [4 favorites]

How about you and whelk get a room?
posted by futz at 6:04 PM on October 27, 2012

How about you and whelk get a room?

And don't forget the flashlights and bottled water ...
posted by carter at 6:10 PM on October 27, 2012 [4 favorites]

Futz - I am getting all my info from the NOAA hurricane site.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 6:24 PM on October 27, 2012

My parents had people canoeing down the street in front of their house after Irene. They only just finished re-flooring their house after the flooding. I'm pretty worried for them -- not so much for their safety, as they've lived in New Orleans and know what to do and when it's time to go -- but to have to do all that work again? They've got neighbors who never moved back in at all.

The central NJ towns that were flooded so badly in Irene have been looking into infrastructure improvements to keep that from happening again, but it's only been a year, and nothing's changed. The only things I'm aware of that might help: it's been a dry year so far, so all the waterways aren't already high, and they've been draining water from the reservoirs and lakes in expectation of rainfall from Sandy. I hope it's enough.
posted by asperity at 6:24 PM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

I am getting all my info from the NOAA hurricane site.

We all know NOAA, and we really don't need this thread cluttered with links to, you know, the actual national weather site encumbered with useless, dismissive and wrong commentary.

Again.
posted by vers at 6:32 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Nobody knows exactly where.

No, that's not quite true. NOAA and the NWS give pretty accurate predictions of rainfall and windspeeds as well as warnings of possible floods 24 hours in advance. The only problem is that people insist on listening to things like Huffpo or Twitter or heaven help us most local TV news which generally give very little actual info and a whole lot lot of fear mongering.

Admittedly , good information is hard to come by in all the flood of content aggregates out there but we tend to know pretty well which areas are going to be worse and which areas are not going to be all that bad. You just have to go to a reliable source and frankly aside from government agencies like NOAA or NWS I don't know many (any) other reliable sources.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 6:33 PM on October 27, 2012

Asperity, I hope so. NJ has so many small municipalities it doesn't matter what one does if the neighboring ones don't follow suit. The state government tries to do what it can, but home rule makes it hard, even when there's a sympathetic governor.
posted by mollweide at 6:33 PM on October 27, 2012

Vers : You seem to be stating that something I said was wrong. Please point to what it was. Be specific. As for my commentary - it may surprise you to know that multiple points of view are actually allowed on this site.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 6:36 PM on October 27, 2012

Mod note: We are not having the Hurricane Irene ridiculousness again, period. Please do not go there.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 6:38 PM on October 27, 2012 [7 favorites]

We all know NOAA, and we really don't need this thread cluttered with links to, you know, the actual national weather site encumbered with useless, dismissive and wrong commentary.

Who is this "we" you're referring to? Because if you're referring to all of us, you're probably mistaken.
posted by bondcliff at 6:38 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

At this present moment in NoVa the air is warm and moist like a madeline dipped in hot tea. The wind is calm, too calm like the quiet of a man scheduled for execution who has made peace with his god and his fate. The sky is the color of a mostly dead CRT, a deep dark gray that only slightly reflects the ambient light. The streets are empty as a million government workers keep calm and try to carry on inthe face of certain doom. We knew it would come to this dreadful end. Some say it is the dark magic rebounding three fold from screaming souls of ten thousand children and innocents sacraficed in our war for vengeance. They have have gathered and made a maelstrom.
posted by humanfont at 6:39 PM on October 27, 2012 [17 favorites]

Regarding flooding and storm surge for those who are worried about such things . The NOAA storm surge map is currently listing predicted storm surges as being under 3 feet in most NJ and NY coastal areas - there are a few places significantly higher so it's best to check. These things change daily so it's a good idea to check regularly but for the vast majority of coastal regions above Maryland the current predictions for storm surge are minimal.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 6:43 PM on October 27, 2012

NJ has so many small municipalities it doesn't matter what one does if the neighboring ones don't follow suit.

Impressively, the towns are even trying to work together on this to do it faster! Not fast enough to beat this storm, though.
posted by asperity at 6:50 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

ALL WILL DIE!

I got so many flashlights y'all. I like flashlights and parachute cord and all that stuff anyway. So, one hand for yourself and one hand for the ship. Here's to the success of our hopeless task, etc. Be safe.
posted by Divine_Wino at 6:59 PM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

I don't get all the "You're gonna be sorry Mr. Unprepared!" sentiment. Freaked out by Sandy? Fine, run for the hills. But don't tell me what I can and can't do based on some computer models. If I ran my life that way I'd never leave my house for one fear or another.

I'm concerned because I feel this is the direction our country is going. We now live in a constant state of "emergency" where we need to be told (and prescribed) what's good for us. This is a dangerous situation where our freedom is concerned. (See reproductive rights for example.)

Is there a good, non-hysterical chance NYC is going to be underwater? Fine, then I'll evacuate. Otherwise I choose to ride it out like REO. Stormpocalypse? Fine, I accept my fate. No need to come and save me, I played my own hand.

But reality check: We're all going down with the ship like Ishmael sooner or later.

Time for another drink.
posted by nowhere man at 7:34 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hey all, it's your resident Disaster Services volunteer checking in from Central MA with words of doomsday! :)

Just wanted to note a couple things:

-People should be very careful particularly with rainfall predictions, which are notoriously difficult to predict with tropically-originating storms like this one, especially as they break up and go extra-tropical. The flooding that devastated areas of New England during Irene came almost completely as a surprise to many, including forecasters.

-I've seen a few notes upthread about candle usage. As someone who gets called not only for the hurricane or Frankenstorm or whatever, but also for the structure fires, please try to avoid using candles and be vey careful if you must use them. Every time there's a mass power-outage event (and unfortunately we've had several in the last few years) we wind up responding to fires started by candles, even in homes where people were pretty careful with using them.

-Last, I'd like to repeat something I said during Irene: A robust disaster plan and response for a disaster that fizzles is not a failure. Personal preparation for even a low probability disaster is not something you should ever be ashamed of.
posted by rollbiz at 7:38 PM on October 27, 2012 [32 favorites]

No need to come and save me, I played my own hand.

Except that societally, we do not accept this, and I've yet to meet the person who was holed up in their attic or running out of food or freezing to death without heat who said "Nah, just leave me. I made my own bed".
posted by rollbiz at 7:40 PM on October 27, 2012 [17 favorites]

Rollbiz: Perhaps in a society that truly cared about the welfare of attic and freezing people such folks wouldn't be expected to fend for themselves in the event of an emergency?

FWIW, I personally don't have an attic, do have a nice coat, and am in possession of a moderately sane mind.
posted by nowhere man at 7:52 PM on October 27, 2012

I don't get all the "You're gonna be sorry Mr. Unprepared!" sentiment. Freaked out by Sandy? Fine, run for the hills. But don't tell me what I can and can't do based on some computer models. If I ran my life that way I'd never leave my house for one fear or another.

I'm concerned because I feel this is the direction our country is going. We now live in a constant state of "emergency" where we need to be told (and prescribed) what's good for us. This is a dangerous situation where our freedom is concerned. (See reproductive rights for example.)

Is there a good, non-hysterical chance NYC is going to be underwater? Fine, then I'll evacuate. Otherwise I choose to ride it out like REO. Stormpocalypse? Fine, I accept my fate. No need to come and save me, I played my own hand.

This is silly. The threats to NYC are localized flash flooding, power outages and people getting trapped in the subways. No amount of forecasting can tell people where this will occur, because these things are very local in nature. So they are telling people to be prepared for that, should it happen where they are.

This isn't about a constant state of emergency or the direction the country is going in. This is: hey, a storm is coming, it could be bad, here is what you need to do ahead of time IN CASE YOU ARE ADVERSELY AFFECTED.

A sane person heeds warnings and acts appropriately.
posted by gjc at 8:09 PM on October 27, 2012 [7 favorites]

If it is all a bunch of hype and this turns out to be just a big rainstorm, then at least I'm prepared for December 21st, so I guess there's that.
posted by NoraCharles at 8:14 PM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

Man, my problem is I'm already bored with the whole overblown production...

Yeah, yeah, Frankenwhatchamacallit etc...blah de bleeh da meh.

Get it over with already Sandy. I got things to do.
posted by Skygazer at 8:15 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

NBC News and Wired Services | 11:00 p.m. tonight: "Governors in states in the hurricane's path declared emergencies, announcing mandatory evacuations of vulnerable areas."
posted by ericb at 8:31 PM on October 27, 2012

Even if the minimum happens from this storm I'm sure it'll mean pain and suffering for at least a few. Good luck everyone.

Forktine writes "
More seriously, I'm struck by how poorly our brains and/or our society handles intermittent threats, like these storms in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. They come just often enough for people to talk about them and agree that they are a Big Deal, but not often enough to force serious changes in things like building codes or shoreline development regulations. "

The horrifying thing is the vast majority of people shouldn't be needing to make runs for water and non perishables, they should just have that stuff on hand, and yet most people don't. Many of the disasters that can strike will strike without warning; we should be prepared for a lack of services at any time.

Somewhat disturbing to myself is I've fallen out of the habit of keeping my car half full of fuel. The bloody tank on my current car only holds 30 odd litres and stopping every 15l to fill up is both a pain in the ass and kind of a personally embarassing reminder of when I could only afford to put 15 litres of gas in my car at a time. So I let it fall to below E and then stuff 31 litres in to activate the loyalty program at what ever station I'm filling up at.

nowhere man writes "Otherwise I choose to ride it out like REO. Stormpocalypse? Fine, I accept my fate. No need to come and save me, I played my own hand. "

Lots of people say that but as a society we find it unethical to leave those who have accepted to their fate to that fate.
posted by Mitheral at 8:35 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Since this seems to be the disaster thread, there appears to be a real-deal tsunami warning from that 7.7 off the coast of British Columbia an hour or so ago.


Right now it's for Alaska and Coastal BC, but the buoys seem to be registering some motion.

posted by Lord_Pall at 9:08 PM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

The bloody tank on my current car only holds 30 odd litres

Good god, I've owned motorcycles with larger fuel tanks. What are you driving, something like this?

The horrifying thing is the vast majority of people shouldn't be needing to make runs for water and non perishables, they should just have that stuff on hand, and yet most people don't. Many of the disasters that can strike will strike without warning; we should be prepared for a lack of services at any time.

You'd think at least a few people would still have their Y2K stockpiles on hand, but most people have what's in the fridge and that's it.
posted by Forktine at 9:26 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

If anybody reading this thread is an app builder, I've been thinking of making a weather app and website for NYC for some years now. If you're interested send a memail.

Will walk along the Hudson River tomorrow and Monday to note anything unusual before the storm hits, take pics of the sky and put them up on Flickr with a link in this thread.

Here is an excellent New York City Hurricane Evacuation Zone map.

There's a hush over NYC now that's unusual for the weekend before Halloween.
posted by nickyskye at 9:58 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Rollbiz: Perhaps in a society that truly cared about the welfare of attic and freezing people such folks wouldn't be expected to fend for themselves in the event of an emergency?

I'm not sure how to respond as to the general welfare of "attic and freezing people", but I'll just say I wish that people weren't ever left to fend for themselves, in general.

To the point, you originally seemed to be saying that folks should be able to decide to ride things out, and that you wouldn't expect anyone to come help them if they made the wrong choice and wound up actually being in serious trouble and really needing help.

I'm not sure how to balance the stuff you've said. I'd think it through more, but I'd like to ask you to think it through first.
posted by rollbiz at 10:15 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just putting this here in the hopes that it will get stuck in some of your heads as the storm hits.
posted by MrVisible at 11:47 PM on October 27, 2012 [5 favorites]

Such a good song. Who did that?

Ah, I see it's Polaris, whoever they are, they sound great.
posted by Skygazer at 11:58 PM on October 27, 2012

Since this seems to be the disaster thread, there appears to be a real-deal tsunami warning from that 7.7 off the coast of British Columbia an hour or so ago.

The tsunami was all of 12cm in Tofina, BC and 4 inches high in SE Alaska (which could be the same thing for all I know). But the sirens are going off in Hawaii now, according to some friends who are there.
posted by fshgrl at 12:23 AM on October 28, 2012

I was just comparing Sandy's storm track with the storm track of Hurricane Agnes. That storm caused severe flooding and a number of deaths in my hometown back in 1972.
posted by DarkForest at 12:42 AM on October 28, 2012

STORM SURGE...THE COMBINATION OF AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS STORM SURGE
AND THE TIDE WILL CAUSE NORMALLY DRY AREAS NEAR THE COAST TO BE
FLOODED BY RISING WATERS. THE WATER COULD REACH THE FOLLOWING
DEPTHS ABOVE GROUND IF THE PEAK SURGE OCCURS AT THE TIME OF HIGH
TIDE...

NC SOUTH OF SURF CITY...1 TO 3 FT
NC NORTH OF SURF CITY INCLUDING PAMLICO/ALBEMARLE SOUNDS...4 TO 6 FT
SE VA AND DELMARVA INCLUDING LOWER CHESAPEAKE BAY...2 TO 4 FT
UPPER AND MIDDLE CHESAPEAKE BAY...1 TO 2 FT
LONG ISLAND SOUND AND RARITAN BAY INCLUDING NEW YORK HARBOR...6 TO
11 FT
ELSEWHERE FROM OCEAN CITY MD TO THE CT/RI BORDER...4 TO 8 FT
CT/RI BORDER TO THE SOUTH SHORE OF CAPE COD INCLUDING BUZZARDS
BAY...3 TO 5 FT
posted by futz at 5:59 AM on October 28, 2012

Cuomo has just announced - they will suspend subway, bus, Metro-North and LIRR service tonight; 7 pm is the last train for subways, 9 pm for the last Metro-North and LIRR service. If they evacuate areas of the city they'll bring them back up/keep them up until that's done.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:11 AM on October 28, 2012

Boston is overcast and windy. Made a run to the grocery store for granola bars and extra diapers... there is zero sense of panic and plenty of bread on the shelves. I dunno if this means that we're not expected to get the worst of it or if my fellow Bostonians are too focused on Halloween preparations to worry about a storm. Hard to say.

In any case - I thought of a useful tip to pass on! If you're in an area where you might lose power/water for a few days and are concerned about lack of showers: baby wipes! It's not a perfect solution, but lord knows I've done it out of exhaustion even when I *did* have running water. I recommend the unscented kind. Also, if you're feeling fancy, dry shampoo.
posted by sonika at 7:16 AM on October 28, 2012

Just got back from work (a park, where I work in the gardens) where I was moving computers to on top of desks and securing some random things outside so they don't blow too far away.

The wind is picking up and the parks employees have reached a point of giddiness. Everyone is a bit terrified, but madly preparing.

I took pictures of the gardens just in case they're all gone in a couple of days. A weird feeling.
posted by sciencegeek at 7:40 AM on October 28, 2012

If you're in an area where you might lose power/water for a few days and are concerned about lack of showers: baby wipes!

During Irene my hot water tank kept the water reasonably warm for a couple days. Not enough for a long shower but enough so I was able to sponge off and keep clean without power. Granted, I was home alone and my water tank (80 gal) is somewhat new, but I thought I'd throw that out there just so people know that once the power goes out a big tank of hot water is going to take a while to completely cool off. Save it for bathing and do your dishes with cold water.

Once I was out of warm water in the tank I would boil some water on the camp stove before bed, fill a couple of Nalgene bottles, and then store them in a cooler overnight. In the morning I'd have water hot enough to clean with before work.

And yeah, it helps to keep some baby wipes on hand. One thing though, they don't seem to keep long term. A few years ago, when my son was little, I put together an emergency kit. A couple years ago I was going though it and found the wipes were all moldy and gross inside.
posted by bondcliff at 7:47 AM on October 28, 2012

In Boston (well, Brookline-ish): windy, spitting a little maybe, but yeah, zero sense of panic. CVS is out of gallons of water but the convenience story across the street isn't. Plenty of batteries on the shelves but no flashlights.

Slightly concerned about the power/cable lines vis a vis trees in my neighborhood but what's a brother to do.
posted by dismas at 8:00 AM on October 28, 2012

Out the window here in Brooklyn is seeing occasional gusts, but I haven't seen rain yet. Am about to venture out to get a couple gallons of water, I think - and to take BACK the laundry from my drop-off laundromat who said they wouldn't be done with it until 8 tonight; I'll just do it myself now so it gets done.

I've got a lot of candles already, I may pick up matches as well. Maybe bread for sandwiches; I've also got a ton of apples (my CSA as been giving me 3 pounds a week for the past month) and I made cookies last night.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:07 AM on October 28, 2012

No rain yet in Harlem. I have made three trips to Fairway in the last 24 hours, and am going to be cooking all afternoon, partly to do something with all my fidgety energy, partly to have cooked food on hand. I have beer and bourbon.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 8:15 AM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Pre-Hurricane Sandy in Hell's Kitchen as of 10:30 this morning.
posted by nickyskye at 8:16 AM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's chilly, cloudy, and very windy here in southern NJ. I feel like there's a palpable tension in the air (I remember that feeling a few hours before Hurricane Irene. Of course, it could have just been me projecting my emotions on the weather, both then and now). I'm slowly packing to go stay with a friend 20 or so miles away because we live on a creek. (A beautiful and peaceful creek 364 days out of the year!) I'm not waiting to be told to leave and possibly have to drive in crap weather. I'll just take a hint and GTFO. I'm a little sad that everyone in my household is going to stay somewhere different; I'd rather we all be together, but it's not an option.

We've got sandbags for the doors, all windows checked and locked, valuables and electronics on the first floor off the floor. My handsome fella and I are taking gallon jugs of water, canned and baked goods (BRIBERY!!!) and flashlights to our respective storm destinations.

I'm really, really nervous.
posted by Aquifer at 8:21 AM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

El Bloombito is speaking on all the metro NYC stations. There's something funky going on with his PA, nd he sounds like Darth VADER.

(Luka, io sono yo padre! Vamanos with your vamanos bag...)

Or Robo-Mayor.....or FrankenMayor...lolz...
posted by Skygazer at 8:29 AM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Massive and dangerous Hurricane Sandy has grown to record size as it barrels northeastwards along the North Carolina coast at 10 mph. At 8 am EDT, Sandy's tropical storm-force winds extended northeastwards 520 miles from the center, and twelve-foot high seas covered a diameter of ocean 1,030 miles across. Since records of storm size began in 1988, no tropical storm or hurricane has been larger (though Hurricane Olga of 2001 had a larger 690 mile radius of tropical storm-force winds when it was a subtropical storm near Bermuda.) Sandy has put an colossal volume of ocean water in motion with its widespread and powerful winds, and the hurricane's massive storm surge is already impacting the coast. A 2' storm surge has been recorded at numerous locations this morning from Virginia to Connecticut, including a 3' surge at Virginia's Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and Sewells Point at 9 am EDT. Huge, 10 - 15 foot-high battering waves on top of the storm surge have washed over Highway 12 connecting North Carolina's Outer Banks to the mainland at South Nags Head this morning. The highway is now impassable, and has been closed. The coast guard station on Cape Hatteras, NC, recorded sustained winds of 50 mph, gusting to 61 mph, at 5:53 am EDT this morning. In Delaware, the coastal highway Route 1 between Dewey Beach and Bethany Beach has been closed due to high water. Even though Sandy is a minimal Category 1 hurricane, its storm surge is extremely dangerous, and if you are in a low-lying area that is asked to evacuate, I strongly recommend that you leave.
posted by futz at 8:46 AM on October 28, 2012

Louis C.K. cancelled his show because of the storm.
posted by Obscure Reference at 8:50 AM on October 28, 2012

Sandy's central pressure is expected to drop from its current 951 mb to 945 - 950 mb at landfall Monday night. A pressure this low is extremely rare; according to wunderground weather historian Christopher C. Burt, the lowest pressure ever measured anywhere in the U.S. north of Cape Hatteras, NC, is 946 mb (27.94") measured at the Bellport Coast Guard Station on Long Island, NY on September 21, 1938 during the great "Long Island Express" hurricane.
posted by futz at 8:52 AM on October 28, 2012

City just txted me, Mandatory Evac, Zone A, Rockaways, Hamilton beach, City Island
posted by The Whelk at 8:57 AM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

What does Zone A Evac cover for NYC? I'm hearing ~375k people evaccing.
posted by Lord_Pall at 8:58 AM on October 28, 2012

JINX!

You in the zone?

Did they suggest where you should go, or just tell you to get out?
posted by Lord_Pall at 8:58 AM on October 28, 2012

I'm atop a lonely tower as Judge Of All Mankind, but here's the PDF NYC HURRICANE EVAC ZONES
posted by The Whelk at 9:03 AM on October 28, 2012

That map doesn't list the size of the surge, just the category of hurricane. This storm is potentially weird, so I'm not sure how it'll line up.

I guess if they evac zone b after the 7pm subway shutdown people can walk to the hurricane shelters..

Mostly depends on what this storm ends up doing..
posted by Lord_Pall at 9:06 AM on October 28, 2012

Some good info on potential storm impact from Boston dot com. Mainly focused on MA, but good maps of storm path that are generally pertinent.
posted by sonika at 9:06 AM on October 28, 2012

I figured a MeTa would be useful, like last year.
posted by griphus at 9:10 AM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Cuomo has just announced - they will suspend subway, bus, Metro-North and LIRR service tonight; 7 pm is the last train for subways, 9 pm for the last Metro-North and LIRR service. If they evacuate areas of the city they'll bring them back up/keep them up until that's done.

That probably means a day off from work for us. I'm actually close enough that I walk, but I can't imagine our office will be open if there's no subway and no LIRR.

I was amused yesterday when Mayor Bloomberg said he encouraged everyone to stay home Monday but said that all city workers were to report as usual.
posted by Jahaza at 9:10 AM on October 28, 2012

City just txted me, Mandatory Evac, Zone A, Rockaways, Hamilton beach, City Island


I didn't get the txt from El Bloombergo, yet.

Zone A appears to be the same as the Zone A for Irene. And actually should be bigger, so make sure you double check. Evacuation is mandatory for Zone A, and there's schools being set up to handle people, or the Mayor suggests staying with friends or family.

This city evac search thingy is broke at present: http://gis.nyc.gov/oem/he/search.htm


But, here's the entire Evacuation Map:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/downloads/pdf/hurricane_map_english.pdf

{CTRL + to enlarge}.
posted by Skygazer at 9:10 AM on October 28, 2012

My husband's company is preparing to leave for disaster response. I have to admit I'm relieved my husband is staying home for this one. Good luck and stay safe, everybody.
posted by MaritaCov at 9:12 AM on October 28, 2012

The department of education hasn't posted a cancellation yet, even though it's on the AP wire.
posted by Jahaza at 9:12 AM on October 28, 2012

Jeff Masters has a 50% chance of this storm flooding portions of the NYC subway. That's a tremendous cleanup job if it happens.
posted by Lord_Pall at 9:14 AM on October 28, 2012

Wait, so is reatime discussion/update moving to MeTa now?

Perhaps we can just keep it all here? It seems confusing to split the thread.
posted by Jahaza at 9:17 AM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

They're predicting an 11ft storm surge at the Battery. Which is where the garden I work in is. My mind is boggling.
posted by sciencegeek at 9:19 AM on October 28, 2012

I think the meta may be more for "I need a place to stay?" Not news updates on the storm itself.
posted by mrzarquon at 9:20 AM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, that was a stupid idea on my part. I think last time the MeTa came first and the regular thread after.
posted by griphus at 9:20 AM on October 28, 2012

Well I'm about 2 hours NW of Toronto and according to the predictions will be getting hit with the outer edges of the storm. Not a huge deal here just very windy and rainy. I expect my power will go out as it always does even in smaller wind storms but it probably won't be out any longer then a normal winter outage here.

Right now the weather here is what I call it's 'can't make up it's mind stage.' Just over and hour ago in was sunny and calm. Then woosh the clouds came in and the wind picked up with the trees going in several directions. This is pretty normal for where I am as live in this weird zone where different weather patterns regularly clash and do strange things. I can get different weather then a few kms south or north. Normally when this happens I know some sort of storm is coming from somewhere. It's eerie to think that without the internet I would have no idea just what sort of storm is approaching and think that it was just common fall weather.

Thinking of everyone farther south. Stay safe all.
posted by Jalliah at 9:21 AM on October 28, 2012

I think it's a good idea for MeTa to handle the off-topic, commentary, goofing around stuff etc...and so this thread doesn't become weighed down with noise and loads semi-quickly on mobile devices. It worked pretty well for Irene,and the two threads can support one another and be friends through this weird ass El Bloombergo-ed mandatory evac experience.
posted by Skygazer at 9:22 AM on October 28, 2012

(UK Daily Mail, contains pictures): "New York City shuts down for Hurricane Sandy: Subway will close tonight as storm is set to be the biggest EVER to hit United States"
posted by Wordshore at 9:29 AM on October 28, 2012

I've closed that Meta for now, let's just keep this thread clear for info. We have a while to go before the storm even arrives.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:30 AM on October 28, 2012

but i wanna start looting noooow
posted by elizardbits at 9:40 AM on October 28, 2012 [16 favorites]

In its penis? where is that located?

Good luck everybody who is affected by this. It is eerie reading about it all from the safety of several thousand miles away.
posted by marienbad at 9:53 AM on October 28, 2012

Anyone have a canonical list of bad action movies on NetFlix Instant? My grandmother will be staying with us, and the only thing that got us through Irene was bad action movies.
posted by griphus at 9:59 AM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mod note: A couple of comments deleted. Questions about moderation go to contact form or MetaTalk, as always.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:09 AM on October 28, 2012

griphus: Anyone have a canonical list of bad action movies on NetFlix Instant? My grandmother will be staying with us, and the only thing that got us through Irene was bad action movies.

Have you tried Instant Watcher? They list 828 Action & Adventure movies currently on NetFlix Instant Watch, 191 of which have a rating less than three stars. Then again, Fist 2 Fist has a three star rating…

Still haunted by his failure to prevent the murder of a young couple years earlier, a mixed martial arts teacher must confront the skeleton in his closet when the boy who was orphaned by the killing shows up at his door.

posted by ob1quixote at 10:28 AM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm in Norfolk, in a flood-prone area. Heavy rain hasn't come yet, just a constant light rain, and already it's not good. The flood gates are up all over the city, and in most places it's just damp, only a few puddles. But in other areas, like the block behind me, there's a lake where the street used to be. [local media photo] High tide tonight is going to be interesting.
posted by sephira at 10:31 AM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Anyone have a canonical list of bad action movies on NetFlix Instant? My grandmother will be staying with us, and the only thing that got us through Irene was bad action movies.

Arctic Blast
Category 7: The End Of The World
The Day After Tomorrow
The Final Storm
Killer Flood
Planet Of The Apes
Superstorm
Tidal Wave
Waterworld
posted by Wordshore at 10:32 AM on October 28, 2012 [6 favorites]

Washington Post is reporting DC public schools closed tomorrow.
posted by TurkishGolds at 10:32 AM on October 28, 2012

Bad Action Movies you say, Mr/Mrs/Ms Griphus? THIS IS THE SUCKER YOU WANT. It is the only film I have seen where the protagonists real actor name is better than the character name.

"A painful test of endurance, but surely a badmovie monger's dream, Ultra Warrior is a must-see-to-believe experience. You will *never* mock another movie again." - IMDB Review by EveAskance.
posted by marienbad at 10:48 AM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm about a block from the evac zone in NYC. Is there some place i can follow the storm or at least the predictions of what it's going to do in real time? Apologies if this has been covered already-It just took me 15 minutes to figure out if I'm in the the evacuation zone; my brain is still fuzzy from big halloween party last night.

My apt, is on the roof of a building with a row of windows-should I be taping them? I'm kinda exposed up here and even relatively mild storms tend to rattle the place but they are newish windows so I don't know if the taping thing still applies.
posted by newpotato at 10:51 AM on October 28, 2012

They're predicting an 11ft storm surge at the Battery. Which is where the garden I work in is. My mind is boggling.

I believe it. I'm across the river in JC waterfront, and at high tide this morning the water was already almost level with the walkway. I am fully expecting flooding on the ground floor our apartment building at some point.

So... anyone have suggestions for how to brew coffee in an apartment with no power?

I have an 8 cup french press and ground coffee - does it actually brew drinkable coffee if you use cold water? I also have a pour over filter, but I can't imagine that working with cold water. The other option is instant espresso- I have several bottles of Medaglia D' Oro Instant Espresso Coffee, since I use it for baking. Again, though, not sure that it works with cold water.

I might end up brewing a few pots when the power is still on and then filling up Nalgene bottles with it & stashing it in the fridge.
posted by lyra4 at 10:51 AM on October 28, 2012

No work tomorrow! Unless I'm more "essential" then I think, which I highly doubt.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:52 AM on October 28, 2012

I'm in evacuation zone C. Fingers crossed I can stay home tonight. I just came back from the UES Fairway which was a zoo but still had lots of food and bottled water.

How are people getting updates texted to them?
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 10:58 AM on October 28, 2012

Hurricane forecast humour

HURRICANE FABIAN DISCUSSION NUMBER 15
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
5 AM EDT SUN AUG 31 2003

FORECASTER AVILA CONTINUES TO INSIST...DESPITE ALL RECON
EVIDENCE...THAT IT WAS NOT HE WHO TOOK MY SANDWICH FROM THE
NHC FRIDGE. THIS ASSERTION IS NOT SUPPORTED BY FORECASTER
STEWART OR MY STATISTICAL MODELS...AND BASED ON THE TIGHT
CLUSTERING OF GUIDANCE...I AM ISSUING A WARNING FOR FORECASTER
AVILA...THAT HE HAD BETTER BRING HIS OWN LUNCH TOMORROW. THIS
WILL BE THE LAST WARNING ISSUED FOR FORECASTER AVILA.

posted by saturday_morning at 10:58 AM on October 28, 2012 [7 favorites]

For coffee, I'm thinking about doing some cold brew.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:58 AM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

hmm. Chris Christie has interrupted the Jets game to give a press conference. Interesting that schools closing is up to individual towns but he recommends it for tomorrow.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 11:02 AM on October 28, 2012

So... anyone have suggestions for how to brew coffee in an apartment with no power?

Start some cold-brew coffee now - it takes 12 hours, but it's ideal for iced coffee so even if you don't lose power you're stocked up for iced coffee. Just put 2/3 cup coffee grounds and 3 cups water in a jug and leave it for 8-12 hours, then strain. Cut the brew half-and-half with water when you serve unless you like it especially high-test.

I spent all summer canning things like peaches and pickles and what-not, and I have about five pounds of apples in a basket taunting me for not doing anything with them yet, so I will be set for vegetables; I also have a fairly well-stocked bar (I went on a "stock the bar" run last week). I also have a shitload of candles (hey - I'm a chick, I like atmosphere). Just picked up a couple of last-minute things to round it out - matches, a couple extra gallons of water, bread and some devilled ham and canned tuna and canned salmon. I was very tempted to get caviar, but I'll content myself with making a series of cocktails (I have homemade tomato juice, homemade cranberry juice, and a little unopened bottle of lime juice). I'm also just outside all of the storm surge zones, but even if something wild happens, I'm on the 4th floor. My roommate also has some big picture frames that I can wedge into place over the windows, so I may use those and bedsheets to "board" up the windows if need be.

It was fascinating watching what people were stocking up on as "emergency rations" at the supermarket just now - some people were getting lots of water and canned food, but there was a guy who had nothing but beer and potato chips.

Subways shut down, and I heard they may even shut some of the bridges. All my bosses also live in Long Island and Connecticut so even if we all WANTED to come to work tomorrow....
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:06 AM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

How is Planet of the Apes a bad action movie?
posted by PHINC at 11:18 AM on October 28, 2012

I figure I can probably live off the cheeses and antipasti and crackers, chips and dips leftover from the pre-party party I had here last night. Not the healthiest, but the most food my apt. has seen in weeks, and so very festive for storm watching.
Plus plenty of wine and a ton of different IPAs I've been meaning to taste test sitting in the fridge.
Assuming the electricity holds, I think my roku and I will have a fairly decent time of it. If only there were a debate on tonight....now THAT truly would have been a perfect storm...
posted by newpotato at 11:19 AM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow, the red-tailed hawks nesting across the street are going completely fucking insane right now, all KEEEEE KEEEEEEE KEEEEE KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE argh make it stop. I love those little pigeon-menacing bastards but this is getting out of hand.
posted by elizardbits at 11:21 AM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

I went to the grocery store to get lox because EMERGENCY and there was a really cute guy I kept bumping into in the aisles and I managed to get in the insane line right behind him and we chatted a little about BBQ sauce and then I said if we survive the hurricane we should celebrate and then he gave me his number AND IT'S LIKE I AM A CRAZY SUPERHERO I LOVE NATURE!!!!!!!!!! This is the best hurricane ever.
posted by prefpara at 11:28 AM on October 28, 2012 [97 favorites]

HURRICANE HOOKUPS FUCK YEAH
posted by elizardbits at 11:29 AM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

My cats are mewing and hiding in strange places they haven't hidden in since they were first brought to this apartment. Feline hurricane prediction, or general insanity? Probably just general insanity.
posted by Sticherbeast at 11:29 AM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

hello ladies would you like to get your hands on my... EMERGENCY SUPPLIES
posted by elizardbits at 11:30 AM on October 28, 2012 [9 favorites]

The Weather Channel:

Where Will Terrifying Monster Storm Hit?


jesus fucking christ. try harder to display a smidgen of journalistic integrity.
posted by futz at 11:39 AM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

This accomplishes precisely nothing. Don't bother.

I thought it cut down on flying glass if the window gets broken? That it doesn't stop anything, just cuts down chances of bad situations getting worse.
posted by gjc at 11:45 AM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's looking ominous but dry in Baltimore at the moment. I feel as though the lead-up to Irene has a lot of people feeling blase about this storm (not to mention the ridiculous Frankenstorm moniker).
posted by codacorolla at 11:46 AM on October 28, 2012

I have never been more glad to have purchased three completely unneeded (at the time) flats of bottled water for my pre-wedding cookout.

Granted, that is a highly specific thing to be glad about.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:47 AM on October 28, 2012

My cat hasn't gone nuts yet. He's asleep in a box but generally i think he can predict storms because when they come he goes inside the sofa.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 11:47 AM on October 28, 2012

Plus plenty of wine and a ton of different IPAs I've been meaning to taste test sitting in the fridge.

THE STORES ARE OUT OF TONIC. I HAVE GIN BUT NO TONIC

THIS IS A CRISIS
posted by The Whelk at 11:47 AM on October 28, 2012 [6 favorites]

POUR THE GIN INTO YOUR MOUTH

CRISES AVERTED
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:49 AM on October 28, 2012 [12 favorites]

Crisis 2: Now you have no gin.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:49 AM on October 28, 2012 [6 favorites]

Sit on my knee boy, and let me tell you about the time I had to travel through 75 mph winds to find tonic...
posted by zerobyproxy at 11:50 AM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Where Will Terrifying Monster Storm Hit?

I want to turn on the weather channel and see utter screaming mayhem in the studio. I want trash fires burning in the background while the anchor sobs uncontrollably. Human sacrifice to nameless horrors! Condiments being used inappropriately!
posted by elizardbits at 11:50 AM on October 28, 2012 [7 favorites]

Chew up some juniper berries and baby aspirin (as a quinine substitute) in your mouth, a swig of sprite and then a swig of gin. Almost identical to good tonic water.
posted by Lord_Pall at 11:51 AM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

OH MY GOD I HAVE SO MUCH TONIC LEFT OVER FROM LAST NIGHT AND ALMOST NO GIN
posted by newpotato at 11:51 AM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

eat ye of these twigs and remember my sacrifice
posted by elizardbits at 11:51 AM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

...and halloween candy. I will be sick on halloween candy before this is over.
posted by newpotato at 11:53 AM on October 28, 2012

NOAA is now predicting higher probability of tropical storm force winds winds (42 mph + ) and increased 5 day rainfall totals of up to 10 inches in the Delaware area and storm surge probabilities of more than 5 feet as being 50% in the New York area. so it looks like a pretty nasty storm. Stormageddon ? Not so much.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 11:57 AM on October 28, 2012

I'm pretty sure I'm safe where I am, but I'll be drinking about all of you.
posted by villanelles at dawn at 11:57 AM on October 28, 2012 [10 favorites]

Heh, the local witchy shop has been posting on their FB that they still have plenty of candles.

"I don't care how badly we need light, I'm not lighting the Hanged Man's Fat Candle."
posted by The Whelk at 11:59 AM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

This is a very very big storm.

To put it into perspective, both Bermuda and North Carolina are experiencing tropical storm force winds from the same storm at the same time. That's about 800 miles of 42+mph winds
posted by Lord_Pall at 12:01 PM on October 28, 2012

I'm happily ensconced in my Brooklyn basement apartment, with lots of water, brownies, and Breaking Bad episodes. As long as they don't force evacuate Zone B, I'm good to go.
posted by silverstatue at 12:03 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

"...and then he gave me his number AND IT'S LIKE I AM A CRAZY SUPERHERO I LOVE NATURE!!!!!!!!!! This is the best hurricane ever."

Well done. And, I'm envious (or previous me is/was). You Americans have the advantage of all these super-disaster hookup opportunities. Us English people - less so. I've had to use a combination of Twitter, Skype and attending librarian conferences. No hurricane, tornado, superstorm or other hookup opportunities for your cousins over here.
posted by Wordshore at 12:07 PM on October 28, 2012

It does seem (from my very safe distance) like NYC's disaster plans and notification system are working very smoothly and well. News and warnings have been clear and obviously widely received. It's pretty reassuring to see the pre-storm work so well. The money and effort the city's put into disaster preparedness since 9/11 seems well-spent.

The cold front coming from the west is a heck of a front; we had a 24*F temperature drop in a two-hour period when it came through. It was 77 when I left the house to run a couple errands and 53 when I got back, my toddler complaining bitterly that I "let" him wear the sandals he demanded to wear because now his toes were freezing.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 12:07 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

No hurricane, tornado, superstorm or other hookup opportunities for your cousins over here.

just tell people you've run out of tea
posted by elizardbits at 12:12 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

If anyone's curious about how things will be looking in NY tomorrow - here is a page full of live webcams that you can observe the storm through . I like the Statue of Liberty Torchcam for some reason (probably the name)
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 12:15 PM on October 28, 2012 [7 favorites]

The last time I was in England, we enjoyed the Great Storm of 1987. So there are hurricane or hurricane-like storms in your area occasionally. We'd just gotten there and had no idea what was going on. Woke up in the morning to trees down and much destruction. My excitement - there was mistletoe on some of those downed trees and it was the first time I'd seen it other than in plastic form hanging from door frames in December.

Updates from the Bronx: the local bodega still has beer.
posted by sciencegeek at 12:16 PM on October 28, 2012

Just started sprinkling here in Philly. Ran to the store for milk and eggs, and was surprised (though maybe I shouldn't have been) to see that there were plenty of both, but that the mixers and potato chips were almost entirely picked over.
posted by coppermoss at 12:16 PM on October 28, 2012

Trenton, NJ schools are closed Monday and Tuesday. I have a happy teacher here. Now to keep checking my work mail...
posted by kimberussell at 12:24 PM on October 28, 2012

My cat Lloyd was very jumpy and doing much "yawring" last night. Now, he is being needy and doing the thing where he taps me on the shoulder with his paw, which means "Feed me now, servant!"

After the subway closing was announced, I got an email from my boss saying that the office (in W'burg) will be open tomorrow, but that we can work from home if need be. Right.

And now I realize I am almost out of cheese? This is serious.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 12:24 PM on October 28, 2012

Christie had to call a press conference to remind voters that no matter how big Sabdy gets he will remain the biggest windbag in New Jersey. Meanwhile Joe Biden was cited by the beach patrol for trying to surf near Rehobath beach to the relief of his security detail.
posted by humanfont at 12:26 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

The latest bulletin from my local branch of the NWS basically boiled down to, "EVACUATE, IF YOU'RE TOLD TO. IF YOU DON'T, THINK OF HOW TRAUMATIZED RESCUE WORKERS WILL BE BY YOUR DEAD BODY."

...Damn.
posted by Aquifer at 12:27 PM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

Cold brew coffee started. Thank you to LobsterMitten and EmpressCallipygos for the instructions!
posted by lyra4 at 12:27 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ohhh... Here is a Brooklyn Bridge live cam with an awesome view.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 12:31 PM on October 28, 2012 [7 favorites]

That Brooklyn Bridge live cam is so wobbly already it's making my inner ears unhappy. The rest of me is in sunny California but if I watch that thing too long I get queasy.

Stay safe, everyone.
posted by ambrosia at 12:39 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

How windy is it right now in Manhattan? If the cam's wobbling that much now, I can't imagine it will stand up to serious storm winds.
posted by restless_nomad at 12:40 PM on October 28, 2012

First World Problem filter: I have NPR on for the weather updates, but what's on is the Sunday Progam with Jonathan Schwartz who is telling listeners in between each and every song that "this is the kind of music I'd be playing for you if they'd let me stay here overnight and keep broadcasting but they won't let me," and and OH MY GOD SCHWARTZ NOBODY CARES SHUT UP
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:41 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

Another list of webcams to watch the storm, including New York, New Jersey, Long Island and Virginia Beach.
posted by ambrosia at 12:46 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

While you're waiting and worrying: ITS THE HAARPS FAULT!!!11!
posted by marienbad at 12:47 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

You Americans have the advantage of all these super-disaster hookup opportunities. Us English people - less so.

Umm, the area where I live in right now in England looked like this after the storms of 2007.

I believe it's just that English people don't make such a fuss.
posted by vacapinta at 12:50 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Picture of WTC site during Hurricane Donna in 1960
posted by The Whelk at 12:52 PM on October 28, 2012

restless_nomad: Out here on Long Island, it was pretty damn windy even this morning when we were doing the last of hatch-battening.
posted by Andrhia at 12:52 PM on October 28, 2012

Hurricane Sandy intensifies as it grows
posted by homunculus at 12:53 PM on October 28, 2012

(Also, Sandy, Donna, Irene, man NYC all your hurricanes sound like spunky best friend characters.)
posted by The Whelk at 12:55 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Empress, when I got into my car and Jonathan Schwartz was playing the goddamn theme to "E.T.," I did my own yelling at the radio.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 12:57 PM on October 28, 2012

they have now switched to a rerun of "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me." Amen!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:01 PM on October 28, 2012

Went out to lunch and can report that it's drizzly and pretty windy in Boston (otherwise known as "October" - certainly much more typical than the 65F we've had all month) and still zero sense of panic. Hipsters still wearing Toms, have not upgraded to ironic workboots for heavy rains.
posted by sonika at 1:09 PM on October 28, 2012

Is there anything people on the West Coast can / should do to help?
posted by insectosaurus at 1:09 PM on October 28, 2012

Southeast Mass checking in...I also have a psycho cat today. I mean, he's generally a nut, but today he is upping his game. He is clearly in tune with nature. And nature makes him eat cardboard boxes and leap at unsuspecting people from behind the couch.

Otherwise things are pretty normal around here. Went to the store for last minute beef jerky and I was surprised how calm it was. Right now everything just seems gray and ominous. The neighbors seem to have finished putting in their lawn chairs and cleaning out gutters, as have we, so now we just wait.
posted by Biblio at 1:10 PM on October 28, 2012

ACTUAL SIGN SEEN AT LIQUOR STORE:

"ALCOHOL PANIC LINE STARTS HERE"
posted by The Whelk at 1:10 PM on October 28, 2012 [18 favorites]

marienbad: While you're waiting and worrying: ITS THE HAARPS FAULT!!!11!

Holy heck that sent me down a dark, damp hole full of crazelnuts. The Wikipedia page for HAARP has a good overview of both what it actually is and also what conspiracy theorists really think is going on.
posted by Kattullus at 1:11 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am at the overlap of a Venn diagram of NYC and Philadelphia. I have been tracking the storm via NFL football, so Eagles game, rain but Jets game, dry. At my little crossroads, dry, quiet, dog sleeping at my feet,wind is picking up a bit. (Pats safe and dry in London)
posted by TWinbrook8 at 1:15 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

I often wonder when the last person who listens to Jonathan Schwartz will finally die so they can put on something from the last century.

I truly love the idea of Jonathan Schwartz's show, and that there is still a place on the spectrum where some guy spins yarns about tunes recorded generations ago, and gives them the nostalgic attention they're due.

Like I said, I love the idea. But every goddamn time I turn on the shower radio and Schwartz is droning on about yet another tune he heard for the first time when he was five years old listening to an artist with his dad, and the *magnificent* pianist just blah blah blah, I want to add a clause to my annual WNYC donation that stipulates "Schwartz may be allowed to record his show into forever, provided that it's broadcast only into a hole in the ground and I never have to hear it ever again, amen."

Also, during Irene I had WNYC on in the background the whole time, and all it did was make me dyspeptic. This time, I'm gonna stick with Metafilter and avoid the nonstop freakout that is the media.
posted by Hadroed at 1:15 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hmm it feels kind of strange to be bookmarking cams to watch this storm. I'm feeling like a disaster voyeur.

Ah well, there won't be much else to do when it starts raining here. Netflix, weather cams and maybe a book. Sounds good to me.
posted by Jalliah at 1:17 PM on October 28, 2012

It is eerie reading about it all from the safety of several thousand miles away.

Double weird when "here" is New Orleans.
posted by localroger at 1:26 PM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

I'm feeling like a disaster voyeur.

Welcome to this thread.

(and hopefully everyone will be safe and any disasters minimal)
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 1:27 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

My office (located in Philly) announced it's closed tomorrow. And my cat who usually sacks out on our sofa in the other room all day has not left my side.
posted by kimberussell at 1:32 PM on October 28, 2012

We have stocked up on liquor here on the West Coast, and are planning to drink heavily for all the poor people stuck in the storm without sufficient whiskey. We're doing it for you!
posted by gingerbeer at 1:34 PM on October 28, 2012 [8 favorites]

when I was 8, Hurricane Alicia roared through Houston. We lost power for six days I think. That was when I learned that the water can shut off if the power shuts off, and then you have no way to flush your toilets, unless you collect rain runoff and pour that into the back of the toilet after you flush. We had water back on after three days, though.

What we rapidly wished we had more of was batteries, ice, and food you could eat cold that wasn't sweet. My parents actually jury-rigged a cooking surface over the gas lighter for our wood fireplace to boil water to make tea; it took 20 minutes, but it did it. but oh dear lord I was so sick of Chef Boyardee ravioli eaten cold out of the can by the time our power came back on.
posted by KathrynT at 1:36 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

> We have stocked up on liquor here on the West Coast, and are planning to drink heavily for all the poor people stuck in the storm without sufficient whiskey. We're doing it for you!

Portland, OR sympathy drinking team checking in here. Bäranjäger + Bourbon hot toddy's are on the menu.
posted by mrzarquon at 1:36 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

and hopefully everyone will be safe and any disasters minimal

Seconded.

At the risk of sounding alarmist again, I would like to remind everyone that when Katrina hit we had neighborhoods in New Orleans that had never been flooded, on timescales of 50 to 90 years from their founding, where everybody who stayed either died or had to be rescued from their roofs. History is a poor guide in these times. Please be careful and prepare if you are in the path of this thing. If you are in the zone of possible storm surge get the hell out, either upslope or upstairs.

When Rita hit western LA we had a customer who left four million pound capacity drilling fluid tanks half-full to ballast them. After the storm they couldn't even find the foundations. This shit really happens.
posted by localroger at 1:37 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

I highly recommend this recipe. We made them last night and they were so! Good! (Obvs don't make them and get all drunk if you might have to evacuate, blah, blah.)
posted by Aquifer at 1:38 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's not even sprinkling yet in DC, but I have already:

- wiped BEFORE peeing, explicable only as a major malfunction of my cat-like ESP barometer
- gotten an "Endless Love" earworm stuck in my head
- decided that abandoning my alcohol rationing plan in the only rational way to exorcise the earworm (not yet successfully, but I'm in it to win it now)
- laid out the brand-new Sharpies I will soon use to draw pretend tattoos all over myself, by headlamp if needed
- eaten the emergency box of Entenmann's mini chocolate cookies
- drafted a Craigslist Casual Encounter post and alternate wifi network name to see if any other people in my building think that Hurricane Hookup thing sounds like a fine idea but are as lazy/fraidy as me to go outside. I deleted the part that said I could offer Entenmann's.
- selected "U Arsy Hindrance" as my (current) favorite anagram for Hurricane Sandy

Be safe out there!
posted by argonauta at 1:51 PM on October 28, 2012 [25 favorites]

Let's just leave everyone to manage their own risk now, ok?
posted by kiltedtaco at 1:51 PM on October 28, 2012

That was when I learned that the water can shut off if the power shuts off, and then you have no way to flush your toilets

Having lived through last year's storms in Connecticut, my tip: fill your bathtub with water before the storm hits. We had a week of flushes on one tub. Stay safe everyone.
posted by Otherwise at 1:55 PM on October 28, 2012

For Jersey folk - I love Jersey Shore Hurricane News on Facebook - it's fun to follow even when there's not a hurricane, but obviously this is their moment.
posted by Miko at 1:58 PM on October 28, 2012

Garbage and recycling out - check
Frozen raw chicken breasts now cooked chicken breasts - check
2 pounds of pasta cooked to receive potentially defrosted tomato sauce from freezer - check
6 2-gallon pretzel jars rinsed and filled with water - check
Hard copy list of emergency and other contact numbers - starting after this comment
Move stuff away from windows - in progress
Pack go bags - not yet
Charge ALL the things! - in progress

Getting together with friends tonight for a little while. Afterwards, if time and weather allows, we may stop for things that are not necessities, but would make the next few days more pleasant.

Also, the fundraiser made over 15 thousand dollars, more than $1000 over last year's total, and about 3/4 of the organization's annual budget. It will be needed.

On preview: Seconded, Miko. I've been following JSHN for a while (they do traffic alerts and other updates too) but this is why they were created. I mention them and the other (mostly Jersey) Facebook people I'm following for weather info in this comment.
posted by booksherpa at 2:05 PM on October 28, 2012

NYC HURRICANE PREP DO TO LIST
posted by The Whelk at 2:05 PM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

I'm in the Jersey City Heights. I just got back from a run down along the Weehawken, Hoboken, and Jersey City waterfront public access walkways and they're all still open. The rain hasn't started yet although there were some small squalls. I'm currently watching my neighbor across the street, who runs an events and movie trailor/bus company, unload a bunch of generators off the back of a tow truck and wheel them into his house. I know where the neighborhood party will be happening tomorrow even if he doesn't (yet).
posted by stagewhisper at 2:09 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

mayor Bloomberg sorta reminds me of the mayor from Ghostbusters
posted by ninjew at 2:10 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

THIS IS NOW A GENUINE EMERGENCY

I REPEAT THIS IS NOT A TEST

THE CAKE STORE CLOSED BEFORE I COULD GET CAKE

NEW YORKERS PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR DOOM
posted by elizardbits at 2:10 PM on October 28, 2012 [12 favorites]

From the JSHN linked by Miko:

#njsandy ***WATER RESCUE: SHARK RIVER INLET*** Emergency services have just removed two people from the Shark River Inlet due to an "unknown incident," the Breaking News Network reports. One is injured, the report states.

I would bet a bottle of bourbon (or a cake, whichever) that the "unknown incident" was two people who were all "Cool, a hurricane, let's go in the water!" Or, possibly, a news crew.
posted by rtha at 2:17 PM on October 28, 2012

Elizard, there will be cake at my house tonight. Bring cheese.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 2:18 PM on October 28, 2012

Packing up to head to my parents house now that we have a mandatory evacuation....if I run out of booze this will indeed be a disaster.
posted by inertia at 2:19 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

It seems that some here liken the current situation to 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Others seem to liken it to "The Ant and the Grasshopper."

In this situation I'd rather be prepared like an ant for what may come.

I do hope, however, that my, and my family and friends', preparations will end up being in vain.

Better to be safe than sorry.
posted by ericb at 2:20 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

After whatever transpires over the next 48 hours, I will be much happier to be called a 'prepared fool' rather than an 'unprepared idiot!'
posted by ericb at 2:24 PM on October 28, 2012 [6 favorites]

Oh yes, hard copy of phone numbers! Good one, I have still not memorized many numbers I should have bc they're in my cell's speed dial. (maybe I will also make myself some flashcards of my sister's new landline number and other numbers like that which I seriously should know by now. sigh.)

My husband is in the Coast Guard - just heard from him that they set up & are standing by for SAR missions in NY Harbor. All of you with your S.O.'s home with you, give them an extra hug!
posted by lyra4 at 2:26 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

Last year, Hurricane Irene ravaged small towns in the Catskills, and the Watershed Post did an amazing job keeping the area informed.

These communities, not fully recovered from Irene, will again have the WP at their back.
posted by jgirl at 2:26 PM on October 28, 2012

not to my 4th floor apartment obviously

there is no cake here for them
posted by elizardbits at 2:28 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

> Seriously, when NYC floods, think about where the rats are going to go.

*adds a joke about Jersey here*
posted by mrzarquon at 2:29 PM on October 28, 2012

Rats? I thought alligators were gonna be the problem when the sewers flood.
posted by marienbad at 2:30 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

think about where the rats are going to go.

It's never occurred to me to include toilet lids on the list of things to secure when battening down the hatches, but I guess maybe it should.
posted by ambrosia at 2:30 PM on October 28, 2012

HA, we already put out extra rat poison for when they try to come into the house! <--actual truth.

I guess I kind of made your point there, didn't I?
posted by Aquifer at 2:31 PM on October 28, 2012

BTW, instead of candles use an LED lantern - it lights up a whole room for 24 hours continuously on 4 D cells. Costs about 20-40 bucks tops.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 2:32 PM on October 28, 2012

Be like a some kind of ratadammerung
posted by The Whelk at 2:32 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Useful video which lists all the essentials you will need, pre-storm (and post-storm).

Biscuit is optional.
posted by Wordshore at 2:33 PM on October 28, 2012

instead of candles use an LED lantern

Or, you know - use whatever you already have handy instead of going out into a storm for new supplies.
posted by elizardbits at 2:35 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

I am a bit worried. I see The Whelk and elizardbits winding each other up like grade schoolers gorging on too much Halloween candy. Soon there is going to be running, shouting, jumping on the couch, and yelling "YAAAAAAAAAH!"

Then mom's vase will get broken. You know, the one her grandmother brought from the Old Country? There will be no blaming it on Sandy, mom freakin' saw you guys.

There will be tears over this, mark my words.
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:35 PM on October 28, 2012 [16 favorites]

We brought our plants in -- I am kind of shocked by the amount of shit lying around in people's backyards right now. And front yards. Whatever, we're on the top floor -- seems like the biggest threat is if the roof leaks.

Was wondering whether to bring in the 50+-pound buckets in which we grew our tomatoes and sesame leaves this year -- BF says no, whereas I say yea. I feel like they will fly into our kitchen and smash our stove.

We finally took the AC units out of the windows and put them away. And we filled up a bunch of empty bottles with tap water -- cheaper and less of a pain than chasing down bodega water.

As for the rest, I dunno. The cat seems kind of freaked out. Does the air feel weird to you guys, or is it just me?
posted by brina at 2:38 PM on October 28, 2012

I have still not memorized many numbers I should have bc they're in my cell's speed dial.

Same here, lyra4. My list has the numbers for the local power and water companies, police, fire, doctor, dentist, numbers for mine and mr. booksherpa's families, my work, my boss, and my work colleague.
posted by booksherpa at 2:39 PM on October 28, 2012

Sandy Seen From Space
posted by The Whelk at 2:41 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am kind of shocked by the amount of shit lying around in people's backyards right now

Yeah, all the idiots on my block still have a ton of elaborate halloween decorations outside. I look forward to seeing many 3-foot wide fake spiders flying through the air tomorrow.
posted by elizardbits at 2:41 PM on October 28, 2012 [11 favorites]

Amtrak NE corridor is closed tomorrow (October 29th).
posted by carter at 2:42 PM on October 28, 2012

Multiple EMS buses staging at NYU Hospital for evacuation
posted by The Whelk at 2:42 PM on October 28, 2012

OPM says that federal offices in the DC area are officially closed tomorrow.
posted by malthas at 2:45 PM on October 28, 2012

Sandy Seen From Space

Huh? {zooms in picture} Is that dot Felix Baumgartner jumping into the eye of the storm from 200,000 feet up?
posted by Wordshore at 2:45 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Amtrak NE corridor is closed tomorrow (October 29th).

I skipped out of a conference in DC yesterday on the last train out to Boston. I woke up in New Haven to hear workers talking about canceling the late trains tonight, too. I am glad I decided to flee when I did....
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:47 PM on October 28, 2012

elizardbits, people have refrigerator doors lying in their yards. Bicycles. Tables. Chairs. EVERY YARD has a barbecue just sitting there, waiting to become a projectile. And when I was out on the street earlier, there was randomly a half-torn apart bookcase lying on the sidewalk. Only one dude was bothering to tie his garbage cans to his fence rails. Things are going to fly everywhere.

Do you guys think I should bring those giant buckets inside?
posted by brina at 2:47 PM on October 28, 2012

Frankenstorm Bingo (Gothamist)
posted by davidjmcgee at 2:47 PM on October 28, 2012

Email from Mayor Menino advising Bostonians to stay put and off the roads tomorrow. Husband asks: "What time? I need to go to work."

He is absolutely incapable of grasping that there are indeed scenarios where one does NOT go to the office. My brain is exploding trying to explain it to him.
posted by sonika at 2:49 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

DC mefites: Federal Govt closed
posted by troika at 2:49 PM on October 28, 2012

brina: "Do you guys think I should bring those giant buckets inside?"

Do it. Tell the BF it's good exercise. I'd rather have to take 'em back out, than not have them at all...
posted by notsnot at 2:49 PM on October 28, 2012

Also Philly has a 2-day state or emergency - so pretty much everything is closed there (all schools etc.).
posted by carter at 2:50 PM on October 28, 2012

Now I'm hearing that Tao Lin is live blogging the storm. As someone watching this from a distance, I ask only that he get as close as he can.
posted by octobersurprise at 2:50 PM on October 28, 2012 [6 favorites]

Ah, Malthas beat me to it. I even previewed!
posted by troika at 2:50 PM on October 28, 2012

Do you guys think I should bring those giant buckets inside?

My super and his super buddy from across the street are going up and down the block knocking on townhouse doors, telling people to take their decorations in. Dude is getting one hell of an xmas tip I tell you what.
posted by elizardbits at 2:51 PM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

brina, better to bring them in than have the hurricane bring them in.
posted by Solomon at 2:52 PM on October 28, 2012

Do you guys think I should bring those giant buckets inside?

Would you rather bring them inside and then wonder what would have happened, or leave them outside and find out? I'd bring them in.
posted by ambrosia at 2:53 PM on October 28, 2012

Done. Thanks, notsnot.

Oh, and guys. Shower now, or within the next few hours. You might not get a chance for a few days. And then clean out the tub and fill it with water before bedtime.
posted by brina at 2:53 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Is removing our AC something we really need to do? There's not really room anywhere in our house because of the number of pieces of deck furniture we brought inside.

I hope this storm is nothing, especially because there's at least one friend of mine in NYC who refuses to prepare. On the plus side, our living room has no windows--a fact which usually drives me nuts but is a comfort now, if we need to hide from the apocalypse and doom.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 2:53 PM on October 28, 2012

British Airways latest information:

"We have cancelled all flights from London to New York today Sunday 28 October, as a result of Hurricane Sandy.

We have also cancelled several flights from the US to London. If your flight has been cancelled please do not travel to the airport.

On Monday 29 October, we are also cancelling all flights to and from East Coast USA, this includes; New York, Baltimore, Washington, Boston and Philadelphia (with the exception of the BA238 from Boston)."
posted by Wordshore at 2:55 PM on October 28, 2012

Is removing our AC something we really need to do?

What did you do last year?
posted by elizardbits at 2:55 PM on October 28, 2012

Frankenstorm Bingo (Gothamist)

LOL - I especially liked the "Newscaster on the Scene" tile :) Much pity for the poor schmucks that get picked to do that.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 2:56 PM on October 28, 2012

PhoBWanKenobi, if they're like Fedders or other ACs that are meant to be in the slot year-round, I think those sorts of units are fairly locked down. If it's a window unit, you should probably bring it in. If only because the unit might get damaged when a branch hits it during the storm.
posted by brina at 2:56 PM on October 28, 2012

Nice job, booksherpa. Especially cooking the stuff that's raw. That's about what my wife did before Isaac hit and it worked really well in the 4 day no-power aftermath.
posted by localroger at 2:57 PM on October 28, 2012

What did you do last year?

Left it in and didn't think about it at all. Our focus was elsewhere, namely the rapidly flooding crick in our backyard.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 3:00 PM on October 28, 2012

Philly, SEPTA, PATCO closures
posted by carter at 3:00 PM on October 28, 2012

I wonder if they've decided riding out to sea is safer than leaving it at the pier.

from my vast wealth of napoleonic wars/royal navy trivia knowledge i think this is almost always the case, at least with ships of the line.
posted by elizardbits at 3:00 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

> Do you guys think I should bring those giant buckets inside?

Yes. And select yourself a decent barbecue while you're out there.
Beats accumulating fly-buys.
posted by de at 3:01 PM on October 28, 2012

The argument for bringing in window air conditioners is wind based, and this isn't a wind-threat storm. Don't worry about the AC.

spitbull: Deep water is safer for most ships in high winds and heavy waves. I'm not sure if this is really true for cruise ships though because they draw so little water for their size. But the CW is get your big ship to deep water before the storm arrives.
posted by localroger at 3:02 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Almost certainly, spitbull. The storm itself isn't that bad as hurricanes go, and when docked there's risks of everything from flying debris to storm surge fucking with its moorings
posted by rmd1023 at 3:02 PM on October 28, 2012

I wonder if they've decided riding out to sea is safer than leaving it at the pier. Hmmm.

They sent most of the Atlantic-port based naval units out yesterday, I think.

I am beginning to suspect that Sandy is a plot by Prince Namor to render us defenseless from his submarine monsters.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:04 PM on October 28, 2012

I think it is a sign from all the possible gods to cancel the elections and install Obama as President For Life.
posted by elizardbits at 3:05 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

I think it is a sign from all the possible gods

I was texting with a friend this afternoon, and I suggested that we should honor the Old Time Religion by sending Romney and Ryan out in a small boat in Sandy's path. If the storm gods take them, then the storm will be lessened. My friend responded that, if they floated back safely, they could be burned as witches....
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:09 PM on October 28, 2012 [21 favorites]

He is absolutely incapable of grasping that there are indeed scenarios where one does NOT go to the office. My brain is exploding trying to explain it to him.

I work at one of the big hospitals in Boston and whenever there is an approaching storm they send us an email that says something like "you are all essential. Please plan on coming in to work. Make appropriate arrangements with your family."

Yeah right. In a contest between work and my family's/my safety, work loses. I do IT, so it's not like they need me to help patients.

I always wonder if something like that could be considered intimidating. I mean, if you got into an accident driving in to work during a storm, couldn't you use an email like that in court when you sue them?
posted by bondcliff at 3:10 PM on October 28, 2012

‏@candicechoi: Man walking past line to get into NYC grocery store: "It's like a nightclub"

I think the Republicans drummed up this storm with dark weather magick. Let's get this rumor going. "I saw Goodman Ryan sewing a voodoo doll of the East Coast!"
posted by brina at 3:12 PM on October 28, 2012 [7 favorites]

I SAW GOODY ROMNEY WITH THE DEVIL
posted by elizardbits at 3:13 PM on October 28, 2012 [23 favorites]

It's a sign from God that we're burning too many hydrocarbons.
posted by seanmpuckett at 3:14 PM on October 28, 2012 [8 favorites]

When we were heading down to the Battery this morning there were three big cruise ships in dock disembarking passengers and we could see one across the water in NJ likely doing the same thing. There were a bunch of disheveled people catching cabs out there.

When we headed back home, an hour later, the workers on the ship were all heading out too.

We also saw a nice big yacht heading UP the Hudson - confusion, why would they head upstream?
posted by sciencegeek at 3:14 PM on October 28, 2012

A betting market for the apocalypse.
posted by Wordshore at 3:15 PM on October 28, 2012

I was just at my grocery store and it was packed like it usually is right before Thanksgiving. Which makes sense... except I live near Seattle. I guess we're stocking up in sympathy.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:15 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

We also saw a nice big yacht heading UP the Hudson - confusion, why would they head upstream?

Upstream = away from the ocean surf storm surge. The storm will also lose strength as it moves over land.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:17 PM on October 28, 2012

I wonder if they've decided riding out to sea is safer than leaving it at the pier.

All the cruise ships were ordered to leave (actually, all large ships) because the port just closed. There is a German cruise ship up there that requested to stay & was denied permission, they're leaving shortly. It is actually much safer for boats to be underway.

sciencegeek, heading up the Hudson is a smart thing to do - most commercial traffic (as in smaller barges & tugs, not the massive cargo ships) heads up there for safe harbor when NY Port closes.
posted by lyra4 at 3:17 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

A nightclub that when you go in is all BREAD BREAD BREAD BREAD
posted by The Whelk at 3:17 PM on October 28, 2012 [7 favorites]

Any word on trash pickup in New York? Are they doing it early? People on my block have put out their trash like normal on Sunday, which seems like not a great idea.
posted by Jahaza at 3:19 PM on October 28, 2012

Any word on trash pickup in New York? Are they doing it early? People on my block have put out their trash like normal on Sunday, which seems like not a great idea.

NYC is picking up trash like normal on Monday.
posted by Stynxno at 3:20 PM on October 28, 2012

I figured it was something like that, but wasn't sure how far up the river they could get and how far was far enough ....

Metafilter: explaining boats
posted by sciencegeek at 3:20 PM on October 28, 2012

A nightclub that when you go in is all BREAD BREAD BREAD BREAD

so a soviet one then
posted by elizardbits at 3:22 PM on October 28, 2012 [7 favorites]

I wonder if they've decided riding out to sea is safer than leaving it at the pier. Hmmm.


Anyone else reminded of that episode of The West Wing?

Also: we have the first frantic call from family in Portugal! Yes, Tia. We have water. We have flashlights. Yes, Tia. We'll call if we die. Promise.
posted by sonika at 3:23 PM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

Bread was from Los Angeles, not the Soviet Union. Still don't think it's a good idea to play them at a nightclub.
posted by davidjmcgee at 3:23 PM on October 28, 2012

I've seen this upthread a few times, but having two Hurricane Merit Badges myself (Rita and Ike) this can't be said enough times: FILL YOUR BATHTUB.

Good luck everyone.

(If you have one of those bathtubs that tends to slowly leak like I do, pull the plug out and wrap it in cellophane and drop it back in there, then put something heavy on top of it.)
posted by Cyrano at 3:24 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just started sprinkling here in Philly. Ran to the store for milk and eggs, and was surprised (though maybe I shouldn't have been) to see that there were plenty of both, but that the mixers and potato chips were almost entirely picked over.

Similarly, I got back from the supermarket and the sponsored end-cap Hostess/Drake's table (near the dairy section) was empty except a lone box of DevilDogs. It is usually piled high with DevilDogs, RingDings, FunnyBones, CoffeeCakes and Yodels.

I didn't stay long enough to see if there was a consumer fight over it à la the 'Cabbage Patch Christmas Aisle Battles' of years gone by.
posted by ericb at 3:25 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

(Plus it'll be really hilarious when one of your freaking out cats accidentially jumps into it.)
posted by Cyrano at 3:25 PM on October 28, 2012

I am filling my tub right now because it is bath time.
posted by elizardbits at 3:25 PM on October 28, 2012

Checking nightly lows to plan my son's pajamas and iPhone app simply shows rain this week. THANK YOU CAPTAIN OBVIOUS.
posted by sonika at 3:26 PM on October 28, 2012

Advice from Tia: keep your thorax and feet warm!
posted by sonika at 3:26 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

I just deleted my Irene playlist. Dammit.
posted by mountmccabe at 3:27 PM on October 28, 2012

FILL YOUR BATHTUB.

I still remember how we used that bathtub water to fill buckets to flush toilets when the water was turned off after typhoons ... among other uses. Just saying. Not a bad idea to have LOTS of water around ...
posted by Surfurrus at 3:28 PM on October 28, 2012

NYC is picking up trash like normal on Monday.

Ok, then. Hopefully it gets picked up by sanitation before it gets picked up by the wind.
posted by Jahaza at 3:28 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

‏I think the Republicans drummed up this storm with dark weather magick.

no someone found the keys to the GWB weather machine
posted by ninjew at 3:29 PM on October 28, 2012

Also, got through to 311 and they confirmed that trash pickup is on.

Now to see if I can still order pizza.
posted by Jahaza at 3:30 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Serious question, when people are stripping supermarket aisles in preparation for a storm, why do people buy eggs? Are they going to eat them raw? How are eggs useful if you think the power is going out? Have they not heard of beef jerky?
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:33 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

It occurs to me that this could be a major boon to the Obama campaign if played properly (forgive my pragmatism - no disrespect intended to people in the storm). If aid and FEMA support get done really well throughout the area then this could be a major boost for the Democrats - especially if some political operatives leak out comparisons (however inappropriate ) to Katrina. Done poorly (doubtful) this would work the other way of course. I doubt that the Obama campaign principals haven't thought of this already and see it as a fantastic opportunity and are planning appropriately.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 3:35 PM on October 28, 2012

How are eggs useful if you think the power is going out?

Hard boiled
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 3:36 PM on October 28, 2012

Eyebrows McGee: It's a French Toast Emergency!
posted by Miko at 3:37 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

Eyebrows McGee: "Serious question, when people are stripping supermarket aisles in preparation for a storm, why do people buy eggs? Are they going to eat them raw? How are eggs useful if you think the power is going out? Have they not heard of beef jerky?"

My assumption is people aren't thinking the whole thing through: their instinct is "gotta stock up on staples!" not "Need to survive without electricity!"

I hope my toilet doesn't go out because my nonperishables mostly consist of granola bars
posted by dismas at 3:37 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

Also, serious answer time, my stove doesn't need power to work. I can cook right through power outages - lots of people with gas or propane stoves can still cook.
posted by Miko at 3:38 PM on October 28, 2012

why do people buy eggs?

You hard-boil them.
posted by localroger at 3:39 PM on October 28, 2012

Eggs are easy to cook in a pot on a campstove.
posted by Mitheral at 3:39 PM on October 28, 2012

i only ever heard this in reference to snow storms growing up

It was a joke. People always did this, but sometime in I wanna say the late 80s some comedian or other did a routine about it -"Everybody runs and buys bread, eggs, milk. What are they planning to do, make French toast? Hahaha" and it stuck. I wish I could remember who it was and find a video.
posted by Miko at 3:40 PM on October 28, 2012

Are they going to eat them raw? How are eggs useful if you think the power is going out?

Coat them in vaseline? IANYFS.
posted by Jahaza at 3:40 PM on October 28, 2012

Our stove is gas; power going out won't stop the egg cookin'. Right?
posted by mountmccabe at 3:41 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Don't forget the dysentery. All that toilet paper means that you can prepare for FRENCH TOAST AND DYSENTERY!
posted by rmd1023 at 3:41 PM on October 28, 2012

Maybe people are planning to boil the eggs? If not, eggs can handle not being refrigerated better than milk anyway. It's not 90F outside either.
posted by ambrosia at 3:42 PM on October 28, 2012

What would the gross way be? I ask because I will also be grading.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 3:42 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Serious question, when people are stripping supermarket aisles in preparation for a storm, why do people buy eggs?

I bought them this afternoon. Like Miko my stove/oven runs on gas.
posted by ericb at 3:44 PM on October 28, 2012

"... but having two Hurricane Merit Badges myself ..."

Is there any industry, activity or event left that hasn't been mangled by Gamification consultants?
posted by Wordshore at 3:45 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

The gross way would hold that, for angrycat, sex really is as dull as grading papers.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 3:48 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

If any MeFites in Boston or the greater Metro West area needs help removing trees or other plant material from their property after this, send me a MeMail. Or, if you want, MeMail me now and I'll send your my cell.

I have an axe and can run a chainsaw if you own one or could rent one.
posted by Aizkolari at 3:48 PM on October 28, 2012

*gasp* My gas stove may actually still work if the power goes out?

SWEET! I can still make coffee!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:50 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Dish Guide To Disaster Preparedness is at least partially redundant to the many excellent tips in this thread, but still may be worthwhile.
posted by ob1quixote at 3:50 PM on October 28, 2012

Argh, had to sacrifice tickets to a show in Manhattan tonight because no subway. Sort of unbelievable it wasn't cancelled. GRUMBLE.
posted by en forme de poire at 3:51 PM on October 28, 2012

I'm using the eggs to make brownies. Might have to go get more eggs if our rate of brownie consumption persists through the whole storm.
posted by sciencegeek at 3:52 PM on October 28, 2012

> My gas stove may actually still work if the power goes out?

Yes, but you might have to light it with a match. The oven might not work at all, or rather would work and then turn itself off -- it depends on if you have an electric lighting thingy.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:53 PM on October 28, 2012

Use a long kitchen match, or the lit end of a piece of spaghetti, to ignite the gas when you turn on the burner.
posted by SillyShepherd at 3:55 PM on October 28, 2012

Everybody runs and buys bread, eggs, milk.

In Maryland the refrain is "Bread, Milk, and Toilet Paper." The Lottery even had a scratch-off game of the same name, in which a winning ticket consisted of uncovering those three items.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 3:56 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

and then there are always big barrels with fires in them along the streets, eh? (or was that just a movie ...)
posted by Surfurrus at 3:56 PM on October 28, 2012

There is one upside, good thing, about the TV being filled with hurricane warnings, predictions, shots of presenters standing near the shore on a blustery day.

No more Gangnam Style mentions or parodies.

Yes! Erm, what ... no no no no noooooooooooooo...
posted by Wordshore at 3:57 PM on October 28, 2012 [7 favorites]

You can light the oven pilot with a match too. I use a long wooden barbecue skewer (or just one of those long barbecue lighters, back when I had one) because you can get this FOOM! effect which is momentarily scary, but fine. Nice not to be very close to it though.

If you're lucky enough to still have your stove manual kicking around (or can find your stove's model and look it up online) it will usually tell you how to find and light all your pilots. Only when you have electric sparking do you have to do this to light your stove. If your pilot is the kind that burns all the time, usually a power interruption won't affect them at all.
posted by Miko at 3:57 PM on October 28, 2012

My stove has never had a lighting mechanism and the pilots don't work so we just use those long bbq lighters for the oven and for the burners. Do be careful, you can singe your eyelashes if you don't light it promptly after turning the gas on.

Ok, time to make pumpkin bread. I'm totally cheating and using mixes. Don't tell.
posted by sciencegeek at 4:01 PM on October 28, 2012

Man, and I thought us Brits were cool... Crisis? Here, have a cup of tea and a biscuit. And there's you lot making French Toast! And Brownies! Have a good storm already.
posted by marienbad at 4:04 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

I'm sous viding some fajitas and pressure carmalizing some onions.

But I'm not anywhere near the storm..
posted by Lord_Pall at 4:05 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Last year, right before a predicted Blizzard of the Century that totally never materialzed, I went to the store to stock up. I thought to myself "you know what would be awesome? I'll make chocolate chip cookies!" I went to the baking aisle and...ALL the chocolate chips were gone. They were totally sold out.

Here I thought I was all original with that idea, when hundreds of people must have had the same idea.

In general I think the trend is that people are just LOVING having a storm interrupt our busy schedules. Today there was not a thing happening with the weather in coastal Mass., but there's not a soul on the streets. It's totally dead; everyone who could just stayed home. Even though it was just your average gray day. But we're all totally run ragged and when something happens that makes us CANCEL ALL THE THINGS I think we secretly love love love it.
posted by Miko at 4:07 PM on October 28, 2012 [22 favorites]

Just to be clear: everyone now knows how to flush a toilet with a bucket of water, right? That's what you fill the tub for. And threatening to drop annoying cats in said tub when they see fit to howl louder than the wind, that's the other use of the tub full of water.

(WE ARE ALL TOILET SCIENTISTS ON METAFILTER!)

For drinking water, fill gallon jugs, pitchers, anything with a sealable lid. Those giant sports coolers with a spout at the bottom are great for this.
posted by cmyk at 4:08 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ok, I just got about the fourth, "Extreme Threat Alert Message" on my cell phone. They've all said the same thing. It's kind of annoying now.
posted by Jahaza at 4:08 PM on October 28, 2012

There's some kind of unpleasant irony in my power company's sending SMS messages to me saying "It's likely you'll lose power. And it's likely we won't be able to restore your power for quite some time." Great! Another happy customer here.
posted by Miko at 4:11 PM on October 28, 2012

I've just baked up two loaves of sourdough bread. mmmmmm warm sourdough that the butter melts on. And fed my sourdough starter... maybe I'll make another round tomorrow, all that kneading is actually a very good outlet for stress. ;)

Off to fill up a bathtub now that I am a member of the Metafilter Toilet Scientist Brigade.
posted by lyra4 at 4:12 PM on October 28, 2012

I have only gotten one of those! It was a little surprising.
posted by mountmccabe at 4:12 PM on October 28, 2012

MetaFilter: I meant that in a sarcastic way. Not in a gross way.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:14 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm in central NY where the forecast is rain & heavy wind (40-50mph), so, power outages, trees down, etc. I have bottled water, hard boiled eggs, trail mix ... and a full tank of gas because the most likely crappy outcome is that I'll get mandated to go in to work (I'm a nurse). I'll be taking an overnight bag and leaving extra food and water down for the cats.
posted by shiny blue object at 4:17 PM on October 28, 2012

Wawa was totally sold out muffins but there was still Mac and Cheese, so I guess it's not the end of the world yet.

The rivers are already high, though, and I'm off for two days because librarians are non-essential personnel, whooo!
posted by jetlagaddict at 4:17 PM on October 28, 2012

I have an axe and can run a chainsaw if you own one or could rent one.
posted by Aizkolari at 11:48 PM on October 28 [+] [!]

Vasconysterical.
posted by Jehan at 4:18 PM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

I am pestering one of my friends in NYC. "Do you know your evacuation zone? It's C, that's for category 3 or 4, which you probably won't get, but know your zone anyway. Where is your manual can opener? Do you have bleach? Fill your bathtub. I don't care if you and your parents before you have lived in that same apartment since the Nixon administration and have never had weather affect your plumbing. FILL THE TUB. HUMOR ME. If it's a mandatory evac and you do not leave I will get up there somehow and drag you out of the apartment by your ankles and put you on an orca shaped pool float and tow you to a safe place."

Things like this may be why she thinks I need to get out of Florida.

Also: top up the gas tank. Doesn't matter if you're not going anywhere - you can use your car as a gadget charging station if you're out of power for a significant length of time.
posted by cmyk at 4:29 PM on October 28, 2012

Is there any sort of ETA on when we expect the storm surge to hit the New York coast? (Or DC for that matter?) I'm trying to decide if I'm paranoid enough to bring my emergency stockpile upstairs, or if that kind of panicking can wait until the morning.
posted by Andrhia at 4:31 PM on October 28, 2012

*adds a joke about Jersey here*

Ha.
posted by mintcake! at 4:32 PM on October 28, 2012

My husband sees no need to fill the bathtub, despite my reminders that while he may be a mechanical engineer, he is no toilet scientist.
posted by teragram at 4:33 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

you can use your car as a gadget charging station if you're out of power for a significant length of time.

If you own a Prius you can use it to power your house.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 4:33 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

Oh man, having a gas fireplace was a lifesaver during a three-day power outage. Sure, the blower didn't work but the living room was toasty-warm that January. Usually it's just a thing I love that works with the central system. Having a gas-powered source of heat is a backup I wouldn't be without if I could help it.

It didn't keep my grouchy old Dad from bitching about lack of TV. At least he wasn't bitching about being cold too.

Wishing you all the best, from the West.
posted by wallabear at 4:36 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Is there any sort of ETA on when we expect the storm surge to hit the New York coast? (Or DC for that matter?)

Yeah, there is...8 PMish tomorrow will be the highest. You can see the link I posted up thread for predictions on times & amounts; high tides tomorrow are about 9 AM and 8 PM on Monday.

This is run by Stevens Institute in Hoboken NJ:
Urban Ocean Observatory at the Center for Maritime Systems Storm Surge Warning System
posted by lyra4 at 4:38 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

Wow, just now reading Bloomberg's announcements about evacuations from Long Island City, Coney Island and elsewhere. Man, that's gotta be a traffic and logistical nightmare, no?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:40 PM on October 28, 2012

The beach at Long Beach (south shore of Long Island) is completely covered with water now, the ocean is at (but not up to) the boardwalk as of 6:00p. It hasn't even rained here yet.

Link to photo I took

I left since we were all told there's no southbound traffic over the three bridges and I don't want my car to flood. There were state police and cones across both entrances to the Loop Parkway, so looks like I'm not getting back home for a bit.

Anyone staying in LB, Atlantic Beach, Lido Beach or Point Lookout, updates would be super appreciated.
posted by Brian Puccio at 4:43 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

But will you make it fizzy afterwards?
posted by elizardbits at 4:47 PM on October 28, 2012

NYT:

One city official said there was particular concern about Con Edison’s Lower Manhattan infrastructure, noting that if the storm surge washed over the bulkheads, it could damage the utility’s electrical and steam networks. If the surge runs as high as forecast, Con Ed will shut off two electrical networks in Lower Manhattan, known as the Fulton and Beekman networks, the official said.

“We’re looking at two networks in Lower Manhattan,” the official said. “If storm comes to a point where it’s going to endanger the infrastructure, they’d rather save the system than make the system broke.” The official added: “It all depends on the surge; if it goes to what it’s predicted for, that’s when it will happen.”
posted by futz at 4:47 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

why was the subway shut down tonight if the storm isn't coming till tomorrow night? not being complainy just curious.
posted by sweetkid at 4:49 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I would assume there is storm prep to do that will take some time.
posted by restless_nomad at 4:50 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Vodka be with you, everybody.

Vodka bless us, everyone.
posted by The Whelk at 4:50 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Man, that's gotta be a traffic and logistical nightmare, no?

I was curious about this too and checked traffic on google maps, and it really doesn't look any worse than normal. It looks pretty good actually. (I'm talking about places like the bridges, I-87, the BQE, etc.) I think people aren't flooding out of the city, but just moving in with friends who aren't in the evac areas.
posted by torticat at 4:51 PM on October 28, 2012

No Metrorail or bus for the DC area tomorrow - it's pretty unusual for Metro to cancel service completely. I've lived here since 2001 and can't recall it ever happening for a weather event. (Yay, sleeping in for me, since the WMATA offices are closed too.)
posted by timetoevolve at 4:52 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

If you own a Prius you can use it to power your house.

Ironically.
posted by Wordshore at 4:53 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

If the surge runs as high as forecast, Con Ed will shut off two electrical networks in Lower Manhattan, known as the Fulton and Beekman networks, the official said.

Interesting. I wonder how you find out which network you're on?
posted by elizardbits at 4:54 PM on October 28, 2012

THE CENTER OF SANDY IS FORECAST TO BE NEAR THE
MID-ATLANTIC COAST MONDAY NIGHT.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 75 MPH...120 KM/H...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. SANDY IS EXPECTED TO TRANSITION INTO A FRONTAL OR WINTERTIME
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM PRIOR TO LANDFALL. HOWEVER...THIS TRANSITION
WILL NOT BE ACCOMPANIED BY A WEAKENING OF THE SYSTEM...AND IN
FACT...A LITTLE STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE DURING THIS PROCESS.
SANDY IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN AFTER MOVING INLAND.
posted by futz at 4:54 PM on October 28, 2012

SURGE-RELATED FLOODING DEPENDS ON THE RELATIVE TIMING OF THE SURGE
AND THE TIDAL CYCLE...AND CAN VARY GREATLY OVER SHORT DISTANCES.
GIVEN THE LARGE WIND FIELD ASSOCIATED WITH SANDY...ELEVATED WATER
LEVELS COULD SPAN MULTIPLE TIDE CYCLES RESULTING IN REPEATED AND
EXTENDED PERIODS OF COASTAL AND BAYSIDE FLOODING. IN ADDITION...
ELEVATED WATERS COULD OCCUR FAR REMOVED FROM THE CENTER OF SANDY.
FURTHERMORE...THESE CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR REGARDLESS OF WHETHER
SANDY IS A TROPICAL OR POST-TROPICAL CYCLONE. FOR INFORMATION
SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...PLEASE SEE PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.
posted by futz at 4:55 PM on October 28, 2012

Things to do while riding out the hurricane. Imagine you're filing a severe weather report e.g. "It's very moist tonite in..." from a rural British place.
posted by Wordshore at 4:56 PM on October 28, 2012

why was the subway shut down tonight if the storm isn't coming till tomorrow night? not being complainy just curious.

They say it takes 8 hours to shut down the entire system. This way, they shut the system down without early morning rush hour to worry about. Also, probably a shift change or something makes it easier to shut it down tonight.
posted by Stynxno at 4:56 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

why was the subway shut down tonight if the storm isn't coming till tomorrow night? not being complainy just curious.

1- They don't want people going to work Monday morning and getting trapped on Manhattan screaming about how nobody loves them.

2- It's easier to shut everything down at night when service is lower. They have to take time to get all the trains wherever they get stored, and that's likely impossible in the middle of a Monday when all the trains are out of the garage.
posted by gjc at 4:58 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

Tropical force winds will blow dead twigs off of trees, blow leaves around, and blow around small debris, but nothing really heavy.

Your biggest worry, I think, is going to be the threat of flooding.

Here, in tropical-storm-force winds, the kids make sails out of plastic bags, get out the scooters or skates and have fun flying around the driveways.
posted by misha at 4:59 PM on October 28, 2012

They also have to bar the entrances to the subway. Takes time.
posted by futz at 4:59 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

thanks. I think it's confused people to thinking the storm is coming any minute now.
posted by sweetkid at 5:00 PM on October 28, 2012

I think people aren't flooding out of the city

I see what you did there.
posted by scratch at 5:00 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

> Interesting. I wonder how you find out which network you're on?

Well, at a certain point I guess it becomes obvious. Oh, but wait, you won't have power to see the updates about which networks are down. The irony!
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:00 PM on October 28, 2012

Is there any industry, activity or event left that hasn't been mangled by Gamification consultants?

*ahem*
posted by Cyrano at 5:01 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah but that's been mangled by organizational homophobia.
posted by elizardbits at 5:03 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

Here is a seemingly useful Google Maps page that someone compiles with a great deal of useful mapped NY area emergency information about the storm
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 5:03 PM on October 28, 2012

That is literally the best omen for this storm that I can think of.

I saw Sandy at the trader Joes. Her hair was perfect.
posted by The Whelk at 5:03 PM on October 28, 2012 [7 favorites]

Tropical storm force wind preparation means take down the wind chimes, bring in that delicate African violet, and be very sure that the newspaper is not going to blow out of the recycle bin. No big deal.
posted by cmyk at 5:03 PM on October 28, 2012

> Interesting. I wonder how you find out which network you're on?

Well, at a certain point I guess it becomes obvious. Oh, but wait, you won't have power to see the updates about which networks are down. The irony!

Just in case this hasn't already been shared: Con Ed storm center (mobile link)
posted by mintcake! at 5:03 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hopefully, this link works. Six feet above high tide could get ugly.
posted by gjc at 5:04 PM on October 28, 2012

Tropical force winds will blow dead twigs off of trees, blow leaves around, and blow around small debris, but nothing really heavy.

Tropical force winds are as high as 74 miles per hour. Nothing to scoff at.
posted by futz at 5:04 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I mentioned before that I was in Boy Scouts over 45 years ago and my experience was ruined, not by organizational homophobia (or organizational pedophilia), but specifically by Gamification of the Merit Badge process... but they did not need consultants to do it. YMMV.
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:05 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Weater dot com severe weather page is ... confusing.
posted by Wordshore at 5:06 PM on October 28, 2012

Tropical force winds are just kinda fun. They will knock down the occasional tree or branch, though. I have been through them a few times.

If I were you guys I would be concerned more about the water.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:11 PM on October 28, 2012

Tropical force winds are as high as 74 miles per hour. Nothing to scoff at

That's true. On the other hand, the Santa Ana winds here in the Los Angeles area top that and I'm guessing the rest of the country never even hears about it. I believe the winds gusted to 81mph a few days ago.
posted by Justinian at 5:12 PM on October 28, 2012

St. Alia, they are telling us that the winds will be the problem.
posted by sweetkid at 5:12 PM on October 28, 2012

Well, here I am in Boston...filled my gas tank Friday, but didn't go to grocery store,etc til today. I am well set on staples, but could not find D batteries anywhere (my fucking flashlight takes D's, and they are Dead). I have a battery radio with a built in flashlight and plenty of candles tho, so all is OK.
I also have plans to show face at work tomorrow then cut out early.
posted by maryrussell at 5:13 PM on October 28, 2012

They are predicting sustained winds of 75 mph.
posted by futz at 5:15 PM on October 28, 2012

futz: Tropical force winds will blow dead twigs off of trees, blow leaves around, and blow around small debris, but nothing really heavy.

Tropical force winds are as high as 74 miles per hour. Nothing to scoff at.

Not scoffing, just speaking from experience.
posted by misha at 5:15 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Does anyone else get a headache and become nauseous from the low pressure? Irene did the same thing to me. Ugh..sucks...

Perhaps I've simply OD-ed on El Bloombergo?
posted by Skygazer at 5:15 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

Yeah, I've been migrainey all day and it shows no sign of letting up. I have Meniere's, though, which always seems to be affected by barometric pressure somehow. Stupid ears.
posted by elizardbits at 5:17 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

heads up, Chicago:

THE REMNANTS OF NOW HURRICANE SANDY WILL MOVE TO THE EASTERN GREAT LAKES BY WEDNESDAY. DUE TO THE LARGE SIZE OF THIS STORM SYSTEM...A PROLONGED PERIOD OF STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS ARE FORECAST TO DEVELOP ON AND NEAR LAKE MICHIGAN FROM LATE MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. WINDS COULD GUST AS HIGH AS 60 MPH NEAR THE LAKE MICHIGAN SHORE. THESE STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS WILL ALLOW WAVES TO QUICKLY BUILD ACROSS THE SOUTHERN END OF THE LAKE...WITH WAVE HEIGHTS REACHING 18 TO 24 FEET BY TUESDAY. THESE LARGE WAVES WILL LIKELY IMPACT AREAS IMMEDIATELY NEAR THE LAKE...INCLUDING LAKE SHORE FLOODING AND BEACH EROSION LATE MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

24ft swells. on Lake Michigan. plus those winds.. I may actually lose power. out here in the woods, my subdivision is kinda new and our transmission lines seem vulnerable to heavy weather.
posted by ninjew at 5:18 PM on October 28, 2012

dear chicago, this is happening to you because shakespeherian has done bad things.
posted by elizardbits at 5:20 PM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

Wait what? I thought we lived through our part of Frankenstorm2012 last night, when the temperature dropped like a hundred degrees in two hours while I was at an outdoor marching band competition, for the love of pete. We gotta live through it twice? Crap. Breaking out the wine in solidarity, you East Coasters. Nastrovia.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 5:26 PM on October 28, 2012

dear chicago, this is happening to you because shakespeherian has done bad things.

No it's part of my weather machine plot to keep him home and writing more CYOABC chapters.
posted by The Whelk at 5:29 PM on October 28, 2012

Weather warnings for the Midwest, now? May the Walmart panic buying and food preparation begin...
posted by Wordshore at 5:30 PM on October 28, 2012

Metafilter: Proud sponsor of the Toilet Scientist Brigade
posted by Otherwise at 5:32 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

That's true. On the other hand, the Santa Ana winds here in the Los Angeles area top that and I'm guessing the rest of the country never even hears about it. I believe the winds gusted to 81mph a few days ago.

Because the raging, wide-spread fires make bigger headlines.
posted by lkc at 5:32 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'll note this: ConEd was not putting plywood over their Financial District vents Friday-Sunday as was MTA - at least the ones that I interact with. Draw your own conclusions.
posted by sciencegeek at 5:33 PM on October 28, 2012

I also have plans to show face at work tomorrow then cut out early.

Both Governor Patrick and Mayor Menino have advised everyone to stay home if possible and for the love of Gourd, stay off the roads. I don't have links to emails, but I swear on quonsar's fishpants that this is 100% true facts.
posted by sonika at 5:34 PM on October 28, 2012

Jersey City police are rolling slowly through the neighborhood here announcing mandatory evacuations for all ground & 1st floor apartments over their loudspeakers. No cars on the town's roads after 2 PM.
posted by lyra4 at 5:34 PM on October 28, 2012

dear chicago, this is happening to you because shakespeherian has done bad things.

THEY NEVER PROVED IT

THOSE DOGS MAY HAVE DRESSED THEMSELVES AS ED GEIN
posted by shakespeherian at 5:35 PM on October 28, 2012 [17 favorites]

I know this is basically inappropriate, but from where I sit in California, I'm feeling kind of left out. :(

Hope everything goes okay for all y'all.
posted by mudpuppie at 5:37 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

We'll send you a nice gift wrapped earthquake mudpuppie
posted by The Whelk at 5:38 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

It's quite odd not hearing the subway running outside ( I live a couple hundred yards from the elevated portion of the 1 line at 125th Street). I've made a caponata and roasted a small pile of veggies and baked a cake.

DID YOU HEAR ME, ELIZARDBITS, CAKE?!1??
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 5:39 PM on October 28, 2012

dude you practically live in upstate new york though
posted by elizardbits at 5:42 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm cooking game hens so I can pick at the bones in the dark with my bare hands and throw the remains into a pile in the corner of the room as nature intended.
posted by The Whelk at 5:42 PM on October 28, 2012 [9 favorites]

So next summer we can look forward to a little baby boomlet in late July and early August? I wonder how many kids are going to be named "Sandy."
posted by ambrosia at 5:43 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

@capitalweather:
Weather geeks: WeatherBell site which has GREAT model graphics has lifted its paywall for #Sandy. Explore: models.weatherbell.com

posted by zennie at 5:49 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

So next summer we can look forward to a little baby boomlet in late July and early August?

Nope.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 5:50 PM on October 28, 2012

I know this is basically inappropriate, but from where I sit in California, I'm feeling kind of left out. :(

New York Mefites make people feel this way.
posted by sweetkid at 5:51 PM on October 28, 2012 [6 favorites]

Sorry about that, Eliziardbits. Meniere's sounds like it truly blows, I just read up on it a bit to see if I may have it as well, and perhaps I might. It's either that or possibly Syphilis, but I digress...
posted by Skygazer at 5:52 PM on October 28, 2012

St. Alia of the Bunnies: "Tropical force winds are just kinda fun. They will knock down the occasional tree or branch, though. I have been through them a few times.

If I were you guys I would be concerned more about the water."

"the occasional tree" can be pretty significant, I can tell you. This is such a widespread wind field, it's going to wreak havoc across a huge swath of the eastern seaboard and beyond.

I have four siblings living in the NYC area, and I don't think they take it seriously enough. I mean, I'm sure they'll be in solid buildings that won't blow over in the wind or be engulfed in water, but the other ramifications could potentially screw with their lives for days and days.

Down here, I'm still looking to be in for a good deal of snow. In this latest map of projected snowfall, I'm in one of the white areas. Again, we'll see how it pans out. WV looks like it's going to get hammered with snow.
posted by Red Loop at 5:54 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Low barometric pressure is a major migraine trigger for a lot of people -- definitely for me. I just talked to a friend of mine who recently moved to New York, and who also gets migraines, and we both started feeling manky right around 5:00.

(I also have a friend in Ohio who almost invariably gets migraines a day or two before I do, as I get the weather systems that hit her earlier.)
posted by Jeanne at 5:57 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

We have cake here, but we're in New Jersey which is even worse.

right now I'm arguing with my housemate about whether I am going to work tomorrow. (My office closes for nothing and i don't want to waste a vacation day.)
posted by Karmakaze at 5:58 PM on October 28, 2012

This whole thing now has me concerned about a corner of my brain that remembers reading a Crichton-style thriller (when I was probably, like, 14) about a seekret government weather program which ends up sending the world into the next ice-age. Nuclear reactors off the coast of Nova Scotia or something. I don't think it was ever a movie, but if it was it would have Charleton Heston in it.
posted by maxwelton at 5:59 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

There are a fair amount of people on the NYC reddit who say they live in Zome A and aren't leaving. You can't reason with stupid.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:00 PM on October 28, 2012

ambrosia: "So next summer we can look forward to a little baby boomlet in late July and early August? I wonder how many kids are going to be named "Sandy.""

We were on our honeymoon during the '03 blackout in Toronto and staying in an 18th floor hotel room without air conditioning or running water in August really wasn't very romantic.
posted by octothorpe at 6:01 PM on October 28, 2012

I feel like if the governor and president both say my state is one of emergency, I shouldn't have to take this midterm tomorrow.
posted by dismas at 6:02 PM on October 28, 2012 [6 favorites]

There are a fair amount of people on the NYC reddit who say they live in Zome A and aren't leaving.

Well, to be fair that somewhat depends on where they are and how well stocked they are. If they're on the 30th floor of a modern highrise, with many gallons of water, lots of food, and flashlights... and intend to stay indoors... they're probably fine. They might be hanging out inside waiting for the flooding to recede for a while, but it's not likely to kill them unless they do something stupid.
posted by lyra4 at 6:03 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

I had a migraine this morning around 9:30am. I had no idea that barometric pressure was one of my triggers. Neat.
posted by sciencegeek at 6:04 PM on October 28, 2012

I'm in Delaware County, PA, just a few miles out of Philly (just moved from the city in August).We are expected to take a big hit from this storm. Kids are stoked, school's already canceled.
posted by Mister_A at 6:05 PM on October 28, 2012

There are a fair amount of people on the NYC reddit who say they live in Zome A and aren't leaving. You can't reason with stupid.

Didn't they shut off the heat and water to public housing in Zone A in order to get people out?
posted by The Whelk at 6:08 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Shut off heat and water to public housing? That's nuts. Not to mention probably illegal in 20 different ways.

Even El Bloombergero can't do that....
posted by Skygazer at 6:10 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

can someone please let me in on the bad spanish/bloomberg joke?

He's bad-lingual, and it often shows.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:15 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

sio: Here you go.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:15 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

Cue question on AskMeFi any minute now:

"My SO is agreeing with his friends on Reddit that we aren't going to evacuate our basement apartment in Zone A. I say we go. What should I do, MetaFilter hive mind. Also: SO snores."

Followed within 5 minutes by 20+ comments:

"OMG he's on Reddit?! Throw everything into your car, DTMFA, and drive drive drive west."
posted by Wordshore at 6:16 PM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

I am pestering one of my friends in NYC. "Do you know your evacuation zone? It's C, that's for category 3 or 4, which you probably won't get, but know your zone anyway. Where is your manual can opener? Do you have bleach...."

Things like this may be why she thinks I need to get out of Florida.

*snerk* Presenting an actual conversation I had this afternoon when I was calling my friends with some "good luck riding this storm out" calls -

ME: So, I was calling to check in and see how you were doing for storm prep.

PH: (scoffs) Dude, I was raised in Florida. This is nothing.

ME: Yeah, probably - I didn't really start taking it seriously until they announced they're shutting down the subways tonight.

PH: (long pause) ....They're what?

He honestly didn't know about that; he doesn't own TV or a radio and had just woken up. Good thing i called.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:17 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

Estoy muy importante!
posted by zerobyproxy at 6:17 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wow, that's unbelieveable.

You're correct Whelk-y...NYCHA Residents In Zone A Must Evacuate by 7PM Tonight


El Ka-Bloomberg is muy muy all-powerful.
posted by Skygazer at 6:17 PM on October 28, 2012

I thought it was just me! Headache here, too. Mostly very pressure-y feeling in my eyes/ears/head. I think it's pissing my seven week old baby off as well, as she's been wanting to eat all evening - I'm thinking it helps her feel better. She did the growth spurt thing earlier this week, so yeah, it has been tons of fun around here lately.
posted by smalls at 6:18 PM on October 28, 2012

El Ka-Bloomberg is all-powerful

Bring me Superman's non-union Mecian equivalent!
posted by The Whelk at 6:22 PM on October 28, 2012

If any MeFite is in the Evacuation Zone and needs a place to sleep, I have an extra bed. It's a single bed, in my living room and I sleep in the same room. I'm in Hell's Kitchen, typical 5 story walk-up, so the place is tiny but it's a place to crash during the storm, if needed.
posted by nickyskye at 6:23 PM on October 28, 2012 [6 favorites]

Dang. My husband and I (we are just in NC) woke up with headaches this morning and he said it was from low pressure. I wasn't sure I believed him but he said he recognized the feeling-similar to altitude sickness. So, it's A Thing.

And yes, I repent, sustained tropical force winds are also A Thing. It's been awhile since I've had to deal with such.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:25 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've also had a headache that's been impervious to medication and caffeine. Thanks yet again, Sandy!
posted by Aquifer at 6:25 PM on October 28, 2012

They've shut off the elevator in my building here in downtown NYC, for safety reasons. Now I hear my neighbors, who've apparently planned a Halloween party for their kids, bouncing strollers up and down the stairway to the fourth floor.
posted by StickyCarpet at 6:26 PM on October 28, 2012

Oh, and re those forced evacuations-do those people in public housing have anywhere to go? Shutting off power and heat really seems like a crappy thing to do, although I understand the reasoning.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:26 PM on October 28, 2012

I had a headache too. I'm included! I'm included!
posted by mudpuppie at 6:28 PM on October 28, 2012

El Bloombito: Vamos con su vamos bag to un sheltero!

That's not only fun to say, it's piss your pants level funny...

{Or is that another symptom of low barometric pressure? /Shrug}
posted by Skygazer at 6:28 PM on October 28, 2012

Yes me also with the headache and a really bad earache. Also included, me.
posted by brina at 6:30 PM on October 28, 2012

Oh, and re those forced evacuations-do those people in public housing have anywhere to go?

They're providing shuttles to shelters (PDF) in public schools. Not much warning, though.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:31 PM on October 28, 2012

If you have nowhere to go and are evacuated, they take you to designated shelters.
posted by Aquifer at 6:31 PM on October 28, 2012

bondcliff: "Some of us won't STFU about the Blizzard of '78. When a storm fucks stuff up, people remember."

The mister keeps mentioning Hurricane Hazel from 1954. He was 3 1/2 years old and his family was living just outside of Toronto, ON. He recalls being outside dancing in the rain with his older brothers, while naked. His mother was not amused. A little later that day, after they were all safely inside, their chimney collapsed. Yes, people remember.

PS: Also feeling left out. We even missed out on the earthquake here in BC. However, they are promising a pretty bad winter, so there's hope yet for some sort of disaster drama.
posted by deborah at 6:32 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

They've shut off the elevator in my building here in downtown NYC, for safety reasons.

Oh man, strollers and no elevators. Last power outage we had was due to brownouts from the heat last summer... there was a forest of strollers abandoned in our building's lobby.

I walk up the stairs in my building at least once every other day or so as a workout (more than 25 flights up, I freely admit I am crazy) so... yay more workouts? Seriously, it is very good exercise. I don't get working out in the gym for 45 minutes and then taking the elevator back up; seems more logical to do 35 minutes in the gym & up the stairs. (This is where some scientist type on MeFi breaks my bubble and tells me I have this all wrong (; )
posted by lyra4 at 6:32 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

On halloween and liquor and food.
posted by Wordshore at 6:33 PM on October 28, 2012

The headache is annoying as fuck, but I think it's also a natural sort of early warning system to head to higher territory...I imagine it's also what warns animals to move away from hurricanes.

Isn't nature amazing.
posted by Skygazer at 6:35 PM on October 28, 2012

You guys are being super negative if you ask me.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:36 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Madon, what an idiot.
posted by sweetkid at 6:36 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am already so damn bored by this hurricane shit. Probably cuz I'm sick and can't drink whiskey.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:44 PM on October 28, 2012

New Hampshire checking in here. We've got an especially tricky electrical problem because after the big ice storm in 2008, the wires were patched together hastily. Also: some foliage remains on the trees which can drag branches down onto the wires. Almost certainly we will lose power. The wind and rain we're not so worried about -- it's the potential for loss of power for many days.

Refreshing Pro Tip: Fill the unused space in your freezer with plastic containers of filtered water. If you lose power, move a few of them to the fridge to keep your perishables happy. Plus: when it melts, you have ice-cold refreshing filtered water. Keep some survival limes handy for extra-festive hydration. Plus plus: the limes have a nice citrusy smell that counteracts the stale smell of the power being out and the general sogginess.

Another Pro Tip I've Learned The Hard Way: Flashlights that take hard-to-get batteries are useless in a power outage. D cells sell out instantly from local stores, and smaller lights that take a CR123A battery are a non-starter. Always try to find flashlights that take AA size batteries, such as the Eternalight or Mag or Fenix flashlights. Although the D cell shelf (and the C cell one, come to think of it) was stripped bare when I went to buy extra batteries on Friday, the AA batteries had hardly been touched. Avoid cheap LED lights -- a good quality LED flashlight can use these batteries very efficiently, so two 8-packs will last for weeks. The cheap ones just throw the batteries across ballast resistors the the LEDS. The good ones strobe the LEDs, keeping them cool and using less current. Some even have voltage boosters that keep the light bright until the battery is exhausted completely.

Before the lights go out, find your favorite games and put them in a place where you can get to them. Get out those dice! Being in the dark can be exciting. Provided you're safe, that is. Be safe!
posted by SteelyDuran at 6:44 PM on October 28, 2012 [12 favorites]

Probably cuz I'm sick and can't drink whiskey.

Well what kind of sick because
posted by sweetkid at 6:46 PM on October 28, 2012 [6 favorites]

Does anyone else get a headache and become nauseous from the low pressure? Irene did the same thing to me. Ugh..sucks...

Yes! I actually get a headache whenever the weather turns rainy, or whenever a cold front moves in. I find it difficult to do anything, and actually become mildly depressed. It's pretty terrible, and my family doctor says it has something to do with baroreceptors, although not much is understood about the condition.

The only way I can combat it is by taking Ibuprofen.
posted by KokuRyu at 6:49 PM on October 28, 2012

1- The landlord rules about water and heat probably don't apply if there is a mandatory evacuation underway. And doing so may save the systems should flooding occur.

2- The Santa Ana winds are different because they happen predictably every year and the region is acclimated to it. Hurricanes on the East coast aren't as frequent.

3- Probably too late now, but Costco had some great LED flashlights that take three AA batteries and are bright as hell. One of them pointed at the ceiling provides adequate lighting, even for reading.
posted by gjc at 6:50 PM on October 28, 2012

SteelyDuran - even though I've read so much disasteriana that I suffer from Survival Fatigue, I'd never seen that ice tip and it's an excellent one.

Always try to find flashlights that take AA size batteries, such as the Eternalight or Mag

You made me feel better about my Mini Mag, which I refilled today. I was thinking "Gee maybe I should get some Ds" yesterday, but they were sold out where I was. I usually get new Ds only before camping trips where I'm bringing the light. The Mini Mag is brighter anyway.

You are a true Pro.
posted by Miko at 6:50 PM on October 28, 2012

Potomac Avenue, I've had a persistent bronchitis for days, and I've had too much tylenol to drink anything alcoholic. I raise a sympathetic glass of water to you.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 6:50 PM on October 28, 2012

Seconding the low-pressure woes: I normally have some pretty bad allergies this time of year because of the rag-weed, and low-pressure stuff during the hurricane season seems to greatly aggravate my inner ears, making me woozy and tired and slightly nausated. Not good. Loratidine helps with the histamines, but I'll try ibuprofen and see if that doesn't improve things.
posted by SteelyDuran at 6:51 PM on October 28, 2012

My headache was yesterday. those of you suffering - try treating it like a sinus headache. I used a shot of some OTC sinus inhaler thing that had capsaicin in it and it worked nearly instantly to unstuff things, and within an hour the headache was abating.

Today I just feel way full because I had like two huge apples and a pear for breakfast and I think it was way more fruit than I'm used to somehow because I've felt full and logy all day.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:52 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Federal govt, DC govt, and DC schools are closed Monday.
posted by OmieWise at 6:52 PM on October 28, 2012

Another hurricane headache here. Thanks for mentioning the AC, PhoBWanKenobi; I hadn't thought of that, and have now taken ours down.

We've got our pile, and will see what happens. Still need to fill the tub, but I figure we'll do that just before bed.
posted by ocherdraco at 6:53 PM on October 28, 2012

Nuwnenuw ne nuuuu...what's up folks?
posted by vrakatar at 6:53 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've been headachey today. Thanks, thought it was just me.
posted by Miko at 6:54 PM on October 28, 2012

Just drove home from MV, saw big fleets of electric trucks going north, national gaurd moving equip around as well.
posted by vrakatar at 6:54 PM on October 28, 2012

"the occasional tree" can be pretty significant, I can tell you. This is such a widespread wind field, it's going to wreak havoc across a huge swath of the eastern seaboard and beyond.

We've had widespread damage in Queens from tornado force winds twice in three years. Downed branches, uprooted trees, houses and cars damaged, etc.

We have a high population density, aging infrastructure and a lot of old, large trees. Worth taking seriously.
posted by zarq at 6:55 PM on October 28, 2012

Well, I didn't have a headache, but power of suggestion, I guess, because after reading the past 20+ comments about it my head is throbbing. Thanks, MeFi!
posted by TurkishGolds at 6:55 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

About cell phones - if you have a land line - turn them off until you need them. If you lose power - turn them off until it's an emergency. Pop out the battery, stick both battery and cell phone in a zip lock.

If you're computer is on a battery back up, disconnect everything from the battery (apc ups/etc), keep the ups plugged in, use it for emergency cell phone and radio.

The wireless companies will likely keep most of their towers going, if they lose some they have been prepping for this storm since it first made news and mobile cell sites are already staged with all major providers.

Save you cell phone batteries for when you or a neighbor need it, you will likely be without power longer than you will be without cell service if it comes to that.

If you can't make calls, don't be surprised, use text messages, calls take WAY too much data and require real time QoS settings on the provider networks. Use SMS or if it comes down to it, chat applications.
posted by iamabot at 6:55 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

Moderate butter in the freezer, handle of Makers at the ready, charging emergency radio now.
posted by vrakatar at 6:55 PM on October 28, 2012

This is way cool. Listen to this video. It's the Hudson River Harbor live cam with excellent sounds of intense winds whistling and buffeting. It will be a good one to watch tomorrow, Monday.
posted by nickyskye at 6:56 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

My headache was yesterday. those of you suffering - try treating it like a sinus headache. I used a shot of some OTC sinus inhaler thing that had capsaicin in it and it worked nearly instantly to unstuff things, and within an hour the headache was abating.

Ah! I thought it was a lack of caffeine! Thanks for the reminder.
posted by zarq at 6:56 PM on October 28, 2012

Thanks, Miko! We've been clobbered a few times here in NH, and once while visiting a friend in CT (which became a longer stay as we set up generators and hired people to cut the fallen tree of his shed, etc.) so it's been a long learning process. I'm a normally over-prepared guy who carries a lot in his pockets including my glowy blue Eternalight. It's the most comforting thing ever to carry a light.
posted by SteelyDuran at 6:57 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, i read that a lot of the barometric-pressure headaches can be connected to stuffed-up sinuses - if your sinuses are stuffy then the air inside gets trapped, and if there's a drop in the air pressure outside then there's a difference between inside and outside your head and that can cause some of the pain.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:58 PM on October 28, 2012

handle of Makers at the ready
posted by The Whelk at 7:01 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

Cell phones: If you have a car, and a car charger, you can charge them if you have to. Cars are enormous source of energy, heat, and light.
posted by SteelyDuran at 7:03 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

BTW I have a wind-up flashlight thing that comes in really handy during power outages. No battery, no electricity, just wind up and go. Might be a little late for you folks but thought I would throw that out there for next time.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 7:03 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

We've been clobbered a few times here in NH,

I was there for the 2008 ice storm, in Portsmouth. One of the more memorable and lesson-filled experiences of my life, 6 days w/o power!
posted by Miko at 7:04 PM on October 28, 2012

- if your sinuses are stuffy then the air inside gets trapped, and if there's a drop in the air pressure outside then there's a difference between inside and outside your head and that can cause some of the pain.

You can simulate this by going on an international flight while recovering from a head cold. Ouch.
posted by ceribus peribus at 7:04 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

So, does natural gas (for heat, for stoves, etc) ever get shut off during a storm like this? I have no clue how that works.
posted by zennie at 7:05 PM on October 28, 2012

Oh yeah, I've been wanting the hand crank flashlight and also the hand crank radio. Christmas list.
posted by Miko at 7:06 PM on October 28, 2012

zennie--you usually will still have gas, but you may have to use a match to light it if you have an electric starter.
posted by inertia at 7:07 PM on October 28, 2012

Re: cell phone service... Last year in CT after the freak October snowstorm, many of us were without power for over a week. Eventually, many cell towers ended up going out because their backup power sources ran out of juice. Did something change between last year and this year?
posted by smalls at 7:07 PM on October 28, 2012

does natural gas (for heat, for stoves, etc) ever get shut off during a storm like this?

NOt a huge worry. Natural gas is one of the most secure forms of energy for just this reason - it's below ground - but in flooding (or badly managed emergency digging for broken lines and stuff) gas lines can be broken. Super rare though.
posted by Miko at 7:08 PM on October 28, 2012

Here, first Google result for natural gas in a storm.
posted by Miko at 7:08 PM on October 28, 2012

Gas is reliable, more of an earthquake problem with gas, tho i guess enough flooding could mess with it, depending on where you are.
posted by vrakatar at 7:09 PM on October 28, 2012

Oh god the low pressure headaches. Something evil is abloom right now and with the cold fronts coming and going I feel like I have the Siberian Death Lurgy.

Does anyone else get pressure drop fatigue too? During hurricanes I tend to sleep through the worst of it, despite the noise.
posted by cmyk at 7:09 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

My husband and I (we are just in NC) woke up with headaches this morning and he said it was from low pressure. I wasn't sure I believed him but he said he recognized the feeling-similar to altitude sickness.

Huh, weird. I don't have a headache, but I've been feeling foggy and sluggish all evening. Also not unlike the way altitude affects me.

I also got WAY drunk at brunch earlier, far faster than normal and out of proportion to the two beers I drank. Another similarity to altitude-ish-ness.

Weird, I've never thought much about how barometric pressure affects the basic functions of what it feels like to be human, before.
posted by Sara C. at 7:10 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

handle of Makers at the ready

Now that's emergency preparedness.
posted by octobersurprise at 7:11 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Weird, I've never thought much about how barometric pressure affects the basic functions of what it feels like to be human, before.

I always think of Toots and the Maytals' Pressure Drop when I feel a big pre-storm pressure wave pass over. To me it feels like the whole bottom drops out of the world.
posted by Forktine at 7:14 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

I think this is new data but could be wrong.
posted by vrakatar at 7:15 PM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

Fill the unused space in your freezer with plastic containers of filtered water. If you lose power, move a few of them to the fridge to keep your perishables happy.

Good advice about turning your fridge into an icebox, but unless you need the water, DO NOT MOVE THEM. They will cool the fridge compartment just fine from the freezer (that's how it works normally,) and opening the doors just lets the cold out.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:15 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

Nthing the headache. Didn't realize it was the pressure before reading this thread. Also, we're in Brooklyn, and though we're all stocked on food and water, we weren't planning on filling the tub until tomorrow, after we all shower. Thoughts?
posted by dysh at 7:16 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Pressure Drop, sung by Toots & the Maytals (uh, as noted by Forktine moments ago)
posted by argonauta at 7:17 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Cool visualization.
posted by gjc at 7:18 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

What kind of thing causes city water to go out? Because I've never had the water stop, even last year when we lost power for a few days.
posted by smackfu at 7:19 PM on October 28, 2012

This beautiful, animated live map of the wind in the USA will be interesting to watch in the coming days.
posted by nickyskye at 7:20 PM on October 28, 2012 [10 favorites]

What kind of thing causes city water to go out?

Depends if it requires pumps somewhere along the line. If the entire system is gravity-fed, you're usually fine.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:21 PM on October 28, 2012

I don't think the concern is that water would go out citywide, but that apartment buildings rely on electricity to pump water to high floors. Power goes out, water goes with it.
posted by Sara C. at 7:21 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

What kind of thing causes city water to go out? Because I've never had the water stop, even last year when we lost power for a few days.

It depends on the system. But mostly if the power goes out and can't be restored (via generator or otherwise) before the water towers run out.

Manhattan is different, there are tunnels underground that the buildings dip into and pump water out. So it depends on the building in that case.
posted by gjc at 7:22 PM on October 28, 2012

"What kind of thing causes city water to go out?"

Broken mains or electrical pumps with no backup generator (in tall buildings). Mostly broken mains.

Far more frequent (as you probably know) is inadequately treated water that wants you to die of cholera or whatever and isn't safe to drink, from rivers overtopping treatment plants or sewers leaking into intake or storm sewers overflowing or even opening the sewer system on purpose into the clean water system to prevent flooding somewhere in the system.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:24 PM on October 28, 2012

Thanks for the tip, ChurchHatesTucker. I wondered if the cool would still get through if the fan weren't blowing. I bet you're right, and that it still gets through well enough by convection and through the thinner layer of insulation between the two compartments (I have an over-under).

This will hopefully preserve my survival pie (blueberry).
posted by SteelyDuran at 7:24 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yeah, usually there is a boil advisory if power goes out for more than a day or so, especially in the wake of bad weather, and super especially if there's been flooding.

That said, I am under no illusions that the water currently in my bathtub is going to be any good for drinking in a couple days. It might not kill me, but ugh. I don't even like drinking a glass of water I left out overnight.
posted by Sara C. at 7:27 PM on October 28, 2012

I wondered if the cool would still get through if the fan weren't blowing

Assuming you've got a standard "freezer on top" fridge, the fan isn't even required. Physics takes care of that (although not as quickly, perhaps.) Your fridge is literally an icebox at that point.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:28 PM on October 28, 2012

Yeah, we (and the cats) are drinking bottled water from tomorrow on out. We'll deal with the toilet situation if we have to.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:29 PM on October 28, 2012

"I don't even like drinking a glass of water I left out overnight."

Try pouring it into another glass, or over a fork or through a tea strainer into another glass -- sometimes re-aerating it will make it taste not so weird.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:29 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

That said, I am under no illusions that the water currently in my bathtub is going to be any good for drinking in a couple days.

The bathtub water is mostly for toilet flushing and washing. You should be drinking bottled water. Suggested rations I've heard are to plan a gallon per person per day.
posted by sonika at 7:30 PM on October 28, 2012

oh man, i just remembered that in a drunken fit of zombie apocalypse preparedness i bought one of those Lifesaver magical nanodemon whatever bottles. BRING ON THE TAINTED WATER I AM READY.
posted by elizardbits at 7:30 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm going with the faucet for as long as possible until the point when and if the power goes out. I've already filled all available jugs and jars and bought two more gallons as well just in case, and I've also noted all the bottled homemade juices I've got.

(See, and some people laugh at us people who can. HA!)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:32 PM on October 28, 2012

Another place to store water that people don't think about is backpacking bladders. The big ones are over three quarts - one person's daily ration.
posted by notsnot at 7:34 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

The bathtub water is mostly for toilet flushing and washing. You should be drinking bottled water.

Yes, that is the plan. I've got a bathtub and three big pots full for flushing and misc water needs (tooth brushing, glass rinsing, etc) and three gallons of bottled for drinking. I also have a gallon of lime flavored seltzer, because it's good stuff.
posted by Sara C. at 7:35 PM on October 28, 2012

Note to Northerners working off Floridian preparedness guides: "oil and sharpen machete" is probably not necessary for you.
posted by cmyk at 7:35 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

@MittStormTips
posted by Skygazer at 7:36 PM on October 28, 2012 [10 favorites]

News reports are predicting widespread power outages in NJ. My husband says "We have underground power lines, our power has been out for more than hour only once or twice in 18 years here, no worries." We've got batteries and flashlights and water and ALL the things, so we're prepared for power outages, but I'm wondering now if we'll get one. Is there a transformer or station or something that needs to be above ground that can get hit and take out our power?

Also, for water: if you have Costco sized plastic jars of pretzel rods or animal crackers or something, empty the contents into some large baggies and fill the jar with water for more water storage.
posted by booksherpa at 7:37 PM on October 28, 2012

I have a case of Italian sparkling water because that is how I hurricane.
posted by sweetkid at 7:37 PM on October 28, 2012 [14 favorites]

I only last year learned what a Buffalo Stance is. Once I knew what it was I recognized it as the very familiar "I'm a badass" 1980s photo pose with crossed arms.

The song title refers to Buffalo, a group of photographers, models, musicians, hair and makeup artists, etc. formed by fashion stylist Ray Petri, of whom Cherry, Morgan and McVey were all members.[2] Such a "stance" would be to stand like a person or group of people are posing for a photo shoot in a London fashion magazine.

posted by Miko at 7:37 PM on October 28, 2012

Without the machete how will you be able to compete for scarce resources when Manhattan turns into a vast swamp?
posted by vuron at 7:38 PM on October 28, 2012

Western Jersey: Had to go out for a couple hours--Shoprite blessedly deserted, no C or D batteries and bread shelves stripped except for a full offering of Pepperidge Farm. It's a beautiful night, warm and a hint of a breeze.

Now checking wunderground, Sandy's stalled out there, no? Not expected to hit southern Jersey until 2 AM Tuesday.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 7:39 PM on October 28, 2012

Just curious --

what steps has the city taken to protect the subway from a possible surge? My understanding is that downtown Manhattan might be vulnerable to a storm surge of 11-12 feet on Monday night. And that's where the subway system is most vulnerable to flooding. One source I saw quoted in this thread said, in effect, that Irene came within a foot of being able to flood the subway and that if the projected surge happens, we are seriously fucked.

Is anyone downtown right now? Have you seen any sandbag levees or other such attempts to secure the subway?

Many thanks.
posted by jason's_planet at 7:39 PM on October 28, 2012

#MIttStormTips are actually really funny.
posted by Miko at 7:40 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

If it floods and no one is in there, that is a win. It will take many days to get it going again if it floods.
posted by vrakatar at 7:41 PM on October 28, 2012

You may also need machetes when the Old Ones rise out of the flood waters.
posted by Aquifer at 7:41 PM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

That's what the blood of the innocent is for.
posted by elizardbits at 7:42 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh please, the city can't protect the subways from flooding due to normal rainfall.
posted by ceribus peribus at 7:42 PM on October 28, 2012 [9 favorites]

Well the deep ones have been holding a grudge since that 1928 raid on Innsmouth so I guess it's payback time.
posted by vuron at 7:43 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

From a friend on Facebook: Quick hack: The $1 C-to-D adapter. No idea if it works, but worth trying if you couldn't get D batteries.
posted by booksherpa at 7:43 PM on October 28, 2012

what steps has the city taken to protect the subway from a possible surge?

Sandbags and plywood. Just like in town.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:44 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

Is anyone downtown right now? Have you seen any sandbag levees or other such attempts to secure the subway?

I think there are so many holes for water to get into that it's an impossible task. Just make sure everyone is out, shut off the power and let the pumps do their work when the power comes back on.
posted by gjc at 7:45 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

sio42: "notsnot - i forgot about my backpack bladder! great idea!"

When I go on road trips, I'm cheap as hell, so I bring water from the tap back home-nalgene bottles (in which I mix powder packets, e.g. propel and crystal lite), bladders, jugs. I survive for a week at a time with the only inputs to the [me + vehicle] system being gasoline and local microbrews.

Pro tip: if you plan to survive on energy bars, make sure at least a third of them are not chocolate-[something] because, surprisingly, you *can* get tired of chocolate.
posted by notsnot at 7:45 PM on October 28, 2012

Something's just occurred to me -

I've emailed my bosses that I won't be coming in because the public transit has shut down, and there's the possibility that they'd be closing down bridges and tunnels and so i'd be physically incapable of leaving Brooklyn.

It's not often you get to call in marooned to work.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:51 PM on October 28, 2012 [9 favorites]

So how vulnerable is the lower Manhattan telecommunications grid to flooding? If there is a massive disruption to lower Manhattan in terms of telecommunications what will that mean for stuff like the NYSE and other financial business centered there? I imagine most businesses probably have hotsites up an running to minimize impact on their critical business functions but there has to be some significant concerns that an extended disruption in NYC is going to do a massive amount of economic damage in terms of lost business.
posted by vuron at 7:54 PM on October 28, 2012

I just did the same; I have no idea if I even could getr from Manhattan to NJ tommorow and I am sure it would be an awful idea.
posted by mountmccabe at 7:54 PM on October 28, 2012

//I feel like if the governor and president both say my state is one of emergency, I shouldn't have to take this midterm tomorrow.//

My son is a college freshman - classes are cancelled tomorrow (in DC area).
posted by COD at 7:54 PM on October 28, 2012

Vuron- market is closed tomorrow, could be closed for days, tho e-trading is happening as long as that works. Big firms probably have insurance to cover lost productivity, but sounds like you'd know better than I.

Buy plywood futures.
posted by vrakatar at 7:59 PM on October 28, 2012

elizardbits: "That's what the blood of the innocent is for."

Hmph. Like you are going to find any innocents to get blood from in New York.
posted by misha at 8:03 PM on October 28, 2012 [6 favorites]

COD: "//I feel like if the governor and president both say my state is one of emergency, I shouldn't have to take this midterm tomorrow.//

My son is a college freshman - classes are cancelled tomorrow."

Mine actually are as of half an hour ago - I think I was on the tail end of the large Boston-area universities to close.

Before I was not at all freaked out, but now I am slightly. Guess I'll just try to get caught up on the rest of my schoolwork tomorrow and maybe play some Agricola.
posted by dismas at 8:03 PM on October 28, 2012

21st floor, Manhattan, the wind just seemed to pick up noticeably.
posted by shothotbot at 8:03 PM on October 28, 2012

the NYSE is closed tomorrow, and most banks have told employees to work remotely or from back up centers.

finance world has a bunch of safeguards for shit like this these days...
posted by larthegreat at 8:04 PM on October 28, 2012

If anyone else was wondering: The worst of the storm in the NYC area is supposed to be from 3pm Monday until 3am Tuesday. Don't blow through all your booze and baked goods tonight!
posted by Andrhia at 8:04 PM on October 28, 2012 [6 favorites]

Guy on NBC news, being interviewed in evacuation zone A: "this is my hood. I'm gonna stay right here and see what happens." Brilliant.
posted by zarq at 8:10 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I know, I feel like people are waiting for the storm to hit any minute just because they closed the subways.
posted by sweetkid at 8:10 PM on October 28, 2012

they just announced no electronic trading! should be interesting to see the financial implications of this storm...
posted by larthegreat at 8:11 PM on October 28, 2012

Watching weather channel is always surreal around these events. Just watched some backup generator commercial (presumably one of those natural gas powered generators) like you can just go down to your local Home Depot and pick one of those up and install it yourself. Of course the lady telling the weather to bring it on was living in some McMansion because poor people don't deserve nice things.
posted by vuron at 8:11 PM on October 28, 2012

ugh whose still-beating heart do i have to sacrifice before their dying eyes in order to get a fucking donut
posted by elizardbits at 8:12 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

But surely subways being closed = THE APOCALYPSE IS IMMINENT.

And, you know, we're very impatient here. Imminent means, like, stat. Yesterday, even.
posted by Sara C. at 8:12 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

My cats are straight chillin' and they are basically my storm warning system. Not because they freak out, but because they run to my big front windows and look at what's going on.
posted by sweetkid at 8:14 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

the NYSE is closed tomorrow, and most banks have told employees to work remotely or from back up centers.

I am a secretary for a major financial firm and I approve this message.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:14 PM on October 28, 2012

If you have oil and a pan you can make donuts.

Well, you also need donut ingredients...
posted by Lord_Pall at 8:15 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Of course the lady telling the weather to bring it on was living in some McMansion because poor people don't deserve nice things.

I have never felt as much like a slimy elitist as the time I rode out hurricane Gustav in my mother's McMansion complete with huge backup generator.

People who live in trailers were sleeping on the floor of the middle school gym, and we didn't even lose satellite TV.
posted by Sara C. at 8:15 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

That doesn't make you slimy; that makes you lucky.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:17 PM on October 28, 2012

(That's my family's motto. "That which does not make us slimy, makes us lucky.")
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:18 PM on October 28, 2012 [26 favorites]

so everything is closed tomorrow, no transit, but the storm doesn't arrive until tomorrow night-ish. all of you are pretty much going to blow through your liquor rations in front of the keyboard then, right?
posted by ninjew at 8:18 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

Since this is metafilter I think we can now begin the countdown to someone correctly translating that motto into Latin.
posted by elizardbits at 8:19 PM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

I'm kinda jealous. The Canadian media is saying that Ontario is gonna get battered, but so far nothing is really being cancelled or planned for Toronto that I know of.
posted by 1000monkeys at 8:20 PM on October 28, 2012

so everything is closed tomorrow,

Now you know how Jews feel on Christmas Day.
I suggest Chinese.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 8:20 PM on October 28, 2012 [9 favorites]

Thanks for the answers about natural gas. Kind of obvious, I know. I'm just panicking a wee bit because I've never been in a huge old ('40s) appartment building, downtown, during a storm like this. I'm depending on being able to boil some water if necessary.

EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE.
posted by zennie at 8:21 PM on October 28, 2012

Seriously, the Korean market near our place NEVER closes. My husband has been here since 1974.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:21 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

storm prep photos from the MTA's flickr account
posted by elizardbits at 8:22 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

Isn't Toronto way the fuck inland? It's about as far west as Detroit or Cleveland or something, right?

While I'm sure Toronto will get rain and heavy winds and general bad weather (and possibly get hit hard by the nor'easter aspect of the storm), it's not in the path of the hurricane.

My guess is that if anywhere in Ontario gets hit crazy hard, it'll be the eastern part over by Vermont, which also got it bad in the last hurricane.
posted by Sara C. at 8:24 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sara the storm is 800 miles big.
posted by vrakatar at 8:25 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hurricanes die down almost immediately after making landfall.

More than a couple hundred miles inland, you're going to get bad weather, and it's going to suck a lot, but it's technically not going to be a hurricane.
posted by Sara C. at 8:26 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

That big of a storm interacting with something like Lake Ontario could definitely do some weird stuff to anything on the North shore.
posted by vuron at 8:28 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I just finished reading Stephen King's The Stand yesterday (1000ish pages of trekking across a post-disaster, no-electricity U.S.) and thus feel oddly prepared despite missing out on all the D batteries left in my neighborhood. I have water and peanut butter crackers and a french press full of cold brewing coffee. Still hoping the liquor store is open tomorrow before the storm hits...forgot to stock up on wine.
posted by sallybrown at 8:30 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sara, not necessarily true. It was either Fran or Floyd (I forget which) that totally harshed Raleigh, NC's mellow. I'm in Fayetteville and we didn't have fun with either one of those.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 8:30 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Toronto is on the edge of Lake Ontario, and has another Great Lake within 100 miles in every direction except north by northwest. Any significant wind arriving at Toronto brings rain.
posted by ceribus peribus at 8:30 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Or snow, actually. It's already down to single digit temperatures up there.
posted by ceribus peribus at 8:31 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the MTA photos! 'preciate it!
posted by jason's_planet at 8:31 PM on October 28, 2012

That set of MTA shots is kinda great (and definitely addresses the "why are they shutting down so early?" question - I didn't realize they were actually pulling electrical parts out of surface tracks, for example.)
posted by restless_nomad at 8:31 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

spend the last week visiting the east coast and was supposed to fly home to san diego out of LGA this tuesday. instead am spending storm in rural new hampshire. hope all our mefites can ride this thing out cozy & dry.
posted by changeling at 8:32 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

They are not messing around:

SOME IMPORTANT NOTES...

1. IF YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO EVACUATE A COASTAL LOCATION BY STATE
AND LOCAL OFFICIALS, PLEASE DO SO.

2. IF YOU ARE RELUCTANT TO EVACUATE, AND YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO RODE
OUT THE `62 STORM ON THE BARRIER ISLANDS, ASK THEM IF THEY COULD DO
IT AGAIN.

3. IF YOU ARE RELUCTANT, THINK ABOUT YOUR LOVED ONES, THINK ABOUT
THE EMERGENCY RESPONDERS WHO WILL BE UNABLE TO REACH YOU WHEN YOU
MAKE THE PANICKED PHONE CALL TO BE RESCUED, THINK ABOUT THE
RESCUE/RECOVERY TEAMS WHO WILL RESCUE YOU IF YOU ARE INJURED OR
RECOVER YOUR REMAINS IF YOU DO NOT SURVIVE.

4. SANDY IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS STORM. THERE WILL BE MAJOR
PROPERTY DAMAGE, INJURIES ARE PROBABLY UNAVOIDABLE, BUT THE GOAL IS
ZERO FATALITIES.

5. IF YOU THINK THE STORM IS OVER-HYPED AND EXAGGERATED, PLEASE ERR
ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION.

WE WISH EVERYONE IN HARMS WAY ALL THE BEST. STAY SAFE!
posted by Ironmouth at 8:32 PM on October 28, 2012 [6 favorites]

Again, yeah, it's going to rain a lot and be windy and generally sucky. But it's not going to be an actual hurricane.

Sorry, I have explained this so. many. times. to people who are not from the Gulf Coast.

The fact that you're not getting a hurricane doesn't mean a tree isn't going to fall on a power line somewhere, or that there's not going to be a wind advisory that shuts down a bridge and makes life inconvenient.

But it's not going to be a hurricane.

(Also, if Toronto were to declare a state of emergency, close things down, make contingency plans, etc, that wouldn't go into effect until much later this week, since the storm is still so far away. NOAA has the storm hitting Canada somewhere late Thursday or early Friday.)
posted by Sara C. at 8:33 PM on October 28, 2012

I was just checking out this briefing for New Jersey and saw this list:

Before we indulge into details, the following areas are under evacuations or should consider
evacuating immediately:
 All New Jersey coast barrier islands
 Long Beach Island
 Recommended evacuation of all beaches from Cape May to Sandy Hook
 Low lying near-beach areas and cities
 Belmar, New Jersey

I love the specificity of "Belmar, New Jersey." The others are all large areas. That's a specific town. I am having fun imagining it followed by " ---not because of the hurricane, just because the rest of us are sick of your shit."

Woulda been much funnier if it was Seaside Heights, though.

But seriously, I love my Shore and don't want anything bad to happen.

I also love that very Jersey turn of phrase "indulge into"
posted by Miko at 8:33 PM on October 28, 2012 [10 favorites]

St. Alia, Raleigh is only a little bit inland. Toronto is in the midwest.
posted by Sara C. at 8:35 PM on October 28, 2012

Again, yeah, it's going to rain a lot and be windy and generally sucky. But it's not going to be an actual hurricane.

Sorry, I have explained this so. many. times. to people who are not from the Gulf Coast.

Yep, all these meteorologists releasing dire warnings to the DC-NYC corridor are just dumb. They're not from the Gulf Coast!
posted by downing street memo at 8:35 PM on October 28, 2012 [6 favorites]

Sara C.: really? Our weather reports all indicate it hitting us the worst tomorrow night but it only has us getting about 50-100mm of rain, then 10mm on Tuesday and 5-10mm the rest of the week.
posted by 1000monkeys at 8:35 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

New York City is basically right on the ocean.

DC is like 50 miles inland.

Toronto is in the middle of the North American continent, hundreds and hundreds of miles inland. It's not in the direct path of the storm at all, and certainly not going to be hit by a hurricane.
posted by Sara C. at 8:37 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Pics of empty Grand Central always give me the chills.
posted by Miko at 8:38 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

i just had my last beer. turns out that other growler i thought i had was full of water from the last emergency we had.

this is a problem.
posted by larthegreat at 8:38 PM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

1000monkeys, I'm getting my map here.

Though, looking again, it looks like I misread it and Toronto is in the path of the storm. Still hundreds of miles inland and long after it would not be considered a hurricane anymore. But yeah, you guys are looking at getting it Thursday, not Friday.
posted by Sara C. at 8:39 PM on October 28, 2012

Sorry, I have explained this so. many. times. to people who are not from the Gulf Coast.

Sandy Is the Biggest Hurricane Ever Recorded in the Atlantic Basin
posted by Ironmouth at 8:39 PM on October 28, 2012 [6 favorites]

Sara C.: I never said Toronto was going to be hit by a hurricane, but you said that the storm wouldn't hit until Thursday or Friday, which does not agree with any of our weather reports.
posted by 1000monkeys at 8:40 PM on October 28, 2012

It is super fucking weird how empty the streets are right now, considering that it's not even windy yet, much less raining.
posted by elizardbits at 8:40 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

Ironmouth - it's also just barely a hurricane at all.

It's big, and it's potentially really scary, and it's going to cause bad weather pretty much everywhere east of the Mississippi, but it's not really that epic of a storm. Certainly not a strong enough storm to actually be a hurricane when it gets to the middle of the continent.
posted by Sara C. at 8:41 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I don't think Toronto is bracing for hurricane force winds as much as they are for several days of unending rain. Ark preparations.
posted by ceribus peribus at 8:42 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sara C. - It looks like NOAA has upgraded it's probabilities of hurricane force winds to be up to 40% in southern NJ and up to 20% as far inland as Harrisburg and has increased the probabilities of tropical storm force winds to more than 40% over a much wider reach on inland areas. With that said both total rainfall amounts and storm surges remain relatively low in most areas (less than 8 inches and less than 5 feet respectively).

Expect lots of falling trees and localized power outages and flooding in areas that are prone to flooding. Basically if you flooded because of Irene last year than you can probably expect the same and if not then likely not.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 8:44 PM on October 28, 2012

I would hate to see a storm that met your definition for "epic."
posted by Miko at 8:44 PM on October 28, 2012 [18 favorites]

Yeah, um, aside from the category, this is the most epic storm to hit in years and years and years.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:45 PM on October 28, 2012

It's a very significant storm, max wind speed isn't everything. Even a Cat 1 hitting someplace like NYC dead on can do a huge amount of damage simply because of the geography of the land tends to increase the impact of storm surge and the population density magnifies the number of people impacted.
posted by vuron at 8:45 PM on October 28, 2012

It would probably have to be at least a category 2.
posted by Sara C. at 8:46 PM on October 28, 2012

Sara C., seriously, "just barely a hurricane" is still a hurricane, and even when it doesn't meet the technical definition can still bring some pretty heavy damage and fatalities.

Do you think we WANT this to be an 'epic' hurricane? What exactly are you arguing here?
posted by zennie at 8:47 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

(Guys I'm not saying nothing is going to happen. Just that there's probably a reason people in Toronto aren't freaking the fuck out four days before it rains kind of a lot.)
posted by Sara C. at 8:47 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sara C. knows her epic storms. Certified.
posted by sweetkid at 8:47 PM on October 28, 2012

can we maybe not get into another Annual Mefite Brawl over who is the very best amateur meteorologist again this year? is that a thing that could happen? because that would be fucking rad.
posted by elizardbits at 8:47 PM on October 28, 2012 [32 favorites]

My friend in Miami just posted that they are still getting the tail end of it. That's pretty much epic.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:48 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's just eerie in general. Here in central NJ we've got nothing yet, but going out about 4 hours for last minute provisions* it just felt strange outside. I've been joking with my husband about feeling like we're in the first 30 minutes of a bad made-for-TV disaster movie.

* So, the local Wegmans had a ton of bottled water. 4 nearly full pallets. However, I got the last box of Froot Loops.
posted by booksherpa at 8:48 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm just glad we're making "epic" happen
posted by sweetkid at 8:48 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Irene was Category 1 and weakening when it tore up a giant swath of MA and VT and caused dozens of deaths, lots of displacement and property damage in the billions. It had immediate wind effects and lingering disastrous rain effects.

Sandy vs. Irene
posted by Miko at 8:49 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

Yeah, I was just jokey whining that Toronto isn't as cool as New York, at least not cool enough for Sandy to grace us with an appearance, not meaning to start some weird argument about whether or not the end is nigh for us in the GTA lol
posted by 1000monkeys at 8:49 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sara C. - I don't think that (some) people are hearing what you are saying. I think that you are saying that the storm is not going to be that big of a deal by the time it gets to Toronto and from all predictions that seems to be the case.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 8:50 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm okay with saying Sandy looks like a goddamn huge storm and I hope my supplies of cake are equal to the days of marooning, which are going to be cold and suck regardless of the category. It's like, SANDY NOM NOM EAST COAST SANDY HUNGRY!
posted by jetlagaddict at 8:50 PM on October 28, 2012

I'm not actually arguing.

Just sort of generally against people going completely hysterical about this.

It's a hurricane.

It's a big hurricane.

It's going to be really bad.

Things could potentially get really dangerous in areas where there's storm surge.

But it's really not LOSE YOUR SHIT AND GO INSANE bad. Just, like, stay inside and know where the flashlight is bad.
posted by Sara C. at 8:51 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

I agree that Toronto is probably safe from Sandy and that Sandy will probably not be an epic storm for Toronto.
posted by Miko at 8:51 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

Some of the most damaging storms to the Northeast have been extratropical storms or tropical cyclones-transitioning-to-extratropical.

signed,
a graduate from the class of the New England Blizzard of '78.
posted by SillyShepherd at 8:52 PM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

I don't think anybody is losing their shit. We all stayed in and we're bored and something exciting is happening and it's fun to observe and talk about it. It's a storm thing, we do it every time, especially when a lot of us are going to be in it.
posted by Miko at 8:52 PM on October 28, 2012 [9 favorites]

We're also trying to occupy ourselves without using up the alcohol. That's for tomorrow night.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:54 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

can we maybe not get into another Annual Mefite Brawl over who is the very best amateur meteorologist again this year?

This. Because it really doesn't matter what the numbers and facts and figures say will happen if you're sitting in a shelter, or your power's out for a week, or you're on day 5 of the boil water advisory and "showering" with baby wipes.

This will suck for millions and millions of people, and none of them will care what the official designation of the storm that smacked them was.

On preview: I'm trying to picture what would qualify as "LOSE YOUR SHIT AND GO INSANE" bad... warfare, or living in Manville/Bound Brook waiting for this storm, maybe.
posted by booksherpa at 8:54 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yeah, I'm certainly not losing my shit. Well, maybe a little only because I feel left out. DAMN YOU SANDY what do you have against Torontonians? *shakes fist* Plus, I have been prepping for the apocalypse for MONTHS and now I have no reason to break out the canned chili and tinned fruit :(
posted by 1000monkeys at 8:54 PM on October 28, 2012

Just got an email from my bank to say thry're suspending ATM fees during the storm.

My secret weapon is that my salty USMC buddy is crashing in my spare bedroom for a few weeks between deployments. So no matter what happens with Sandy my household is ready to go.
posted by peeedro at 8:54 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Trivia - The evacuation of NYC is 375,000 people. If it were a city, it would be the 51st largest city in the US, right behind New Orleans.

And I don't seem to remember hurricanes (real deal hurricanes) hitting New York..

Nor do I remember this many billion dollar storms in a single year.
posted by Lord_Pall at 8:54 PM on October 28, 2012

Ah, '78! I have such happy memories of that one. No school for a week...we made a giant snow slide and a snow cave...I imagine that it would have been less fun to be an adult for that one though. Through the eyes of an 8-year-old it was an enchanted world.
posted by Miko at 8:55 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sandy would also have to pass through customs on the way to Toronto so that's bound to slow her down a bit.
posted by ceribus peribus at 8:55 PM on October 28, 2012 [15 favorites]

A small contribution to the noble field of MetaFilter Toilet Science
posted by islander at 8:56 PM on October 28, 2012

Man, now everyone outside is honking and yelling. I'm trying to be concerned about a storm on the other coast, and not interested in the sporting success of the city.
posted by Lord_Pall at 8:56 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

On my Sandy playlist:

Shelter from the Storm
Like a Hurricane
I Think It's Gonna Rain Today
Take Me to the River
Feels Like Rain
Blame It On the Rain (don't judge)
Box of Rain

and last but certainly not least:
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
posted by sallybrown at 8:57 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

Just that there's probably a reason people in Toronto aren't freaking the fuck out four days before it rains kind of a lot.

Yeah, take that New Orleans! Bunch of whingers.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:58 PM on October 28, 2012

Miko, I was 14, and we were out of school for three weeks while the National Guard occupied my town.

This storm is huge, not only physically, but in its unusual track that's poised to inflict major damage to a major city, and the damage it's projected to do for so much of the eastern U.S.
posted by SillyShepherd at 8:58 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sara, maybe there was some confusion because nobody here is losing it about Toronto. I saw mentions of rain. Where are you seeing this?
posted by zennie at 8:58 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I remember reading that during an ice age there was a mile of ice on top of what is now NYC. I can't help but wonder if super storms are first step of the climate showing humans what happens when an ice age starts to loom.
posted by zia at 9:01 PM on October 28, 2012

I'm in Toronto and I can vouch for the fact that nobody is freaking out, just expecting to get very soggy. If we were getting Sandy in her present state delivered to our doorstep we would probably feel differently about it.
posted by saturday_morning at 9:02 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Nada Surf, has it as being the Blizzard of '77.
posted by Skygazer at 9:03 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I still bet the Union Station TTC tracks will flood again.
posted by 1000monkeys at 9:06 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

I remember reading that during an ice age there was a mile of ice on top of what is now NYC.

If you go to Central Park you can see rocks with grooves on them from where the moving ice scraped on them. It's pretty epic.
posted by sweetkid at 9:06 PM on October 28, 2012

I can't listen to that song at the moment, but it could be referring to the legendary blizzard of 77 in Buffalo, NY.
posted by troika at 9:06 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

All mass transit is shutdown tomorrow in DC; metro (bus and rail), Greyhound, MARC, VRE, & Amtrack.
posted by peeedro at 9:06 PM on October 28, 2012

There was a Blizzard of '77 and also a Blizzard of '78.

and a Blizzard of '79 too for good measure.
posted by saturday_morning at 9:07 PM on October 28, 2012

@Troika, it does refer to that blizzard.
posted by SillyShepherd at 9:08 PM on October 28, 2012

It was a blizzardy time, the Carter years
posted by saturday_morning at 9:08 PM on October 28, 2012 [8 favorites]

I agree that Toronto is probably safe from Sandy and that Sandy will probably not be an epic storm for Toronto.
posted by Miko at 8:51 PM on October 28 [+] [!]

I'm 2 hourish nw of Toronto and am preparing for my power to be out at some point.

My power always goes out even in little storms. Heck my power goes out when it's just windy and I'm searching around for some sort or storm to explain. If my power doesn't go out as this storm sideswipes me I'll be surprised.

This is a pretty normal for me though, especially in the winter.
posted by Jalliah at 9:08 PM on October 28, 2012

There was a midwest Blizzard of '78, which was completely different than New England's Blizzard of '78.
posted by SillyShepherd at 9:09 PM on October 28, 2012

Sally - I suggest I can't Stand the Rain as well.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:09 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

It's pretty epic.

ALSO LONG ISLAND IS A TERMINAL MORAINE

man i love earth science
posted by elizardbits at 9:10 PM on October 28, 2012 [7 favorites]

Guys the word blizzard is starting to look funny.
posted by saturday_morning at 9:11 PM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

I fondly remember the southwest Ontario Blizzard of '77. Eight foot snowdriftsfalls are the best thing ever when you're in middle school.
posted by ceribus peribus at 9:11 PM on October 28, 2012

What happens when the storm hits the giant cold front?
posted by Lord_Pall at 9:11 PM on October 28, 2012

'78 was the big one in NJ.
posted by Miko at 9:12 PM on October 28, 2012

They make out.
posted by elizardbits at 9:12 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

blizzard blizzard blizzard blizzardy
posted by ninjew at 9:14 PM on October 28, 2012

Storm babies. That's why hurricanes start up again 9 months later. Or something.
posted by 1000monkeys at 9:14 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Boom goes the dynamite....?
posted by peeedro at 9:15 PM on October 28, 2012

I fondly remember the southwest Ontario Blizzard of '77. Eight foot snowdriftsfalls are the best thing ever when you're in middle school.
posted by ceribus peribus at 9:11 PM on October 28 [+] [!]

That was my driveway and porch 2 winters ago. If it snows a lot and the wind is in the right place everything from the road blows down and piles up against my house. I live in this weird ass snowbelt that seems to either get tons or nothing. Drive 10 mins north or south and it will be different.

It's no fun getting up to go to work and not being able to open your door.
posted by Jalliah at 9:16 PM on October 28, 2012

okay enough with the honking. They won, they don't need your support anymore.
posted by Lord_Pall at 9:17 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

On my Sandy playlist:

How about Rain by Dragon?
posted by Talez at 9:17 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

man, i feel like i'm waiting for santa. i'm too excited to go to sleep

Me too. Apparently, I was like this before Irene too.

Unfortunately toddlers are both morning people and shitty weather forecasters, so if I don't get to sleep soon... Hurricane Whuffles will do me in for sure.
posted by sonika at 9:23 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Jalliah, I have an uncle who lives on the north shore of Lake Erie, east of Port Maitland. Literally on the shore; he had to build a retaining wall to keep his land from eroding into the lake.

It's beautiful there, but he usually gets two or three snow-in incidents per year, where the lake effect snow forms a 25-30 foot snowbank situated directly over his house.
posted by ceribus peribus at 9:24 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

I would suggest Hurricane Drunk by Florence + the Machine
posted by mountmccabe at 9:26 PM on October 28, 2012

Oh a Mighty Wind is blowin'!
posted by argonauta at 9:27 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hmm. I think we just felt that 4.2 near soledad too.
posted by Lord_Pall at 9:31 PM on October 28, 2012

Well you know of course Jimmy Buffet has a hurricane song.

Tryin' to Reason with Hurricane Season
posted by Miko at 9:32 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

78 was bad ass in wormtown. Everyone relax and have six drinks.
posted by vrakatar at 9:40 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wait wait.... Did someone say we are not supposed to start drinking until tomorrow night? OH GOD IM DOING IT ALL WRONG
posted by inertia at 9:41 PM on October 28, 2012

It's raining out the very tiniest bit now. Kind of mistily.

also there are no doritos at any bodega within a 5 block radius of my house and i am at one with horror.
posted by elizardbits at 9:42 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I should have stocked up a lot more. I got too much healthy real food, not enough junk food and alcohol.
posted by Miko at 9:43 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Recipe for Cool Ranch Doritos

You could make the cheesy kind, but you'd need cheese and Maltodextrin to make cheese powder. I suspect you might not have one or both of those.
posted by Lord_Pall at 9:44 PM on October 28, 2012

ColdChef said not to get bread but to get tortilla instead but I panicked and got nothing but cool ranch Doritos.
posted by The Whelk at 9:44 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

also i gave all my dorito-making servants the day off
posted by elizardbits at 9:44 PM on October 28, 2012

never give days off it only encourages lassitude
posted by The Whelk at 9:46 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Man, now I can't go to sleep since I'm convinced it's gonna earthquake while I'm sleeping. Also everyone is still honking and yelling.

On the plus side, the stores here are flush with doritos and tonic.

Hell, I even have maltodextrin and cheese.
posted by Lord_Pall at 9:47 PM on October 28, 2012

I hear you, Miko. I bought no alcohol and no junk food, unless you count my Froot Loops. I'll be making do with the eleventy-million bottled waters I've got, and the few beers already in my fridge, and a whole lot of PB&J.
posted by booksherpa at 9:47 PM on October 28, 2012

The worst of the storm in the NYC area is supposed to be from 3pm Monday until 3am Tuesday

My uncle happens to be making his first ever trip out of Australia, and is staying in New York for a week before he flies over to Seattle at 7pm Monday. I'm kind of not expecting him to make it that day, although so far AA says his flight isn't cancelled.
posted by jacalata at 9:48 PM on October 28, 2012

all my gf bought at the supermarket was water and a shitton of doritos. I was like WTF why do we need all these doritos? Now I know why: because she is awesome.

also i had 2 beers and no longer have a cold hooray!
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:50 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

This Natural Disaster is brought to you by Frito-Lay
posted by The Whelk at 9:52 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

fucking dorito hoarders
posted by elizardbits at 9:53 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

There once was a man from Kass
whose balls were made out of brass.
They clanged together
and played 'Stormy Weather,'
and lightning shot out of his ass.
posted by SillyShepherd at 9:53 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

also i had 2 beers and no longer have a cold hooray!

see
posted by sweetkid at 9:54 PM on October 28, 2012

If these fuckers wake up the baby by honking I'm going to go outside and throw apples at their goddamned cars.
posted by Lord_Pall at 9:54 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

i will sell you 1 bag of cool ranch doritos for brunch or some ammo take your pick
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:54 PM on October 28, 2012

These cams are hypnotizing ... but I feel like a voyeur.

http://www.businessinsider.com/watch-hurricane-sandy-live-2012-10?0=science
posted by Surfurrus at 9:55 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

see

Its a hurricane miracle
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:55 PM on October 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

Song for anyone out in the city tomorrow.

I'm going to watch Contagion for the third time and feel better about my situation.
posted by The Whelk at 9:56 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sorry, I have explained this so. many. times. to people who are not from the Gulf Coast.

Please don't do this. Some of us have more familiarity with hurricanes. That's it. That doesn't exactly make us meteorologists, or make those who don't into hysterical panicking ninnies. You can be informative without being patronizing.
posted by misha at 9:56 PM on October 28, 2012 [16 favorites]

Miko, I remember some epic snowstorms in South Jersey, but that one from '77 or '78 was the standard to which I hold all blizzards. Snow tunnels! Huge backyard forts! I think we didn't finish up school until July, we had so many snowdays.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 9:57 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

no i want the cheezie ones.
posted by elizardbits at 9:58 PM on October 28, 2012

I'm going to sleep for a few hours then go walk around.
posted by vrakatar at 10:01 PM on October 28, 2012

What do you call Doritos that are not yours? NACHO CHEESE
posted by argonauta at 10:01 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

Everyone I know in Maryland is off work tomorrow and Tuesday. I expect there to be some pretty raucous times tomorrow before things get hairy.
posted by codacorolla at 10:02 PM on October 28, 2012

You guys are going to be too hungover to enjoy the storm.
posted by fshgrl at 10:02 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

cheese ritos can be had for bottles of whiskey or an ATV and 21 gallons of gas
posted by Potomac Avenue at 10:04 PM on October 28, 2012

ritos are an anagram of "riots" coincidence?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 10:04 PM on October 28, 2012

You guys are going to be too hungover to enjoy the storm.

I'm of scottish exraction we're immune to hangovers it's a mutant power
posted by The Whelk at 10:05 PM on October 28, 2012

Also an anagram of SO TORRID. Well, almost.
posted by mochapickle at 10:06 PM on October 28, 2012

Booooooooooooo I'm to "use my best judgment" to decide if I should go to work tomorrow, which we all know means "come in tomorrow, dammit."
posted by maryr at 10:07 PM on October 28, 2012

^ These cams are hypnotizing ... but I feel like a voyeur.

Those cams are great. I love the sound of the wind.

Coney Island so serene and pretty. Like a toy town.
posted by Skygazer at 10:09 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

This is all a huge conspiracy to make sure everyone is hungover on election day.
posted by ceribus peribus at 10:10 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

There's also a webcam feed from the NYTimes building.
posted by zarq at 10:12 PM on October 28, 2012

I'm 2 hourish nw of Toronto

That pretty much describes anything north of Eglinton.

(Guys I'm not saying nothing is going to happen. Just that there's probably a reason people in Toronto aren't freaking the fuck out four days before it rains kind of a lot.)

The only reason people aren't freaking out yet is because we don't quite know where the storm is headed that far out. Hurricane Hazel arrived in Toronto with about the same strength as Sandy will have at landfall in New Jersey; hurricane effects off the Great Lakes are known to be possible. I would not be surprised if there are significant power outages in Ontario due to the storm.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 10:14 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

If this keeps up, boring inland real estate is going to be where the Rich Shits live, and the rest of us will be forced to live on the waterfront.
posted by maxwelton at 10:20 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Here in Greenpoint, Brooklyn it's quiet and not-so- windy yet. I'm going to sleep. Be safe everyone!
posted by silverstatue at 10:27 PM on October 28, 2012

What's with the disco lights on the wall street bull webcam?
posted by moonmilk at 10:27 PM on October 28, 2012

bodega man

you lied to me

these pop chips are not just like doritos

we are no longer friends bodega man you have betrayed me
posted by elizardbits at 10:29 PM on October 28, 2012 [10 favorites]

The bull can keep partying all night since trading was suspended for tomorrow.
posted by ceribus peribus at 10:32 PM on October 28, 2012

To be updated regularly, from the New York Times: State-by-State Guide to Hurricane Sandy

Not looking so good: Current Barometric Pressure Map for the United States. The pressure is dropping. Hurricane Sandy: 2 AM ET, 75 mph winds, Cat 1, 950 mb, moving N at 14 mph.
posted by nickyskye at 10:40 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

you guys, this is the best storm warning alert

"REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE OFFICIAL DESIGNATION IS NOW OR AT/AFTER LANDFALL -- HURRICANE (INCLUDING IF "ONLY" A CATEGORY ONE), TROPICAL STORM, POST-TROPICAL, EXTRATROPICAL, WHATEVER -- OR WHAT TYPE OF WARNINGS ARE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER -- PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM NEED TO HEED THE THREAT IT POSES WITH UTMOST URGENCY.

A meteorologically mind-boggling combination of ingredients is coming together: one of the largest expanses of tropical storm (gale) force winds on record with a tropical or subtropical cyclone in the Atlantic or for that matter anywhere else in the world; a track of the center making a sharp left turn in direction of movement toward New Jersey in a way that is unprecedented in the historical database, as it gets blocked from moving out to sea by a pattern that includes an exceptionally strong ridge of high pressure aloft near Greenland; a "warm-core" tropical cyclone embedded within a larger, nor'easter-like circulation; and moisture from the tropics and cold air from the Arctic combining to produce very heavy snow in interior high elevations. This is an extraordinary situation, and I am not prone to hyperbole."

thank you forever, Stu
posted by ninjew at 10:48 PM on October 28, 2012 [9 favorites]

So what you are saying is that we should all meet up at the bryant park branch of the NYPL and wait for Jake Gyllenhaal to save the day?
posted by elizardbits at 10:50 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

That is what I am always saying and nobody ever listens to me.
posted by davidjmcgee at 10:52 PM on October 28, 2012 [8 favorites]

My daughter just sent me an email that she has just booked a holiday in NYC - two weeks from now.

I just had to write that (with all my exasperation), since she won't hear anything I say. [insert venting day pass]

She has never been through even a small hurricane ... has no idea of how it may take weeks, months, years for recovery.
posted by Surfurrus at 10:54 PM on October 28, 2012

except they would probably be mad when you burn the furniture and the books
posted by ninjew at 10:56 PM on October 28, 2012

I'm waiting for this storm to somehow fuck shit up in Seattle.

(And I'm not talking about airline cancellations, KOMO 4 News!)
posted by spinifex23 at 11:01 PM on October 28, 2012

She has never been through even a small hurricane ... has no idea of how it may take weeks, months, years for recovery.

Umm I doubt (and hope) that NYC will be unvisitable for weeks months years etc. We haven't heard too much beyond things will suck till Halloween.
posted by sweetkid at 11:01 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Unless Sandy is hiding some bombers carrying atomic bombs I've no idea how it is going to take NYC years to recover. Unless they put like one guy on cleanup detail for the whole city.
posted by Justinian at 11:05 PM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

It will be a full moon when the hurricane hits tomorrow. Apparently, that will add 2 to 3 inches to the storm surge in New York.
posted by nickyskye at 11:07 PM on October 28, 2012

I hope so also, sweetkid - don't want to sound negative. Just remembering how Iniki hit Kauai. It really did take years for much of the mess to be cleaned up.
posted by Surfurrus at 11:07 PM on October 28, 2012

Unless they put like one guy on cleanup detail for the whole city.
omg if so I am soooo gonna help that guy
posted by sweetkid at 11:07 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

Iniki was the strongest hurricane ever to hit Hawaii in (known) history. That's a completely different thing that what we're talking about.
posted by Justinian at 11:13 PM on October 28, 2012

There will be no shortage of people helping to restore the graffiti and return the garbage strewn alleys to their natural state. The wind swept and rain washed streets will not stay that way for long.
posted by ceribus peribus at 11:14 PM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

Loop of satellite images of Sandy.
posted by carter at 11:17 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hurricane Fran ran through central NC as a minimal force 1 storm. That doesn’t seem like much, but it was pretty damn impressive and this thing is likely to be similar for the most heavily impacted areas... except that it will be worse because it will hang around longer.

On the morning after Fran the sky was clear, but my power was out and I could only get 2 stations on my car radio. All the other 40 or so where down. After cutting trees off of my road and my friends’ driveways I went for a drive. Our local river was up maybe 15 or 20 feet over flood stage. I saw one of those big round hay bales that the wind had rolled through a barbed wire fence before it ran over and snapped off a 4"x4" treated yellow pine signpost.
posted by Huplescat at 11:23 PM on October 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Looking over all of this, the thing that worries me most is water. That storm is enormous and the rain alone would probably flood everything it bumps into, but the bad combination of moon and tides are going to make it even worse. Especially on the north side. Things there aren't too elevated to begin with.

Eeek.

And, okay, nobody else did this so I have to: Weather Stu doesn't hyperbolize.
posted by cmyk at 11:41 PM on October 28, 2012

but the bad combination of moon and tides are going to make it even worse.

also all the werewolves
posted by The Whelk at 11:50 PM on October 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

Beyond the threshold of absorption about Hurricane Sandy? Relief.
posted by nickyskye at 12:02 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

And, okay, nobody else did this so I have to: Weather Stu doesn't hyperbolize.

Perhaps.
But neither does he have a great track record when it comes to science. Until quite recently Stu Ostro of the Weather Channel has been a major climate change denier. In fact the founder of the Weather Channel has called global warming "the greatest scam in history" and had been very active giving money to loads of conservative climate denial groups. which is why I never get my weather from the weather channel which was kind of like looking for music on MTV anyway.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 12:27 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Data point: At 3:30 it actually started to be windy in Harlem.
posted by davidjmcgee at 12:32 AM on October 29, 2012

has no idea of how it may take weeks, months, years for recovery.

It's true that there are still some masking tape Xs visible from 1978 in windows on the upper stories of disused buildings.
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:12 AM on October 29, 2012

Current stats:

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...85 MPH...140 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...N OR 360 DEGREES AT 15 MPH...24 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...946 MB...27.94 INCHES

Holy low pressure!
posted by futz at 2:51 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

NBC4 (DC) just showed something creepy from Rehoboth, DE. Their hotel room is on the 2nd floor of a 5-story hotel. In the bathroom, the ceiling tiles are lifting up and flopping down over and over again, from the wind. The wind -- it's coming from inside the hotel!
posted by kinsey at 3:25 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

NOAA has an animated gif of the hurricane off the shore of Virgina/Maryland/Delaware.

I've just brewed up some coffee and downloaded a bunch of new books to my kindle. I agree with folks saying that the storm surge is going to be the biggest problem for Jersey City/Hoboken/lower Manhattan; it's going to be a lot of flooding tonight.
posted by lyra4 at 3:41 AM on October 29, 2012

You will al be fine - shurely the so-called Financial "Masters of the Universe" will save the day? Masters? Really? Maybe this will wipe away some of the hubris, but I doubt it.
posted by marienbad at 4:01 AM on October 29, 2012

Just awakened by loud winds rattling my 6th floor windows here in Williamsburg. I sort of want to take an early morning walk around the neighborhood before it all starts happening. I wonder if the 24 hour bodega is still open?

First though, I will make a lot of coffee and pour it into my thermos. Maybe I'll make another thermos of tea, too.
posted by idest at 4:04 AM on October 29, 2012

I'm personally expecting the US Coast Guard to save the day more than the Financial Masters of the Universe, but then I'm biased.

That said, Goldman Sachs in Jersey City has got some fairly impressive sandbagging going on at their JC building- which is, to be fair to them, right on the waterfront where the Hudson empties into NY Harbor, and where we've had flooding before.
posted by lyra4 at 4:05 AM on October 29, 2012

Have been watching dawn break on this New York Times webcam. Doesn't look too bad so far
posted by fightorflight at 4:15 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Today was supposed to be my first day back in the office after maternity leave. Being home with the family is way better!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:40 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Baltimore has had steady rain, not to heavy, for about 12 hours. Not really any wind, judging by the flags outside. I'm wondering if there will be any difference between being north or south of this thing, depending on the rotation.
posted by carter at 4:42 AM on October 29, 2012

Stay safe, my Yankee mefite peeps. I will be thinking about you all day. Praying too.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 4:50 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

The cam at the 79th St. Boat Basin is acutally a little sea-sickness inducing...
posted by titus-g at 4:50 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Ugh. My office is closed, but my wife runs a Walgreens and they haven't made a decision on closing west of DC yet, so she's heading to her store now. Really hope management accepts the inevitable sooner rather than later.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 4:51 AM on October 29, 2012

The rain just started about 5 minutes ago in west Harlem. A surprising number of people are driving on 125th.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:54 AM on October 29, 2012

lyra4, I think the Goldman Sachs building is using bags of actual money (not sand).

This is also the quietest morning in Jersey City I've ever heard.
posted by armacy at 5:00 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

I only get Error #2046 from the 79th St. Boat Basin cam. I hope things don't go too sideways. I can't get New Orleans out of my mind. And yea, I know they aren't the same. Nothing is.
posted by Goofyy at 5:00 AM on October 29, 2012

Just back from my walk. On a normal day I'd say it's very windy out there... but I know this is nothing. Sounds a lot worse up on the top floor. It's raining, but not so very hard yet. The two 24 hour bodegas on Broadway are open... picked over, but open. The garbage is being collected, thankfully, so we won't have smelly apartments and crap blowing all over the streets. I have my coffee, I have food, I have a gas stove, I have a bathtub full of water. I'm ready.
posted by idest at 5:02 AM on October 29, 2012

No rain yet in Washington Heights, Manhattan but considering sunrise was a little bit ago - it is pretty dark up here.
posted by Stynxno at 5:08 AM on October 29, 2012

The local bodega is open and they still have their pile of cases of beer. It is smaller than yesterday but still similar to a normal Monday. The 4 Loco fridge is still fairly pristine and the local mood was upbeat but sleepy as construction workers headed to job sites to secure items that might fly away.

Just a spatter of rain, some wind, but nothing really exciting. I guess we're waiting until this evening for that.
posted by sciencegeek at 5:09 AM on October 29, 2012

A visualization of hurricane tracks since 1851, based on NOAA data, south pole projection.
posted by carter at 5:12 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Just some light rain and wind out here in southern RI. All schools have pretty much canceled for the day. I expect it'll be much later before winds really start going. Everyone keeps saying it'll be worse than Irene - let's hope not (I was without power for 7 days for Irene!).
posted by quodlibet at 5:16 AM on October 29, 2012

Well the HuffPo continues to lead with such fear generating headlines as "WORST CASE SCENARIO' (seriously Huffpo?) and POWER OUTAGES FOR 10 MILLION POSSIBLE (how possible exactly Huffpo?) while NOAA continues to predict only a 30% possibility of hurricane force winds for a small portion of Delaware and a 50-80% chance of periods of 1 minute of 58 mph winds for lower NJ and inland to Phila and for everywhere else (including N.Y) the probabilities are that wind will gust from from 39-49 mph which is a strong wind but hardly enough for a reasonable chance of a 10 million people power outage. At this point I only read the HuffPo because it upsets me enough to help wake me up in the morning. The Front page of the NYT has the more sensible headline 'Sharp Warnings as Hurricane Churns In'
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 5:17 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I can't tell if it's raining here (UWS), but it's impressively windy and the magazine store across the street looks open.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:20 AM on October 29, 2012

HuffPost: "The End is Nigh"
New York Times: "Tut, tut, it looks like rain"
posted by sciencegeek at 5:22 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Bronx checking in: an angry man on the street passed by my window a few minutes ago, loudly expressing his surprise and dismay that neither trains nor buses were running. Not sure if he even noticed the gusting wind.
posted by ceribus peribus at 5:23 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

quodlibet: Irene went pretty much straight towards you. This one is going to take a jog inland somewhere south of Atlantic City and go towards Harrisburg (because of that other low front storm) and then precede north-northwest out your way which is actually good news because all that while it's inland it's going to be decreasing in strength (less good news for Harrisburg though)
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 5:23 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

From Weather Underground: Posted by: Angela Fritz, 11:43 PM GMT on October 28, 2012

Angela Fritz's WunderBlog

Sandy: State by state impact forecasts
Posted by: Angela Fritz, 11:43 PM GMT on October 28, 2012 +18
These impacts have been put together by Weather Underground meteorologists.

Maine

• Storm tide and surge: 1 to 2 feet of storm surge on top of tides.
• Wind: 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph. The strongest winds will occur Monday afternoon and evening.
• Rain: Widespread totals from 1 to 3 inches, with isolated amounts up to 5 inches
• Inland Flooding: Significant urban and small stream flooding is possible, which could linger into Tuesday.
• Power outages: Spotty power outages are possible as wind takes down branches and trees.

Massachusetts

• Storm tide and surge: Up to 4 feet of storm surge on top of tides, with a 10-20% chance of surge exceeding 5 feet.

Storm tide forecast for Buzzards Bay, MA is 7-8 feet.
Storm tide forecast for Woods Hole, MA is 6-7 feet.
Storm tide forecast for Nantucket, MA is 6-7 feet.

• Wind: 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 60 mph. The strongest winds will occur Monday afternoon and evening
• Rain: Widespread totals from 1.5 to 3 inches, with isolated amounts up to 5 inches
• Inland Flooding: Significant urban and small stream flooding is possible, which could linger into Tuesday.
• Power outages: Spotty power outages are possible as wind takes down branches and trees

Rhode Island

• Storm tide and surge: 4 to 5 feet of surge is possible on top of tides, with a 10-20% chance of surge exceeding 5 feet.

Storm tide forecast for Newport, RI is 8-9 feet.
Storm tide forecast for Providence, RI is 10-11 feet.
Storm tide forecast for Block Island, RI is 7-8 feet.

• Wind: 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 60 mph. The strongest winds will occur Monday afternoon and evening
• Rain: Widespread totals from 1.5 to 3 inches, with isolated amounts up to 5 inches
• Inland Flooding: Significant urban and small stream flooding is possible, which could linger into Tuesday.
• Power outages: Spotty power outages are possible as wind takes down branches and trees

Connecticut

• Storm tide and surge: 6 to 9 feet of surge is possible on top of tides, with a 60% chance of surge exceeding 5 feet west of Bridgeport. Surge will be worse as you move west along the Connecticut coastline.

Storm tide forecast for New London, CT is 8-9 feet.
Storm tide forecast for Bridgeport, CT is 14-15 feet.

• Wind: 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 60 mph. The strongest winds will occur Monday afternoon and evening
• Rain: Widespread totals from 1.5 to 3 inches, with isolated amounts up to 5 inches
• Inland Flooding: Significant urban and small stream flooding is possible, which could linger into Tuesday.
• Power outages: Power outages are possible as wind takes down branches and trees

New York

• Storm tide and surge:
Long Island Sound -- 6-7 feet on top of tide with a 50% chance of exceeding 7 feet. Storm tide forecast for Port Jefferson is 13-14 feet.
Manhattan -- 4-5 feet on top of tide with a 40% chance of exceeding 7 feet.
Staten Island -- 4-5 feet on top of tide with a 60% chance of exceeding 7 feet.

Storm tide forecast for Montauk, NY is 7-8 feet.
Storm tide forecast for Port Jefferson, NY is 13-14 feet.
Storm tide forecast for Kings Point, NY is 12-13 feet.
Storm tide forecast for The Battery, NY is 9-10 feet.
Storm tide forecast for Bergen Pt, NY is 10-11 feet.

• Wind: Long duration, damaging winds expected. 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 80 mph. The strongest winds will occur Monday afternoon and night.
• Rain: Widespread totals from 2 to 4 inches, with isolated amounts up to 6 inches, especially in the higher elevations. 1 to 2 inches PER HOUR are expected where the heaviest rain bands set up.
• Inland Flooding: Widespread urban flooding is expected Monday and into Tuesday. Fast-responding streams are expected to flood, as well. The flooding will be exacerbated by blockages in storm drains as well as rising storm tide.
• Power outages: Power outages are possible, even likely, as wind takes down branches and trees.

Pennsylvania

• Storm tide and surge: 1 to 2 feet of surge is possible on top of tides, with a 30-40% chance of surge exceeding 3 feet.

Storm tide forecast for Philadelphia, PA is 8-9 feet.

• Wind: 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 70 mph. The strongest winds will occur Monday afternoon and evening and into Tuesday. Wind speeds will increase closer to the coast.
• Rain: Widespread totals from 4 to 10 inches, with the highest amounts mainly from Philadelphia metro southward. Heavy rain is expected to begin Sunday night, with the heaviest occurring Monday night into Tuesday.
• Inland Flooding: Significant urban and small stream flooding is possible, which could linger into Tuesday. RIver flooding is possible.
• Power outages: Power outages are likely as wind takes down branches and trees.

New Jersey

• Storm tide and surge: 4 to 5 feet of surge is possible on top of tides, with a 30-50% chance of surge exceeding 7 feet. Surge will be worse as you move north along the New Jersey coastline.

Storm tide forecast for Sandy Hook, NJ is 10-11 feet.
Storm tide forecast for Atlantic City, NJ is 9-10 feet.
Storm tide forecast for Cape May, NJ is 9-10 feet.

• Wind: 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 70 mph. The strongest winds will occur Monday afternoon and evening and into Tuesday. Wind speeds will increase closer to the coast.
• Rain: Widespread totals from 4 to 10 inches. Heavy rain is expected to begin Sunday night, with the heaviest occurring Monday night into Tuesday.
• Inland Flooding: Significant urban and small stream flooding is possible, which could linger into Tuesday. RIver flooding is possible.
• Power outages: Power outages are likely as wind takes down branches and trees.

Delaware

• Storm tide and surge: 4 to 5 feet of surge is possible on top of tides, with a 20% chance of surge exceeding 6 feet.

Storm tide forecast for Reedy Point, DE is 8-9 feet.
Storm tide forecast for Lewes, DE is 9-10 feet.

• Wind: 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 70 mph. The strongest winds will occur Monday afternoon and evening and into Tuesday. Wind speeds will increase closer to the coast.
• Rain: Widespread totals from 4 to 10 inches. Heavy rain is expected to begin Sunday night, with the heaviest occurring Monday night into Tuesday.
• Inland Flooding: Significant urban and small stream flooding is possible, which could linger into Tuesday. RIver flooding is possible.
• Power outages: Power outages are likely as wind takes down branches and trees.

Maryland and Washington D.C.

• Storm tide and surge: 4 to 5 feet of surge is possible on top of tides on the ocean coast, with a 10-20% chance of surge exceeding 6 feet.
• Wind: 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 60 mph. The strongest winds will occur Monday afternoon and evening and into Tuesday. Wind speeds will increase closer to the coast, and will also be stronger along the ridges.
• Rain: Widespread totals from 3 to 6 inches, with locally higher amounts, especially in the D.C. metro. Heavy rain is expected to begin Sunday night, with the heaviest occurring Monday night into Tuesday.
• Inland Flooding: Moderate to major flooding is possible on the smaller creeks and streams. Flooding is also possible on the larger mainstream rivers beyond Tuesday.
• Power outages: Power outages are likely as wind takes down branches and trees.

Virginia

• Storm tide and surge: 2 to 4 feet of surge is possible on top of tides on the ocean coast.

Storm tide forecast for Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, VA is 6-7 feet.
Storm tide forecast for Wachapreague, VA is 7-8 feet.
Storm tide forecast for Kiptopeke Beach, VA is 6-7 feet.

• Wind: 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 60 mph. The strongest winds will occur Monday afternoon and evening and into Tuesday. Wind speeds will increase closer to the coast, and will also be stronger along the ridges.
• Rain: Widespread totals from 3 to 6 inches, with locally higher amounts, especially in the D.C. metro. Heavy rain is expected to begin Sunday night, with the heaviest occurring Monday night into Tuesday.
• Inland Flooding: Moderate to major flooding is possible on the smaller creeks and streams. Flooding is also possible on the larger mainstream rivers beyond Tuesday.
• Power outages: Power outages are likely as wind takes down branches and trees.

North Carolina

• Storm tide and surge: 2 to 4 feet of surge is possible on top of tides.

Storm tide forecast for Duck Pier, NC is 7-8 feet.

• Wind: 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 60 mph. The strongest winds will occur Monday afternoon and evening and into Tuesday. Wind speeds will increase closer to the coast, and will also be stronger along the ridges.
• Rain: An additional 1 to 3 inches possible overnight Sunday.
• Inland Flooding: Flood threat is tapering off as Sandy moves north.
• Power outages: Sporadic power outages are possible as wind breaks branches off trees.
posted by zarq at 5:31 AM on October 29, 2012 [9 favorites]

They're on NBC reporting that sections of Atlantic City's boardwalk have collapsed.
posted by zarq at 5:32 AM on October 29, 2012

The 10 million figure is from a computer model developed at John Hopkins. Not found the original report yet to see what the error bars are like on that estimate.
posted by titus-g at 5:32 AM on October 29, 2012

I looked that up yesterday Titus. The computer model was developed by an assistant prof at J.H. and I'm sure it's a cool computer model by a junior prof. at a single college but a real news source (which I do understand the HuffPo really is not) wouldn't use that single prediction as a headline lead for doom and gloom . I am so grumpy at the state of decent news sources these days. I hate the fact that I have no paper to read in the morning because out in my neck of the woods the Huffpo is actually a better source of news than any local paper :( .
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 5:37 AM on October 29, 2012

Holy Moly, Zarq. That makes it sound massive (or America is much smaller than I have been told).

IT IS THE WRATH OF GOD: Poseidon.

How does this impact weather areas just outside of the storms and hurricane? Does is suck the moist air along, leaving the carribean in a state of dryness? What about Canada, is is pushing weather fronts around there?

It scares me just looking at the NASA images of it from above.
posted by marienbad at 5:42 AM on October 29, 2012

BBC news reporting that a ship, perhaps not best suited for hurricane conditions, has been abandoned off the coast of North Carolina. The 17 crew have taken to Ye Olde Lifeboate and are being rescued by the coastguard.
posted by Wordshore at 5:44 AM on October 29, 2012

When starring a disaster in the face, what sense does it make to think in terms of less than worst case scenarios? So predict a few thousand out of power. What good is that? Predict 10 million, then you can be thankful if it's only 5 million, while being prepared for as close to 10 million as humanly possible.

Yes, the scare stories do draw more attention. But you know what? Attention in this case may be the best thing. Would you be happier if people shrugged it off and ignored the warnings? Hyperbole is so ingrained in the culture these days, without it, you got nothin'!
posted by Goofyy at 5:44 AM on October 29, 2012

It does seem to be getting a lot more play than it should given that's it's a fairly extraordinary claim (it would be over 10 * the power outages caused by Irene), and doesn't have much in the way of extraordinary proof. The only info I've found on its accuracy so far is that it predicted 'many states' to within 10% of actual for the Irene outages...
posted by titus-g at 5:45 AM on October 29, 2012

I work in social services and they actually CLOSED my agency today. They never, ever close. This is freaking me out. I mean, I'm glad, of course, that they don't want us driving around in this, but man. That's...not good.
posted by Aquifer at 5:45 AM on October 29, 2012

How does this impact weather areas just outside of the storms and hurricane? Does is suck the moist air along, leaving the carribean in a state of dryness? What about Canada, is is pushing weather fronts around there?

Storms get their power from heat. Heat radiating off the land in the case of thunderstorms, heat from the warm ocean in the case of hurricanes. It doesn't need the moist air of the carribean, because it evaporates water off the ocean.

Being a huge area of low pressure, it sucks other storm fronts into it, absorbing their energy and moisture. Look at the isobar map a couple screens up. The winds from this storm cover the eastern third of the US. The tighter the bars, the stronger the wind.
posted by gjc at 5:51 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

When starring a disaster in the face, what sense does it make to think in terms of less than worst case scenarios? S

If that were true than the entire city of New York along with the populations of all of Maryland and most of Delaware would have been evacuated inland - because that is worst case - at a cost that would probably range in the very many billions. Plus , such evacuations would have caused the death of likely dozens to hundreds as they tried to travel away during a storm and perhaps many more when you consider moving hospital patients. Which is why although you want to err on the side of worseness, you really want to rely on as accurate weather info as possible and not do everything as if it were indeed actually worst case.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 5:52 AM on October 29, 2012

Oh dear God - now the HuffPoo has a front page article headline ("LOCKDOWN") that links to some bait shop operator with this gem of a quote "I got a call from a friend of mine from Florida last night who said, `Mark, get out! If it's not the storm, it'll be the aftermath. People are going to be fighting in the streets over gasoline and food.'" I think bait-shop Mark has been watching too many Zombie flicks.

But that it - I'm getting a student subscription NYT delivery right now - I can't take this any longer. And is anyone happens to see Arianna please strangle her for me.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 6:00 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Good morning from the North Shore of Long Island! So far, windy but otherwise unremarkable here. Although given this: "Storm tide forecast for Port Jefferson, NY is 13-14 feet"... I am quite relieved that I no longer live in downtown Port Jefferson.
posted by pemberkins at 6:00 AM on October 29, 2012

This kinda makes me miss those hurricane parties we used to have in high school, but I'm pretty happy not to be prepping myself for a week without power. Stay safe everyone!
posted by Karmeliet at 6:01 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I work in social services and they actually CLOSED my agency today. They never, ever close.

And, in contrast, my spouse, who works for a federal agency in the Baltimore area, HAD TO GO TO WORK TODAY. He called the info line this morning and it very clearly said that ALL EMPLOYEES (not just emergency employees) had to report or take leave. Since he doesn't have much leave right now, in he went. I'm FURIOUS.
posted by devinemissk at 6:01 AM on October 29, 2012

There we go. Finally getting gusts of wind that blow garbage cans around in Washington Heights (even with my windows facing an alley).
posted by Stynxno at 6:04 AM on October 29, 2012

Whoa... the wind has died down and it is absolutely silent. No street noise at all. Weird.
posted by idest at 6:12 AM on October 29, 2012

Mainstream news is barely useful in a difficult situation, tabloids and click-bait are worse than worthless. Forget the HuffPo and stick to reliable information sources.

Good luck everyone in the path of this crazy thing. I've got my fingers crossed that the least-worst predictions are the ones that come to pass.
posted by harriet vane at 6:13 AM on October 29, 2012

Can someone explain how this gets its wind information? It's neato: http://hint.fm/wind/.
posted by kinsey at 6:15 AM on October 29, 2012

Good morning! Bed-Stuy checking in. Light drizzle, enough wind to sound like howling through the windows but not enough to cause much discomfort when I went for kolaches and coffee twenty minutes ago. Streets are mostly deserted but businesses are open. Waiting for roommates to get back from a run and will fill the bathtub.
posted by dysh at 6:15 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Podkayne: I'm quite fond of your nick, but you might want to try this thing called context. Evacuations are about doing things. Newspapers are only talking about things. It's an important difference. But that's okay, you go ahead and ask for the death of the publisher, while complaining about her hyperbola.
posted by Goofyy at 6:17 AM on October 29, 2012

"The Times is providing free unlimited access to storm coverage on nytimes.com and its mobile apps": nytimes,com
posted by Mister Bijou at 6:17 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Good morning, all. Some wind in Hell's Kitchen, very light intermittent rain. Nothing out of the ordinary. Heading one block down to the river to see what I can see. The tide tables say high tide in the River at Weehawken (directly across the river from me in Jersey) was 8:45am; from my window the river looks to be charging down the harbor with some whitecaps.
posted by minervous at 6:19 AM on October 29, 2012

Videos of my town from yesterday, prior to even a drop of rain falling. We know have one of the two bridges out of town flooded over. The other, will be shortly, I'm sure as it is very low lying.

The areas you see in those videos? Are now flooded entirely. The river, the creeks, etc, are rising quickly, with much more rain to come, Sandy still nowhere near full intensity for us, and high tide six hours from now.

We are very likely to have Hurricane Isabel level damage in town. While, it didn't damage other places as badly as it did Colonial Beach, it wrecked us. Last year we had some more major damage to infrastructure from Irene, then Tropical Storm Lee which caused major flooding, took out multiple roads (completely, as it parts of the road were entirely washed away,) destroyed dams in one neighborhood, etc.

I'd like a break from bad weather here, please?
posted by SuzySmith at 6:24 AM on October 29, 2012

That makes it sound massive (or America is much smaller than I have been told).

America is as big - possibly bigger - than you've been told. The stiorm is both massive and hitting all the little fiddly states (you can drive across RI in less than an hour, across MA east to west in two). But mostly the storm is really fucking huge with effects being felt very far away from the center.
posted by sonika at 6:25 AM on October 29, 2012

Here in Boston it's windy, but not awful. Hubs went to work and promised to come home when the wind picks up and stay put if trees start falling. (I don't like it, but I couldn't stop him.)

Hurricane Whuffles is at Category 3 crankypants already. Sanity here is gonna run out before bottled water.
posted by sonika at 6:27 AM on October 29, 2012

The only people I have seen out on the streets this eerily quiet morning were two guys in suits with backpacks headed to work in midtown.

I thought about working from my bank's midtown office, but the only desks left open are the ones on the 40th floor. I am not sitting in a glass tower 40 floors up, in a hurricane.
posted by larthegreat at 6:28 AM on October 29, 2012

I watched The Perfect Storm with the kids last night. We are ready now.
posted by COD at 6:29 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

>"That's what the blood of the innocent is for."

Hmph. Like you are going to find any innocents to get blood from in New York.

More to the point, this is just poor planning. Every decent necromancer knows that the Blood of the Innocent is for prolonging your unnatural existence. I hate to say it, but elizardbits' approach to the dark arts is entirely undergraduate-level. Unless the plan is to throw us off the trail of immortality, but who'd fall for that? It's ridiculous!
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:30 AM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

Dysh, you're Bed-Stuy? I'm Clinton Hill (actually, since i'm north of Myrtle Avenue, I'm more in "Wallabout"). *waves*

Rain and intermittent gusts here. I live on the 4th floor, about 500 feet from the edge of evacuation zone C. Far enough away that I'm comfortable staying, but close enough that I'm still preparing for shit to go down at some point, and I could at some point be reporting something like "shit you guys I'm looking down the hill to the end of the block and there's a guy paddling a boat down the street".

One of my bosses has said he's going in to the office for a bit - I was shocked until he said he lives in Manhattan. Everyone else I work for all lives in Connecticut or Jersey. They've shut down all trading for the day and possibly tomorrow so my already dull-as-dirt I-do-nothing job would be especially superfluous. I'm stayin' home. Making myself scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast right now while there's still power and the fridge still works.

I had kind of a genius idea when I was filling the tub for flush water just now - I added about a cup or so of bleach to the water. So I'll be prepared for the storm if I need to be - but either way, my tub is gonna be so damn clean.....
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:32 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I stepped out of my apartment near Boston for a minute then realized just how rickety the power lines look. They don't look like they could handle the gusts I'm reading about on the news.

I've seen Verizon come out to fix stuff before, and they don't seem uh...hypercompetent. I'm sure some of these things are held up by duct tape or its equivalent.

Falling power lines are the most dangerous thing I can think of out here. I'd like to go walk around more, but I don't like those things above my head.

You guys think I'm being overly cautious?
posted by shushufindi at 6:32 AM on October 29, 2012

I had to drive home during the height of the 2005 blizzard, over the Newport Bridge. The bridge had closed, but they didn't have any available troopers to enforce it, the toll booths were just empty, the gates raised, so I went for it. Heading over the bridge was amazing, as there were open-ocean rollers being forced up the bay by the wind - which got up to 75mph (85mph out on the Cape).

I didn't have a 4x4, just a compact sedan, and going slow and careful got me to within 100 feet of my driveway - when the snowdrifts just covered the street and my driveway deeper than my front bumper.

So, I compounded one stupid decision with another, and figured I'd just crash one town over at my folk's house, as it was off of roads that were relatively well traveled and usually well cleared. I knew I was in trouble when the Hummer (a real one, the H1) and the snowplow going ahead of me both ran off the road and got stuck in a ditch because they had to guess where the road was. I turned around, and tried to figure out an alternate path, and that's when a 12' snowdrift collapsed on my car, burying me completely... I gunned the gas, and burst out of it like I was in a Jeep commercial. I was not driving a Jeep, and enough was enough. I pulled into the first available driveway where some guy was having a blast playing with his industrial-strength snowblower. He invited me in, gave me a beer, and we watched some Discovery special on polar bears.

My Dad had a Jeep, he was proud of it, and he set out right away to "rescue" me, even though I told him not to. He got there just fine, but even though it was no longer snowing, and the sun came out, the wind was still savage. We got to within 100' of his house, and his Jeep just buried itself up to the hood in snow that had drifted onto his street. We were two hours digging out, and I was pretty hypothermic by the time we had gotten clear... just in time for a front-end loader to come by to clear the way. An hour-long hot shower and a pot of hot apple cider brought me back from death's door, but I was wiped out, just drained. Things could have gone much, much, much worse, and in a few spots, almost did.

So, yeah, if they say to stay off the roads, stay off the damn roads.
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:33 AM on October 29, 2012 [14 favorites]

Park Slope reporting in. Looks like any other stormy morning. Of course, the party isn't really supposed to start until later today.

Holy Moly, Zarq. That makes it sound massive (or America is much smaller than I have been told).

It is massive. New York State is about as big as England.
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:33 AM on October 29, 2012

"How does this impact weather areas just outside of the storms and hurricane? Does is suck the moist air along, leaving the carribean in a state of dryness? What about Canada, is is pushing weather fronts around there?"

It's going to rain all the way to the Mississippi and we'll get the dying hurricane's winds way out here in the Midwest. The death throes of a big hurricane sometimes give us some localized flooding, though it's not the right time of year for the major rivers to flood and give widespread flooding. Winds are predicted to be pretty heavy; some branches will come down (probably not whole trees, unless they were badly weakened by the summer drought), there will be some loss of power from wind or branches falling. A lot of our power crews (and some of our emergency services) have been sent East to stage on the edge of the storm's worst effects to assist in restoring power, so any outages here will take a little longer to repair than otherwise. It's just a really big frikkin storm.

What's weirdest out here in dry, sunny, flat world where there is currently no wind at all is that a lot of people are getting to work and have nothing to do because East Coast offices and governmental agencies are closed. My husband said it's sort-of like having the whole office at work on a holiday, where work is at a bit of a standstill because you can't reach anyone to do things that need outside input, but everyone's THERE instead of it just being a skeleton staff.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:36 AM on October 29, 2012

I'd like to go walk around more, but I don't like those things above my head.

Right this second you'd be ok. Later today... your fears about them falling down are well founded. I've seen downed lines in much less severe storms, for sure. Right now in Boston is at "bad thunderstorm" level winds. Word is it'll be picking up here around 11AM to 60-80MPH.
posted by sonika at 6:37 AM on October 29, 2012

Apps and tips for coping with Hurricane Sandy.
posted by ericb at 6:38 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I ride into work (from New Haven to Orange CT) with a co-worker and the streets were almost empty. Unfortunately, we work at the electric company so we pretty much had to come in. But there's free breakfast and coffee! & I'm just hoping it doesn't get too bad. And not because I'm worried about getting home or a tree falling on my purchased-less-than-a-year-ago house or anything like that. It's because my newly designated storm duty assignment is "Call Center Representative."

Unfortunately, it's not even remotely bad outside, but there are already 6 people out in our territory. When I first arrived at work, there were 2 people out. I get the feeling it's going to be a long week.

Aaaand in the middle of writing this we received word that we are required to work 16 hours today and tomorrow (8am-midnight today, 8 hours of sleep AT WORK, then 8am-midnight tomorrow). Argh. I guess I'll be going home at lunch today for a change of clothes, etc.

88 people out now.
posted by eunoia at 6:38 AM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

Mod note: Comment deleted. Podkayne of Pasadena, maybe you can drop the HuffPo thing now? We don't need fights about HuffPo all up in our hurricane. Thanks.
posted by taz (staff) at 6:40 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yike eunoia, the idea of being a call center representative for a power company in the wake of this storm sounds horrific. Like you'll actually be praying for the phone lines to go down because of the volume of calls that you will be getting.
posted by vuron at 6:41 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Jersey City waterfront walkway early this morning... bit damp out there.
posted by lyra4 at 6:41 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thank you for working through the storm, eunoia! I know your job will be stressful and largely thankless, so I wanted to be sure someone thanked you for doing an annoying but important job.
posted by sonika at 6:43 AM on October 29, 2012 [15 favorites]

Someone on NPR is reporting from their apartment in Battery Park that they can see Governor's Island is starting to flood.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:44 AM on October 29, 2012

Also for anyone who doesn't already know - NOAA weather radio is online here. Best up to date info you can get. Oddly no NY stations :( but Atlantic City is there along with Phila and lots of Delaware and Maryland stations.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 6:45 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sonika---60-80 MPH winds! Wow! I mean, honestly. People are saying this is true and I totally believe them, but 60-80 MPH winds in Greater Boston are something I just can't fathom!

According to an earlier comment by relish:

"For contrast, the average wind speed on Mount Washington, New Hampshire was 24.1 mph this past August. Mount Washington has seen one 24 hour period where the average wind speed was 129 mph but, of course, that was not an average day."

Isn't that 129mph like the fastest wind EVER RECORDED or something like that? Have you been up there recently? It's seriously windy!

According to Relish, " A good kiteboarding breeze might run around 15 to 18 mph (depends on a few other factors, too)." That's like blustery day at the beach when you're thinking, 'jesus it's really fricking windy on the beach.'

60-80 MPH is gonna be mayhem! 3 times as windy as the day your potato chips blew away while you were on Dennis somewhere!

WOW!
posted by shushufindi at 6:49 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Got no sleep in Brighton. Looks and sounds ominous out out but hard to say anything definitive since my apartment faces an alley. Guess I'll take a shower and make some hot chocolate and use this unexpected day off as an opportunity to read.
posted by dismas at 6:50 AM on October 29, 2012

Hi EmpressCallipygos! Wind's picking up here. Does anyone have any idea how many power outages are common for an average day? I've been watching the NY ConEd storm center map, and though there aren't many, it seems that they're increasing in number, at least from last night.
posted by dysh at 6:53 AM on October 29, 2012

Starbucks was closed, but the liquor store is open!
posted by sallybrown at 6:54 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Yike eunoia, the idea of being a call center representative for a power company in the wake of this storm sounds horrific. Like you'll actually be praying for the phone lines to go down because of the volume of calls that you will be getting.

I worked for a major ISP with a presence in New Orleans during Katrina. The phones went to an automated message for a few weeks. We =know= where service is down, working on it!

Still, there was a major network monitoring company who's NOC had our direct line. I was senior staff on third shift, and I had to repeatedly explain that no, we would not be dispatching a tech to fix the cable modem. No, we won't be sending over a fiber tech tonight. No, we can't send someone to fix the phones.

Enough was enough, and I got a hold of their supervisor, who was livid about one particular account. He said the account notes indicated there was a security guard wo could let our engineer in after hours, it was an important site with an expensive circuit and an iron-clad SLA, what was the deal? I told him we'd send someone as soon as he verified that there was a still a there we could send someone to (There wasn't, we found out later, this was in Jefferson Parish).

He woke up his boss to yell at my higher-ups. Boss was not amused, and I didn't hear again from the guy the rest of the time I worked there.
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:55 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Greetings from evacuation zone C on the Upper East Side - a bit of drizzle here and whistling wind. The emergency Doritos have been opened.

Wait Starbucks is closed?? In Vancouver that was the sign the end was nigh. We made it through a 4 day power outage one year when the only thing open was the mall Starbucks (it had a line out the door).
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 6:55 AM on October 29, 2012

Obama should fly over the storm in Air Force One, giving briefings to the major networks, order fighter jets to attack the storm with missiles and hit Romney as being "soft on hurricanes" for wanting to dissolve FEMA.
posted by Ironmouth at 6:57 AM on October 29, 2012 [12 favorites]

Wait Starbucks is closed??

Yeah wtf right! The local bagel store has better coffee anyways, just a smaller size large. Maybe the DC Starbucks are wimpier than Vancouver!
posted by sallybrown at 6:57 AM on October 29, 2012

Upper West Side (NYC) here - still light intermittent rain and normal winds. Am already stir crazy and trying to decide how stupid it would be to go out for a walk with the youngster before the house is destroyed from within by teenagers.

Coming home last night from a wedding, the scene was odd - lots of windows taped up everywhere (mostly stores and restaurants, but some apartments) and very few cars on the streets, but in my neighhboorhood almost everything was still open and hopping like usual.

Really having a tough time figuring out whether we are in the path and should be panicking more, or it's missing us and I should enjoy the day off and worry about the rest of the east coast.
posted by Mchelly at 6:59 AM on October 29, 2012

60-80 MPH winds! Wow!

We're going to just keep burning hydrocarbons until wind power is commercially viable.
posted by ceribus peribus at 7:00 AM on October 29, 2012 [9 favorites]

I think the Starbucks in Vancouver was afraid to close, too many addicts.

I haven't been out but I could use a fresh bagel... I'm kind of disappointed its not even raining here.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 7:00 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ironmouth, I'd wouldn't be shocked if Romney-Ryan rent a yacht or something in order to stage some sort of dramatic rescue of trapped homeowners in the Hamptons just so they could show how hands on they are.
posted by vuron at 7:00 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

I stepped out of my apartment near Boston for a minute then realized just how rickety the power lines look. They don't look like they could handle the gusts I'm reading about on the news. I've seen Verizon come out to fix stuff before, and they don't seem uh...hypercompetent. I'm sure some of these things are held up by duct tape or its equivalent.

There was a nice piece on the (BBC) radio a few months ago, arguing whether "America was held together by duct tape" or not. It put some strange images in the head.

Imagines Cloverfield struggling with the head duct taped back onto the Statue of Liberty
posted by Wordshore at 7:00 AM on October 29, 2012

Boerum hill checking in. All seems eerily calm at the moment. My roommate just walked down the street to his new apartment – he convinced the painting crew to come in today. I'll get a report about weather on the ground from him. Any thoughts on what time I should fill the bathtub? It's nigh impossible to prevent slow drainage and I want to wait till the last possible moment.
posted by (Over) Thinking at 7:01 AM on October 29, 2012

Central Pa.: Hospital closes its doctors' offices, colleges and schools close, state of emergency declared; state liquor stores remain open as long as there's power. Priorities, people.
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:01 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ha. And as I was typing that, my 4 year old is currently parked in front of the TV watching Singing In The Rain.
posted by Mchelly at 7:02 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ironmouth, I'd wouldn't be shocked if Romney-Ryan rent a yacht or something in order to stage some sort of dramatic rescue of trapped homeowners in the Hamptons just so they could show how hands on they are.

That was my other thought. Obama should rescue Mitt somewhere in Southern Ohio. Fly him to the White House and put blankets on them as they get off the helicopter.
posted by Ironmouth at 7:04 AM on October 29, 2012

The Baltimore Sun has confirmed that the Ocean City, MD pier has been destroyed by Hurricane Sandy
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:06 AM on October 29, 2012

Oh noes. I am already eating some of my if-the-power-goes-out food stash and the power is fine.

Central MA here. Just blowy so far. Wishing the best to all you folks in the thick of it, stay safe,
posted by madamjujujive at 7:07 AM on October 29, 2012

Starbucks is closed here on the UWS. As is American Apparel, Chipoltle and 5 guys. The local halal chicken and rice guy is still open, that guy is hardcore. I'm tempted to grab an early chicken and rice just to show support, cuz really what kind of manic goes out for chicken and rice this early on a monday during a hurricane.
posted by Ad hominem at 7:08 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Livestream of the Ocean City Pier.
posted by Lord_Pall at 7:09 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Is that chicken/rice halal guy in a cart or storefront?
posted by sciencegeek at 7:09 AM on October 29, 2012

Really having a tough time figuring out whether we are in the path and should be panicking more, or it's missing us and I should enjoy the day off and worry about the rest of the east coast.

The path is only part of it - the actual storm is different from Irene, and things will act differently.

Imagine that Irene was like a mini-dachshund - angry and smart, and fast, but small, so it charged right at us and growled and spat and made a lot of noise and snapped at us but then it ran off really fast and it was small and it was easy for some of us to dodge it.

Sandy, on the other hand, is like one of those really, really big dogs that can be kind of dumb, but it's also mean, so it's shuffling along and getting distracted on the way but then remembers it's pissed off so it then can growl and bite us, but there's also damage becuase it's big and it's knocking things over as it passes by them and sometimes it'll just forget what it was doing and will just stand there wagging its tail and knocking things off shelves and then maybe it'll pick up some speed and plow things over as it passes, but then will slow down and growl and stop...where it bites is only part of the story.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:09 AM on October 29, 2012 [17 favorites]

I think the worst has come when the guys who sell things on the street pack up, I'll be truly afraid too if the flower guy at my corner store packs up. I was chatting to him yesterday about the storm and i asked him if he was ready and all he said was "i'll be here."
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 7:10 AM on October 29, 2012

Oh man, that pier was such a big part of my childhood :(
posted by empath at 7:10 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Is that chicken/rice halal guy in a cart or storefront?

Cart. One of those carts they stand inside. Last year they closed it and left the cart there, as for now they are still open.

The green cart is gone but the guy left his chair.
posted by Ad hominem at 7:13 AM on October 29, 2012

That poor gazebo. It looks so sad out there complete surrounded by water with no hope of rescue.
posted by vuron at 7:14 AM on October 29, 2012

MBTA in Boston shutting down at 2PM.

(Insert joke about "how will we be able to tell the difference?" here.)
posted by sonika at 7:14 AM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

I'm trying to pull up a few "livecams" of Sandy from different vantage points; it's a little disconcerting how many of them are down.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:14 AM on October 29, 2012

Man that halal chicken and rice guy is hardcore if he's hanging out in a cart. You might buy up some of his stock just so that he can shut down early when he sells out.
posted by vuron at 7:15 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

That poor gazebo. It looks so sad out there complete surrounded by water with no hope of rescue.


I'm watching the webcam hoping it'll pull up and swim away to be with it's family.

So far it's sticking it out.
posted by Lord_Pall at 7:16 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Any good webcams located on the waterfront in NYC?
posted by Stynxno at 7:16 AM on October 29, 2012

Went out jogging with the girlfriend this morning. Eight foot branch fell off a tree right in front of us. It's not even all that windy out yet. Probably says more about the branch than it does the weather.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:18 AM on October 29, 2012

Where is that gazebocam?
posted by Mister_A at 7:18 AM on October 29, 2012

Stynxo: “Any good webcams located on the waterfront in NYC?”

Take your pick.
posted by koeselitz at 7:19 AM on October 29, 2012

Cory Booker is just the goddamned best.
posted by mintcake! at 7:19 AM on October 29, 2012

Gazebocam
posted by Lord_Pall at 7:20 AM on October 29, 2012

Everything federal or local government here in Arlington Virginia is closed: schools, agencies, libraries, community centers, courts, metro. Reagan airport is open but many flights are canceled. Trash pickups have been delayed until Wednesday. It rained all night and the winds aren't really bad, they are coming and going in rolling waves. Supposed to really pick up around 2 pm here.

Our house has lost power for several hours four times over the last year; two of those times was for several days and we had to throw out all the food in our fridge. So we are sort of expecting to lose power, and have our cooler with extra milk etc set up. Arlington: those old trees are pretty but deadly. My brother lives in a planned community in Ashburn where the power lines are underground, and they never lose power.
posted by onlyconnect at 7:21 AM on October 29, 2012

Here in DC things look pretty chill so far, but obviously it's not supposed to stay that way. If anyone in DC/Southern Maryland finds themselves in need, please MeMail me. (Of course, if things get really bad I won't see the message until the electricity and cell towers return.)

This is the Google Group for Metafilter DC: use that too.
posted by anotherpanacea at 7:23 AM on October 29, 2012

I mean, where is it geographically? I assume Jersey shore...
posted by Mister_A at 7:23 AM on October 29, 2012

Oh, it's on now... Frankenstorm has angered the Gazebo!
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:23 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Koeselitz - I just tried five of the cameras from your link, and they're all down.

Mentioning this not as a critique of your authority, however. On the other hand, it feels more like evidence of how hairy things are getting that "holy shit the storm's knocking out all the webcams already".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:23 AM on October 29, 2012

How's the DC and Maryland/Delaware/Eastern PA area holding up? On radar it looks like they're getting the bulk of the weather right now.

There's wind and rain in Brooklyn, but I'm seriously considering venturing out for coffee. Did not think through morning caffeine when I was stocking up on supplies yesterday.
posted by Sara C. at 7:24 AM on October 29, 2012

Stay safe y'all, see you on the other side.
posted by arcticseal at 7:25 AM on October 29, 2012

I think the webcams are being hammered. I wasn't reaching many of them even 18 hours ago.
posted by Goofyy at 7:25 AM on October 29, 2012

(Yeah, I haven't checked those webcams myself – just hoping some work.)
posted by koeselitz at 7:25 AM on October 29, 2012

Starbucks was closed

...

*Commences preparations for Honorable dispensation of Hari-Kari Seppuku ceremony.*
posted by Skygazer at 7:25 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

You know, if my boss isn't going to come in, he could have emailed me not to too. /me is cross.
posted by maryr at 7:25 AM on October 29, 2012

I'm also watching the 79th street boat basin cam from Koeselitz's links and it's on a freaking boat and it's already making me sick to my stomach.
posted by vuron at 7:26 AM on October 29, 2012

So far in Philly area, it's windy and rainy but nothing super scary. Although morons are crashing all over the local highways, so there's that. Grow a brain and stay home, morans!
posted by Mister_A at 7:26 AM on October 29, 2012

Environment Canada issued a wind warning for Southern Ontario starting tonight. They're saying gusts starting at 60kph (~37mph) but can go up to 90-100kph (55 - 60mph). There's also a tropical cyclone statement in how it would affect Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
posted by zix at 7:26 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Cory Booker is just the goddamned best.

Did he rescue somebody again? It's so hard to keep up.
posted by maudlin at 7:27 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm about 2 miles west of I-95 - 50 miles South of DC. It's been raining all morning, and the wind gusts are just now starting to pick up. I've already got a new leak in the house today, but it is a toilet so I'm going to assume it is not Sandy related.
posted by COD at 7:27 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Philly check-in: the sky seems to be lighter and it's not raining as hard as it was earlier. My cat is no more or less insane than usual. Going a little stir-crazy, but I expect that may be due to the fact that I'm working from home while my partner, for whom school is canceled, gets to watch Doctor Who on Netflix.
posted by coppermoss at 7:27 AM on October 29, 2012

Ooof, Mary - note the above about the MBTA shutting down at 2pm, and get home safe!

(also, poor neighbors moving today, I hope you wrap it up soon. Eesh!)
posted by ldthomps at 7:28 AM on October 29, 2012

Check out the predicted path of the eye of the storm. It is going to park over PA for 24+ hours. That won't be pretty.
posted by gjc at 7:32 AM on October 29, 2012

Cuomo's doing a press conference now - They're closing the Holland Tunnel and the Brooklyn/Battery Tunnel at 2 pm today. Bridges will close when we hit 60 mph.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:32 AM on October 29, 2012

Slap*Happy: Oh, it's on now... Frankenstorm has angered the Gazebo!

I'm reminded of this old Knights of the Dinner Table comic. Warning: Reading this, even if you don't find it funny, will require a saving throw against geekiness.
posted by Kattullus at 7:32 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Did he rescue somebody again? It's so hard to keep up.

Cory Booker's probably already rescued 12 cats, delivered two babies and given CPR to half the people in Newark (whether they needed it or not)...and the storm's barely hit the NY/Nj/Conn metro area yet.
posted by Skygazer at 7:33 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Anybody know what these balls are on the ground in the Wildwood NJ webcam? They don't seem to be loose.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:33 AM on October 29, 2012

Gah, the wind rattling the windows makes it sound like Mary Poppins is back AND SHE'S SUPER PISSED.
posted by The Whelk at 7:33 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ha I saw those too Potomac Avenue. Those are some heavy-ass beach balls.
posted by Mister_A at 7:35 AM on October 29, 2012

Cobble Hill Brooklyn here, and this is already more exciting than Irene was. I'm a little nervous what it'll be like in 10 hours. They're shutting all the tunnels, I'm sure the bridges are next
posted by Unred at 7:35 AM on October 29, 2012

The base is closed today, but my offices are still open even though theyre encouraging everyone to work from home. I left my laptop at work on Friday, so I'm at home catching up on grad school lectures. There's ten pounds of lamb and beef in the fridge, and we stocked up on alcohol over the weekend.

All the patio stuff is I. The basement, but I left the garbage cans out. Should I bring those in? Also, I had to put hot sauce on all the plants we brought in so the cats would stop eating them.
posted by backseatpilot at 7:36 AM on October 29, 2012

Hurricane Sandy: 14 rescued after abandoning HMS Bounty off N.C. coast; 2 still missing
posted by Floydd at 7:36 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I haven't been outside since 5:30 AM and our windows all face walls. What's it like out there?
posted by griphus at 7:37 AM on October 29, 2012

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says not to look out the window and say to oneself "It doesn't look so bad."


But you may ask yourself...How did I get here?
posted by Skygazer at 7:37 AM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

CT state highways will be closed to all non-emergency vehicles after 1PM.
posted by smalls at 7:40 AM on October 29, 2012

Big ass construction crane over the new downtown Whitney museum they are building at the southern end of the High Line.

I DO NOT LIKE THAT CRANE. THAT CRANE IS A BAD CRANE.

I am super sad about the Bounty. :/
posted by elizardbits at 7:40 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hurricane LOL or (sign of the end times): Jogger wearing horse head mask spotted in DC.
posted by emjaybee at 7:41 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm sitting at work in Cambridge MA, about 2.7 miles from my house. I biked in this morning and was planning on working a full day, but now they're closing the T at 2pm. Would it be a terrible idea to try to bike or walk home around 4pm? I have a raincoat, hiking boots, rain pants, a headlamp, and a reflective vest.

I feel like this is a "Should I eat it?" question where the answer is obvious but I need to hear it from other humans.
posted by Aizkolari at 7:41 AM on October 29, 2012

Andrew Cuomo says when you take flooding precautions you must ask yourself:

How much water and where is it?
posted by Skygazer at 7:42 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Checking in from Syosset, since apparently Oceanside is under an evacuation order? I'm a little pissed off, actually, because there was an automated call going around at 2pm yesterday, but we never got it. So we only found out about the evacuation at like 8:30.

From the window of the Fairfield Inn, there is a lot of wind. Also rain. So far it just looks like a bad thunderstorm, though.
posted by Andrhia at 7:42 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Griphus, it's dark, a bit wet, but super duper windy. Like it'll be quiet for a while and all the windows will rattle and shake like a gang of disgruntled street orphans have just aout had it with this " longingly gazing at food-filled home life" crap and decided to take matters into thier own hands.
posted by The Whelk at 7:44 AM on October 29, 2012

Aizkolari: "I'm sitting at work in Cambridge MA, about 2.7 miles from my house. I biked in this morning and was planning on working a full day, but now they're closing the T at 2pm. Would it be a terrible idea to try to bike or walk home around 4pm? I have a raincoat, hiking boots, and rain pants.

I feel like this is a "Should I eat it?" question where the answer is obvious but I need to hear it from other humans."

Go home, man!
posted by dismas at 7:44 AM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

Just been informed that my Tuesday evening reservation for Amtrak NE corridor has been cancelled, so I'm assuming this route is on hold for Tuesday as well.
posted by carter at 7:45 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Aizkolari, it is a bad idea, yes. Twelve hours ago, in New York, we were feeling the wind in a *car*.
posted by Andrhia at 7:45 AM on October 29, 2012

Long Island here. Lots of wind and a little rain so far. Schools and our work are closed so we are just chilling and watching movies with our kid, who is in the midst of potty training. Good times. We expect to lose power at some point.
posted by mbd1mbd1 at 7:45 AM on October 29, 2012

Andrew Cuomo says:

You don't want to be over-prepared, but you also don't want to be under-prepared.

*Makes note to self.*
posted by Skygazer at 7:45 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I think if you're asking yourself "Is it safe to stay at work?" it's probably best to just go home. Nobody knows how bad it will be when you do leave...why risk your well being for a few hours of work productivity?
posted by emjaybee at 7:45 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hi! I'm in Maryland, about 30 miles NW of DC (yes, Frederick!). We've had rain since last night - really steady and cold now, and the winds are picking up. We're told to expect the worst of the rain and the winds starting around 5 tonight, and peaking around 2AM with ~70MPH winds.
posted by ersatzkat at 7:45 AM on October 29, 2012

Really a poor time for me to destroy my laptop which I did this weekend.
posted by josher71 at 7:46 AM on October 29, 2012

Lots of sirens in my neighborhood right now. Pretty eerie.
posted by pemberkins at 7:46 AM on October 29, 2012

Hey Ersatzkat, I'm in Baltimore. It's getting worse here now as well. Johns Hopkins is closed and they don't do that unless they expect shit to go down.
posted by josher71 at 7:47 AM on October 29, 2012

Is working a full day at the office worth the possibility of getting stuck in a horrible storm on foot or bike Aizkolari? I think unless you work in some emergency response field that question should basically answer itself. That it doesn't just speaks to the unhealthy attitude most Americans have with their jobs.
posted by vuron at 7:47 AM on October 29, 2012

Livecam from Far Rockaway
I can't but help think that this guy is an idiot for not evacuating, especially given where he is.
posted by Lord_Pall at 7:48 AM on October 29, 2012

Finally came in to work, though they sent an email that it was optional - but I felt guilty because I only have an 8 minute walking commute. Got here, total ghost town. Silly of me. I think I'll spend a few hours getting organized and take advantage of the silence, then go home and nest some more.
posted by Miko at 7:48 AM on October 29, 2012

why risk your well being for a few hours of work productivity?

Chalk one up for the Hurrican't column.
posted by ryoshu at 7:51 AM on October 29, 2012

Ersatzkat and josher71, I'm in close-in Silver Spring and we're starting to see the winds pick up here as well. It's been mostly just steady cold rain until now, but I'm seeing the trees around me starting to sway.

That being said, FedEx delivered my rechargeable battery for my LED lantern this morning, so clearly some "essential" services are still running. :)
posted by devinemissk at 7:51 AM on October 29, 2012

I got an email last night saying in bold red letters "Do not attempt to go in to the office". I figured they made it red so we would know they weren't kidding. Needless to say I didn't attempt to go in to the office.
posted by Ad hominem at 7:51 AM on October 29, 2012

Based on the latest projections, when this monster comes ashore, the center will pass almost directly overhead. I can handle the loss of power, but right now I'm just hoping for no structural damage. Fingers crossed, whispered prayers, etc.
posted by shiu mai baby at 7:53 AM on October 29, 2012

I only get Error #2046 from the 79th St. Boat Basin cam.

• (...)
• Error #2044: No TCP/IP connection
• Error #2045: Video preprocessing failure
• Error #2046: Cam has evacuated to higher ground
• Error #2047: Device already in use and locked by another user
• Error #2048: Software driver missing required file
• (...)

posted by Flunkie at 7:53 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Checking in from Fairfield, CT. The wind has really started to pick up, and the house is creaking a bit already. We lost power for about 30 seconds this morning before any really serious wind, so that does not bode well for the next 48 hours or so. We are on the inland and higher elevation side of Fairfield, but the whole area down by the water is under a mandatory evacuation.

Got an email last night informing me that my office was open and to use discretion in deciding whether to come in. In response, my boss sent an email to our department telling us to definitely NOT come in. Yay for common sense! Of course, at 10:30 this morning they closed the office anyway.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 7:53 AM on October 29, 2012

I am actually surprised that the email to not come into work included those who live within walking distance of the office, which was not the case last year or during any other weather emergency in the past 7 years. I can't believe our brand new otherwise virtually worthless HR person actually did something useful.
posted by poffin boffin at 7:54 AM on October 29, 2012

They're closing the brooklyn-battery and Holland tunnels at 2pm today. Bridges will be closed on a case by case basis.

Not entirely surprising, but it's still a little worrisome.

I'm doing a beer run in the eas tvillage at noon- apparently goodbeer will be open!
posted by larthegreat at 7:54 AM on October 29, 2012

Well, the water has started rising where I work. The first set of gardens are maybe three feet above this water level and the second set is only another foot or so.
posted by sciencegeek at 7:54 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

A view of Van Brunt St. in Red Hook earlier this morning.
posted by Neilopolis at 7:54 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

@WSJWeather: Folks, just to summarize what we're seeing here, #Sandy is in the process of intensifying -- perhaps more than earlier forecasts showed.
posted by fightorflight at 7:54 AM on October 29, 2012

Thanks MeFites. I'll head over to Harvard to take the T home around 1:30.

My offer to help anyone local with property clearing after the storm still stands.
posted by Aizkolari at 7:55 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Wind is definitely picking up here on Long Island.
posted by pemberkins at 7:57 AM on October 29, 2012

DC checking in - we've had rain ranging from moderate to heavy, and winds have been increasing fairly steadily all morning. Forecasts seem to be saying that the worst will be late this afternoon into the evening, but so far it's just been a particularly windy rainy day.
posted by malthas at 7:57 AM on October 29, 2012

ugh now i have to go outside to mail my rent check. hisssss.
posted by elizardbits at 7:57 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Would it be a terrible idea to try to bike or walk home around 4pm? I have a raincoat, hiking boots, rain pants, a headlamp, and a reflective vest.

YES. YES IT WOULD. YES.

The winds will be around 65MPH. (I am also in Boston.) Do you think you can keep *on* your bike and/or walk with that kind of wind? Not to mention stuff blowing at you. Not to mention rain.

Go home now. As in NOW. As in, I can see the wind picking up and the window of opportunity to do so in relative safety is diminishing.
posted by sonika at 7:57 AM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

For some perspective on the size of this storm, the eye is still ~100 miles offshore of Delaware Bay.

Yet I can see the Western edge of it from my balcony in suburban Chicago. Huge.
posted by gjc at 7:59 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wind is (as mentioned) picking up. Forecasts say it's going to get worse here starting around noon. Called husband asked him to come home within the next hour plz ok thnx. Response was that they were all at work and doing "important stuff" so he'd "wait and see."

Ship of Fools. Office of Idiots.
posted by sonika at 7:59 AM on October 29, 2012

Those images of Red Hook are amazing especially since landfall is still so long from now.

There is probably one or more temples to Cthulhu or Dagon hidden in those warehouses, HP Lovecraft was right! El Bloombergo should do a better job with the "gangs of young loafers & herds of evil-looking foreigners that one sees everywhere in New York" as they are obviously directing this storm to hit NYC.
posted by vuron at 8:00 AM on October 29, 2012

Do you think you can keep *on* your bike and/or walk with that kind of wind?

You can walk in that speed of wind. It's just that you get buffeted a lot and it's exhausting. The main risk is being hit by something flying.
posted by Miko at 8:00 AM on October 29, 2012

Jogger wearing horse head mask spotted in DC.

Tristan Tzara's morning run has actually gotten rather blasé.
posted by mintcake! at 8:01 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

I have a perverse desire to walk around some of the bigger landmark areas before the storm starts proper and star in my own 28 Days Later photoset.
posted by The Whelk at 8:03 AM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

ugh now i have to go outside to mail my rent check. hisssss.

If you had properly used that Blood of the Innocent, you wouldn't have to worry about melting in water. Toad's Eye Salve* will give you limited protection, however.

*Not real toads' eyes. Ewwww.
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:04 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

@MittstormTips: President Obama has not once referred to this storm as a hurricane. #MittStormTips #Sandy
posted by Skygazer at 8:04 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

no i just don't feel like putting pants on
posted by elizardbits at 8:05 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

No one should have to wear pants during a possible disaster unless the pants are pyjama or yoga pants.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 8:07 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Or fuzzy pants.
posted by sciencegeek at 8:08 AM on October 29, 2012

Hey mods, any chance this thread can be sidebarred?
posted by longdaysjourney at 8:09 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I think we can add fuzzy pants and comfy sweat pants to the list.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 8:09 AM on October 29, 2012

Yoga pants represent! My son has pajama pants with monkeys on them. Because, duh.
posted by sonika at 8:09 AM on October 29, 2012

Hey mods, any chance this thread can be sidebarred?

Sure.
posted by jessamyn at 8:09 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

The wind is really clearing out the dead leaves in my yard. Looks like I can wait another year to buy a blower, huzzah!
posted by monju_bosatsu at 8:10 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Safely ensconced in my home in North Shore MA, working from home. The wind is blowing healthily outside but no howling as of yet. NOAA says the major wind and rain will come later today and tonight. I'm glad it's relatively warm in case the power goes out.

DVD player and Droid tablet batteries are charged and there's enough nonperishable food in the house for a couple of days. I should probably go downstairs and fill a couple of pots with water.
posted by Currer Belfry at 8:10 AM on October 29, 2012

no i just don't feel like putting pants on

Woowoo...Elizardbits is a hurricane vixen.

El Bloombergo: No pantalones por vixen's del hurricano...
posted by Skygazer at 8:10 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

We might be over the windspeed safely limit for MC hammer parachute pants.
posted by ceribus peribus at 8:10 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Doing research in fuzzy slippers is making OCLC 150% better. As is this puppy.

(Philadelphia area: blustery, lots of rain, flooding starting. Puppy completely unconcerned about anything aside from pets.)
posted by jetlagaddict at 8:11 AM on October 29, 2012

My son has pajama pants with monkeys on them.

WAIT ARE THEY SNOWBOARDING MONKEYS IN SANTA HATS

no particular personal reason for this inquiry of course haha
posted by elizardbits at 8:11 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fleece fuzzy pants here.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:12 AM on October 29, 2012

Question: I have bottled water leftover from a party that's at least a year or two old. Is it safe to drink it? Or will my body spontaneously explode in cholera-soaked cancer cells?
posted by shiu mai baby at 8:12 AM on October 29, 2012

Thanks, Jessamyn. <3
posted by longdaysjourney at 8:12 AM on October 29, 2012

I see your fuzzy slippers and raise you stripe-y socks ... mismatched, neon stripy socks. And fuzzy pants.
posted by sciencegeek at 8:13 AM on October 29, 2012

Vinny-the-Chin pants here.
posted by vrakatar at 8:14 AM on October 29, 2012

WAIT ARE THEY SNOWBOARDING MONKEYS IN SANTA HATS

Cowboy monkeys saying things like "Roundin' Up Some Z's!"
posted by sonika at 8:14 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

shiu mai baby, the bottled water I bought yesterday has an expiration date on it (2 years from now, for the record).
posted by shiny blue object at 8:14 AM on October 29, 2012

Philly Burbs checking in. Lots of rain and a bit of wind. Wet leaves everywhere. Honestly, it just looks like any other rainy day in the fall, but I'm sure it will get worse. Tub filled as per Metafilter Toilet Science Club.

On a side note, aren't web cams a thing anymore? The ones posted from NYC are great, but anything I've found from the Jersey shore is a picture that is updated every 5 minutes (which is making me sad for all the erosion already) and one of the "Wildwoods" sign that is very choppy. Maybe because it's off season there aren't a lot? Does anyone have any streaming webcam Jersey beach town links?
posted by NoraCharles at 8:14 AM on October 29, 2012

Email from our apartment building management:

At this time, Hurricane Sandy is at our doorstep and residents should be taking final steps to either leave immediately to higher ground or to have provisions at hand for a major metropolitan shut down. All public transportation systems have been shut down until further notice. Most retail services will be shutting down in the next few hours.

Jersey City police officials will be restricting road travel as of 2pm this afternoon. All travel should be completed prior to that that time. Parking regulations have been suspended through Wednesday. All city parks have been closed until further notice. Only ground floor and 1st floor housing have been evacuated in low-lying areas at this time. For high-rise, no evacuation orders have been received and residents that have chosen to stay home should "shelter in place" until the storm has passed.

The winds are really picking up here - yikes. I just moved a camp chair into the inner hallway we have, which is the closest I come besides the bathroom to a windowless room.
posted by lyra4 at 8:14 AM on October 29, 2012

Currer Belfry, you live near me. I was just realizing that after this storm, that's the end of the the fall color. no slowly dwindling orange to brown...we're gonna have bare trees at the end of the week.
posted by Miko at 8:14 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Shiu, your water is safe. I drank 5-year-old water after Hurricane Ike, and it only made me stronger.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 8:14 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Aqua nightie with sweatshirt over it, flannel nightgown as a blanket. No socks, mostly because I avoid foot covering if at all possible while I'm in my house. Free feet forever!
posted by Currer Belfry at 8:15 AM on October 29, 2012

Holy shit! Why am I the only one TOTALLY FREAKING OUT about the Gazebocam?! I remember going to Ocean City this summer, and that Gazebo was NOT IN THE GODDAMN WATER!

Ahhhhhhhhh...Ok, ok ok...

This is the gazebo on the cam. I thought it was somewhere right by the Boardwalk.

Man, that would have been insane.
posted by shushufindi at 8:15 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sweet. Thanks, y'all.
posted by shiu mai baby at 8:15 AM on October 29, 2012

Miko, I'm not sure about the leaves... the leaves on my trees are tenacious little suckers. We shall see.
posted by Currer Belfry at 8:16 AM on October 29, 2012

we're gonna have bare trees at the end of the week.

Oh man. That's the saddest realization of them all. And then the time changes. WINTER IS COMING.
posted by sonika at 8:17 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Thanks, shushufindi. I was looking for a reference.
posted by Floydd at 8:19 AM on October 29, 2012

TACOS ARE COMING

anybody want some
posted by dismas at 8:19 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

YES
posted by elizardbits at 8:21 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Big ass construction crane over the new downtown Whitney museum they are building at the southern end of the High Line. It's well over 20 stories high. I'm thinking they maybe should have taken that down as I watch it sway gently.

They're designed to sway a certain amount to dissipate the energy. I recall that one collapsed (in England) in high wind a few years ago because somebody locked it in place. So swaying is good.
posted by Jehan at 8:21 AM on October 29, 2012

TACOS ARE CUMIN*

*among other flavorful ingredients
posted by argonauta at 8:21 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Watching the local news here (WPIX, channel 11. the coverage is quite good), in NYC, and from these commercials, I am definitely not taking advantage of all sorts of opportunities for some pret-ty goshdarned profitable litigating...
posted by Skygazer at 8:22 AM on October 29, 2012

Christ, it is so slow, we ought be thankful it isn't even slightly stronger.
posted by vrakatar at 8:23 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

For south shore Long Islanders who left their homes and moved further inland, here's an update:

Here you can see the ocean at (not up to) the boardwalk in Long Beach, NY at 6:00p Oct 28, before Sandy even got here. (For any locals wondering how home is looking, I took this near near Monroe.) Then I left with my car and it looks like there's no going back.

This morning, Oct 29, the City posted a photo of a flooded street to their Facebook, which many think to be Riverside and Pine.

Also posted was a photo of the flooding before the Long Beach Bridge, at Long Beach and Pine, which shows the flooding before the Long Beach Bridge, which has now been closed to traffic in both directions.

With storm drains already overcapacity and localized flooding in many parts of the west end, the City is asking those who did not listen to yesterday's calls for evacuation to leave now by way of either Atlantic Beach or Loop Parkway. Considering Sandy isn't even here yet, high tide tonight and tomorrow morning should be interesting.

(If Long Beach sounds familiar in an Irene sort of way, yes, this is the same town.)
posted by Brian Puccio at 8:24 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

TACOS ARE COMING

Sio42, if S. Cameron survives the water, the best tacos in town are over at Tres Hermanos. Awesome, awesome food.
posted by MonkeyToes at 8:25 AM on October 29, 2012

My cat has become unusually friendly. The end is near!
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 8:27 AM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

Looks like I can wait another year to buy a blower, huzzah!

Yeah, but getting an entire fallen tree out of your yard is even more of a pain.

(here's hoping you don't have to).
posted by emjaybee at 8:28 AM on October 29, 2012

Flooding has receded in Red Hook, Brooklyn with high tide ending. Next danger time is 9 to 11P, which is the next high tide, also there's a full moon. Also there's Sandy...

The news people are beginning to milk it with the overboard hysteria and melodrama though...(always a good sign their beginning to worry that things simply aren't nutty enough).
posted by Skygazer at 8:28 AM on October 29, 2012

Yeah, but getting an entire fallen tree out of your yard is even more of a pain.

True, but Irene knocked down most of the dead trees last fall, so I'm hoping we'll be okay.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 8:28 AM on October 29, 2012

Oh good, more Maryland people! Sometimes I think I'm out here on the frontier fringes typing from the bottom of a well or something!! I work for a LARGE bank, and while I don't work in a branch, my office is IN a branch, if that makes sense, so I don't have to drive all the way up and down 270 to get to McLean every day. We got an internal note yesterday that we closed our entire branch network in NY/NJ, and it just now got updated to "all the Mid-Atlantic branches, too". I'm working at home sitting in the comfy chair by the bedroom window, but the VPN just gets flakier and flakier as more folks log in from home, so we'll see how long that lasts!
posted by ersatzkat at 8:31 AM on October 29, 2012

Mayor El Ka Bloombergo is on his way!!
posted by Skygazer at 8:31 AM on October 29, 2012

Just saw a guy on the local news (standing out in the rain, of course) suggest that we all call our loved ones and let them know we love them. So apparently we are all going to die.
posted by COD at 8:33 AM on October 29, 2012 [13 favorites]

Thanks you for the pics, Brian Puccio. I am really very worried about what we do if our house floods. We are going to be so, so poor. :/
posted by Andrhia at 8:33 AM on October 29, 2012

the best tacos in town are over at Tres Hermanos.

Yes, but the best chicken as at Los Pollos Hermanos!

(Oh come on. We were ALL thinking it.)

(I'll see myself out.)
posted by sonika at 8:35 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Andrhia, FEMA does help out financially with damage due to rising waters if you live in a designated "disaster area." At least they used to. It's worth keeping in mind if you have any rising water damage.
posted by Currer Belfry at 8:36 AM on October 29, 2012

Watching the local news here (WPIX, channel 11. the coverage is quite good), in NYC

In Pittsburgh Channel 11 is WPXI. I love little things like that.

Wind is starting to pick up in gusts a little in Boston (I'm at BMC in the South End). Plenty of supplies at home and once I make sure all of my little 4-legged friends here are taken care of and the lab is locked down I'm heading home to crash with my little friends (4- and 2-legged) there. Might stop at the packie on the way home. Just in case.
posted by bowmaniac at 8:37 AM on October 29, 2012

Southern MD, on the Chesapeake Bay, checking in.

Weather has been crap for the past 18 hours - pretty much continuous rain, winds have been gusting but not particularly sustained. Winds shouldn't be a problem (touch wood), as I live in the middle of a row of townhouses and there are no big trees nearby.

I'm most concerned about the water level, trying to make sense of NOAA maps and info - I live right at the mouth of the Patuxent River, less than 500ft from this hydrograph - water levels are cycling normally, if slightly elevated, based on tidal expectations. In addition, the storm surge maps from NOAA are showing pretty much zero storm surge risk - despite showing (admittedly extremely low) risk of storm surge on the other side of the bay.

Still, it's a couple of days off - NAS Patuxent River has called for essential personnel only for the next couple of days, so I'm going to try to enjoy my electricity while it lasts.

Stay safe, everyone.
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 8:37 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just saw a guy on the local news (standing out in the rain, of course) suggest that we all call our loved ones and let them know we love them

but i don't know RDJ's phone number

:(
posted by elizardbits at 8:38 AM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

Chappy ferry web cam.
posted by vrakatar at 8:38 AM on October 29, 2012

West 125th Street report: the Hudson River is dark, grey and has swells that make it look like the ocean. There are two barges parked midriver upstream of me and two tug boats lumbering downstream. The water is almost at ground level, and the breakers are splashing up into the park and over the fixed portion of the pier. The Cherry Walk portion of the bike/pedestrian path has yellow police tape across the entrance, but people are still going through and I didn't see any cops stopping them. There are about 30 people standing around just looking out to the waer, some taking pictures. Fairway is open, Dinosaur BBQ is closed. The wind is gusting hard and the rain is an on-again, off-again mist. I got coffee at the new place, Kuro Kuma, on LaSalle Place. Good stuff. A couple bodegas, Tom's Pizza, the Mexican place, the takeout Chinese joint, and the liquor store are open. Everything else on this stretch of Broadway is closed. It is very eerie. I am on edge to see what the river is like in a few hours.

You all have scared me sufficiently that I have filled my tub with water.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 8:43 AM on October 29, 2012

Mayor El Ka Bloomberg-O on el TV says if you're still in Zone A and haven't evacuated, you will soon be between a rock and a hard place...
posted by Skygazer at 8:43 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

The rain has come and I'm already hearing sirens all over so I've decided the best thing to do is to eat bagels.
posted by The Whelk at 8:43 AM on October 29, 2012

Our mailman delivered. He was grinning and laughing, as he jumped over downed branches and puddles. :)
posted by zarq at 8:44 AM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

Your mailman's last name isn't Parker by any chance?
posted by The Whelk at 8:45 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Another Clinton Hillian reporting in (HAAAY EmpressCallipygos and Dysh!) -- just went out for coffee and things on Myrtle Ave are by and large still open.

I'm just south of Myrtle, so a smidge further from Zone C than EmpressCallipygos is.

Outside it was semi-normal, with almost no car traffic and much less foot traffic. It's tremendously shitty weather outside, but nothing dangerous. There are already branches down on cars, which, I know this is Clinton Hill and there are no parking spots not under trees, but still. Do people not think AT ALL? My biggest fear from where I'm hunkered down is that there will be trees down all along Clinton Avenue.

My corner bodega is going to ride out the storm. They still seemed to have stock, too.

I'm going to spend the rest of the day listening to WFUV and packing for my move.
posted by Sara C. at 8:46 AM on October 29, 2012

Also, serious question Hurricane people, how much to I have to worry about my windows? 11th floor, wonderful, big eastern exposure, should I stay out of the living room and hole up in the faces-a-light-well den or?
posted by The Whelk at 8:47 AM on October 29, 2012

I've decided the best thing to do is to eat bagels.

I'm eating bourekas.

Your mailman's last name isn't Parker by any chance?

He's just 'The Mailman.'

Like, 'The Doctor.'
posted by zarq at 8:48 AM on October 29, 2012

Bloomberg: they're closing the Holland and Brooklyn Battery Tunnels.
posted by zarq at 8:48 AM on October 29, 2012

Boston 'burbs here. Glad I didn't go in to work as they're closing my office at 1:00. Small power outages in town and a couple small trees have already come down outside. So far it's not too bad but the worst is yet to come.

I'm very prepared, with food, water, generator, chain saw, etc, but we've got a couple big trees leaning towards the house. If they go, it's not gonna be fun.

My son and I are building Legos. Storms aren't all bad.
posted by bondcliff at 8:49 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

The woman doing the ASL interpreting of Bloomberg is just the awesomest.
posted by lauranesson at 8:50 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

> 11th floor, wonderful, big eastern exposure, should I stay out of the living room and hole up in the faces-a-light-well den or?

Yes. Debris or wind alone could take down that window and fill your living room with lots of nasty glass.
posted by mrzarquon at 8:50 AM on October 29, 2012

Tom's Pizza

Is it no longer delicious?
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 8:50 AM on October 29, 2012

Sara - where are you? (And did you see if Putnam's is open at all? They're my favorite....)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:50 AM on October 29, 2012

Weatherwise, Sandy continues to intensify, and may be a Category 2 storm now. Last recon report is showing 945mb central pressure and 94kt (108mph) flight level winds in the SW sector, and a recent dropsonde shows 86kts (99mph) at the surface.

It looks increasingly like landfall will be in Southern NJ.

Also, serious question Hurricane people, how much to I have to worry about my windows?

Enough wind can break them, but most breakage is caused by debris picked up by the winds and hurled into the glass. Close your curtains, or put sheets over the windows to contain the glass if they do break.

One notable tornado in Fort Worth, TX, picked up a bunch of rock ballast from a roof and shattered nearly every window in a 40 story tower with it.
posted by eriko at 8:50 AM on October 29, 2012

NYC Public Schools will be closed tomorrow. That sound y'all just heard was hundreds of thousands of kids cheering at once, and even more parents groaning.
posted by zarq at 8:51 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Gusts are picking up a LOT here on LI now.
posted by pemberkins at 8:52 AM on October 29, 2012

A falling twig just tapped my window and I was so startled. It's here! It's here! The hurricane is here! Oh wait. The hurricane is on the other side of the continent.

So you guys are really good writers, I guess. I have been sucked into your world. Your world of yoga pants and Doritos and bathtub gin (or whatever it is you're filling your tubs with).
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:52 AM on October 29, 2012 [18 favorites]

Yeah whelk your window ought to hold, but don't stand next to it all night, dig?
posted by vrakatar at 8:52 AM on October 29, 2012

In Chicago, we have a strong northerly breeze blowing clouds down the lake. It's quite pretty, today. Tomorrow, there are supposed to be storm force winds over the lake and lakeshore, blowing from the north. The long wind fetch down almost the entire lake is expected to drive up huge waves -- 16-22'.
posted by eriko at 8:53 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

(from the Tweetie:) @TerreCherry - NJers: If pwr's out& noTV, but Uhave phone-u can hear NJ-12 TV's up2date LOCAL NJ town/county reports on phone [phone] #njsandy

NJ News 12 has actually been one of the least hyperbolic options so far.
posted by mintcake! at 8:53 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Our mailman delivered. He was grinning and laughing, as he jumped over downed branches and puddles.

FedEx delivered a package to work today. I was a little surprised they were still delivering (esp since it was a decent amount of a hazardous chemical) and he said they were told to stay out as long as they felt safe. AirGas also dropped off the regularly scheduled CO2 and N2 which was a pretty awesome surprise.
posted by bowmaniac at 8:54 AM on October 29, 2012

The weather blogger for our local paper here in Fredericksburg VA just posted a warning to not get cocky and comfortable - we aren't expecting the serious hit until about 4 PM.
posted by COD at 8:55 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh wait. The hurricane is on the other side of the continent.

Switching between cams here I keep catching myself looking for signs of it starting on my front-of-house cams, and I'm actually on a different continent...
posted by titus-g at 8:55 AM on October 29, 2012

Now I kinda wanna write a disaster novella from the point of view of a web forum updating as it happens.
posted by The Whelk at 8:56 AM on October 29, 2012 [11 favorites]

IDGI. It is barely drizzling in the west village. People are out running, walking their dogs, having coffee, kids are playing in the park on Bleecker and Bank.

i am totally going for a run, fuck it.
posted by elizardbits at 8:56 AM on October 29, 2012

Whelk - I'd totally help you with that if you want.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:57 AM on October 29, 2012

I was just reading at Capital Weather and they think it is possible that it will make Cat 2 before landfall. They also stress that it is kind of a meaningless distinction at this point.
posted by COD at 8:57 AM on October 29, 2012

TURN THE TV ON NOW YOURE MISSING SPAINISH BLOOMBERG
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:57 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Bloomberg, Don't try to speak Spanish, man. Just. Don't.
posted by zarq at 8:57 AM on October 29, 2012

The woman doing the ASL interpreting of Bloomberg is just the awesomest.

WHY ARE HER FACES SO SEXUAL
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:58 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Weather Underground's main site is now throwing errors. The backup site is slow but up.
posted by eriko at 8:58 AM on October 29, 2012

Latest data from the Hurricane Hunters shows that Sandy is intensifying as its core traverses the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. At 8 am EDT, an Air Force hurricane hunter aircraft found top winds of 98 mph in the heavy thunderstorms to the southwest of Sandy's center, at a point about 150 miles east-northeast of Cape Hatteras, NC. A dropsonde released in the eye measured a central pressure of 945 mb, but observed winds of 19 knots at the surface, so Sandy is probably a 943 mb hurricane that is very close to Category 2 strength. The Hurricane Hunters did not observe an eyewall, and saw very little temperature difference from inside to outside the eye, so Sandy is not going to be able to undergo rapid intensification. The storm could still see an increase of 5 mph in its winds before landfall tonight between 6 pm - 10 pm EDT, due, in part, to interaction with the low pressure system to its west that is pulling the hurricane towards the coast. The new, higher winds of Sandy don't have a lot of time to pile up additional storm surge water, so the NHC storm surge forecasts will probably not change today. But it is clear that Sandy is not going to pull its punch, and this superstorm is going to deliver a punishing multi-billion dollar blow to a huge area of the Eastern U.S.

posted by zarq at 8:58 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

EL BLOOMBITO IRL
posted by elizardbits at 8:59 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just read someplace else that Sandy strengthened overnight (winds at 90mph) and is now the strongest hurricane on record to exist north of North Carolina.
posted by bowmaniac at 8:59 AM on October 29, 2012

Your world of yoga pants and Doritos and bathtub gin (or whatever it is you're filling your tubs with).

Bathtub gin! I knew I forgot something! At least I can fashion a crude raft out of the yoga pants and use the Doritos for bait.
posted by Cash4Lead at 8:59 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Elizardbits: i am totally going for a run, fuck it.

Pants.
posted by Skygazer at 9:00 AM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

The woman doing the ASL interpreting of Bloomberg is just the awesomest.

SHE IS THE BEST
posted by elizardbits at 9:00 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

how much to I have to worry about my windows? 11th floor, wonderful, big eastern exposure, should I stay out of the living room and hole up in the faces-a-light-well den or?

I'm on 12th, also with big east facing windows, and have decided to keep it casual until I hear rattling or see heavy debris blowing around.

"No longer keeping it casual" would include lowering all the blinds, and then potentially kickin' it in the bathroom if things get really scary.
posted by Sara C. at 9:00 AM on October 29, 2012

I was just realizing that after this storm, that's the end of the the fall color. no slowly dwindling orange to brown...we're gonna have bare trees at the end of the week.

Yeah, I was thinking that this morning, during the last of my errands. Sandy, you are cruel, cruel, cruel. It's like insult on top of insult on top of injury on top of carnage. Thanks, Sandy, you are a swell gal....
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:00 AM on October 29, 2012

Mailmen also delivered here! Crazy.

So I understand that our windows *should* be OK, but they are already making crazy noises (I face NY Harbor, almost every room is all window). I remember reading in Hurricane Irene last year that modern highrise towers are built to withstand a certain windspeed and thinking that windspeed was far above what we'd ever see in Jersey City. Now I'm reading this Category 2 news and trying to find out what that windspeed rating was.

So, anyone know what windspeed a 10 year highrise building on the waterfront should have been built to withstand? Best I have found is a generic answer in NYT from last year.
posted by lyra4 at 9:01 AM on October 29, 2012

Whelk:

For folks staying home, if you're riding out the storm in a house surrounded by trees, stay on the opposite side of the house from the wind on a low floor. Close the curtains to cover windows facing the wind... but still be very careful near any glass that could break.

High rises in the big cities may be a problem. It's especially important that you stay away from the windows. If something flies off a neighboring building, it can smash windows downwind. Besides that, the wind is stronger because you're higher in the air, and the air gets squeezed between the tall buildings. The high wind stresses the glass, and makes it break more violently if something hits it.

posted by zarq at 9:01 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

JUST IN: DC's Annual Drag Queen High Heel Race postponed.
posted by fontophilic at 9:02 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Empress - I'm in the Clinton Hill Co-ops between Myrtle and Willoughby.

Putnam's is open. I considered doing the coffee and breakfast thing there, but I was worried that it would start raining worse so hit Connecticut Muffin instead.
posted by Sara C. at 9:02 AM on October 29, 2012

South Jersey, Philly burbs checking in: Bathtub full, frozen milk jugs and everything loose either lashed down or in the garage.
I still have my Penny stove from the last big 'un, and bought some alcohol at Lowe's last night (Gallon cans were out, still had a few quart ones on the shelf)
Rainy, cold and blustery, but no problems yet.
posted by Orb2069 at 9:02 AM on October 29, 2012

The woman doing the ASL interpreting of Bloomberg is just the awesomest.

WHY ARE HER FACES SO SEXUAL

I was totally getting sucked into her signing...so dramatic and passionate...
posted by Skygazer at 9:02 AM on October 29, 2012

I swear the ASL lady just mimed doing a bong hit.
posted by vrakatar at 9:03 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

how much to I have to worry about my windows? What I do is take an old comforter and attach that to the window so if the window does shatter it won't blow all over the place.
posted by govtdrone at 9:03 AM on October 29, 2012

Romney's cancelled all his events for the next 2 days.
posted by Ironmouth at 9:03 AM on October 29, 2012

Thought Catalog liveblog is pretty great.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:03 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

El Bloombergo: If you haven't left an evacuation zone by now, after we've asked you for days, just stay where you are.

tl;dl (Too long; didn't listen): How long can you tread water?
posted by zarq at 9:04 AM on October 29, 2012

elizardbits: "Just saw a guy on the local news (standing out in the rain, of course) suggest that we all call our loved ones and let them know we love them

but i don't know RDJ's phone number

:("

and you haven't called me either so wtf.

(but seriously, stay safe, high and dry everybody. We here in Colorado are hoping for the best for y'all)
posted by boo_radley at 9:04 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I may stop in at Putnam's tomorrow morning then to check in on them - I may be able to get to work for part of the day (at the END of the day, I want the brownie points) and it'd be a chance to say hey.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:04 AM on October 29, 2012

Bloomberg wants us to stay in and read a good book. You guys, have I talked to you about the power of Dianetics yet?
posted by mintcake! at 9:04 AM on October 29, 2012 [10 favorites]

NPR Boston is reporting power outages in Milford and Brockton, MA. Both National Grid and NStar are reporting outages across MA.
posted by Currer Belfry at 9:05 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

@ElBloombito: Esta un mooño fullo! Todos los werewolfos necesito to packo un vamos bag y get to un sheltero ahora!

What's wrong with that Spanish? Es muy claro!
posted by winna at 9:05 AM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

I swear the ASL lady just mimed doing a bong hit.

Now there's some storm preparation I can get behind...
And fortunately I have doritos.
posted by bowmaniac at 9:05 AM on October 29, 2012

I kind of admire his patience with these idiotic questions. "What about the people who have refused to leave even though you've been telling them to evacuate for the past 2 days constantly and without cessation?" JUST SAY "FUCK EM" YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO. YOU CAN'T GET REELECTED ANYWAY.
posted by elizardbits at 9:05 AM on October 29, 2012

mintcake!, I stocked up on non-dianetic books on Sunday, although I bought real books, not Kindle editions, so I'm screwed if the power goes out. If I'm lucky, "True Grit" awaits me after 5 tonight when I'm done "working from home".
posted by Currer Belfry at 9:07 AM on October 29, 2012

ASL lady loves her job and it shows. And now I love her like I love Jamie Shupak.
posted by vrakatar at 9:07 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

You other Boston people who are hell of prepped make me feel like an underachiever. I'm in my little apartment in Brighton with a couple of gallons of water and some Clif bars. Still have power, doesn't even seem that windy yet.

Stay safe, y'all!
posted by dismas at 9:07 AM on October 29, 2012

I swear the ASL lady just mimed doing a bong hit.

When she signed breaking windows and staying away from them, it was excellent..
posted by Skygazer at 9:07 AM on October 29, 2012

YOU CAN'T GET REELECTED ANYWAY.

That's what we said during the previous term.
posted by davidjmcgee at 9:08 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

In Baltimore here. The wind and rain have intensified through the morning. I just saw someone walk by wearing head-to-toe yellow: yellow rain jacket (with the hood on), rain pants, and rainboots. He is the only person I've seen out all morning. Would he be part of some special task team, hence the getup, or is he more likely just some dude who owns yellow boots?
posted by mayurasana at 9:08 AM on October 29, 2012

I have no idea whether I'm going to work tomorrow or what, but if this Sandy shit is still a thing and work is cancelled, want to have an impromptu Meetup at Putnam's?
posted by Sara C. at 9:08 AM on October 29, 2012

I swear the ASL lady just mimed doing a bong hit.

Now there's some storm preparation I can get behind...

I imagine the alternative employment brigade was busy yesterday.
posted by The Whelk at 9:08 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I live in Central MA, but I am streaming Bloomberg now. I always found his "Use some common sense, and don't freak out, people" - attitude so calming when I did live in NYC, and the effect remains even though his info is somewhat irrrelevant. (I come from a long line of freaker-outers whose overblown anxiety tends to make me worry more and yet act more irrationally at the same time, so my response to Bloomberg may be atypical...). I can't find anything more locally relevant to stream...(any suggestions?)

plus the fascination of watching the ASL translator
posted by Tandem Affinity at 9:08 AM on October 29, 2012

Livestream of the Ocean City Pier.

I think that's a different pier, on the Isle of Wight Bay side of the island.
posted by zennie at 9:09 AM on October 29, 2012

Now Chris Christie, who apparently has a major barometer problem in his nasal passages.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:09 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

You stay safe too, dismas (and everyone else for that matter!)

I got a call from my town's mayor last night about emergency phone numbers and services available to residents. That is an absolute first. I think the level of acceptance that this is the new "normal" has gone up since last October's freak storm.
posted by Currer Belfry at 9:10 AM on October 29, 2012

JUST IN: DC's Annual Drag Queen High Heel Race postponed.

Dammit, there goes my drowned rat costume.
posted by psoas at 9:10 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

JUST SNEEZE ALREADY GOVERNOR
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:11 AM on October 29, 2012

Wondering whether or not I should pack us go bags just in case of extended power loss, and whether or not those bags should include our girl's Halloween costume. And all the candy!
posted by onlyconnect at 9:11 AM on October 29, 2012

Via Reddit: Sandy vs Irene.
posted by ceribus peribus at 9:11 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

BLOOMIE ADMITS THAT THE CITY DOES PRACTICE D&D CAMPAIGNS FOR DISASTER RESPONSE
posted by elizardbits at 9:11 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

I just saw someone walk by wearing head-to-toe yellow ... Would he be part of some special task team, hence the getup, or is he more likely just some dude who owns yellow boots?

You say you live in Baltimore and you still have to ask?
posted by psoas at 9:12 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Tandem Affinity, I'm not in central MA, but I'm hitting the NOAA page every so often and I have NPR Boston going on the radio. Oh yes, and refreshing this thread every couple of minutes.
posted by Currer Belfry at 9:12 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Okay, this is freaking me out. Not the hurricane itself, but all the ways it's syncing up with "Hello Sandy Allen", by Split Enz. Sandy is way larger that any other person/storm. The song starts with sirens, like emergency vehicles ... meeting in New York ... "I'm bound to say I felt uneasy, when I first laid eyes on you" ... the song is on the album "Time and Tide".

Take care everyone.
posted by benito.strauss at 9:13 AM on October 29, 2012

Romney's cancelled all his events for the next 2 days.

He should pull a McCain and announce that he's suspending his campaign, in order to prove... something.
posted by Flunkie at 9:18 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

benito.strauss, don't smoke all the weed right away. You should be rationing, in case power, telecommunications, and/or transit is down for a few days after the storm.
posted by Sara C. at 9:18 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

psoas, I'm new here. I really have no idea which is more likely than the other.
posted by mayurasana at 9:19 AM on October 29, 2012

Hunterdon Co (ie, west) NJ checking in... still have power which is amazing since normally it goes off at the drop of a leaf. Still wondering the odds of catching my flight out of JFK tomorrow night.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:20 AM on October 29, 2012

Major kudos to the guys who handle the local garbage pickup - I think they're from WM. They just drove around the sub division a couple of times, honking the truck's horn, then pretty much came to the door to collect bags of garbage from anyone who needed them to.
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 9:21 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

JUST IN: DC's Annual Drag Queen High Heel Race postponed.

Sandy, does your cruelty know no bounds? Have you no shred of decency?

He should pull a McCain and announce that he's suspending his campaign, in order to prove... something.

He could decide this was God's displeasure with 30 years of GOP bed behavior and wicked intentions, then give his money to the poor and go off and work for justice for the rest of his days...

...

Sorry, the pressure changes are affecting my mind.
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:21 AM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

You other Boston people who are hell of prepped make me feel like an underachiever. I'm in my little apartment in Brighton with a couple of gallons of water and some Clif bars. Still have power, doesn't even seem that windy yet.

I wouldn't call us hell of prepped. Or even wicked prepped. I've been paying attention and recalling past "Oh shit I'm stuck inside during a fucking storm" experience and... we have flashlights, granola bars, charged our electronics, and some extra water. That's really it.

And condoms.

Because Gourd knows Hurricane Whuffles does NOT need to get a sibling out of this.
posted by sonika at 9:21 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

the odds of catching my flight out of JFK tomorrow night.

0%
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:21 AM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

GOP bed behavior

You'd be surprised ...
posted by jgirl at 9:23 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Emergency water supply
posted by The Whelk at 9:25 AM on October 29, 2012

> Still wondering the odds of catching my flight out of JFK tomorrow night.

Take your travel plans that you are thinking about doing tomorrow, and instead imagine doing them in a week. If you can still justify doing it in a week, rebook your tickets now. Every airport between baltimore and boston is going to have cancelations, delays, and pretty much all of the planes on the eastern seaboard are going to be grounded for some period of time.

If the airports aren't damaged (JFK and LGA are both right on the water), it will be a week to untangle this mess.
posted by mrzarquon at 9:26 AM on October 29, 2012

Christie (Governor of New Jersey, for those of you following this drama in other parts of the world), seems to really really enjoy yelling at and/or calling people names (idiots, jerks etc)...who won't move away from the shoreline. Get's so tiresome. Dude's just got the charm of a battering ram.
posted by Skygazer at 9:27 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

As Christie speaks, NBC is showing some guy in the ocean, off a NJ beach.
posted by zarq at 9:27 AM on October 29, 2012

Stuyvesant Heights (according to my landlords) checking in somewhat late. The cat is going nuts. Running back and forth and then looking out windows like there's a monster about to eat her.
posted by brina at 9:28 AM on October 29, 2012

Dude, I'm worry about my flight that leaves a week from Friday.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:28 AM on October 29, 2012

I didn't see this linked earlier: Evacuation Zones.

I'm on the border of Zone C. Joy.
posted by zarq at 9:30 AM on October 29, 2012

Greenpoint checking in ... so far feels like just another shitty, rainy, fall NYC weather day. Stores are open (probably because most of the owners/workers live within ten blocks of the stores), people milling about. I think we're Zone B, so my only concern is how pissed this cat will be if I try to transfer her via cat-carrier if we have to evacuate.
posted by NolanRyanHatesMatches at 9:31 AM on October 29, 2012

FDR drive is now closed. Speed restrictions on bridges: 20mph on whitestone and throgs neck. 30mph on Tappan Zee.
posted by zarq at 9:32 AM on October 29, 2012

This CNN gallery has great / disturbing photos.
posted by insectosaurus at 9:32 AM on October 29, 2012

brina: The cat is going nuts. Running back and forth and then looking out windows like there's a monster about to eat her.

That right there worries me much more than a dozen histrionic newscasters.

Where are you??
posted by Skygazer at 9:32 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ugh I just checked and the horrible obnoxious townhouse people have not removed their fucking white chairs where their stupid roof patios where they have their awful little parties every summer and I hope a potted plant hits them right in their big, stupid "fashion forward looks for fall" head.
posted by The Whelk at 9:34 AM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

Yeah, I hope that all my idiot townhouse neighbors who still haven't taken in their fancy distressed metal garbage bins that they prolly got for $2,000 at restoration fucking hardware have their name and address written on them so the rest of the neighborhood knows exactly who to sue for damages.
posted by elizardbits at 9:36 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Hi mayurasana! Welcome to Baltimore! What part of town are you in?
posted by josher71 at 9:37 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

This thread is updating too fast for me to read it! Here in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Zone A has started flooding. I am nervously sitting in my Zone B basement apartment :(
posted by silverstatue at 9:37 AM on October 29, 2012

At least you're not in Atlantic City!
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:38 AM on October 29, 2012

North Jersey here. It's still just kind of windy and not very heavy rain right now. My dog is being weirder and clingier than usual. While I was in the bathroom, he kept throwing himself against the door to get me to let him in.

But my local Dunkin Donuts is still open, so we're okay.
posted by lullaby at 9:39 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Heard a cry of extreme agony from the other room because the Wawa in Avalon is totally flooded out-- something about NOOOO SAVE THE MEEEATTBALLLSSS

It's getting serious #savethewawa
posted by jetlagaddict at 9:40 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I just walked to the Post Office, it had been closed since 9 am.

On the way there though Totto Ramen was open and full to it's 20-person capacity. And another 20 people were waiting on the sidewalk. It's nice to know some things are running like normal!
posted by mountmccabe at 9:41 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

> I am nervously sitting in my Zone B basement apartment :(

I'd look into finding higher ground sooner rather than later.
posted by mrzarquon at 9:41 AM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Yeah, I hope that all my idiot townhouse neighbors who still haven't taken in their fancy distressed metal garbage bins that they prolly got for $2,000 at restoration fucking hardware have their name and address written on them so the rest of the neighborhood knows exactly who to sue for damages.

Word.
posted by The Whelk at 9:42 AM on October 29, 2012

But my local Dunkin Donuts is still open, so we're okay.

Yeah, the Dunkin Donuts on 145th and Frederick Douglass is open too. I have proof. In the form of Munchkins.
posted by davidjmcgee at 9:42 AM on October 29, 2012

"Stuvesant Heights" = Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, New York State, United States of America.
posted by brina at 9:43 AM on October 29, 2012

Find salvation through Dunkin Donuts
posted by rmd1023 at 9:43 AM on October 29, 2012

Potomac Avenue: "At least you're not in Atlantic City!"

Why would you be anywhere near that window?
posted by octothorpe at 9:43 AM on October 29, 2012

My neighbors have been vacuuming off and on since early Sunday morning, in 45-second bursts. Any theories as to what in hell is wrong with them? (I also overheard the neighbor man yelling at his dog because it was howling last night. I don't like my neighbors, but I am super glad we don't live in a basement apartment steps from the Schuykill anymore).
posted by coppermoss at 9:44 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

> Why would you be anywhere near that window?

It looks like it is the sliding door, not a window (yet)
posted by mrzarquon at 9:45 AM on October 29, 2012

That twitter account is pretty awesome/ridiculous. Christie's head might explode if he reads that guy's feed.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:45 AM on October 29, 2012

Bill McKibben on Hurricane Sandy and Climate Change: "If There Was Ever a Wake-up Call, This Is It"

McKibben previously.
posted by homunculus at 9:46 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Coppermoss: People are getting real anxious. This is how they cope. Or not.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 9:46 AM on October 29, 2012

It has been raining almost nonstop in DC since about 5pm yesterday. It started with an almost pleasant light mist, and a bit of breeze now and then, and has been steadily building so that there is now a regular howling from the windows as the trees sway around. The flood warnings have started in earnest (though they are unlikely to affect me). No DC mefites have lost power yet as far as I know, but I know out in Maryland things are slowly breaking up. Power is out in College Park already, and the heavy stuff isn't supposed to hit until later.

I am stuck at home as long as public transport is suspended. These guys are at work though.
posted by zennie at 9:47 AM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

Bless them!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:48 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Recommended: Taking a shower while straddling all the water jugs stored in the tub and growling at them like you're Godzilla and they're futuristic skyscrapers/aquariums. But of course you spare them, because you still have "Endless Love" going through your head.
posted by argonauta at 9:48 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

This is one of those weird American moments where Blue and Red are divided on some weird shit like I think the liberals are all battoning down the fucking hatches, staying away from the windows, buying candles etc. and the republicans and other idiots are likeGOING TO WORKand other ABSURD SHIT because we really do have a rinky dink ass infrastructure in this place. All the people in the sub shop I just went to are voting for Romney, I bet you anything. Who else makes subs in this kind of madness?! Fear they nothing?
posted by shushufindi at 9:48 AM on October 29, 2012

My neighbors have been vacuuming off and on since early Sunday morning, in 45-second bursts.

um. do you live in the west village? and can we band together to kill them please?
posted by elizardbits at 9:49 AM on October 29, 2012

Philadelphia, but I'm in.
posted by coppermoss at 9:50 AM on October 29, 2012

My upstairs neighbors are vacuuming! I'm about to set my toddler loose in the halls though, so we'll be even soon enough.
posted by sonika at 9:51 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

6th floor of a hotel in midtown. wind is getting whistley. I'm going to be super bummed if I don't make it home this week. (Original flight is Wednesday afternoon. We'll see.)
posted by ansate at 9:52 AM on October 29, 2012

It looks like it is the sliding door, not a window (yet)

Yeah, guy says later on that he's got about a foot of water in his living room, and he'd have way more if that was a window.

I am debating whether to fill the bathtub or not, just to give me something to do. DC Water has said that they don't anticipate any service interruptions, though, which is pleasant, given the tenor of other predictions swirling around out there. And I suppose on the "doing something" front, there is technically work...

It's not great that I was out until midnight last night, have only been up since 8:30, and am already feeling a bit stir crazy, is it?
posted by EvaDestruction at 9:52 AM on October 29, 2012

I'm in Somerville, MA, and I heard a whining motor noise outside earlier. I peeked out and my neighbors were using a leaf blower to clear leaves out of their yard and driveway. While a similar approach works in snowstorms (go out and shovel partway thru), I'm not sure the same thing is going to work with this.
posted by rmd1023 at 9:53 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

My downstairs neighbors sound like they're rearranging all the furniture today. I think the problem is, everyone is home and did all their preparedness stuff and nobody knows what else to do so they are vacuuming and rearranging furniture and making bread or whatever. But apparently nobody in the world is bringing in their grills or patio furniture.
posted by brina at 9:54 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

benito.strauss, don't smoke all the weed right away. You should be rationing, ...

Dang, I knew I forgot to stock up on something important. But I just assume that if it gets bad they will set up emergency weed distribution centers. If not, what's the point of living in Massachusetts?
posted by benito.strauss at 9:54 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

News is reporting that about 350 customers have lost power in Northern Virginia so far. (Not us!)
posted by onlyconnect at 9:55 AM on October 29, 2012

I was in the financial district, downtown Boston a bit ago; a gust of wind blew my foot slightly off course mid-step. That was a little sketchy.

Other than that, however, so far the bitch ain't lived up to the hype. Up here, anyway.
posted by Diablevert at 9:55 AM on October 29, 2012

So... is the Gowanus Canal going to poison everyone in Greenpoint?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:56 AM on October 29, 2012

But I just assume that if it gets bad they will set up emergency weed distribution centers. If not, what's the point of living in Massachusetts?

The Green Cross will be providing triage and chill-out rooms with a deep-wave dub DJ set from 11-2
posted by The Whelk at 9:56 AM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

the republicans and other idiots are likeGOING TO WORK

I'm not a Republican so I must be an idiot. I gotta tell you though, I started this morning with a backlog of 63 emails I couldn't clear on Friday, and I'm down to 3 and they're just reminders. I'm like a sniper stealth-firing email into people's inbox that's going to tie them up for a WEEK. Bwhahaha. Coming in today was the smartest thing I've done all month. I am SO ORGANIZED
posted by Miko at 9:56 AM on October 29, 2012 [14 favorites]

So just watching Obama's remarks about the storm on CNN.

Then it went to commercial.

The ad? EPA is bad. They don't like coal!! Vote for people who want more American coal!

My irony meter just dinged.
posted by Jalliah at 9:57 AM on October 29, 2012 [12 favorites]

Coming in today was the smartest thing I've done all month. I am SO ORGANIZED

AND NOW YOU CAN SPEND ALL DAY BAKING COOKIES.

SERIOUSLY WE SHOULD ALL JUST BAKE COOKIES.

LIKE NOW.
posted by The Whelk at 9:59 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Some guy surfing on live TV in LI right now. Yeah. You are dumb dude. Life isn't point break.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:59 AM on October 29, 2012

I'm in Somerville, MA, and I heard a whining motor noise outside earlier. I peeked out and my neighbors were using a leaf blower to clear leaves out of their yard and driveway.

Do they have drains or runoff ditches near their yard? This is actually pretty smart if they are trying to keep the storm drains free of debris, which usually causes gross flooding. (I mean I also saw someone's sprinklers on earlier this week, sooooo....)
posted by jetlagaddict at 9:59 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Our power just flickered out and back on. I hope this isn't a sign that I'll lose it permanently soon...
posted by pemberkins at 9:59 AM on October 29, 2012

Bake cookies before the power goes out. Gotta stockpile the cookies.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 10:00 AM on October 29, 2012

storm surge backs up st lawrence seaway, niagara falls running backward, great lakes overspill all of michigan!

(yeah, i know, the boss didn't buy it either.)
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 10:00 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Re the vacuuming: I know yesterday I did a lot of cleaning while I still have electricity and water because I don't know how long I could be without either - plus if I'll be using bathtub water to flush, best to start with a clean bowl.
posted by NoraCharles at 10:00 AM on October 29, 2012

I didn't go out and buy eggs before the storm and now I'm wishing I did because I finished off the eggs over the weekend with breakfasty goodness and now I can't bake cookies.
posted by rmd1023 at 10:00 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

First beer down. Life is good.
posted by josher71 at 10:01 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Central NJ here. Some wind, some drizzle, but right now nothing more than a mild storm. This is what I'm really watching, but so far, so good. Sister-in-law has evacuated from her home in Point Pleasant Beach 2.5 blocks from the beach to a little farther inland (still in PPB), they were starting to see water on their street. Folks on the family and church Facebook groups aren't seeing much, just chatting and sharing updates and useful links.

Right now my only annoyance is that my dentist's office has not called to officially cancel my 2pm appointment, nor are they answering their phones or checking their Facebook page. Hope that's the worst annoyance I have with this storm...
posted by booksherpa at 10:01 AM on October 29, 2012

Just realizing we have a whole TUB of chocolate chip cookie dough in the freezer. Thanks all for these emergency preparedness instructions!
posted by Mchelly at 10:02 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm going to have to ration my eggs for baking.
posted by sciencegeek at 10:02 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have to say, things seem to have calmed down a lot here in close-in Silver Spring -- a little while ago, things looked like they were ramping up but now even the rain seems to have tapered off. From the radar, I gather that the first big band has passed over, which explains the reduction in rain, but doesn't explain the lack of wind. Seriously, my trees aren't even blowing right now.

Also, power out in College Park? Really? That's not far from here and we have not had anything like the winds necessary for power outages already. I wonder what's up over there.
posted by devinemissk at 10:03 AM on October 29, 2012

peanut butter chips in freezer, hazlenut oil yes I am making these cookies.
posted by The Whelk at 10:04 AM on October 29, 2012

Some of us won't STFU about the Blizzard of '78. When a storm fucks stuff up, people remember.

You ain't just whistlin' Dixie. Around here, the two biggest weather events that are still talked about are the Palm Sunday Tornado of '65 (which completely flattened the area I now live in) and the Blizzard of '78. I was 7 when the Blizzard hit, and I still remember the National Guard coming to dig us out, no power, and everyone in the house bringing all of our pillows and blankets downstairs to hang out in the living room where my dad had dragged up the kerosene heater. We couldn't open our front door at all, and we only managed to get the back door open far enough to slip out, toss some of the snow off the porch, and make a safe place for the dog to go have a pee.

These things kind of stay with you. The Blizzard certainly influenced my pantry stuffing tendencies!

We're already feeling some of Sandy's effects here in NW OH. It's windy as hell, there's a gale warning up for Lake Erie and waves are already cresting at 15 feet, expected to get to 20 by evening. And we've been alerted that because of the winds, we may lose power.

If it's already that unpleasant here, I can only imagine how awful it is for our Easterners. All y'all be safe and take good care of yourselves. I hope the end of the storm finds you safe, warm, dry, and over-supplied.
posted by MissySedai at 10:05 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

'Miko: Wrong for the office, wrong for America'
posted by mintcake! at 10:05 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I am really sad that I don't have all the ingredients for cookies now. I do have a jar of Nutella and a spoon, though.
posted by pemberkins at 10:05 AM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

In my midtown Manhattan office -- have brought bike helmet (I don't own a bike) for the walk home to Greenwich Village later...
posted by AJaffe at 10:05 AM on October 29, 2012

Just realizing we have a whole TUB of chocolate chip cookie dough
Man, your toilets are not going to be happy when you use that to try to flush them...
posted by drlith at 10:06 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Okay. I'm not anywhere near this storm (Ontario) though we are predicted to get some really high winds later as it comes up and sideswipes us.

No shyte sherlock. It's not even close yet and these three gusts of wind just smacked my house so hard it shook it and rattled the windows. This set my two dogs off and now they're barking and running back and forth from one side of the house to the other freaking out.

Combine that with reading this thread, watching CNN and now I'm jumpy. Even though I shouldn't be.
posted by Jalliah at 10:06 AM on October 29, 2012

I do have a jar of Nutella and a spoon, though.

WHY WOULD YOU NEED ANYTHING ELSE I MEAN REALLY CAN'T PEOPLE JUST BE HAPPY WITH WHAT THEY HAVE
posted by Cash4Lead at 10:06 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Anyone have any tips to stop my tub from draining? It doesn't have an actual stopper, just one of those little switches that are common in NYC apartments...so far we've put a glass full of coins on top, but it's still draining slowly.
posted by dysh at 10:07 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Okay I'm venturing foward to see if anything is open for last second scavenging while the wind and rain are still pretty low.

Soundtrack
posted by The Whelk at 10:08 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

dysh, do you have saran/plastic wrap handy? A folded square of that might help.
posted by juliplease at 10:08 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

so far we've put a glass full of coins on top, but it's still draining slowly

Put a sheet of clingfilm over it first
posted by elizardbits at 10:09 AM on October 29, 2012

Try a washcloth underneath the jar.
posted by bleep at 10:09 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

My tub drain doesn't even have a switch thingy. I'm planning on duct taping over it.
posted by shiny blue object at 10:09 AM on October 29, 2012

Anyone have any tips to stop my tub from draining? It doesn't have an actual stopper, just one of those little switches that are common in NYC apartments...so far we've put a glass full of coins on top, but it's still draining slowly.



Does its have an actual hole. If so you have any potatoes? You can cut one to fit in the hole and cover it with plastic wrap.
posted by Jalliah at 10:10 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

It looks like Atlantic City is the target. God is coming for Trump. Finally.
posted by benito.strauss at 10:11 AM on October 29, 2012 [15 favorites]

I take it back about toddlers being shitty weather forecasters. They're excellent. Mine is freaking the fuck out.
posted by sonika at 10:12 AM on October 29, 2012

Maryland suburbs of DC report: Moderate rain, slightly elevated winds, but nothing yet. I'm in a sort of hurry up and wait stance. Who knew waiting for doom could be so boring?
posted by Cash4Lead at 10:13 AM on October 29, 2012

My tub has a small leak like that too. I unscrewed the drain cover and took a small plastic baggie and put that over the drain and then put the drain cover on top of it and then screwed it back on through that. Works pretty well.
posted by NoraCharles at 10:14 AM on October 29, 2012

Southern RI: Power has flickered off once. I've been watching the power outages here...gone from 2500 to 6000 to now 12000.
posted by quodlibet at 10:14 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Anyone have any tips to stop my tub from draining? It doesn't have an actual stopper, just one of those little switches that are common in NYC apartments...so far we've put a glass full of coins on top, but it's still draining slowly.

If it has one of those drain covers with the holes, you can usually remove that with a screwdriver. (Don't worry; you can put it back after.) Then follow Jalliah's directions re: the potato and saran wrap.
posted by brina at 10:15 AM on October 29, 2012

I'm betting my chickens will decide not to sleep up the tree over the next few days.

If they do I may see chickens flying past my window.
posted by Jalliah at 10:15 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I was woken up in the middle of the night by the wind and the rain. I almost freaked out thinking that I wasn't prepared until I remembered that I live in Portland, Oregon. I hope everyone stays safe.
posted by perhapses at 10:16 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

OMG thanks everyone for the "how to stop your bathtub from slowly draining" tips. Stupid bathtub.
posted by silverstatue at 10:20 AM on October 29, 2012

Seaside Heights (where I've always had family) was just on the news. They didn't show it, but I don't think the Jersey Shore house is going to make it!
posted by armacy at 10:21 AM on October 29, 2012

Power flickers here in Southern MD. I'm so glad I invested in UPS kit...
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 10:23 AM on October 29, 2012

Without power:
18000 Ct
34000 on LI
1200 in NYC
posted by Potomac Avenue at 10:23 AM on October 29, 2012

Yellow boots? OMG. Surely this is The End. That's Tom Bombadill!
posted by Goofyy at 10:24 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

saw this Brooklyn image on Twitter
scary stuff, stay safe people.
posted by Wilder at 10:24 AM on October 29, 2012

Fun fact: NOAA's two WP-3D Orions, that it uses for in-hurricane recon missions, are named Kermit and Ms. Piggy. The Gulfstream IV-SP that they use for hurricane overflight missions is named Gonzo.

"And now, I, the Great Gonzo, will fling myself OVER A HURRICANE while gargling the Anvil Chorus!"

More detail, and images of the nose art are here.
posted by eriko at 10:25 AM on October 29, 2012 [9 favorites]

I am debating whether to fill the bathtub or not, just to give me something to do. DC Water has said that they don't anticipate any service interruptions, though, which is pleasant, given the tenor of other predictions swirling around out there. And I suppose on the "doing something" front, there is technically work...

I bleached out the tub but I don't think we'll fill it until late tonight. I did already put aside about 7 buckets' worth in a big rubbermaid tub for sanitation purposes.

I'm just sitting here eating instant ramen, hoping I'll be sleepy enough for a nap soon.
posted by zennie at 10:26 AM on October 29, 2012

For future disasters it may be worth investing in a travel plug.
posted by titus-g at 10:26 AM on October 29, 2012

I'm waiting for m I t t r o m n e y to say something stupid about disaster aid.
posted by SillyShepherd at 10:27 AM on October 29, 2012

Who else makes subs in this kind of madness?!

People who feel that they will be safest deep underwater?

Of course, the Deep Ones will eventually get them, and the Deep Ones are pretty much Socialists, so that would be a fitting end....
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:28 AM on October 29, 2012

News anchors losing their minds; just called the Larchmont Yacht Club the Yanchmont Larch Club.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 10:28 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

SilverStatute: Here in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Zone A has started flooding. I am nervously sitting in my Zone B basement apartment.

I'm basically in Zone A in Greenpoint, and my street has no flooding whatsoever and had none during Irene.

You should really be okay in Zone B, even in a basement apartment, unless there's a problem with drainage on your block. Let me know if I can help.
posted by Skygazer at 10:29 AM on October 29, 2012

I have no idea whether I'm going to work tomorrow or what, but if this Sandy shit is still a thing and work is cancelled, want to have an impromptu Meetup at Putnam's?

Good idea! Lemme monitor the 'hood first thing tomorrow morning and report back (I'm half a block down the hill from them) to see if they're open.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:29 AM on October 29, 2012

Wait. What happened to the Larchmont Yacht Club???
posted by brina at 10:29 AM on October 29, 2012

I'm in a tiny room on the second floor of a college dorm in MA. There's no way I can stay away from my window; what should I do?
posted by topoisomerase at 10:32 AM on October 29, 2012

Aw, thanks Skygazer! Greenpointers unite! I had a little water infiltration during Irene last year, so that's why I'm nervous right now. But I moved everything away from the windows and pulled up my rugs, so I think I should be fine. And don't worry, if the water does start coming in, I can go upstairs with my landlords. Who are apparently having a dance party right now.
posted by silverstatue at 10:32 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks for all the tips on the drain situation! Put down some cling wrap, stuck a potato in the drain and put a mason jar over to hold the saran wrap down...hopefully that does it.
posted by dysh at 10:32 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wait. What happened to the Larchmont Yacht Club???

Local news just claimed it was getting submerged.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 10:33 AM on October 29, 2012

I remember the halcyon days of the Yanchmont Larch Club -- gala parties, the laughter only slightly less sparkling than the champagne, walking and conversing in the gardens....

Then the Larch Borers came, with their insidious disease, and all we had left was the Yanchmont Stump Club, our memories, and a bitter sense of regret. Fallen, fallen is Yanchmont the Sparkling....
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:33 AM on October 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

Stay well everyone. I'm off to work. Will be thinking of all of you while I try to stave off the boredom.

(My work will be dead. Not because of any storm though I expect even people up here won't go out which will make it worse. It will be dead because it's off season and most of the town hates my boss and refuses to eat there.)
posted by Jalliah at 10:34 AM on October 29, 2012

I'm in a tiny room on the second floor of a college dorm in MA. There's no way I can stay away from my window; what should I do?

Sit in your hallway if it gets real bad. That's what we all did in during Hurricane Irene in 2003, anyway (damn I'm old)
posted by downing street memo at 10:35 AM on October 29, 2012

Potomac Avenue: "Some guy surfing on live TV in LI right now. Yeah. You are dumb dude. Life isn't point break."

There were dozens in the water in Long Beach yesterday evening, I wouldn't be surprised if there was several today. They're nuts. Last year, immediately after Irene, someone jumped in the water and the lifeguards jumped in with a large jetski, pulled him out and arrested him.
posted by Brian Puccio at 10:35 AM on October 29, 2012

Another tip for tub stoppage: rubber jar opener. The key is to cover the drain before you fill it to create suction when it fills (likewise, saran or plastic bags, etc).
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 10:36 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Topoisomerase: Hang a blanket over the window. If the glass breaks, the shards will stick in the blanket, or fall straight down to the floor.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 10:36 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

am actually riding this one out in central NJ so I could be walking distance from work if I got stranded... perhaps not my smartest plan ever. trees are oscillating but so far I still have power even though my power lines are hanging pendulously from one side of the street to the other in the fall path of every tree ever.
posted by en forme de poire at 10:37 AM on October 29, 2012

Anyone know the latest track for DC? I can't get Capital Weather Gang to load for some reason. We shouldn't have storm surge flooding to deal with but what about wind and rain?
posted by downing street memo at 10:38 AM on October 29, 2012

New Jersey traffic cams.
posted by titus-g at 10:38 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Cobble hill Brooklyn, again. As the wind is increasing one of my windows is whistling and its freaking me out! Is there a way to stop it? When the winds get worse, is this an indication of bad things to come?
posted by Unred at 10:39 AM on October 29, 2012

I'm not sure if this has been posted already, but the Sentials at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington Cemetery are not leaving.

I was very moved by the picture.

This is evidently from Reddit, but I'm not sure exactly where. I seen it on twitter.
posted by royalsong at 10:39 AM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Eggless, oven-less cookie recipe. If you can boil water, you can make these! Basically really thick sweet oatmeal that you drop onto wax paper.
posted by fontophilic at 10:40 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

DC is expecting the worst to hit at about 4 PM and continue through tonight.
posted by COD at 10:40 AM on October 29, 2012

SilverStatute and Skygazer: I'm in Zone B in Greenpoint, and haven't seen any flooding.

I also found this ComEd Storm Center page - looks like right now, most of the power outages in NYC are where you'd expect them to be - nearer to the ocean.
posted by eustacescrubb at 10:40 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

also there is literally no place in this apartment without windows. fortunately as a gay dude I have tons of expertise with the closet HEYOOOOOOO HURRICANE HUMOR JUST BLEW THRU TOWN
posted by en forme de poire at 10:41 AM on October 29, 2012 [14 favorites]

Local news just claimed it was getting submerged.

Nice! Umm, I mean, that's awful.

Seriously, all the beach clubs must all be getting slammed, too. The ones with islands are done for. Kind of sad for the New Ro Rowing Club.
posted by brina at 10:41 AM on October 29, 2012

See what life is like for buoy 44065 (the Fighting 44065) Station 44065 (LLNR 725) - New York Harbor Entrance - 15 NM SE of Breezy Point , here. An hour ago: 18 foot waves, 40 knot winds.

Brave brave buoy.
posted by shothotbot at 10:41 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Oop that wasn't taken today, sorry. Here's photos from today, from their official facebook page.
posted by royalsong at 10:41 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Unnnggggh. Hunterdon Co. NJ, power just went out for a minute, a warning of what is to come. NOT REMOTELY PREPARED FOR LOSS OF INTERNET!
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:42 AM on October 29, 2012

So apparently the Gowanus Canal has started overflowing its banks and backing up onto 2nd Avenue.

Think about that - The Gowanus. As in, The Gowanus.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:42 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

downing street memo: Capital Weather Gang have moved their posts.
posted by bentley at 10:42 AM on October 29, 2012

Still here, meaning that my house power is on. Gusts are noticeably feistier than they were before lunch, but nothing way out of the ordinary yet. The gusts were up to 58 mph at Logan about 1/2 hour ago, per NOAA.

Really wish I had a nice long dark-and-stormy-but-not-too-stormy-night book for the Kindle. Perhaps I should go make that happen. Recommendations, anyone? Maybe I should head over to the green.
posted by Currer Belfry at 10:43 AM on October 29, 2012

EmpressCallipygos: "The Gowanus."

Oof, I used to live right next to that pit of hell. That makes me glad I got away before it.... touched me.
posted by wcfields at 10:45 AM on October 29, 2012

psoas, I'm new here. I really have no idea which is more likely than the other.

Baltimore is rather renowned for its wide range of Eccentrics with a capital E. Perhaps we can summon sonascope for some enlightenment.
posted by psoas at 10:47 AM on October 29, 2012

As the wind is increasing one of my windows is whistling and its freaking me out! Is there a way to stop it?

Try finding the crack where it's blowing in and blocking it with something like a cloth or paper. And then tape it down.

Also: deep breaths.
posted by emjaybee at 10:48 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

DC checking in again. Storm seems to have gotten noticeably worse in the last half hour our so. Darker, windier, and heavier rains.

Anyone know the latest track for DC? I can't get Capital Weather Gang to load for some reason. We shouldn't have storm surge flooding to deal with but what about wind and rain?

Last I saw they said the worst would be from 4-5 this evening until sometime tonight. We're already starting to see flooding on Rock Creek and the projected levels at the Georgetown waterfront don't look good.
posted by malthas at 10:48 AM on October 29, 2012

Basically the Gowanus is going to create a race of super-mutants.

So went out for perfectly reasonable and adult beer rations - odd to see what was open and what wasn't. Diners, gyms, and ...stationary stores - all open. It was more like Thanksgiving but with a feeling of doom hanging over everything. Much less plywood and taping of windows then during Irene, although a lot more just plain drop the storm shutters and leave. Only saw ONE message written out in tape on the window. WTF NYC we're supposed to be on this.
posted by The Whelk at 10:49 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure if this has been posted already, but the Sentials at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington Cemetery are not leaving.

OK, I admire their dedication to their duty, but their commanding officers should recall them. Showing respect for the dead by endangering the living is insane. So, kudos for the guys on the ground, ill thoughts for their officers.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:49 AM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

Somerville, MA here. A tree in our building parking lot just snapped and fell on top of a resident's friend's Mini. Had to saw a couple of branches off to get my own car sitting next to the Mini out and moved. A few scratches no doubt but I'll consider myself lucky.
posted by shortfuse at 10:50 AM on October 29, 2012

SERIOUS QUESTION - I am going to the deli to get sliced cheese for grilled cheese. 1/2 pound for two sandwiches? More? Less?
posted by (Over) Thinking at 10:50 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Husband still won't come home from work. Complaining that none of the takeout places he goes to for lunch are open. Urged him to take the fucking hint.

Hint totally not taken.
posted by sonika at 10:51 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Maybe if the National Hurricane Center people retired the storm's name in advance, it would disappear. (lived through Andrew)
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:51 AM on October 29, 2012

Williamsburg checking in... windows are rattling like crazy. I hope the cheap-ass glass holds up. Also the backyards across from me are just full of lawn furniture, bikes and grills. What is WRONG with people?
posted by idest at 10:52 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

SERIOUS QUESTION - I am going to the deli to get sliced cheese for grilled cheese. 1/2 pound for two sandwiches? More? Less?

Just.. order N slices, where N is the desired number of slices.
posted by curious nu at 10:52 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Arrgh. We have this tiny xantrex portable generator in case of emergencies. The power adapter is apparently no longer working. I just tested the battery and it's dead.
posted by zarq at 10:53 AM on October 29, 2012

I've been watching the Times Square cam. It doesn't look all that wet or windy judging by the umbrellas passing by. Is the camera deceiving somehow?
posted by mudpuppie at 10:53 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

So apparently the Gowanus Canal has started overflowing its banks and backing up onto 2nd Avenue.

gonorrhea for everyone!
posted by elizardbits at 10:54 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I keep resisting the urge to suggest snarky comments for sonika to make to her husband. But it seems wrong. I hope he gets home safe, sonika, I'm sorry he's being so bullheaded.
posted by emjaybee at 10:54 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

SERIOUS QUESTION - I am going to the deli to get sliced cheese for grilled cheese. 1/2 pound for two sandwiches? More? Less?

More, because seriously you will want more than two grilled cheese sandwiches, they are the perfect food.
posted by jetlagaddict at 10:54 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure if this has been posted already, but the Sentials at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington Cemetery are not leaving.

In very extreme weather, they'll retreat to a small shack that's just north of the tombs proper, and has full view of the monument. If lighting appears, or the winds are such that the Sentinel cannot stand, they'll move to the watch shack until they can safely resume the walk. You can see the shack in a picture on this page, so you can see they don't go far to get to shelter, if needed.

But, yes, the Sentinels stay on watch, as they've done continuously since 1937.
posted by eriko at 10:55 AM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Arrgh. We have this tiny xantrex portable generator in case of emergencies. The power adapter is apparently no longer working. I just tested the battery and it's dead.
posted by zarq at 1:53 PM on October 29 [+] [!]

I totally read that as Emergency Xanax Generator and yes I could use that.
posted by The Whelk at 10:55 AM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Potomac Avenue: So... is the Gowanus Canal going to poison everyone in Greenpoint?

Possibly, but what a poorly researched and useless article that fails to mention the massive ExxonMobil spill that caused that canal and most of Greenpoint to be one of the most polluted oil besotted (it seeped into the ground soil), places in the country. All thanks to egregious and criminal oil company negligence...


And most of the commentary there is such right-wing "oohh let's ding the liberals in NYC horseshit."
posted by Skygazer at 10:55 AM on October 29, 2012

Greenpoint again, just finished cooking my mammouth frittata, went outside and walked around for a bit-- wind is definitely picking up, but doesn't seem like we're at a crisis-point yet. Also the sushi place on Nassau is still open if anyone wants one last chance at white tuna before things get crazy.
posted by NolanRyanHatesMatches at 10:55 AM on October 29, 2012

Thanks emjaybee. I've probably thought of the snarky comments and uttered them myself. Unfortunately, after five years together, my snark has limited effectiveness.
posted by sonika at 10:55 AM on October 29, 2012

Jersey City update - no driving after 2 PM; Curfew from 6 PM tonight to 1 PM tomorrow in many areas. "pedestrian traffic prohibited during this period."

There goes my idea of walking around at sunrise again tomorrow.
posted by lyra4 at 10:55 AM on October 29, 2012

More like Zombie Apocalypse for everyone, if I know what's in Gowanus sludge.

Make that zombies with STDs.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:55 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

SERIOUS QUESTION - I am going to the deli to get sliced cheese for grilled cheese. 1/2 pound for two sandwiches? More? Less?

Just.. order N slices, where N is the desired number of slices.

Hm, I have always just asked them to slice N pounds for me. I don't think they'll let me specify the number of slices.
posted by (Over) Thinking at 10:56 AM on October 29, 2012

According to the NYT, NYC's dogs are not handling this very well.
posted by mudpuppie at 10:57 AM on October 29, 2012

Sonika, my dad (in CT) is apparently still insistent on going into work at 5 pm tonight. (Somehow.) So I will join you in fretting about our bullheaded family members.
posted by pemberkins at 10:58 AM on October 29, 2012

if I know what's in Gowanus sludge.

it is literally gonorrhea though
posted by elizardbits at 10:58 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Who is going to enforce a pedestrian traffic prohibition? If things are as bad as it seems they forecast, folks walking around may be the least of the problems that the authorities have to deal with. On the other hand, if you are mistaken for a looter you could be dealt with quickly.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 10:59 AM on October 29, 2012

I'm not sure if this has been posted already, but the Sentials at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington Cemetery are not leaving.

BTW, in that pic, the guard is changing. The watch commander is in the center facing forward, unlike the Sentinels, he wears rank badges. The Sentinels do not, to make sure they don't outrank any of the unknowns. The Sentinel on the left is being relived by the Sentinel on the right.
posted by eriko at 10:59 AM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Kind of weird being in a convention center, half the people have left, and nobody else has any interest in going to sessions. Lots of hanging around and staring out of the windows. Heavy rain outside, little wind though.
posted by carter at 10:59 AM on October 29, 2012

if I know what's in Gowanus sludge.

Please give us your definition of the verb "know."

Also, stay well back from us until you have a) had your shots and b) have papers to prove it.
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:02 AM on October 29, 2012

Silver Spring here; wind is definitely picking up. Big gust just came through (I'd estimate 25? 30 mph?) and knocked a smallish branch onto the roof of our enclosed sun porch. Smallish = 1.5" diameter, about 2' long, maybe? so, not big, but damn, if it wasn't loud. I'm now starting to get a little nervous about trees coming down, even though I think most of the dead or dying trees around here came down during the derecho and our trees are healthy.

I'm dreading being cut off from information when the power inevitably goes.
posted by devinemissk at 11:03 AM on October 29, 2012

Just lost power. In Atlanta. Guess it's all the blusteryness, as the sky is a brilliant clear blue.
posted by SomaSoda at 11:04 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure if this has been posted already, but the Sentials at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington Cemetery are not leaving.

Apparently that's an old picture from September.
posted by lullaby at 11:05 AM on October 29, 2012

Oh for god's sake.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:06 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Incredible Viral Soldier Pic Debunked by Military, Sam Laird, Mashable, 29 October, 2012
posted by ob1quixote at 11:07 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

My power just went out again. Glad it was temporary, I don't know what I'll do once I'm cut off from the news. I will probably develop cabin fever in approximately five minutes.
posted by pemberkins at 11:07 AM on October 29, 2012

ConEd is about to start cutting off power to ZoneA in NYC.
posted by sciencegeek at 11:09 AM on October 29, 2012

Incredible Viral Soldier Pic Debunked by Military, Sam Laird, Mashable, 29 October, 2012

Sort of missing the point.
posted by Jahaza at 11:09 AM on October 29, 2012

eriko: My hats off to them. I am seriously humbled by their dedication.
posted by royalsong at 11:10 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Not much here yet (northeast MA). We have power, which means that we had Hurricane Sandy-wiches on my new birthday panini maker, so we have that going for us.
posted by theredpen at 11:10 AM on October 29, 2012

UWS, just went out for brunch. Restaurants here are hopping like any other rainy day.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:11 AM on October 29, 2012

UWS of New York, it's still only raining a little, some wind but nothing remarkable. Haven't been out in it, but the view from the window doesn't look any different from the last time it rained. I know others are getting it much harder (stay safe!), and I know if I walk over to Riverside and see what the Hudson is doing I'll see a difference, but it's weird to read all the scary stuff from just a few miles away and not see any evidence of a storm here at all.

I filled our bathtub and my husband just laughed at me. He said there's almost no chance of a power outage in Manhattan because "it's pretty hard for trees to take down power lines when they're all underground." Touché. (no cookies for him. hmph.)

Still not draining the tub, though.
posted by Mchelly at 11:12 AM on October 29, 2012

theredpen, what is in a Hurricane Sandy-wich? That sounds much yummier than the frozen dinner I nuked for lunch.
posted by Currer Belfry at 11:12 AM on October 29, 2012

I am hearing LOTS of sirens again. No idea what's happening in the neighborhood, but I'm not about to go out and see.
posted by pemberkins at 11:13 AM on October 29, 2012

Umm..wait a minute. The Gowanus is nowhere near Greenpoint. Newtown Creek is what our extra-super/duper instant cancer (if you touch it) toxic sludge waterway is called.

Is the Observer nuts? Who the heck said it was Greenpoint! Wiseguys, eh? Why I oughta...

Skippy skip 23-skiddoo da rooni...you rat bastids...

That's the way we talk in Greenpoint...what's it to ya??
posted by Skygazer at 11:13 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

ConEd is about to start cutting off power to ZoneA in NYC.

Yeah, idk wtf is even up with that. I am not even in Zone C and I just got that call.
posted by elizardbits at 11:15 AM on October 29, 2012

Jahaza: Incredible Viral Soldier Pic Debunked by Military, Sam Laird, Mashable, 29 October, 2012

Sort of missing the point.

Negatronic, Ghostrider.

@washingtonpost We truly appreciate the support. However, this photo was taken in Sept. This is #Sandy goo.gl/OC5lz— The Old Guard (@The_Old_Guard) October 29, 2012

posted by ob1quixote at 11:17 AM on October 29, 2012

Mchelly, the chance is small, but not insignificant. If salt water gets into the underground cables, we are SOL. The Hudson is churning.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 11:18 AM on October 29, 2012

Hi devinemissk, I'm in downtown Silver Spring. Just ran out to replenish emergency chocolate supply. Got the very last Reese's peanut butter cups,but at least it was a king size. The rain wasn't bad, but it is a little gusty.

FWIW, I live in an 11th floor studio with the sole exterior wall is basically one big window(starting about 2.5 ft from floor). During the derecho, which I seem to remember featured winds gusts at least as strong, if not stronger than predicted for Sandy (granted it moved through relatively quickly) and while they rattled rather alarmingly, they did hold with no damage. I'm hoping the same holds true for this storm.
posted by kaybdc at 11:18 AM on October 29, 2012

Easy prediction is easy.
posted by Wordshore at 11:19 AM on October 29, 2012

No, I stand by my comment... the point for me and for my Facebook friends is that they stay there in the rain, not whether it's currently raining in Arlington, Virginia or not. For the Washington Post, it makes a difference.
posted by Jahaza at 11:19 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Philadelphia here. Lots of rain and wind, and it seems to have significantly intensified in the last half hour. We're in South Philly, not near a river or in any of the designated flood zones, but ground saturation might give us some basement flooding. Here's hoping for not, and that the (relatively young, about 10-12" diameter, healthy with no dead branches) oak tree holds and doesn't knock out windows or wires.
posted by The Michael The at 11:19 AM on October 29, 2012

ScienceGeeK: ConEd is about to start cutting off power to ZoneA in NYC.

What.

There's no way they can do that. They better mean just public housing in Zone A who all had to leave due to El Ka Bloomberg-o is a big overprotectective pansy...

I lose my power and Con Ed, City Hall, El Bloombito, and whoever else I can think of is going to get hit with a class action suit to end all class action suits.

I've been watching local TV all day and I've got the names of at least twelve of these ambulance chasing "attorney's" who would love this action...

Besides, I've got the latest episode of The Walking Dead which aired last night, all cued up to watch on Instant video, and if I don't get to see it there will be HELL to pay. HELL, EL BLOOMBITO!!
posted by Skygazer at 11:20 AM on October 29, 2012

Speaking of debunking viral images.. this shot of the Statue of Liberty is clearly fake right? Right?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:21 AM on October 29, 2012

Friends in Zone C in SoHo got the Con Ed call... we're on the edge of Zone C but we don't have a landline so I guess we'll just enjoy the suspense.
posted by nicwolff at 11:21 AM on October 29, 2012

This one is REAL though.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:22 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Also in the UWS, like they said, it feels like Thanksgiving, lots of closed things but the diners are all open, but the wind speed seems more ....consistently blustery.

He said there's almost no chance of a power outage in Manhattan because "it's pretty hard for trees to take down power lines when they're all underground." Touché.

My Engineer Husband said "They may cut the power preemptively to avoid damage if/before flooding happens. "
posted by The Whelk at 11:22 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well, I just watched a two foot diameter tree split in half and land on my neighbor's house. After that we cut my son's video game session short and pulled him away from the windows close to the trees.

The worst is yet to come here and we're far from the path of the storm.

Activity on the police scanner for my town is going non-stop.

Power is still on, for now.

Be safe, everyone.
posted by bondcliff at 11:22 AM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

I filled our bathtub and my husband just laughed at me. He said there's almost no chance of a power outage in Manhattan because "it's pretty hard for trees to take down power lines when they're all underground." Touché. (no cookies for him. hmph.)

water. in the utility tunnels. duh on your husband.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 11:22 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Power's been browning out here, but I've still got it. Would really rather not study by flashlight.

If it goes, I'll catch y'all on the flip side.
posted by dismas at 11:23 AM on October 29, 2012

Lights just flickered here in Zone C on the UES. One block from the river and outside is looking bad.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 11:23 AM on October 29, 2012

Yep, sio42's got it. From Day after Tomorrow
posted by Jahaza at 11:24 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Windows are shaking like SOMETHING WANTS IN
posted by The Whelk at 11:24 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

I am finding this one hard to believe, also, but I would be glad to be wrong about it.
posted by Danf at 11:24 AM on October 29, 2012

We flickered just now also, woodside here.
posted by vrakatar at 11:24 AM on October 29, 2012

The emergency alert system on my phone just went off. I was quite surprised to see the NWS warning me of an imminent blizzard in Fredericksburg VA.
posted by COD at 11:24 AM on October 29, 2012

Also, power out in College Park? Really? That's not far from here and we have not had anything like the winds necessary for power outages already. I wonder what's up over there.

Here is Pepco's outage map. It indicates only 35 or so customers out in the CP area, but I guarantee it's more than that, and the report I heard from my friend was hours ago.
posted by zennie at 11:25 AM on October 29, 2012

Glad I asked lol. Durr.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:26 AM on October 29, 2012

Apparently after the ConEd rep confirmed Zone A power shutdown s/he then said they weren't 100% sure.
posted by sciencegeek at 11:28 AM on October 29, 2012

My insurance company just emailed me an hurricane alert. Thanks, guys.

Where are they when I need help with seasoning the soup?
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 11:30 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Currer Belfry: "theredpen, what is in a Hurricane Sandy-wich? That sounds much yummier than the frozen dinner I nuked for lunch."

Hi CB, if we had any left I'd bring you one! It was just faux Thanksgiving panini, turkey + cranberry + stuffing + brie, because I got a panini maker for my birthday. If you make these, skip the Brie. I found all these panini recipes online but I guess the real procedure is this:

-- Make a normal sandwich that you already like
-- Put it in the panini maker

Pretty straightforward! I had wanted a new toaster but I think this is better.

I really don't want any property damage, but a little excitement would be nice. Kind of peaceful right now.
posted by theredpen at 11:30 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm waiting for m I t t r o m n e y to say something stupid about disaster aid.

Oh, he took care of that quite a while ago. Spending on FEMA is "simply immoral".
posted by Flunkie at 11:32 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Danf, snopes has been on it -- for two years. Suffice to say the eye of the storm is not hovering over Newark (I lived in Jersey City at one point).
posted by dhartung at 11:33 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Earlier, the internet went down for a quarter of an hour, so it must be a day ending in "y", but the power also flickered out for a moment. So far, just a Nor'Easter, and not even the meanest one I've seen. (For one, no gale-driven sleet.)

Still, we're at the beginning, here, not the end.
posted by Slap*Happy at 11:33 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

oh hey the sky just opened up and the rains have arrived
posted by backseatpilot at 11:33 AM on October 29, 2012

I assume this pic is fake or from a movie or something, but I can't find the source.
posted by rmd1023 at 11:34 AM on October 29, 2012

I just got a message from ConEd on my cell phone (I don't have a landline either) that they may choose to shut down electric prior to outages, and that ConEd would "keep [me] updated." For what it's worth, I'm in Zone B, though just about 1/2 an avenue from Zone A.
posted by Caz721 at 11:35 AM on October 29, 2012

Comcast just sent me an email which seemed to be trying, in a very polite way, to say.

"It's a fucking hurricane. Your cable, internet, and phone service is likely to go out. Deal with it. We'll get it back on as soon as we can."
posted by COD at 11:35 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Over at Buzzfeed they already managed to collect 9 viral photos that are not Sandy.

Link to Buzzfeed piece
posted by tykky at 11:35 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Bwahahahahahaha EmpressCallipygos, that is fantastic.

(from the linked BS article)

"McTernan believes that it is noteworthy that Hurricane Sandy is hitting 21 years after the “Perfect Storm,” because 3 is a “significant number with God”:

Twenty-one years breaks down to 7 x 3, which is a significant number with God. Three is perfection as the Godhead is three in one while seven is perfection.

It appears that God gave America 21 years to repent of interfering with His prophetic plan for Israel;..." [continues in same vitriolic stupidity for several paragraphs]

COME-ON STORM TRAPPED MEFITES, SHOW US YOUR NUMBERS TO PROVE OTHERWISE.
posted by marienbad at 11:36 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

No bread at the market but we are prepared.
posted by vrakatar at 11:37 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Looks like winds have seriously damaged the Statue of Liberty.
posted by perhapses at 11:37 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

COD: "Comcast just sent me an email which seemed to be trying, in a very polite way, to say.

"It's a fucking hurricane. Your cable, internet, and phone service is likely to go out. Deal with it. We'll get it back on as soon as we can.""

My buddy overheard a conversation between two of our neighbors (probably undergrads at our university) at the convenience store down the block that went something like:

"So...if the power goes out, does wireless go out also?"
"I think so, but I'm not sure."

Oof.
posted by dismas at 11:37 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Nature is the best installation artist.
posted by The Whelk at 11:37 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Speaking of debunking viral images.. this shot of the Statue of Liberty is clearly fake right? Right?

Yes. What the statue looks like right now. There are whitecaps out there, but not anywhere near that bad.
posted by lyra4 at 11:37 AM on October 29, 2012

My mom texted that they have lost power in Monmouth County, NJ
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:38 AM on October 29, 2012

Marienbad: COME-ON STORM TRAPPED MEFITES, SHOW US YOUR NUMBERS TO PROVE OTHERWISE.

I'm holding up one finger to all that jive.
posted by Skygazer at 11:38 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

I think that trampoline photo is in Milford CT, for the curious.
posted by pemberkins at 11:39 AM on October 29, 2012

theredpen: that sandwich sounds like a winner. Nothing much of interest happening here either, which is fine by me because my house is bounded by two big trees, one on either side.

bondcliff: keeping you and your family in my thoughts. Hope all goes well.
posted by Currer Belfry at 11:40 AM on October 29, 2012

If anyone is somewhere and concerned that their windows might break, please take the time now to PUT ON SOME SHOES. You don't want to find shards of glass between your barefooted self (which if you're hanging around inside is the natural way to be) and your exit. As a Californian in earthquake country, I sleep with shoes and a flashlight under the bed for just such glass shard situations.

Good luck to everyone! I'm taking this as a good time to reconsider my generally poor earthquake preparedness.
posted by marylynn at 11:40 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Mrs.: "Oh crap, this cake requires a cup of milk."
Me: "We have milk."
Mrs.: "I have to make three of them. I may have to use all our milk. Do you want to go out for milk?"
Me.: "Hell no. What else do we need milk for?"
Mrs.: "Coffee."
Me: "OK, I'm going out."
posted by nicwolff at 11:41 AM on October 29, 2012 [15 favorites]

HUBS NOT ANSWERING PHONE. STORM GETTING RLY BAD. PRACTICING SPEECH WHEREIN I TELL SON HE IS FATHERLESS BECAUSE DADDY WENT TO WORK IN A HURRICANE LIKE A DAMN FOOL.
posted by sonika at 11:41 AM on October 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

rmd1023, looks like a real photo -- of the 2011 storm that spawned the mini-tornado in Brooklyn. [Note article date, not top-of-page news date.]
posted by dhartung at 11:42 AM on October 29, 2012

Aw shit, sonika. Hope he's okay. :(
posted by zarq at 11:42 AM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Windows are shaking like SOMETHING WANTS IN

It's the crushed dreams of a million orphans watching the rain fall outside their dormitory windows..

Maybe.
posted by Skygazer at 11:42 AM on October 29, 2012

Williamsburg again. Sounds of stuff blowing around outside. There is a small garage nearby and the metal roof is flapping up and down.
posted by idest at 11:43 AM on October 29, 2012

On the plus side, our box of kitchen crap from Amazon is still supposed to be delivered today. We believe in you, UPS!
posted by backseatpilot at 11:43 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Y'all, there is a HOUSEFLY in my apartment. It's bothering the shit out of me. I am way more frustrated by it that I am by the storm. That says something about me, I think.
posted by eustacescrubb at 11:44 AM on October 29, 2012

The antena on my roof looks perilously attached
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 11:44 AM on October 29, 2012

Ahhh hoping for the best sonika (burns sage, chants)
posted by The Whelk at 11:44 AM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Already got an amazon box today. I should have ordered a case of parmalat for the baby.
posted by shothotbot at 11:44 AM on October 29, 2012

It's getting theatrical outside but more importantly I have all the ingredients for

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I really need the power to stay on long enough to make and devour these.
posted by jetlagaddict at 11:45 AM on October 29, 2012

If anyone is somewhere and concerned that their windows might break, please take the time now to PUT ON SOME SHOES.

Oh yeah, I lived in earthquake country as well; wearing sneakers. Not sure I should fess up, but I am in basically hiking gear that will stay warm even if it gets wet. Zipper pocket on the shirt has my housekeys and ID zipped into it. Um. Sorry, the husband has infected me with that whole "semper paratus" thing.
posted by lyra4 at 11:46 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

My Engineer Husband said "They may cut the power preemptively to avoid damage if/before flooding happens. "

Aha - now my paranoia is backed by Science. I may just fill the tub some more just to see if it brings out any latent smugness. Take that!
posted by Mchelly at 11:46 AM on October 29, 2012

Wind just kicked up to warp 5 - as loud as I have ever heard it. (21st floor, Upper West Side).

I am supposedly working but cant really concentrate.
posted by shothotbot at 11:46 AM on October 29, 2012

Another one who has a normally 'hands-off' kitty who crawled in bed and nuzzled up against me this morning. She has NEVER done that in the past 7 years.
posted by ericb at 11:46 AM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Over here in Greenpoint I can faintly smell burning sage. Seems to be drifting from upper Manhattan.
posted by eustacescrubb at 11:47 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Townhouse idiots finally starting bringing things indoors.

I just saw a pigeon get pushed backward in mid flight. WTF are you even doing little dude, you need to pick up one last cigarette butt for your hatchlings?
posted by The Whelk at 11:47 AM on October 29, 2012 [11 favorites]

My cats are both still completely oblivious.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:47 AM on October 29, 2012

Hoping he is on his way home to get an earful from you, sonika!
posted by zennie at 11:48 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

That poor gazebo is still holding out despite the waves but it's looking more and more lonely and forlorn all the time.

It's going to be somewhat depressing when the storm surge comes in and knocks it off the pilings.
posted by vuron at 11:48 AM on October 29, 2012

We're on an alley. I've seen zero windiness and very little rain. Boooooooooring.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:48 AM on October 29, 2012

Atlantic City EMS will not be responding to calls from this point forward. Huh.
posted by mudpuppie at 11:48 AM on October 29, 2012

Manhattan: *2 Alarm* Box 916 at 157 West 57 St Second alarm being transmitted in regards to a Crane collapsed on a 75 story building.
posted by The Whelk at 11:48 AM on October 29, 2012

We believe in you, UPS!

The UPS tracker said my package went out for delivery this morning and I feel like a jerk for hoping it'll still get here today.
posted by lullaby at 11:49 AM on October 29, 2012

Unsure if people in the United States of Jolly Iffy Weather can access it, but the BBC news website has a rolling text commentary on Hurricane Sandy.

Remembering that most of the people I know, friends, colleagues, librarians, fiancee, cats of fiancee, are in the USA. Stay safe, y'all.
posted by Wordshore at 11:49 AM on October 29, 2012

CNN is showing a picture of a "partial crane collapse" dangling above 57th Street.
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 11:50 AM on October 29, 2012

According to twitter there's a collapsed crane in NYC now.

BOX 0916 | MANHATTAN | *2ND ALM* 157 W. 57TH ST | CRANE COLLAPSE 75TH FLR - MULTIPLE BLDG'S TO EVACUATE | BN-9 REQUEST 2ND ALM | AP01
posted by lyra4 at 11:50 AM on October 29, 2012

Just dumped all my remaining perishables into an epic spaghetti carbonara, let's hope the dishwasher beats the power outage!
posted by sallybrown at 11:50 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Atlantic City EMS will not be responding to calls from this point forward. Huh.

Wow.
posted by zarq at 11:50 AM on October 29, 2012

That poor gazebo is still holding out despite the waves but it's looking more and more lonely and forlorn all the time.

It's kind of interesting that the water on the side of the gazebo has been at the same height for the past few hours, despite the fact that the tide is supposed to be going out.

Chucking it down in Baltimore, btw.
posted by carter at 11:50 AM on October 29, 2012

photo of crane
posted by The Whelk at 11:52 AM on October 29, 2012

Here's a photo of that collapsed crane.
posted by eustacescrubb at 11:52 AM on October 29, 2012

This seems sort of minimally useful when power and line-of-sight are required, but Sirius XM has The Weather Channel streaming continually on Sirius 184 and XM 1. You do not need a current subscription; those are normally the preview channels.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:52 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've never been particularly anxious, so I'm guessing this new emotion is anxiety and no sir it is not pleasant. Felt it before when idiot husband drove through a tornado. Man is obviously lacking brain cells to properly fear natural disasters.
posted by sonika at 11:53 AM on October 29, 2012

Manhattan: *2 Alarm* Box 916 at 157 West 57 St Second alarm being transmitted in regards to a Crane collapsed on a 75 story building.

what is the source? I need something else to refresh constantly
posted by shothotbot at 11:53 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

That building is One57, and was in the news recently.

One57, a 1,004-foot tower under construction in Midtown Manhattan, will soon hold the title of New York’s tallest building with residences. But without fanfare from its ultraprivate future residents, it is cementing a new title: the global billionaires’ club.

The buyers of the nine full-floor apartments near the top that have sold so far — among them two duplexes under contract for more than $90 million each — are all billionaires, Gary Barnett, the president of the Extell Development Company, the building’s developer, said this week. The other seven apartments ranged in price from $45 million to $50 million.

posted by zarq at 11:54 AM on October 29, 2012

This thread is seriously cutting in to my bejewelled time.

Just wanted to say 'good morning' from New Zealand, and will be thinking of you and hoping everyone gets through this safely.

Feeling a little like a disaster-voyeur reading this thread, but our cataclysmic events tend to strike with no warning, so the baking-bathtubs-booze stuff is fascinating. Reminds me that I need to get my sh*t together with my own emergency prep (have gin, have lemons, no tonic in the house!)
posted by Catch at 11:54 AM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

We're on an alley. I've seen zero windiness and very little rain. Boooooooooring.

You want excitement? I don't. I am happy that the worst I've seen is a roof tile blown into the courtyard. I am not going out my front door for a while, though.
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:55 AM on October 29, 2012

Really the only song to play for your NYC Sandy needs.
posted by The Whelk at 11:55 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

One57, a 1,004-foot tower under construction in Midtown Manhattan, will soon hold the title of New York’s tallest building with residences. But without fanfare from its ultraprivate future residents, it is cementing a new title: the global billionaires’ club.

The buyers of the nine full-floor apartments near the top that have sold so far — among them two duplexes under contract for more than $90 million each — are all billionaires, Gary Barnett, the president of the Extell Development Company, the building’s developer, said this week. The other seven apartments ranged in price from $45 million to $50 million.

REALITY YOU NEED TO BE LESS ON THE NOSE WITH YOUR SYMBOLISM OKAY
posted by The Whelk at 11:56 AM on October 29, 2012 [10 favorites]

Yeah, I better get a Blood Bowl match in before the power goes out, see you here later if there is juice!
posted by vrakatar at 11:56 AM on October 29, 2012

MSNBC is now showing a partially collapsed construction crane on a skyscraper at 57th and 6th Avenue. They mentioned that people and cars are being evacuated from the area, including folks who are in buildings nearby which could be damaged if it completely breaks loose.
posted by ericb at 11:57 AM on October 29, 2012

Sonika, sure he's fine. Sounds like he's pretty deep in his work. Not so bad there yet, right? I believe you're in MA?
posted by Skygazer at 11:58 AM on October 29, 2012

Toilet Scientist, New Haven chapter, checking in. I'm told there are swans floating along one of the major streets in West Haven.
posted by Diagonalize at 11:58 AM on October 29, 2012

Thanks josher71! I'm near Hopkins and they just released an alert that it will be shut down again on Tuesday. I don't know what's going to happen with the Windup Space, but if tomorrow's meetup is still on and it's safe to get there, I'll see you then.
posted by mayurasana at 11:58 AM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

this is so bizarre. it is so quiet in the wvill that i have finally realized just how loudly i chew.

thanks sandy. thanks for that.
posted by poffin boffin at 11:58 AM on October 29, 2012

MSNBC is now showing a partislly collapsed crane on a skyscraper at 57th and 6th Avenue.

Great, that's near my office. :P
posted by zarq at 11:58 AM on October 29, 2012

what is the source? I need something else to refresh constantly

@NYScanner
posted by The Whelk at 11:59 AM on October 29, 2012

Guy on NY1 near that crane says it is going to fall any second.
posted by vrakatar at 11:59 AM on October 29, 2012

TIme to teach my 9 year old to really belt out this vital song
posted by shothotbot at 12:00 PM on October 29, 2012

Remember that hundreds of hourly workers who will not be able to earn their wages due to closed businesses and no transportation. It's a rough spot to be in. Help people out, tip well when tips apply (not for retail workers unfortunately). It's a miserable spot to be in.
posted by jgirl at 12:01 PM on October 29, 2012 [24 favorites]

ericb: “MSNBC is now showing a partially collapsed crane on a skyscraper at 57th and 6th Avenue. They mentioned that people and cars are being evacuated from the area, including, those who are in buildings nearby which could be damaged if it completely breaks loose.”

zarq: “Great, that's near my office. :P”

That's that One57 thing, right? It's near your office?
posted by koeselitz at 12:01 PM on October 29, 2012

don;t worry guys Iron man is coming right?
posted by The Whelk at 12:02 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Reporting from Richmond VA! Perhaps the southern edge of the storm. Lots of moderate rain, and a bit gusty, but nothing too exciting!

We have had some doooozies over the past 10 years, and the last earthquake followed by Irene was a drag (cracked all three of my old house chimneys).
posted by tarantula at 12:02 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oops, shouldn't have said it was calm – power gone now.
posted by theredpen at 12:03 PM on October 29, 2012

don;t worry guys Iron man is coming right?

It'll be Thor, surely?
posted by restless_nomad at 12:03 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Atlantic City EMS will not be responding to calls from this point forward. Huh.

Mandatory evacuation there, I think, so it was expected that if you stayed you'd eventually be on your own.
posted by Jahaza at 12:03 PM on October 29, 2012

AHH SOMETHING HUGE JUST FLEW PAST MY WINDOW GOING INTO WINDOWLESS DEN NOW
posted by The Whelk at 12:03 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

HAHAH reporter in Atlanta on the Weather Channel just pronounced Con-Ed "coned."
posted by Andrhia at 12:04 PM on October 29, 2012 [11 favorites]

Yep, Hopkins is closed tomorrow. However, my girlfriend who works as an administrator for Baltimore City Schools, tells me the main office will be open tomorrow. WTF?
posted by josher71 at 12:04 PM on October 29, 2012

Photo of the collapsed crane at 57th. and 6th.
posted by ericb at 12:04 PM on October 29, 2012

I've never been particularly anxious, so I'm guessing this new emotion is anxiety and no sir it is not pleasant. Felt it before when idiot husband drove through a tornado. Man is obviously lacking brain cells to properly fear natural disasters.

sonika, I don't know if it helps, but as an anxious person who catastrophizes, keep busy! Either put something REALLY STUPID on on netflix or CLEAN ALL THE THINGS. I've been cleaning all the things, telling myself it'll be a big help not to have a dirty kitchen if we lose power.

HAHAH reporter in Atlanta on the Weather Channel just pronounced Con-Ed "coned."

Hee! Heard that too.

Headed into the windowless living room with the cat about 40 minutes ago, when I watched a huge branch come outside the window. He is very annoyed that I cut into his naptime.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 12:05 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Crane is on NY1 right now. It is refusing comment.
posted by shothotbot at 12:05 PM on October 29, 2012 [13 favorites]

Yeah, that photo was posted earlier, ericb – that's the same one Piers Morgan put on his twitter feed.
posted by koeselitz at 12:06 PM on October 29, 2012

HAHAH reporter in Atlanta on the Weather Channel just pronounced Con-Ed "coned."

Like "boned", but differe....well, maybe not all that different.
posted by ersatzkat at 12:06 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

HAHAH reporter in Atlanta on the Weather Channel just pronounced Con-Ed "coned."

I'm not even watching it and I bet I know who you're talking about. There was a lady on the weather channel the past few days who just seems clueless, and she was butchering names left and right and just generally seeming like she had no idea what she was doing.
posted by cashman at 12:06 PM on October 29, 2012

sio42, you will be OK. It doesn't look too bad for Harrisburg. Are you alone?
posted by zennie at 12:07 PM on October 29, 2012

Pictures of the storm in Ocean City, NJ.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:07 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Central Maryland again - wind is REALLY starting to rage. Husband moved cars from the driveway onto the street - there's a big-ass birch tree next to the driveway that is doing unnatural things in this wind, and it's not as bad as it's going to be yet!
posted by ersatzkat at 12:07 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Dear neighbors, could you please at least set your trash can upright, instead of letting it roll around and spew your trash all over the sidewalk? I know you're home, because you keep standing out on your stoop, pointedly ignoring your trash getting all over the place.
posted by mgar at 12:07 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ali Velshi on CNN is standing in the middle of the street in Atlantic City with water standing in the street and a torrential rain falling....anddddd he almost blew over!!
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 12:07 PM on October 29, 2012

Checking in from Queens
Eating refried beans
We're in all the magazines
Gulpin down thorazines

Just got a call from my supervisor -- THREE DAY WEEKEND IS NOW A FOUR DAY WEEKEND, YO!!!! WOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
posted by jason's_planet at 12:08 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Does that Atlantic City pigeon CNN keeps showing have a Twitter account yet?
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:08 PM on October 29, 2012

Here in Takoma Park I am sure we'll survive this hurricane, but I don't know if I can survive 3 days trapped inside with my 14-yo daughter.

Pray for us, if you're the praying kind.
posted by drlith at 12:08 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Live video of crane
posted by The Whelk at 12:08 PM on October 29, 2012

It is increasingly surreal to be reading this thread from the relative safety of -- wait for it -- New Orleans. Where the sun is out and it's 75 degrees.
posted by localroger at 12:08 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

Cow
posted by humanfont at 12:08 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Southern RI: My favorite weatherman says this is the worst of it for wind for RI right now for next two hours should be 50-70 mph gusts. So far so good here.
posted by quodlibet at 12:09 PM on October 29, 2012

Hey, just found out that the photo of the crane was taken by a friend of mine.
posted by ericb at 12:09 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Crane is on NY1 right now. It is refusing comment.

Maybe its Spanish is not so good.
posted by jgirl at 12:09 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wait, so is trash going out tonight as per usual for tuesday morning pickup? That seems, um. Illogical.
posted by poffin boffin at 12:09 PM on October 29, 2012

Romney's cancelled all his events for the next 2 days.

Romney Reaches Out To Republican Governors; Democrats say he hasn't called.
posted by homunculus at 12:10 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

koeselitz, yeah, about 2-3 blocks away. I think my building may actually be part of the shot on NY1 right now. :P
posted by zarq at 12:10 PM on October 29, 2012

From ThePinkSuperhero's Pictures of the storm in Ocean City, NJ. link:

"No one is permitted on the beach at this time."
posted by marienbad at 12:10 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm watching some super-unorganized birds outside my window trying to flock in the wind. Must be freaky times for our bird-bretheren.
posted by ersatzkat at 12:10 PM on October 29, 2012

Wait, so is trash going out tonight as per usual for tuesday morning pickup?

NYS Department of Sanitation loves a challenge.
posted by zarq at 12:11 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Anyone else having problems with FIOS Digital Voice? I get a "sorry, your call can't be completed" message when I dial any number. My Virgin Mobile cell phone is dead too, but that thing gets the vapors pretty easily.

I'll probably go over to the Verizon FIOS forum and complain over there, not that it will do much good. Sometimes I wish I still had my copper line.
posted by Currer Belfry at 12:11 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wind is really starting to pick up here in the Bronx. Leaves are blowing off the trees straight up into the air like gravity doesn't matter.
posted by sciencegeek at 12:11 PM on October 29, 2012

that shit cray
posted by poffin boffin at 12:11 PM on October 29, 2012

The Whelk: “don;t worry guys Iron man is coming right?”

restless_nomad: “It'll be Thor, surely?”

Yeah, pretty sure it's Aquaman for this kind of stuff.

Basically, you probably shouldn't hold your breath, I guess.
posted by koeselitz at 12:11 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Meanwhile, far away and yet still affected, Chicago has winds N 21 gusting 33, and Gary, IN has N 27 gusting 41....

And the storm is 1000 miles away, and it's doing that.
posted by eriko at 12:12 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Live video of crane

I need to watch things die. From a good safe distance.
posted by cashman at 12:13 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Bed-Stuy here again. Went out for a smoke and saw the wind move a car a few inches. It's picking up.
posted by dysh at 12:14 PM on October 29, 2012

Officially joined Metafilter Toilet Science with a full bathtub of water.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 12:14 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

egads. ativan and whiskey, help me now.
(my escape bag is packed and by the door. i may have said that already. i'm really freaked out.
sio42- If you're living next to the train tracks (from your location), it's my recollection that that part of town was under water during Agnes. This might be worse than Agnes.
posted by MtDewd at 12:15 PM on October 29, 2012

There was a lady on the weather channel the past few days who just seems clueless

They're all just pawns in Cantore's game.

Wind is getting super serial here in Passaic County.
posted by mintcake! at 12:15 PM on October 29, 2012

FYI my water bathtub is turning my tiny bathroom into a sauna...the magick of science, I guess. Maybe it will come in handy if the heat goes out!
posted by sallybrown at 12:16 PM on October 29, 2012

Okay, the wind just got really scary. Either that or the Luftwaffe is about to begin strafing.
posted by poffin boffin at 12:17 PM on October 29, 2012

Finally called me back. Finishing immediate task and coming home. PHEW.
posted by sonika at 12:18 PM on October 29, 2012 [39 favorites]

The Whelk: “don;t worry guys Iron man is coming right?”
restless_nomad: “It'll be Thor, surely?”
koeselitz: Yeah, pretty sure it's Aquaman for this kind of stuff.

Nah, this is Storm's territory.
posted by royalsong at 12:19 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

What Happens When a Frankenstorm Hits the Madhouse
posted by homunculus at 12:19 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, that photo was posted earlier, ericb – that's the same one Piers Morgan put on his twitter feed.

Yeah, the photo was taken by Jonathan Wald, Executive Producer for Piers Morgan. Jonathan and I were at summer camp together ages ago.
posted by ericb at 12:20 PM on October 29, 2012

(lets out sigh of relief for sonika)
posted by The Whelk at 12:20 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Whoa. Did anyone else in DC just get a feeling in their head like they crested the hill of a roller coaster? Was that air pressure dropping? Weird.
posted by EvaDestruction at 12:20 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Yay! Sonika I'm so happy to hear that. Be sure to report back when he makes it.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 12:23 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

wolverine would just get blown about like a small angry patio chair
posted by The Whelk at 12:23 PM on October 29, 2012 [9 favorites]

The only serious preparation I've done, beyond pushing forward some grocery shopping and checking the flashlight, is to fill the bathtub. Because it could be the difference between flushing and not flushing the toilet. That's a big quality of life issue.
posted by benito.strauss at 12:24 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sonika - glad to hear it.
posted by dismas at 12:24 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just popping in here to say I hope everybody stays safe and warm. Cold and cloudy here in central NC. We're getting an early snowstorm in our western mountains they're blaming on Sandy. And yesterday we were going west on I-40, heading east were lines and lines of power company trucks.
posted by marxchivist at 12:24 PM on October 29, 2012

UPS GUY JUST DELIVERED THE AMAZON BOX

NOW WE HAVE A JUICER FOR HURRICANE COCKTAILS
posted by backseatpilot at 12:25 PM on October 29, 2012 [12 favorites]

Be careful of filled bathtubs if you have small children.
posted by zeikka at 12:26 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

sonika: Yay!
posted by rmd1023 at 12:26 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Heard a *whump* from outside. Our first branch came down. Whee.

I went out for a walk earlier in the afternoon and while it was too windy for my umbrella it was no so bad otherwise. Now we're watching the winds blow and hearing about the other side of town evacuating.
posted by Karmakaze at 12:26 PM on October 29, 2012

Forget Thor, Storm, et al...

We just need to find Rob McKenna and politely ask him to go somewhere else.
posted by eustacescrubb at 12:27 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

GOD but I hate all you people with days off work and cocktails. (Stupid essential worker status grumble grouch grump.)
posted by shiny blue object at 12:27 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Southern NJ, within sight of Philadelphia: We're on an upper floor of a 10 story apartment building and the wind is REALLY starting to beat against the building. Our power flickered once this afternoon. We have showered and I'm about to fill the tub juuuust in case.

Management just shoved a memo under everyone's door reminding us to take things inside from the balcony, that they're not responsible for damage to our personal possessions due to floods or winds, and "Should a hurricane watch/warning be issued for our area we will send another advisory letter to update you on the situation."

Uh...a bit late there guys...
posted by kimberussell at 12:28 PM on October 29, 2012

Well, dammit. The backyard greenhouse is now in the front yard, being held back by my laundry line. Please God, don't let the pigloo fly away. As of an hour ago, the piggies were warm and dry under all of that straw (to the point of being dusty!). Creek is on the rise. But we have the woodstove going, and we're all here together, so there's that. Please, folks, be safe.
posted by MonkeyToes at 12:28 PM on October 29, 2012 [9 favorites]

Hi Mass. folk, I don't know if you saw blahblahblah's post to the blue, but David Epstein's posts on boston.com are pretty informative. The latest one, posted around 3 p.m., says:

The sunset is around 5:30 this afternoon and it will get dark fast.That is also about the time time of the peak wind so it's really going to seem ferocious at that time.

Not to scare anyone, just the opposite - I like to know when the scares are coming!

Full post here.
posted by Currer Belfry at 12:29 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I just wanted to say, good luck. We're all counting on you.

(Seriously, from a survivor of Hurricane Ike: Be safe! Stay away from fallen powerlines.)
posted by BeeDo at 12:29 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

As a nice nerdy aside, the ASL interpreter from before is Lydia Calas, who can also be seen interpreting in a video from earlier.
posted by lauranesson at 12:29 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

EvaDestruction, yep, and me too! The pressure has been dropping steadily since this business started.
posted by argonauta at 12:29 PM on October 29, 2012

ABC also has a live feed of the crane.
posted by zarq at 12:30 PM on October 29, 2012

NY Scanner ‏@NYScanner

Manhattan: FDNY at the One World Trade Center with a Crane on top of freedom tower broken.
posted by The Whelk at 12:31 PM on October 29, 2012

I just wanted to say, good luck. We're all counting on you.
posted by mudpuppie at 12:32 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

Typical New Yorkers. A crane breaks and dangles precariously 90 stories above the street, and people gather underneath it and look up.
posted by zarq at 12:33 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

A little freaky, but the One57 model on Google Earth includes the crane.
posted by dhartung at 12:34 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yeah, they've been working on the building for a while. Long enough for the crane to look like a permanent fixture.
posted by zarq at 12:34 PM on October 29, 2012

I just went out down here near the Freedom Tower. There is a loud whistling/screeching noise that's been going on for hours. It's either coming from the subway, or from wind blowing in the tower. Hard to tell, it seems to be coming from everywhere.
posted by StickyCarpet at 12:37 PM on October 29, 2012

Maryland put a 45 MPH speed restriction on the highways.

Windy and raining, but it doesn't look like more than a normal storm so far. Maybe less so, since my wireless Internet connection is still up and Weather Alert Doggie is nonplussed.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 12:39 PM on October 29, 2012

Did anyone else hear the red dress lady on the weather channel say the North Carolina governor was "really getting hard"? No? Just me?
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 12:44 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

DC is about to start getting the worst of it (starting around 4 pm.) I feel like we're at the top of the rollercoaster and the people up front are screaming that the track ahead is broken but the rest of us are still wishing the ride would start and thinking this is going to be fun.
posted by anotherpanacea at 12:44 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

The North Carolina Governor is a woman so I don't know if that makes it better or worse.

Nothing is happening in Central NC. I am at work and it's cloudy outside. Sigh.
posted by something something at 12:47 PM on October 29, 2012

Back from my milk run here in Greenwich Village: Wind and rain still light; streets are empty but for our hardy homeless people. Gristedes supermarket on University Place is open and well-stocked. NYU kids are buying beer.
posted by nicwolff at 12:47 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Our little girl just turned 3, and she has just today learned to keep herself occupied with her toys. She has given a giant stuffed tiger emergency surgery with her doctor kit, enacted a raucus round of errand-getting with the inhabitants of the doll house, made special apple pie soup with her play kitchen, and is now merrily trend-setting with a magnetic dress-up doll set.

This is a miracle, as my wife is out of it with a stomach bug, and I'm working from home.

Also, she has just expressed her disappointment that there's no thunder, it's not a good storm without thunder.
posted by Slap*Happy at 12:47 PM on October 29, 2012 [11 favorites]

Make me proud Stonewall Inn, make me proud.
posted by The Whelk at 12:48 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

The North Carolina Governor is a woman so I don't know if that makes it better or worse.

The whole sentence was "The governor of North Carolina is really getting hard, getting hit hard by the force of the storm" or something along those lines. She did a good job of picking up and moving on but I still giggled like an idiot.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 12:49 PM on October 29, 2012

Let us not speak of Bev Purdue. *shudder*
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 12:49 PM on October 29, 2012

Regarding your windows, we in tornado alley can tell you it's pretty rare for high winds alone to blow out even pretty shitty windows, even in high-rises ... roofs start ripping off things long before windows fail. It's the debris that's the problem; close the blinds and stay away from the windows if there's airborne debris. You can hang blankets and things over them, to help contain the glass shatter if the window breaks.

But even if it's super-rattly and fairly terrifying, the window will probably hold up just fine to the wind.

You guys are making me want liquor and cookies.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 12:51 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Once again, Federal government offices in the DC area are closed tomorrow.
posted by malthas at 12:51 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

The prognosis is even creepier when announced by a computerized voice.
posted by mudpuppie at 12:52 PM on October 29, 2012

I really want cookies. Why did I not buy any cookies? All I have is healthy food.
posted by idest at 12:53 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Yikes, the pictures of the crane collapse in NYC are making me paranoid about the stability of the giant crane a block away from me in downtown Bethesda, MD. That thing doesn't look like it's going to hold up to 75 MPH winds...
posted by rhymeswithcheery at 12:53 PM on October 29, 2012

Wind and rain just started getting serious here in Rochester, NY. My building is closed tomorrow and we're supposed to work from home (if we have power and/or Internet). The Red Cross has shelters open already, area fire departments are on standby and the amateur radio ARES/RACES group has been activated to support the Red Cross.
posted by tommasz at 12:53 PM on October 29, 2012

Boston.com's Live Blog poll:
How are conditions where you are now?
Bad
Worse
Worst

Uh, I really wanted to contribute to this poll but I don't think I understand it.
posted by bobobox at 12:53 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

DC government (city government) is closed as well.
posted by inigo2 at 12:54 PM on October 29, 2012

MICROWAVE MUG BROWNIES WHILE YOU CAN, PEOPLE.
posted by iamkimiam at 12:54 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

Maybe it's cause I just re-watched Contagion but the live feed of the National Guard (I assume?) prepping their trucks and supplies is both distressing and comforting.
posted by The Whelk at 12:55 PM on October 29, 2012

That crane must be rated for lifts of several tons. Now the wind collapses the boom... WTF?
posted by Huplescat at 12:55 PM on October 29, 2012

I really want cookies. Why did I not buy any cookies? All I have is healthy food.

I know, right? What was I thinking not getting all the Doritos in the world? Sometimes an apple is just not enough. My husband is desperate to go out anyway, I might send him on a Doritos finding mission.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:55 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Live crane cam
posted by maggieb at 12:55 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Power flickering a little, but nothing seriously threatening yet. Toddler in solitary for losing his damn mind repeatedly. Realizing I should have bought more Goldfish crackers as I don't think I have enough to ration out for days.

Husband not home yet, but I'm not calling in case he's on the road as I'm sure it's going to take him a while and he'll need to concentrate. Will update from my phone when he gets here if power is out at that point.
posted by sonika at 12:56 PM on October 29, 2012

TELESCOPE PHOTO OF CRANE

AHHHHHHH
posted by The Whelk at 12:56 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

Yeah, the whole crane thing has me remembering being in the CNA tower in Chicago at night (24/7 support situation) during a bad storm. The building was being repainted and some painters' rigging came loose and started flopping wildly against our windows -- I think we were on the 18th floor. My colleagues were all jokey, but I had more paperwork than they did, and as a precaution I moved it into the next room. I couldn't imagine the prospect of recreating those records if half of them blew out into the Loop. The window survived, in the end.
posted by dhartung at 12:56 PM on October 29, 2012

Lights flickering. How long can these electric lines last....?
posted by caddis at 12:57 PM on October 29, 2012

The Whelk, you must follow the same twitter feeds I do; every time I see a tweet with info & come to this thread, you've just posted it.
posted by eustacescrubb at 12:57 PM on October 29, 2012

iamkimiam, printing recipe NOW.
posted by Currer Belfry at 12:57 PM on October 29, 2012

I know, right? What was I thinking not getting all the Doritos in the world? Sometimes an apple is just not enough. My husband is desperate to go out anyway, I might send him on a Doritos finding mission.

Could you have him swing by my place with some Red Hot Blues? And cookies?
posted by idest at 12:57 PM on October 29, 2012

Clearly.
posted by The Whelk at 12:57 PM on October 29, 2012

Friend of mine has a crane photo from his hotel room.

I think if I was close enough to take that picture, I would probably GTFO as they say.
posted by zempf at 12:58 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

You got it, babe.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:58 PM on October 29, 2012

That man of yours is a good one. I'll be expecting him.
posted by idest at 1:00 PM on October 29, 2012

Maryland's Bay Bridge is now closed.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 1:00 PM on October 29, 2012

NY Scanner ‏@NYScanner

U/D Manhattan: *3 Alarm* Box 916 at 157 West 57 St 3 Alarm being transmitted for the Crane that is about the fall onto the street.
posted by The Whelk at 1:00 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Minor leak in the basement. Crap.
posted by josher71 at 1:00 PM on October 29, 2012

Reading all this has made me nervous.

It's still sunny and clear here in Las Vegas, but I'm wondering if I should go home anyway.

posted by mmrtnt at 1:02 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

I am, in fact, weirdly jealous of everyone that's holed up with something interestingly terrifying going on. You all with your excitement and your four day weekends and your boozeahol.

I'm not, however, jealous of the whole threat-to-life-limb-and-property. Please stay safe, everyone. Candles will be lit for you here.
posted by WidgetAlley at 1:02 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Don't know if this information will be useful to anyone at all, but I just wanted to point out that, if you're looking for scary horror movies, John Carpenter's best is probably The Fog. It's actually a fair bit more chilling than Halloween, I happen to think. And it incidentally happens to be about a natural-disaster-based horror that rolls in from the ocean and terrorizes a seaside town. Also, it's available for streaming on Netflix.

Just trying to do whatever I can to help out.
posted by koeselitz at 1:02 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Why did I not buy any sweet or savory junk food? How come I decided to be good and only get reasonably healthy things?? I don't care if my Trader Joe's fiber bars have chocolate on them THEY ARE NOT DESSERT.
posted by booksherpa at 1:02 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

My power is cutting out once every five minutes or so now. Might be near the end of news access for me...
posted by pemberkins at 1:03 PM on October 29, 2012

Oddly quiet and calm in the Fredericksburg VA at the moment. My wife sent me out to get the mail as USPS did deliver today. I really didn't get wet. I expect all hell to break loose any minute.
posted by COD at 1:03 PM on October 29, 2012

what the. crane cam is now showing some guy talking. I WANT CRANE CAM.
posted by Stynxno at 1:03 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

you and me both mmrtnt. I'm in Michigan but I have loved ones in Connecticut (who's been evacuated) and Maryland.
posted by royalsong at 1:04 PM on October 29, 2012

I can't get sound on the no-crane crane cam.
posted by dhartung at 1:04 PM on October 29, 2012

Lol crane jokes.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:05 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Why did I not buy any sweet or savory junk food? How come I decided to be good and only get reasonably healthy things?? I don't care if my Trader Joe's fiber bars have chocolate on them THEY ARE NOT DESSERT. Yes, the one thing I have learned while waiting out stores is one can not have enough junk food...and alcohol...lots of alcohol.
posted by govtdrone at 1:05 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sandy in Hell's Kitchen.
posted by nickyskye at 1:05 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

WCVB just posted on Facebook a photo of a billboard atop a building near Fenway that has been ripped down.
posted by ericb at 1:05 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sound just kicked in on the interview on the crane cam.
posted by COD at 1:05 PM on October 29, 2012

Not only is this thread reminding me to update my emergency earthquake supplies, I am realizing that my current stock of emergency supplies lacks both booze and chocolate. I am woefully unprepared in that regard. Also, cheeze doodles.

The more you know...

Hope everyone stays safe.
posted by ambrosia at 1:06 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Greenpoint: Dark Sky says "Possible light rain in 4 minutes."
posted by eustacescrubb at 1:06 PM on October 29, 2012

Crap, all I have is peanut oil for the mug brownies. I don't think olive oil or walnut oil would work very well, and I am NOT melting Crisco. Will post the results for posterity.
posted by Currer Belfry at 1:07 PM on October 29, 2012

Right now, my favorite sound is hearing the sump pump in my basement go on, run for a short time, and shut off. It means everything is running and in control. Fuck yeah.

Also, I just got word that my relative who lives near south coast on Cape Cod has left the damned house and gone to stay with a friend further inland. Fuck yeah^2.
posted by rmd1023 at 1:08 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

All the bridges closing at 7 tonight sounds like.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:08 PM on October 29, 2012

For us, the toll thus far: 1blunt, 1 chicken parm/prosciutto sub with cheese, 1 Box of canollis, 1 Big ginger ale, 1 thing of brownie & cheesecake ice cream...when will end?
posted by shushufindi at 1:09 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Climate Change: "Do you see what happens, Larry? Do you see what happens when you F*** A STRANGER IN THE A**?!!!"
posted by nowhere man at 1:09 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just saw that most of Atlantic City is under water. Gee, the Donald could have taken his $5 million and used it for infrastructure improvements instead of going on and on about Obama's college transcripts, etc. but that might not have gotten him all the attention he craves.
posted by govtdrone at 1:10 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

This just posted to my local DFW FB scanner account: firefighters battle a LI housefire in the middle of a flood.
posted by emjaybee at 1:10 PM on October 29, 2012

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?!
posted by MaritaCov at 1:11 PM on October 29, 2012 [13 favorites]

Pressure drop just whonged my sinuses. Wow.
posted by sciencegeek at 1:12 PM on October 29, 2012

It's too early for bourbon right?
posted by The Whelk at 1:12 PM on October 29, 2012

I thought it was "fellate a stranger in the attic."
posted by eustacescrubb at 1:12 PM on October 29, 2012

nickyskye: “Sandy in Hell's Kitchen.”

(Psst – that first image of the statue of liberty has been discredited as fake; it's from a movie, although I forget which one. Here's a legitimate Statue of Liberty pic.)
posted by koeselitz at 1:12 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Why did I not buy any sweet or savory junk food? How come I decided to be good and only get reasonably healthy things?? I don't care if my Trader Joe's fiber bars have chocolate on them THEY ARE NOT DESSERT.

You and me and The PinkSuperhero make three.
posted by idest at 1:12 PM on October 29, 2012

It's too early for bourbon right?

It is never too early for bourbon.
posted by jetlagaddict at 1:13 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

It is never too early for bourbon. Nor too late.
posted by argonauta at 1:13 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's too early for bourbon right?

When the stormclouds are grey
It's a bourbon day.
posted by emjaybee at 1:13 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

It's too early for bourbon right?

Sun's over the yardarm *somewhere* on the planet.
posted by eriko at 1:13 PM on October 29, 2012

Bridges will close when we hit 60 mph.

Tappan Zee Bridge closed.
posted by ericb at 1:14 PM on October 29, 2012

It's too early for bourbon right?

I WAS LITERALLY JUST CONTEMPLATING THIS
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:14 PM on October 29, 2012

It's too early for bourbon right?

I'm on white russian #2...
posted by eustacescrubb at 1:14 PM on October 29, 2012

I have the end of a pitcher of Tropical Storms from last night...
posted by ersatzkat at 1:15 PM on October 29, 2012

MSNBC just reported that the midtown crane collapsed in just 20 m.p.h. winds (with occasional 30 - 40 m.p.h. gusts).
posted by ericb at 1:15 PM on October 29, 2012

> It's too early for bourbon right?

Oh hey, has The Whelk's account been hacked? Can someone local go check on him?
posted by rtha at 1:15 PM on October 29, 2012 [10 favorites]

I've been working through my rum for the last hour. Unfortunately no passion fruit, so I cant make a Hurricane.
posted by modernserf at 1:16 PM on October 29, 2012

If whelks drinkin I'm drinkin. Didn't buy ginger ale for nothing.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:16 PM on October 29, 2012

Crap, all I have is peanut oil for the mug brownies. I don't think olive oil or walnut oil would work very well, and I am NOT melting Crisco. Will post the results for posterity.

Go for the olive oil! There are some nice brownie recipes that use olive oil. I'd also imagine that walnut oil could work, it would have a great flavor.
posted by lyra4 at 1:16 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

NOAA station at Logan is reporting gusts of 60 mph as of 3:54 p.m.
posted by Currer Belfry at 1:16 PM on October 29, 2012

Ugh I wish I'd bought bourbon! I have beer but no liquor, and you can't add beer to hot chocolate.
posted by dismas at 1:17 PM on October 29, 2012

Nothing to report from Greenpoint except that my landlord put sandbags against the front door, so I'm not going anywhere! Also I am making sausage and peppers. That is all.
posted by silverstatue at 1:17 PM on October 29, 2012

Let it be known that if you have rum and ginger ale and you're NOT drinking a Dark N Stormy right now, I'm judging you.
posted by WidgetAlley at 1:17 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's too early for bourbon right?

Nope ... it's 5:18 p.m. out in the Atlantic ... time for cocktails!

Vodka and Lemonade here.
posted by ericb at 1:18 PM on October 29, 2012

Richmond is chilly ands rainy, but not too bad. Employer went to code red at 3 today, and I'm hoping it will stick tomorrow too.
posted by emelenjr at 1:18 PM on October 29, 2012

Some of my brilliant neighbors are lighting off fireworks.
posted by nowhere man at 1:18 PM on October 29, 2012

lyra4, hmmm, maybe I should give one of those other oils a try.

And there's nothing that says that I should stop at ONE mug brownie, after all!
posted by Currer Belfry at 1:18 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Huh. My Dark Sky app now crashes when I try to start it. Sandy must be too much for it.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 1:20 PM on October 29, 2012

And there has to be a Greenpoint meetup very soon. All these neighbors popping up on metafilter are making me happy :)
posted by silverstatue at 1:20 PM on October 29, 2012

If there's one thing I've learned from this hurricane, it's that there are hella MeFites in Greenpoint. Meetup in Matchless or The Pencil Factory if we survive all this light rain?
posted by eustacescrubb at 1:21 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

There's an official Dark N Stormy that's trademarked and everything, but I've never actually had one. I make mine like this:

1.) Take a tall glass. Put in ice.
2.) Put in rum until it looks like slightly more than you really think is a good idea.
3.) Put in ginger ale.
4.) Squeeze in lime.
5.) Consume. Aaah.
posted by WidgetAlley at 1:21 PM on October 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

Philly -- rain is picking up and gusts are wincingly loud. Time to nervous-bake some cookies and snuggle with the freaked-out kitty.
posted by coppermoss at 1:21 PM on October 29, 2012

My current mood
posted by The Whelk at 1:21 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

I tried that NYC Google Group but I got like 1600 emails a day and had to un-join.
posted by eustacescrubb at 1:21 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm in York, PA and my mailman rang my doorbell about an hour ago with (wet) packages for me.
posted by MegoSteve at 1:21 PM on October 29, 2012

It's too early for bourbon right?

My half empty glass says no. I went the Manhattan route. In solidarity. Or maybe just because they're tasty. Something like that.
posted by bowmaniac at 1:22 PM on October 29, 2012

I thought a dark -n- stormy is made with ginger beer, not ale.

(*whump* second branch lands on roof.)
posted by Karmakaze at 1:22 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yield 1 drink:

Ingredients

Ice
1/4 lime, cut into two thick slices, one for garnish, one to squeeze over the ice (optional)
2 ounces Gosling’s Black Seal Bermuda black rum
4 ounces ginger beer (Gosling's makes one just for this purpose)

Method

Fill a highball glass with ice. If using lime, squeeze a slice over the ice. Add the Gosling's rum. Add the ginger beer and place a slice of lime on the rim of the glass for a garnish.
posted by ersatzkat at 1:22 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

I now wish I had been less brave and gone over to spend the hurricane with other people. Loud wind in the dark may be too much for me....
posted by Unred at 1:23 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I got like 1600 emails a day

You can adjust the email frequency. I get one "digest" email per day.
posted by davidjmcgee at 1:23 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

...and ginger beer makes more difference than the Gosling's brand rum. Just use any dark rum.
posted by ersatzkat at 1:23 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

eustacescrubb: I tried that NYC Google Group but I got like 1600 emails a day and had to un-join.

You can set it so you just get a single summary mail every day or nothing at all. Click My Membership to change these settings.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:24 PM on October 29, 2012

Ersatzkat has the 'real' version, listen to them if you can find those ingredients. Down here in this crappy military town in Tennessee, the only ginger beer we have is Reed's, and it's almost $10 a pack. So I substitute (I will sometimes add extra ginger syrup, which is very very easy-- melt equal parts sugar and water in a small pot and add a bunch of grated ginger root. Keep it on low heat for a while. Stir it some. Get out as much of the ginger root as you can via cheesecloth. Add to just about everything.)
posted by WidgetAlley at 1:24 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

lyra4, hmmm, maybe I should give one of those other oils a try.

And there's nothing that says that I should stop at ONE mug brownie, after all!

Taste test ... for science!
posted by bowmaniac at 1:25 PM on October 29, 2012

Crap, all I have is peanut oil for the mug brownies.

Peanut flavouring with chocolate brownies? That'll never work.
posted by jacalata at 1:25 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Redemption bourbon is getting me through the obscene number of political ads that are running every five minutes.

Hint: go back in time and have a party on the weekend. My fridge is full of beer and hummus (not mixed together).
posted by giraffe at 1:26 PM on October 29, 2012

Is it time to switch to bourbon? I've been sticking with beer so far. I'm surprised we still have power here in central NJ, lesser storms than this have done us in before. Once it goes I'll be left with a real choice: update this thread (assuming cell data connection) or conserve my phone's battery.
posted by mollweide at 1:26 PM on October 29, 2012

AskReddit: Small Time Drug Dealers, is there a spike in business before a big storm?
posted by The Whelk at 1:26 PM on October 29, 2012

You guys don't want a dark and stormy.

You need a Suffering Bastard (my spider skull variation):

1oz dry gin
1oz bourbon
1oz fresh lime juice
Dashes angostura
Bar spoon falernum

Build in glass with ice, stir to chill, add 4oz gingerbeer and top with mint sprig.

(you don't need the falernum if you don't have it, but it makes it oh so nice).
posted by mrzarquon at 1:27 PM on October 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

Huplescat: "That crane must be rated for lifts of several tons. Now the wind collapses the boom... WTF?"

Side loads. Know how you can stand on an intact soda can, but if you just barely dent it, WHOOOM it's flat? Kinda like that.
posted by notsnot at 1:27 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Damn it, I used too much vodka making jello shots this weekend. Now I'll have to ration or hope the guy running the local liquor store is as insane as I am.
posted by miss-lapin at 1:27 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm refraining from checking Pepco's outage map because I'm sure as soon as I do, we'll lose power. Because that's how things work.
posted by devinemissk at 1:27 PM on October 29, 2012

ersatzkat is right about the dark and stormy recipe, except also add a couple drops of Angostura bitters.
posted by snofoam at 1:28 PM on October 29, 2012

I just found this neat Google Map of Sandy-related info for NYC.
posted by eustacescrubb at 1:28 PM on October 29, 2012

The local Patch does not appreciate my liveblogging the storm as Howie Lovecraft.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 1:28 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Heard this this morning, and don't see it here yet:
"The last time we saw anything like this was never." - CT Gov. Dannel Malloy
posted by MtDewd at 1:29 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Now I'll have to ration or hope the guy running the local liquor store is as insane as I am.

The owners of my favorite liquor store here are Polish. I'm pretty sure they consider vodka to be a human right.
posted by eustacescrubb at 1:29 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Internet Survival Kit contains enough Internet for one week
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:30 PM on October 29, 2012 [12 favorites]

Just got robo-called by Con Edison asking me to turn off major appliances, in case they preemptively shut off the power.
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:30 PM on October 29, 2012

Don't forget about the Nor'easter!

In a shaker, first combine:
2 oz bourbon or whiskey
1/2 oz maple syrup
1/2 oz lime juice
Pour it over ice.
Top it off with ginger beer and then garnish with lime.
Drink.

Repeat as needed or until the power comes back on.
posted by Diagonalize at 1:31 PM on October 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

Wow. That was (smallish) branch #3 slamming into the roof. I am frankly amazed we still have power and internet.
posted by Karmakaze at 1:31 PM on October 29, 2012

Guys, I can understand the pleasure of having alcohol available during this storm (I'd probably have some Duplin white wine at my own elbow were I in your place) but if you think at all that you might have to evacuate or handle any kind of storm related emergency etc. please drink responsibly. I.E. don't get plastered.


Now, cookies, rock on. If your power is on, even fried oreos.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 1:32 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wind's picking up again in Greenpoint.
posted by eustacescrubb at 1:33 PM on October 29, 2012

Because clogged arteries are known to aid in fleeing at top speed.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 1:34 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Time to grade some papers and ruin hopes and dreams

angrycat, are you mixing up grading and sex again?
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:34 PM on October 29, 2012 [9 favorites]

Kids surprisingly still doing OK in our tiny hotel room. Power and satellite TV have flickered but both are fine now. Still working on that mental inventory of all the stuff we left on or near the floor that we didn't think to move upstairs before we evacuated. (My shoooooes, and my PS3 save games, and and and...)

I wish I had a webcam on and in my house. Also: I wonder if we shouldn't go downstairs and buy some booze from the hotel.
posted by Andrhia at 1:34 PM on October 29, 2012

A good collection of Sandy photos
posted by FreezBoy at 1:34 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I dont have any cocoa, but have lots of lindt dark chocolate. How should I proceed?
posted by shothotbot at 1:35 PM on October 29, 2012

shothotbot, melt it in some milk. I'm jealous.
posted by dysh at 1:36 PM on October 29, 2012

Wind picking up now. Husband finally going out but refusing to bring chips. Told him I wished he would die. Now if he actually does, I suppose I'll feel bad.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:36 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Wind picking up in Clinton Hill; rain steady, windows still holding. Power still on. I've been a lazy loaf and eaten most of the day, except for that hour that I tried writing something.

I'm fairly certain I will not have work tomorrow (or that I will once again have to call in "marooned" to work) but I'm going to prepare myself just in case.

Y'all having the impromptu meetup in Greenpoint - if you want to make it a rolling meetup, Sara C and i were talking about a mini one at Putnam's. We'll talk.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:37 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

HUBS HOME. Other fools in his office gone home too.
posted by sonika at 1:37 PM on October 29, 2012 [45 favorites]

Lindt dark chocolate ... eat it.
posted by sciencegeek at 1:37 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Chop the chocolate with a knife until it's in shavings/shards. Make milk hot in saucepan or microwave (until it steams, but not until it boils.) Pour the hot milk over the chocolate.
posted by Karmakaze at 1:37 PM on October 29, 2012

shothotbot: dip lindt into your choice: bourbon or rum, nibble appreciatively, repeat.

Checking in from Boulder Colorado, hoping everyone's okay and that my erstwhile hometowns of Silver Spring and Baltimore ride it out.
posted by lonefrontranger at 1:38 PM on October 29, 2012

You could make lava cakes, shothotbot.
posted by royalsong at 1:38 PM on October 29, 2012

Just got back from a run in central DC (figured it would be my last chance for a while)... I would say that window's closed now.
posted by psoas at 1:39 PM on October 29, 2012

there are people outside on the street GUYS WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:39 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've been a lazy loaf and eaten most of the day, except for that hour that I tried writing something.

Yeah, I've been "editing my manuscript," i.e. drinking and refreshing this thread a lot.
posted by eustacescrubb at 1:39 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

windows still holding.

One of my windows in TriBeCa just popped in (the whole bottom panel, didn't break.) I think it must have been defective. I propped it back in place with a metal bar.
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:40 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Drinking hurricanes. Wondering why the cats don't give even half a shit. Realizing that although being on top of a hill is great with regards to the flooding issue, it means our street has become an insane wind tunnel that's setting off car alarms.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 1:41 PM on October 29, 2012

OMFG local news just caught a dude jetskiing off battery park in like 6 ft waves. It looked SO FUN.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:41 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

So all the bridges are closing as of 7pm so we are in Dark Knight territory
posted by shothotbot at 1:41 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Time to grade some papers and ruin hopes and dreams

mom?
posted by bowmaniac at 1:41 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Hubs offered to take the tot outside for a walk. In all seriousness.

I DON'T EVEN.
posted by sonika at 1:42 PM on October 29, 2012 [14 favorites]

Hell's Kitchen update: wind continues to come from the north. (Which is just so strange, honestly.) Hudson River has lots of whitecaps (as it has had all day), 10th and 11th Avenues have become mostly deserted in the last hour. Gusts of winds now regularly rattling my 5 windows.
posted by minervous at 1:42 PM on October 29, 2012

Notice how they were standing in the garden when they were filming the guy jet skiing where I work and mentioning that it might be under water tonight.

Pulling hair out. Yep.
posted by sciencegeek at 1:43 PM on October 29, 2012

1.) Take a tall glass. Put in ice.
2.) Put in rum until it looks like slightly more than you really think is a good idea.
3.) Put in ginger ale.
4.) Squeeze in lime.
5.) Consume. Aaah.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS ALERT: squeeze the lime into your tall glass first, then kersmash it against inside of the glass (with a fork, the back of a spoon, your fingers if you can reach, whatever) to release the delicious citrus oils and ker-smear them all over. Then add the rum, remembering to take into account the volume displaced by the lime.

SAFETY FIRST, PEOPLE.
posted by Elsa at 1:43 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Wait -- what if the whole hurricane was just a scheme to drive membership in the MefFi NYC group?!
posted by modernserf at 1:43 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

So all the bridges are closing as of 7pm so we are in Dark Knight territory

I'M THE NIG-wind catches his cape and slams him into an office building at 70 MPH
posted by The Whelk at 1:44 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

The wind is really going in the NoVA area. Worst of the wind storm still to come.
posted by humanfont at 1:44 PM on October 29, 2012

Republicans seem to have bought all the ad time on the local news.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 1:46 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

In Jersey City heights - the wind is picking up, but still not much rain. My lights have flickered a couple of times in the past hour, so I imagine I will be losing power at some point this evening.
posted by oh yeah! at 1:46 PM on October 29, 2012

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?!

I resemble that remark.
posted by Goofyy at 1:46 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Just got back from provisions run here in Greenpoint. The rain, although describing a mostly horizontal vector isn't too bad, it's the wind that packs a serious wallop and every once in a while you feel a gust that is no joke and you feel the power behind this thing. I think as it gets stronger it's going to take down a lot of trees in this North Brooklyn and Queen border area and it's definitely throwing stuff all over so be super careful about flying debris.

I didn't have too much trouble finding stuff at a Korean deli (no bread, but, plenty of tortillas crackers bready type things), and I saw a bodega open, the local dive (Mark Bar) was closed (which I was thinking of hoping into for a quick one) as are all the eateries except for NYC's unofficial emergency food: Chinese. Those guys will cook through anything. (Also the little 'Coffee Friends' Diner looked like it was open and delivering).


My secret bagel stash, a gas station mini-mart (the one on McGuiness between Huron and Greene) had tons of bagels and croissant's. A lot of cab dirvers live out of there and they have a lot of interesting stuff there if you need an extra mirror or other type accoutrement for your car or cab...

Also, they have Doritos.
posted by Skygazer at 1:47 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Jetskiing guy is insane. (Also that's not quite 6 feet whitecaps out there, is it? It looks like more of 3 feet, but hard to tell.)

So, my doors in my apartment have started swinging themselves shut. I have all my windows closed, but apparently the building shaking and so forth is enough to make them move.
posted by lyra4 at 1:47 PM on October 29, 2012

Gazebo has gone :(
posted by carter at 1:48 PM on October 29, 2012

"Chop the chocolate with a knife until it's in shavings/shards. Make milk hot in saucepan or microwave (until it steams, but not until it boils.) Pour the hot milk over the chocolate."
posted by Karmakaze

Maybe put the chocolate shards in a cup first?
posted by marienbad at 1:48 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

For those of us following from across the country, ABC7 is broadcasting live online.
posted by mudpuppie at 1:48 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Er, yeah. A cup is a good idea. Also, stirring may be involved.
posted by Karmakaze at 1:50 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

As the East Coast braces for a massive storm, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are trying to cover up the fact that if elected they intend to cut funding for both FEMA and disaster relief.
posted by Obscure Reference at 1:51 PM on October 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

on the spot reporters kinda trolling at this point: HEY LOOK AT ME IM ALMOST IN THE WATER, BUT I SAW SOME IDIOT OUT HERE A MINUTE AGO JUST FOR ENTERTAINMENT VALUE WHAT A DUMMY AMIRITE ANYWAY BACK TO YOU SUSAN
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:51 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Is the gazebo destroyed or the camera just down? The wind was whipping the camera around pretty badly but the gazebo seemed to be holding up surprisingly well. Of course that was before the tide started to come in.
posted by localroger at 1:51 PM on October 29, 2012

you might have to evacuate or handle any kind of storm related emergency

It's way too late for any of that, unless maybe you're in western NY state or New England.

The time to evacuate was yesterday.

The time to run about battening down hatches was also yesterday, or possibly this morning.

At this point, at least where I am and most likely also in NJ and points south, it is not safe to be outside whether you've been drinking or not.

Hunker down, guys. We made our choices, now we wait.
posted by Sara C. at 1:52 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

.

Gazebo
posted by quodlibet at 1:52 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I just got a voicemail from my university advising me to use caution when walking around campus because of the hurricane. I'm in Michigan.
posted by MaritaCov at 1:53 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

oh yeah! Same here on our street in the heights. Given most of the emergency shelters are here I'm thinking it's not a bad place to be. Some flickering also, but so far so good.
posted by stagewhisper at 1:53 PM on October 29, 2012

{/} Romney: "Ohio's a great state, I love storms! These winds are just the right magnitude"
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:53 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

The gazebo appears to still be in the same location, as such, but water is either up to the roof or (more likely) the roof has sort of collapsed onto the pier.
posted by dhartung at 1:53 PM on October 29, 2012

Any reports of snow in the mountains south of New York?
posted by vrakatar at 1:54 PM on October 29, 2012

In inland central NJ, and haven't actually gotten a ton of rain. Hoping this means the trees around my house will remain better moored.
posted by amro at 1:55 PM on October 29, 2012

"How windy is it? Do you mind if I open a window?"

THAT SERIOUSLY JUST HAPPENED.
posted by sonika at 1:56 PM on October 29, 2012 [12 favorites]

East Williamsburg brooklyn is doing well. Bodegas are well stocked. I've just finished work and thus am starting to get my booze on. The wind is something else, but the rain is still very misty and light.
posted by Freen at 1:56 PM on October 29, 2012

So I'm guessing you DO mind if he opens a window? ;)
posted by brina at 1:57 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

In the ever-competitive world of televised hurricane coverage, reporters must go the extra step to stand out above the competition. Here's WHDH-Boston's Steve Cooper showing true resilience, falling three times (just like Jesus!) and rising again to finish his report from Plum Island. Poor Steve even gets jabbed in the face by a fence at one point. Kudos, Steve, you're the true weather dumbass. [WHDH]

link to video on Deadspin
posted by bowmaniac at 1:58 PM on October 29, 2012

Well, if you are on 57th between 6th and 7th, you should be trying to get somewhere else, if even to a lower floor.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:59 PM on October 29, 2012

South Slope is pretty sedate. High winds but not too much rain. My wife got a drink at South with her friend and the barkeep said they were staying open until the beer runs out, even if the power is cut. Local deli is open.
posted by Falconetti at 1:59 PM on October 29, 2012

Cranecam is getting pretty hazy.
posted by dhartung at 2:00 PM on October 29, 2012

Yes, if you are in immediate life and death danger, don't start drinking right now.

If you're at home safe and sound, waiting for the power to go, and you've already decided not to evacuate, might as well have a cocktail. It's not going to hurt anything. I mean, don't get completely tanked, but mixing up a dark & stormy isn't going to make any difference.
posted by Sara C. at 2:02 PM on October 29, 2012

One could safely say that I would mind having a window open at this time, yes.
posted by sonika at 2:02 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I thought a dark -n- stormy is made with ginger beer, not ale.

4 ounces ginger beer (Gosling's makes one just for this purpose)

Yes. A true Dark 'n Stormy is made with 'ginger beer.'

The Difference Between Ginger Ale And Ginger Beer.
posted by ericb at 2:02 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's no crane collapse, but Sandy took down a flagpole in front of my apartment building in Arlington, VA.
posted by troika at 2:03 PM on October 29, 2012

Gosling's Dark 'n Stormy Facebook page.

"It's a dark n' stormy evening on the East Coast! Stay safe, all, and stock up on flashlights, candles, fresh water and ginger beer!"

posted by ericb at 2:05 PM on October 29, 2012

Oh, Mr. Smarty Pants Preparedness Bondcliff with his chain saw and his MREs and his generator didn't think to stock up on chocolate chips so he could make cookies while the power was on.

I have failed.
posted by bondcliff at 2:05 PM on October 29, 2012 [12 favorites]

I just went for a walk in DC - there are some super strong gusts - definitely had a few struggling-to-stand weatherperson moments. Thankfully, I don't think anyone was taping me. I better not end up on youtube.
posted by raztaj at 2:05 PM on October 29, 2012

Getting minor, chilling, drafts in the (sealed) attic bedroom in SW Ontario. Cat is on me, on my bed. We are hanging out with the iPad. Wind advisory up to 90kph tonight.

As a 25 year veteran of South Florida, including David and Andrew, my advice is stay warm and dry and play cards & read -- drink lightly. Be candle safe; tea lights in holders only. And if power will be out for more than a day, get a room somewhere you can wash and rest with power.
posted by seanmpuckett at 2:06 PM on October 29, 2012

Dr. Seuss
posted by netbros at 2:06 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Atlantic City Boardwalk
posted by booksherpa at 2:07 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Yes. A true Dark 'n Stormy is made with 'ginger beer.

OH GOODNESS, I was so intent on proper lime deployment that I completely missed that "ale" business. Yup, you really want ginger beer. (Though I have been known in times of true emergency to drink rum, lime, and ginger ale. I call it a Light and Drizzly.)
posted by Elsa at 2:07 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

And if power will be out for more than a day, get a room somewhere you can wash and rest with power.

In NYC, where would I go? And how would I get there without a car or public transit?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:08 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Quick phone call from the husband- that was an unexpected delight! Unfortunately, water is seeping in the windows now where they slide open. Just crammed towels in there; if it stays to a trickle it will be OK.

Local stations keep dropping in & out on Comcast, but so far Weather Channel has been coming through OK when the local ones go all pixelated.
posted by lyra4 at 2:09 PM on October 29, 2012

Steve Cooper, weather dumbass, is now wearing paintball goggles. Take that, fence!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:09 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

it's a nice change, going from hating on the G.O.P. to hating on a metereological phenomeonom

I'm multitasking.
posted by Flunkie at 2:10 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

TPS, the shelters will be open for a couple of days. I think once the storm lets down there will be transit again.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:11 PM on October 29, 2012

I have Cranecam open in one window, Gazebocam in another, watching the life and death struggle of inanimate structures facing up to a hurricane in real time from 4000 miles away, and I'm listening to the new Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

I have to say, the future is pretty much how I would've envisioned it a decade ago.

Admittedly, I prefer the future I envisioned 20 years ago, which was all cyborg limbs, jetpacks and Mars colonization, but I take what I can get.
posted by Kattullus at 2:11 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Yehhhh, I'm gonna pass on those shelters, thanks tho.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:12 PM on October 29, 2012

Going to watch last night's Walking Dead while the juice holds out.
posted by vrakatar at 2:14 PM on October 29, 2012

Was lying on the couch with SO, thinking of drifting off into a little nap. heard a thunderous BOOM. then a minute later a smaller far away THUD

We didn't even have to talk we just both got up to see if that was the sound of the crane falling.
posted by The Whelk at 2:14 PM on October 29, 2012

I think once the storm lets down there will be transit again.

I wouldn't rely on that. Last quote I saw was something like 'even if there is no damage, it could take some time for the subway to start running'.
posted by jacalata at 2:14 PM on October 29, 2012

Ok. I've prepared an Indian feast and a pile of chapati, and I've just pulled two kinds of brownies -- espresso dark chocolate raspberry and peanut butter chocolate -- out from the oven. Let's do this thing.
posted by mayurasana at 2:15 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Don't linger at that window too long, huh, The Whelk?
posted by Elsa at 2:15 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm just north of Philly as well... the winds are definitely picking up, but it doesn't seem that bad to me yet. I've seen scarier weather in my hometown in the midwest (famous last words?). I'm really not sure what to expect once the worst of it hits, being from the midwest and all.
posted by Oliva Porphyria at 2:15 PM on October 29, 2012

ThePinkSuperhero - I'm in your same boat and I have two contingency plans:

A) Find a friend with power/water/structural safety and walk/ride my bike to their house.

B) Walk/ride my bike to my office, assume that since it's on the third floor of a big old brick office building, it's probably in decent shape, with a strong chance for power and water.

Both of these contingency plans assume that the storm itself has subsided and that the places I'm thinking of going are safe for me to travel to. If that's not the case and the safest option is to stay home without electricity, that's what I'll do.

At this point, for the duration of the storm itself, you're pretty much SOL in terms of finding a better place to be.
posted by Sara C. at 2:16 PM on October 29, 2012

raztaj - I went for a walk in DC this morning and ended up live on NBC4, which is admittedly not as bad as YouTube. Probably a good thing since I forgot to brush my hair.

(Though, if anyone could find a video link, it would be kind of cool. It was Megan McGrath in Bloomingdale, about 10:30, after horsehead guy. I'm wearing a pink coat and blathering about Pat Collins and pumpkins.)
posted by kinsey at 2:16 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

The wind is getting scary, albeit intermittently. I wouldn't be surprised if the power goes out today.
posted by mayurasana at 2:17 PM on October 29, 2012

It looks like Atlantic City is the target. God is coming for Trump. Finally.

And, so it starts. First with the 'Squirrel on His Head' evacuating for higher ground!
posted by ericb at 2:17 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Come on power, hang in there til dinner's cooked, the boy wants pasta.
posted by mollweide at 2:17 PM on October 29, 2012

Just discovered we don't have any cards so gin rummy isnt even possible GREAT.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:17 PM on October 29, 2012

have you tried combining rum and gin
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:18 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

All joking aside, my best wishes for everyone, royalsong, your loved ones included.

posted by mmrtnt at 2:19 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

really just the gin will do in a pinch
posted by The Whelk at 2:19 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

We have a dog, a cat, and a baby. I can't think of anywhere I could go that would be worth the trouble of getting there. I think we'll be here, come hell or lost power.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:19 PM on October 29, 2012

Just discovered we don't have any cards so gin rummy isnt even possible GREAT.

There are many GIN RUMMY apps available online.

Oh, wait ... hmmm.
posted by ericb at 2:19 PM on October 29, 2012

oh god, they just said that the library system (NYPL) will be closed through Tuesday. first it was the subway, then starbucks, and now a second day of library closure.

aieeee
posted by sciencegeek at 2:20 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

News is saying saltwater getting into the subway should shut it down for days because salt will kill the third rail slugs or something
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:20 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Gin, rum, they're better with lime. It is a tropical weather system after all.
posted by mollweide at 2:21 PM on October 29, 2012

I think I'll make dinner now. All this weather is making me hungry. I'd still rather have cookies.
posted by idest at 2:21 PM on October 29, 2012

In these times of living on rations and supplies you've laid in, be careful about scurvy. Definitely include the lime in your drinks.
posted by rmd1023 at 2:21 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

Drinking rye&gingerale & trying to remember how to play liars poker
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:22 PM on October 29, 2012

It's totally starting to roar here. I had to lower all the blinds so I can't see the trees whipping around. The power has flashed off twice for about a second each time...
posted by ersatzkat at 2:23 PM on October 29, 2012

> Bridges will close when we hit 60 mph.

Best to keep an eye on the speedometer when approaching bridges, eh?

posted by mmrtnt at 2:24 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Eastern Seaboard Regrets "Sexy Hurricane" Costume
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:24 PM on October 29, 2012 [15 favorites]

gazebo

.
gazebat
posted by benito.strauss at 2:25 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

My other cat Lucy just started licking the straps on my Sidi bike shoes. Both kitties are nonplussed about the wind. It has been making these noises that sound like a freight train. Time for a beer: Saranac IPA. Bourbon later.

Are there any East W'burgers who are on Richardson Street? Just curious if the water is high enough to flood my office yet.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 2:25 PM on October 29, 2012

Just saw some scaffolding fall over (off? hard to tell) on the roof of a building under construction nearby. Pretty intense.
posted by to sir with millipedes at 2:26 PM on October 29, 2012

Alrighty, now officially drinking in solidarity with my considerably more sodden fellow mefites.

Stay safe, stay thirsty friends.
posted by SomaSoda at 2:26 PM on October 29, 2012

mmrtnt: "> Bridges will close when we hit 60 mph.

Best to keep an eye on the speedometer when approaching bridges, eh?"

When we hit 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit.
posted by dismas at 2:26 PM on October 29, 2012 [9 favorites]

Dinner is made. Amazed the power held out. Yea(?) PSE&G.
posted by mollweide at 2:27 PM on October 29, 2012

gazebo gazebas gazebat gazebamus gazebatis gazebant
posted by KathrynT at 2:27 PM on October 29, 2012 [27 favorites]

computech_apolloniajames: highly unlikely that the water is that high right now. Nor will get that high. It's pretty firmly in the yellow to green zone.
posted by Freen at 2:28 PM on October 29, 2012

>THAT SERIOUSLY JUST HAPPENED.

Sonika I gotta say your husband is providing some great comic relief during this storm.
posted by chela at 2:28 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

>...and you can't add beer to hot chocolate.

You'll change your mind when the Gowanus syphillis zombies start to attack.

posted by mmrtnt at 2:28 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Realizing now that buying only emergency provisions, not anything you would actually want to eat, was a mistake. Went to the corner store right before it closed and bought duct tape and a single beer. Now eating fruit snacks and drinking said beer.

NYC OEM twitter feed says if the storm surge hits low-lying areas in NYC, ConEd MAY shut down underground electrical equipment...does that mean throughout the city or just the low-lying areas? Sorry, I'm feeling stupid with anticipation and worry.
posted by dysh at 2:29 PM on October 29, 2012

You guys. I just realized I did not stock up on dark chocolate. This is serious. NO, REALLY.

Also, zarq, I am also in Zone C, right on the edge of it. I think we will be ok. Except for the chocolate thing.
posted by bedhead at 2:29 PM on October 29, 2012

So all the bridges are closing as of 7pm so we are in Dark Knight territory ...

And, needing Kurt Russell for the rescue -- Escape from New York.
posted by ericb at 2:31 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

While going through the cabinets, we realized we had all the ingredients to make a pumpkin pie. So my life is awesome.
posted by to sir with millipedes at 2:31 PM on October 29, 2012

Hurricane Activity Sheets
posted by mountmccabe at 2:31 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

We are making chili, using up all the fresh vegetables in the fridge. Nom nom nom nom nom.
posted by ocherdraco at 2:32 PM on October 29, 2012

you are all making me think i should make dinner while my electric still works. that is a great idea.

We're in New England, but since our power goes out whenever someone in the neighborhood sneezes extra-hard, we laid in a supply of easy, pleasant, nourishing shelf-stable foods (including apples, peanut butter, granola, and so on), had a proper hot meal (gyoza, broccoli, and green beans in soy-orange sauce) at lunchtime, and made a pizza for later, figuring we'd be perfectly happy to eat cold pizza no matter the weather.

(And all the while, The Fella patiently pretended he wasn't humoring me while I battened down storm windows and brought in plant pots and filled water bottles. I'm sure it's unnecessary, but if it gets down to it, I'd rather be The Ant than The Grasshopper.)

Reading the updates from further south is making me anxious, but there's nothing left for me to do about it... so it might be time to mix a Dark & Stormy.
posted by Elsa at 2:33 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Apparently, the edge of Sandy is visible in Madison, WI.
posted by drezdn at 2:34 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

It just started raining here and I took the birdfeeders in and made myself some cheese grits because I have all the time in the world and they are delicious and this thread made me hungry. My landlady made me move my car across the street because the trees around my house are 160 years old.
posted by jessamyn at 2:35 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Finally getting powerful, sustained winds here in my alley in Washington Heights.
posted by Stynxno at 2:35 PM on October 29, 2012

Apparently, the edge of Sandy is visible in Madison, WI.

Maybe from the Space Science and Engineering Center's radome, but not from this coffeeshop.
posted by yomimono at 2:36 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Chris Christie totally just threw the mayor of A.C. under the bus.
posted by mudpuppie at 2:36 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

A friend of mine in Crown Heights just reported an hour ago on Facebook that he'd just come back from a "wave chasing expedition" and photo hunt in Red Hook, Coney Island, and the Far Rockaways.

Everyone else responding is asking him "Dude are you NUTS????"

(but I'll share the really good pictures if he posts them)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:36 PM on October 29, 2012

Sandy already producing a record storm surge
The National Weather Service in Atlantic City, NJ said that isolated record storm surge flooding already occurred along portions of the New Jersey coast with this morning's 7:30 am EDT high tide cycle. As the tide goes out late this morning and this afternoon, water levels will fall, since the difference in water levels between low tide and high tide is about 5'. However, this evening, as the core of Sandy moves ashore, the storm will carry with it a gigantic bulge of water that will raise waters levels to the highest storm tides ever seen in over a century of record keeping, along much of the coastline of New Jersey and New York. The peak danger will be between 7 pm - 10 pm, when storm surge rides in on top of the high tide. The full moon is today, which means astronomical high tide will be about 5% higher than the average high tide for the month, adding another 2 - 3" to water levels. This morning's 9:30 am EDT H*Wind analysis from NOAA's Hurricane Research Division put the destructive potential of Sandy's winds at a modest 2.9 on a scale of 0 to 6. However, the destructive potential of the storm surge was record high: 5.8 on a scale of 0 to 6. This is a higher destructive potential than any hurricane observed since 1969, including Category 5 storms like Katrina, Rita, Wilma, Camille, and Andrew. The previous highest destructive potential for storm surge was 5.6 on a scale of 0 to 6, set during Hurricane Isabel of 2003. Sandy's storm surge will be capable of overtopping the flood walls in Manhattan, which are only five feet above mean sea level. On August 28, 2011, Tropical Storm Irene brought a storm surge of 4.13' and a storm tide of 9.5' above MLLW to Battery Park on the south side of Manhattan. The waters poured over the flood walls into Lower Manhattan, but came 8 - 12" shy of being able to flood the New York City subway system. According to the latest storm surge forecast for NYC from NHC, Sandy's storm surge is expected to be 10 - 12' above MLLW. Since a storm tide of 10.5' is needed to flood the subway system, it appears likely that portions of the NYC subway system will flood. The record highest storm tide at The Battery was 10.5', set on September 15, 1960, during Hurricane Donna.
posted by futz at 2:36 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Elsa-you are my new potential power outage cooking guru.
posted by miss-lapin at 2:36 PM on October 29, 2012

Chris Christie totally just threw the mayor of A.C. under the bus.

How so?
posted by Flunkie at 2:37 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

We're cooking roast beef loin with a mustard glaze cause it can sit comfortably at room temp and still be fine
posted by The Whelk at 2:37 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

We're fairly far west in Pittsburgh, but had a nice voice mail from Comcast warning us of potential outages. I'd wager it's the same message statewide. They're starting to announce school closures, as well as the local zoo. A friend's husband works for the power company and has been told to plan "16 hour days for the foreseeable future."
posted by librarianamy at 2:38 PM on October 29, 2012

The unrelenting wind is forcing itself through the tiny gaps in the windows. The parakeets don't like it. I keep having to turn up the heat just a little. If the power fails they'll be going to bed early.
posted by zennie at 2:38 PM on October 29, 2012

How so?

Seriously, the buses aren't even supposed to be running.
posted by davidjmcgee at 2:38 PM on October 29, 2012 [16 favorites]

He said the mayor encouraged people to stay in shelters in the city ("I have no idea why, for whatever reason, against my admonition") and said the state would not be providing any rescue efforts. "It's your responsibility now" is what he said to the mayor.
posted by mudpuppie at 2:38 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Christie re AC mayor - (paraphrasing) 'for some reason he wanted his people to stay?' what?
posted by mintcake! at 2:39 PM on October 29, 2012

I am about to go downstairs to the lobby of my building and look outside, which is more than I did during the last hurricane. If the power goes out while I am down there I am going to get an awesome workout coming back up.
posted by bedhead at 2:39 PM on October 29, 2012

According to WNYC, there are only 3000 people in official shelters, compared to 10,000 last year for Irene. Capacity is 70,000.
posted by ocherdraco at 2:39 PM on October 29, 2012

The bus was rolling down a hill at a small crowd. Happy for once not to be the focus of that moral dilemma, Gov Christie hurled the mayor in its path.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:40 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Um. What if the power goes out while you're in the elevator, silly?
posted by RedEmma at 2:40 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I'm watching Christie's press conference right now and was like "Daaaaamn....." Basically told people still in Atlantic City that they're on their own until 7am tomorrow.
posted by booksherpa at 2:40 PM on October 29, 2012

east williamsburg brooklyn: first power flicker of the night.
posted by Freen at 2:40 PM on October 29, 2012

God the constantly shaking windows is not helping my nerves
posted by The Whelk at 2:40 PM on October 29, 2012

Onion: Misinformed Man Riding Out Storm In Bathtub Filled With Batteries
posted by tonycpsu at 2:41 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

Madison cloud pic.
posted by drezdn at 2:41 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

I am here to report that mug brownies made with 1 T. peanut oil and 1 T. walnut oil (even walnut oil that is past its prime, not recommended) are mighty fine. I had some vanilla extract so I threw a little of that in too.

Also, the gusts are way down in ferocity here.
posted by Currer Belfry at 2:41 PM on October 29, 2012

Power flickered in Hell's Kitchen, too.
posted by mountmccabe at 2:42 PM on October 29, 2012

Pro tip from a Floridian for all of my hurricaned people in this thread: bakers yeast + fruit juice + sugar will ferment in the toilet to make a moderate-alcohol beverage that can be traded for bullets and women in the aftermath.

Stay safe!
posted by TheNewWazoo at 2:42 PM on October 29, 2012 [12 favorites]

I'm in Colorado, and this thread is making me want to go home and bake some brownies SO BAD.
posted by warble at 2:42 PM on October 29, 2012

I just turned to my girlfriend and said, "people on Metafilter are talking about baking cookies. I wish we had though to buy baking supplies." But it turns out we do have baking supplies. So cookies are forthcoming.

Things seem ok in Sunset Park right now. We're hoping the power might hold, since the lines are underground, but we're assuming that the cable and Internet will be going out some time soon.
posted by Ragged Richard at 2:43 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Seen from SSEC rooftop camera.

Called it!
posted by yomimono at 2:43 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

my ghetto antenna is no longer capable of steady news. this is irritating.

metafilter is my primary news source now.
posted by larthegreat at 2:43 PM on October 29, 2012

In UWS we got a power flicker too. Yowza.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:43 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oooh, the ASL interpreter is on again!
posted by Mouse Army at 2:43 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Christie giving lots of props to Obama. Good stuff. Screw politics right now.
posted by mintcake! at 2:44 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Oh yay, I get to watch the ASL lady now!
posted by mudpuppie at 2:44 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

You folks inspired me to go out and get proper ginger beer; I had all the other ingredients. Small branches and occasional gusts in my Boston neighborhood, but if I didn't know otherwise, I'd just have assumed this was a rather harsh Nor'easter.

Since Scott Brown and Mitt Romney Carl Rove seem to have made huge media buys for today, I can't stand to watch the TV. So I'll be doing a taste test between a Dark'n'Stormy and a Nor'Easter, and will be watching MST3K as long as the power holds out. Good luck and take care, everyone.
posted by benito.strauss at 2:44 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

and made myself some cheese grits because I have all the time in the world and they are delicious

Wow that's a really good idea. Hurricane cheese grits here I come.

Something tells me the baltimore meetup tomorrow might be...unlikely.
posted by advil at 2:44 PM on October 29, 2012

Sandy Hook, NJ now reporting record tide -- 10.11' above MLLW. It's climbing.

Battery Park, NY is now at the same level as the crest this morning, 8.7' above, and climbing.
posted by eriko at 2:44 PM on October 29, 2012

Power flickered in Central Harlem.
posted by davidjmcgee at 2:44 PM on October 29, 2012

miss-lapin, lunch and dinner were mostly emptied out of our tiny freezer (which is full of ICE now), nothin' special. But nourishing! If power stays on, The Fella brought home a stack of horror movies on DVD so we can HUNKER DOWN and siphon off my storm anxiety into scary-movie anxiety. If the power goes out, we'll snuggle down and [REDACTED]. Either way, we've done everything we can.

Wait, he just went outside WHAT THE HECK.
posted by Elsa at 2:44 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Apparently, the sign for hurricane looks a lot like the sign for "Look, I have enormous breasts."
posted by mudpuppie at 2:44 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

argh bathtub won't stay filled. WHAT IS THE SECRET. i have a tupperware lid and also a thin plastic bag but it keeps floating away eventually.
posted by en forme de poire at 2:45 PM on October 29, 2012

Power flicker in Park Slope too. Seems like the whole city blinked at once!
posted by moonmilk at 2:45 PM on October 29, 2012

Do they give out Oscars for signing? The ASL lady is seriously killing it.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 2:45 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

It is unbelievably eerie in those intermittent moments when the wind stops.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:45 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I suppose I should roast the peppers sooner than later, as my oven is electric (but my stovetop is gas).

Also, I realize that I don't have all the necessary ingredients for cookies, but I can make pancakes!
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 2:46 PM on October 29, 2012

en forme, search for "potato" in this thread, there's a trick with using it for the plug!
posted by emjaybee at 2:46 PM on October 29, 2012

Been follwing this thread all day since work is slow, was a shock to go outside in the sunshine. Mentally, I am hunched down in a dark house listening to the wind and sipping hot cocoa with you guys.
posted by emjaybee at 2:47 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

Power flicker in WaHi too. Fun to see the city-wide confirmation. 68k without power in NYC so far, 100k in NJ, and 185k in CT, according to NYT updates.
posted by kokaku at 2:47 PM on October 29, 2012

Chris Christie was just on, giving a live press conference on Hurricane Sandy and saying the President called him directly and was hands on and said if Christie needs anything to just call Obama directly, and Christie said he appreciated that kind of leadership. He said Obama asked about how the coordination with federal authorities was going and Christie said he told the President it was going well, because it is, and Christie said if he does identify a need, he will not hesitate to in fact call Obama directly.
posted by cashman at 2:47 PM on October 29, 2012 [13 favorites]

yo havo no potatoes :( also my bathtub is the kind with the lever, as opposed to the rubber plug.
posted by en forme de poire at 2:48 PM on October 29, 2012

Dog is trying to bark the hurricane away, but even though she is an enormous, huge, fluffy puppy, I do not think this tactic will work.*

*I do not recommend putting your loved ones out in the hurricane unless they are over 100 lbs because mainly her fur is getting ruffled but I can see how your average poofball would be flying
posted by jetlagaddict at 2:48 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

More from @elbloombito: Por favor to no run under los trees. Que get bonked on su cabeza. Que migraine!
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 2:49 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Flickers in Ft Greene, too.
posted by precipice at 2:49 PM on October 29, 2012

Power is flickering in the West 50s in Manhattan. Aieee!
posted by minervous at 2:49 PM on October 29, 2012

Bloomberg says to expect more 'outrages' as the storm progresses.
posted by mudpuppie at 2:49 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Also the lights are flickering which is making pumpkin cinnamon roll pancake prospects tomorrow look bleak :(
posted by jetlagaddict at 2:50 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm watching WBZ hoping they've sent Shelby Scott to cover the worst of the storm.
posted by not_on_display at 2:50 PM on October 29, 2012

flickers in the east village, and violent tree shaking.
posted by larthegreat at 2:50 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I drew a picture for you guys.

Sorry for the crappy quality, ancient flip-phone photo, no scanner available.

posted by mmrtnt at 2:50 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Here in Syracuse, the forecast has been downgraded to only 40 mph winds and an inch or so of rain. Best wishes to those in the storm's path. I'm drinking in support of you.
posted by maurice at 2:50 PM on October 29, 2012

I just took a pic from my back deck in Chicago. You can see the cloud edge of Sandy -- to my west.
posted by eriko at 2:51 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

We got through dinner with no issues, and I'm now drinking a Yuengling. Last few hours have been waves of wind and rain that really are not that bad, with periods of relative calm in between. News says wind will peak at about 10 PM tonight for us with gusts of 75+ possible. Still have power, internet, cable, and alcohol. SO far so good in Fredericksburg VA.
posted by COD at 2:52 PM on October 29, 2012

Just heard branches breaking outside. Feel the pressure dropping again too.
posted by sciencegeek at 2:52 PM on October 29, 2012

Hey Bloomberg I already ate a sandwich out of my fridge, what do I eat now?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:52 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

No flickers here on my part of the UWS, which, combined with Ballrooms Of Mars playing, feels faintly ominous. I hope this building isn't haunted by a storm wraith or something.
posted by The Whelk at 2:52 PM on October 29, 2012

It looks like the gazebo has finally given up its struggle against Sandy. May your eternal sleep be restful, brave gazebo, you have inspired us all.

I'm honestly a bit sad. That little gazebo really gave it all it got.
posted by Kattullus at 2:53 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

For the bathtub, I used a heavy bowl and saran wrap and it seemed to work well.

put the saran wrap on the drain, empty a little bit of water under the saran wrap and then put the heavy bowl on top. Then shut off the drain and add a bit more water. It's held for hours here.

Good Luck!
posted by Freen at 2:53 PM on October 29, 2012

en forme, maybe then just fill up any buckets/large bowls/pots/random containers and put them in the tub for use if you need them.
posted by emjaybee at 2:54 PM on October 29, 2012

Our two year old is convinced that the howling wind is a ghost, so he's spent the past fifteen minutes yelling "I ain fraid of no GHOSS!" at the window.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:54 PM on October 29, 2012 [22 favorites]

yo havo no potatoes :( also my bathtub is the kind with the lever, as opposed to the rubber plug.

I would put a few sheets of saran wrap over the hole, then duct tape it down.

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF YOUR BATHTUB SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO HEED THIS RECKLESS AND UNINFORMED ADVICE
posted by Flunkie at 2:54 PM on October 29, 2012

And, needing Kurt Russell for the rescue -- Escape from New York.

Now the scenes at Sepulveda Dam make sesne!

Apparently, the edge of Sandy is visible in Madison, WI.

Technically, that's the tail-end of the pressure front that ran into Sandy and is merging with it. It's not really anything that's been blown here from Sandy -- it's the same system that just dropped all that rain on us.
posted by dhartung at 2:55 PM on October 29, 2012

Our two year old is convinced that the howling wind is a ghost, so he's spent the past fifteen minutes yelling "I ain fraid of no GHOSS!" at the window.

Requesting adorable audio clip while the power is still around. Fighty kids are so cute!
posted by WidgetAlley at 2:56 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Power flicker in Guilford, VT. Tied down the tarp on the wood pile. it's already untied itself. Predict tarp and power gone by morning.
posted by Xurando at 2:57 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Charlottesville here, southwest of DC and just east of the Appalachians: We've got drizzle. Clouds are moving along briskly, but just breezy to kind of windy here on the ground.

Blizzard warnings are still on for counties west of me. I don't know if they've actually gotten any snow yet.

Stay warm, dry and safe, people. I'll be thinking about you.
posted by nangar at 2:57 PM on October 29, 2012

Here in SE Michigan, the wind is picking up, heard on the news that winds could gust off of Lake Huron up to 60 mph, clouds were undeniably racing from north to south at about lunch time... kinda still are now. Also, it's cold!

Stay safe out east!!!
posted by JoeXIII007 at 2:57 PM on October 29, 2012

Bloomberg steps through the window in a pink sweater and hard hat. "What's going on here, this window shouldn't be open it's dangerous. Oh and it looks like we have a dangerous lack of scented oils up in this boudoir, better rectify that immediately." cue smooth jazz
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:57 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

robocop is bleeding, does bustin' make him feel good?
posted by Flunkie at 2:57 PM on October 29, 2012

Mudpuppie: Apparently, the sign for hurricane looks a lot like the sign for "Look, I have enormous breasts."

How cool. I was wondering what that was about.

I like the symbol for 'surge', she looks like she's rocking a baby or sawing upward in an arc...
posted by Skygazer at 2:58 PM on October 29, 2012

Large gusts finally - they're setting off multiple car alarms. Tree branches? Entire trees? Trash cans? I don't know.
posted by Stynxno at 2:58 PM on October 29, 2012

The report from me from the Baltimore and adjacent areas—I drove up to the city this morning to button down my two facilities, the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower and School 33 Art Center. Bromo's fine and should be fine, as it's a steel-framed skyscraper that's built like a brick shithouse giant novelty clocktower advertising a tranquilizer-laden hangover cure. School 33 is a 122 year-old brick public school and is less secure, but it's buttoned up as tight as I could get it.

Got panicky messages from the powers-that-be telling me to "get out of there and get somewhere safe!" at about ten AM, but I was concerned about my former haunt, the American Visionary Art Museum, which is well-built, but because it was designed by fancypants architects and therefore has severe architectitis, it leaks like mad. I'm not anti-architect, mind you, but when I was making repairs to the Morphosis-designed Sedlak residence guest house, I was annoyed how often architects love to pretend that it never rains and that their brilliant all-horizontal drainage design will never fail (in both instances, this is a problematic bit of faith).

Even though I'm no longer with the Visionary except as their two-spirited spiritual figurehead for the Kinetic Sculpture Race and the official dog interviewer of the institution, I'd been watching the figures on the storm surge and feeling nervous that a fifteen foot wall of water roaring up into the Inner Harbor would be a bad, bad thing. Mucked in with my friends there, sandbagged, moved artwork to higher, lower, and middler ground, worked on generators, picked up Shop-Vacs, and otherwise made a useful nuisance of myself until three. Left the exhibitions director perched on a giant pair of velvet lips down the hall from an enormous ball of brassieres, admonished him to get home, get sleep, and use the IP-based remote link to the camera network to watch for water on the north side of the basement. He's a good guy, but too much like me. We'll both die on the job one day, alas.

Drove home, which, in a giant empty pickup truck was alternately exciting and scary.

Windy! Rainy! Think maybe I need to turn up the Cornelius until my ears bleed!

"Whoooo! Fly!"

Overhead, the marquee signs are all screaming that the speed limit is 45. Wish it always was. I sort of want to plug in my little OBD diagnostic to see if my mileage is up or down from the usual 13 MPG whilst driving 45 MPH on I-95.

Bit of sun washes through. On the radar animation on my phone, I am punching through yellow and orange zebra stripes, and the whole landscape surges around me. I love this shit—seriously, I love it. I'm sad that people are going to die, and I'm sad that people are going to have their homes wrecked, and damn, I may be one of those, particularly as my basement back home is already flooding with the power on and my sad little postage stamp of property in WV is going to get stomped with the storm, drowned in the aftermath, then buried under snow, and my cabin already wasn't doing so well...and still, overwhelming weather is the whole world set ablaze around me like all my atoms and the whole world are wildly, impossibly alive.

I make some illegal hand-held phone calls. No one else is on the road, but I think it would actually be funny if I got a ticket this way on this day. My aunt, who lives and Ocean Pines and thinks she's safe because it's inland, was successfully talked into heading for higher ground. The head of my fan club, who lives near the scrapple factory where the official scrapple of me is made is secure. My mother is stubborn. With luck, she won't ride a mattress ten miles inland.

Yep, I am a consummate bad weather driver. Man, I love this. This is—

"Aaaaaugh!"

The thing about a very large and heavy, but unladen, pickup truck is that the back is sort of like a sail. Crossing into a wilder band of wind, my tail kicked out, kicked waaaaay out, then lurched back in line.

Nope, don't like that at all. Bad weather driving is not fun.

Got back into my podunk town. Tried to drag my mother out of her powerless house. In Maryland, the more upscale your county is, the quicker you lose power, and the longer you lose power. I want to tease her about her stupid electric glass-top anti-cuisine stove, but refrain. She's set in, has her oil lamps and her cell phone and her protestant work ethic roll-up-yer-sleeves can-do attitude and is defiant. Plus, dogs get on the furniture in my house, which is not how civilized people live. I happen to think dogs look hilarious on the dining table, but some disagree.

My basement is flooding, and I'm going to be doing battle all night with two Shop-Vacs, a pump, a tiny generator, and the three sump pumps that absolutely need to run straight through without fail or my collections of various odd items will drown. Silt's clogging the north pump, I'm not sure where the mud's coming from, unless my house is about to fall into a 73 foot deep sinkhole like a somewhat more comical House of Usher, I'm shoveling, trying to find places to stack half a dozen stupid theremins, I'm upstairs Shop-Vac'ing the place and pumping out the mucky water. If the power stays on, I'll be okay, but tired.

These times make me think that possessions aren't really all that great.

Maybe I need a vardo.

Yeah, that's it. A vardo, a manual typewriter, dogs, and an ipad.

Just in case, I've charged all six of my ipods and loaded them with hundreds of hours of Jean Shepherd programs, old radio shows, and bossa nova music. Civilization may fall, but I'll have my stories, Lum & Abner, and the swinging wonderland that is the voice of Astrud Gilberto.

If all else fails, there's the perfect song for ruination weather.

I ride upon a field mouse
I was dancin' in the slaughterhouse
If you swing along the beltway
then you skid along there all day
'cause I went a little crazy
and I sat upon a high chair
And I'm smokin like a diesel
way out here
posted by sonascope at 2:58 PM on October 29, 2012 [32 favorites]

The lil'ist Ghostbuster has been distracted by a grilled cheese.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:59 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Here's the ad CNN keeps showing.

Yup.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:59 PM on October 29, 2012

I hope any car with an engaged car alarm gets smashed to smithereens in the next 5-10 minutes.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:59 PM on October 29, 2012

I like the symbol for 'surge', she looks like she's rocking a baby or sawing upward in an arc...

When she tells you about trees falling, you can see the freaking trees falling.
posted by mudpuppie at 2:59 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

ASL lady steps through window as well, wearing only a light satin wrap. She gesticulates wildly as she climbs into bed. "Translate this honey" says Bloomberg "Los hermanos estey muy hornioso! Mucho muscularo ete kissy my pectoralisimos. Ay ay ay ay!"
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:00 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

"A black swan now has us on its wings." ~ Chris Matthews.
posted by sallybrown at 3:00 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I know I seem like a goofball when I say this, but when I think about how the same storm that you all are talking about so far away are apparently visible here from Chicago and Madison, I really understand why people created gods. Because even though I understand the weather and meteorology (basically), it's still pretty hard for me to wrap my head around it.

Be safe everybody.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:00 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Last year, I said that now that I've gone through my first hurricane, I know what to do now and I'll be freaking out less. I totally lied.
posted by TrishaLynn at 3:01 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

You can take the drain cover off with a screwdriver, either by unscrewing it or by prying around the edges. Then cut up a kitchen sponge to fit in the hole. Cover it with tape/saran wrap, and put saran wrap in the actual hole before plugging it.

Our sugar cookies aren't flattening in the oven. Damn you, Bittman!
posted by brina at 3:01 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am working on not freaking out by my doors slamming shut is not conducive to that. I am blocking them open with sneakers wedged under them now.
posted by lyra4 at 3:02 PM on October 29, 2012

Comic Relief Husband on the trees outside: "Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

You have to understand that this translates to "HOLY MOTHERFUCKER!"
posted by sonika at 3:02 PM on October 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

brina: brilliant!
posted by Freen at 3:03 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Instacane – storm dispatches from Instagram.
posted by roger ackroyd at 3:03 PM on October 29, 2012

Aww, gazebo.
/gazebo-petter
posted by mimi at 3:03 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Gumbo! Rice! Corn muffins! Bourbon! And an argument over Beausoleil vs. the Lost Bayou Ramblers! Welcome to Casa de Ersatzkat!
posted by ersatzkat at 3:04 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wait, he just went outside WHAT THE HECK.

He... brought... home... horror movies... and then went outside? Alone?

Has he never watched a horror movie?!?

The hurricane is coming from inside the house!!!!!
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:04 PM on October 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

NBC lady is telling us we can't let our guard down even after the storm's eye passes. She is pretty hyped up about this whole thing.
posted by lyra4 at 3:05 PM on October 29, 2012

Our sugar cookies aren't flattening in the oven. Damn you, Bittman!

I'm 0 for 4 on Bittman recipes. I donated my copy of How To Cook Everything to a thrift store.
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 3:06 PM on October 29, 2012

The hurricane is coming from inside the house!!!!

I just made this joke on FB, great minds.
posted by sweetkid at 3:07 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Aww, gazebo.

I'm impressed that the lights along the former gazebo's pier are still on.
posted by oneirodynia at 3:08 PM on October 29, 2012

I just took a 2 hour nap. Two hours!. Go me!

What did I miss? Locusts? Frogs?
posted by zarq at 3:08 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

oops, and now one is out.
posted by oneirodynia at 3:08 PM on October 29, 2012

What did I miss? Locusts? Frogs?

Chris Christie complimenting the president, so flying pigs.
posted by iamabot at 3:09 PM on October 29, 2012 [21 favorites]

Of all the consequences so far of Hurricane Sandy, the least distressing could be the extra two days that Facebook employees will have to wait to sell their newly unlocked shares. Today was supposed to be the first of three dates when many Facebookers could start cashing out some of the shares they received as part of their compensation packages. The only problem: Until Wednesday at the earliest, the NASDAQ won’t be open to move the up to 234 million shares just freed up for trading.
posted by Egg Shen at 3:11 PM on October 29, 2012

Hey, where'd everybody go?
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:12 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Chris Christie had to get the taste of complimenting Obama out of his mouth, so he threw the mayor of AC under the bus.
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 3:12 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

All this cookie talk and now I have 4 dozen chocolate crinkles, plus a loaf of jalapeno cheese cornbread and some fajita style chicken breasts with chili powder & cumin rub. Barely any rain and the wind is nowhere near what it was a few weeks ago. But still, dark and ominous on a lake surrounded by tall pine trees.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 3:12 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

But Sonascope, what about the BEES?!?!?
posted by SomaSoda at 3:13 PM on October 29, 2012

The hurricane is coming from inside the house!!!!

I just made this joke on FB, great minds.

The hurricane is coming from inside our minds!!!!!
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:13 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Also, I baked a vegetable quiche. It was quite good. And it used up perishables.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:14 PM on October 29, 2012

Just heard the sound of someone walking on the roof. After a bout of incredulous swearing, discovered it was my super turning off the elevator. Apparently you have to go on the roof to do that. It is blowing something fierce now.
posted by sciencegeek at 3:15 PM on October 29, 2012

Today is my birthday. It is the ninth birthday I've had since moving to Massachusetts; of those nine, two have had snowstorms and one has had a hurricane. I think Massachusetts wants me to go back to New York.
posted by danb at 3:15 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

oneirodynia: oops, and now one is out.

Only one light left shining on the pier! It's so fucking symbolic I can barely stand it. Hold fast, light, you carry all our hopes, metaphorically.

I swear that pun happened by accident.
posted by Kattullus at 3:16 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

You know, being the greatest city in the world, you'd think our local newscasters would be worth a damn. But. Really. Pretty terrible.
posted by Stynxno at 3:17 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Pull out cookie sheet, smack it down on the counter, put cookies back in oven.
posted by elsietheeel at 3:18 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh wow. Okay. Now it's sounding scary. Booming sounds, flying debris sounds, people yelling, windows banging. Sounds like the skylight in our hallway wants to give out... and we have water running down the staircase.

Stynxno, where are my cookies?
posted by idest at 3:18 PM on October 29, 2012

The Onion's Hurricane Safety Tips (from 1998)

This is the one that made me LOL:

"At the exact center of a hurricane is an 'eye' of utter tranquility. Use this safety zone as a launch window for your mission to rescue stranded astronaut Gene Hackman."
posted by AugieAugustus at 3:18 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

you'd think our local newscasters would be worth a damn. But. Really. Pretty terrible.

NY1
posted by sweetkid at 3:19 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

"A single green light, minute and faraway, that might have been the end of a dock."
posted by Kattullus at 3:19 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

NY1

No cable. Antenna only in Chez Stynxno.

Stynxno, where are my cookies?

Lost in the storm surge :(
posted by Stynxno at 3:20 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

It is officially windy like a motherfucker out. I'm going to go check on the halal chicken guy.
posted by Ad hominem at 3:20 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

WOW the wind is getting scary. It is really slamming into the windows now.
posted by lyra4 at 3:21 PM on October 29, 2012

NY1

No cable. Antenna only in Chez Stynxno.

Ohhh, sorry.
posted by sweetkid at 3:21 PM on October 29, 2012

Now I know why people drape fabric and such over bird cages. I just went around and lowered all my blinds so I can't see anything outside at all. And already I feel like 120% less anxious. IF I CAN'T SEE IT IT'S NOT HAPPENING!
posted by kinsey at 3:22 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

After six p.m., time to break out the Maker's if you've been dry all day.
posted by brina at 3:22 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

idest, if you have a skylight in your hallway you might want to make sure you don't get water in under your front door. My apartment in NYC had an opening wide enough for mice to let themselves in, I'd be jamming a bunch of plastic bags in there if I were you.
posted by ambrosia at 3:22 PM on October 29, 2012

I was feeling a bit annoyed about the hand-wringy calls this morning from Ma and Sis Panic-McWorryson, because for god's sake Ma/Sis, it's just a little wind and rain so far, but then I caught myself thinking about my poor horse, all alone with the howling wind whistling through the rickety old barn; I've been checking the stable's Facebook page for any updates of awful news, and just feeling like, DAMMIT PONYBOY, IS IT SO HARD TO JUST PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL TO LET ME KNOW YOU'RE OK ALREADY?!?! And then I understood...

because yeah, between the metal shoes and no opposible thumbs, I suppose it is pretty hard to pick up and call. Too bad the stable doesn't keep a pet llama-que-llama or two around.

Me, I've got no excuse.
posted by drlith at 3:23 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yes, if you are in immediate life and death danger, don't start drinking right now.

If you're at home safe and sound, waiting for the power to go, and you've already decided not to evacuate, might as well have a cocktail. It's not going to hurt anything. I mean, don't get completely tanked, but mixing up a dark & stormy isn't going to make any difference.


I never said don't drink at all, silly.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 3:23 PM on October 29, 2012

IF I CAN'T SEE IT IT'S NOT HAPPENING!

We can't see much from our ground floor apartment shrouded by shrubbery in the first place, plus the cover of night, plus the blinds to keep neighbors from inspecting our pajama choices...

... but my ears tell me that it most certainly IS happening.
posted by sonika at 3:24 PM on October 29, 2012

> "At the exact center of a hurricane is an 'eye' of utter tranquility. Use this safety zone as a launch window for your mission to rescue stranded astronaut Gene Hackman."

I watched that movie for the first time about 3 weeks ago. And yes, I did think about it as I watched the storm track grow closer this week...
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 3:24 PM on October 29, 2012

I just got a telemarketing robocall - offering me a chance to save on my electric bill.

Now? REALLY???
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:24 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

idest, if you have a skylight in your hallway you might want to make sure you don't get water in under your front door. My apartment in NYC had an opening wide enough for mice to let themselves in, I'd be jamming a bunch of plastic bags in there if I were you.

Good idea-- going to do that right now!
posted by idest at 3:24 PM on October 29, 2012

Seriously scary gusts of wind here. Something just made a booming noise that rattled the windows. Yikes.

Dinner is hot dogs and potato bourekas because that's what we found in the freezer that no teenager objected to as too leftovery.
posted by Mchelly at 3:24 PM on October 29, 2012

You guys. I just realized I did not stock up on dark chocolate. This is serious. NO, REALLY.

And also:

So all the bridges are closing as of 7pm so we are in Dark Knight territory ...

Great, just perfect juxtaposition.
Stay warm and dry and safe, everyone.
posted by RedOrGreen at 3:24 PM on October 29, 2012

oneirodynia: oops, and now one is out.

Only one light left shining on the pier! It's so fucking symbolic I can barely stand it. Hold fast, light, you carry all our hopes, metaphorically.

... and now it's out.
posted by oneirodynia at 3:25 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm honestly very, very grateful that the power stayed on here all day that I could entertain my VERY CRANKY toddler (seriously, kid must be sensitive to barometric pressure or else possessed by Vigo the Carpathian or SOMETHING) with cartoons and give him a bath after he got pasta in his hair and whatnot.

This sounds pretty blasé, but I mean it when I say I am incredibly grateful for whatever forces have conspired in my favor thus far.

(Not that I expect it to continue. I'm honestly shocked we still have power and am prepared to lose it at anytime and not get it back for a few days.)
posted by sonika at 3:27 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm rationalizing the horrible whooshing rattling outside my windows as just being yet another Manhattan wizard fight
posted by The Whelk at 3:27 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

I just got a telemarketing robocall - offering me a chance to save on my electric bill.

Was their scheme that they won't charge you for time spent in blackouts (the power grid's blackout, not yours)?
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:27 PM on October 29, 2012

"Shark swimming in the streets of Brigantine, NJ."
posted by Neilopolis at 3:28 PM on October 29, 2012 [23 favorites]

sio42, you should have a glass of toilet hooch. it'll loosen you up and help you focus.
posted by TheNewWazoo at 3:28 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Power is out in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, according to a friend.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 3:28 PM on October 29, 2012

In NYC, if you have a TV and cable, what should you be watching re: storm coverage? Anyone particularly funny on the teevee?
posted by brina at 3:29 PM on October 29, 2012

Huge winds. Wow.

Happy birthday, danb!
posted by zarq at 3:30 PM on October 29, 2012

NYC TV News: I'm bouncing between CBS, NBC and Weather Channel. PIX (11) was OK but they are too broken up.
posted by lyra4 at 3:32 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

North falmouth cape cod here, power failed at 2pmish, our power utility is pretty committed to Britan during the blitz QOS though, so whatever, I like flashlights.

I'm the only one in the house with a data plan so I'm in hiding, shhhh.

Fascinating nature tidbit: some birds were running around on the ground this afternoon, totally pissed that they couldn't fly, I saw one game little fella totally eat shit about three times before s/he gave up and fucked off under a bush.

I'm full of spaghetti and meatballs tho, so I'm cool. Please get your weirdo thrill seeking spouses indoors. Hugs.
posted by Divine_Wino at 3:32 PM on October 29, 2012

I am watching NY1 and MSNBC.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:33 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Well, the last light on the pier just went out and the nogazeboanymorecam has switched to black and white. It's all so final scene in a sad movie about how everyone loses their innocence and underneath it all we're all flawed but fundamentally good that I'm just gonna 'splode.

That movie stars Jake Gyllenhall, Jessica Chastain, Ashley Judd and Paul Bettany, as The Gazebo.
posted by Kattullus at 3:33 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Anyone on the coast of RI that can give a report?
posted by futz at 3:34 PM on October 29, 2012

I was watching the Weather Channel and NY1, but I kinda didn't want to hear any of the "man or woman on the street from their homes" calls, so I'm now watching "Fifth Gear" on the Velocity Channel for the first time while refreshing this thread, Twitter, and Facebook.
posted by TrishaLynn at 3:35 PM on October 29, 2012

"Nearly 497,000 of New Jersey's 3.9 million utility customers were without power at 5 p.m.

Jersey Central Power & Light is reporting 275,000 customers without service, mostly in Ocean and Monmouth counties. Atlantic City Electric has 85,000 outages, centered mainly in Atlantic County. Public Service Electric & Gas, which serves more inland and northern counties, says 138,000 customers are without power, including 38,000 in Essex County, 19,000 in Passaic County, 17,000 each in Bergen and Mercer counties, 16,000 in Middlesex County and 6,800 in Union County.

The utilities say it may take until Wednesday before their crews can make a full assessment of the damage"
posted by marienbad at 3:35 PM on October 29, 2012

No work tomorrow (federal government, New York City). Optimistically, unlike the message canceling work for Monday, the message cancelling work for Tuesday said we will be open Wednesday. Not sure how they can know that.
posted by Jahaza at 3:36 PM on October 29, 2012

Is that shark pic real?
posted by KathrynT at 3:37 PM on October 29, 2012

Any idea of when it'll be worst in Boston? Not sure when I can start breathing a sigh of relief we didn't lose power.
posted by sonmi at 3:38 PM on October 29, 2012

"I gotta go we've got sharks."
posted by octobersurprise at 3:38 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

omg.

I just had this really weird experience where I clicked the wrong link from griphus's closed metatalk thread, and spent about half an hour reading last year's hurricane irene thread thinking it was THIS thread. I saw that phobewankenobi's (my close friend irl, was at her house a few days ago) yard was flooded and she was packed to evacuate and I freaked out. I raged at the southerners making fun of overprepared northerners. but then!! scrolling down, I read that the hurricane had passed new york already and I was surprised and confused but momentarily happy.

and then I noticed the date.
posted by changeling at 3:39 PM on October 29, 2012 [15 favorites]

> Is that shark pic real?

Probably. But we won't find out until people are done proving that the hole in the pizza box isn't.
posted by mrzarquon at 3:39 PM on October 29, 2012

The NY Times webcam is really pretty right now. Here's a screenshot for posterity.
posted by desjardins at 3:39 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Checking in from Baltimore Locust Point. Steadily increasing winds and driving rain all day, luckily only 2 small leaks, but I have not been in the basement yet. The center of the meteorological beast is supposed to pass just north of our location.
It's odd, it seemed like it went 100 miles in one hour this afternoon, but now seems to have slowed again?
posted by joecacti at 3:40 PM on October 29, 2012

Via CNN, governor of Virginia calls state of emergency due to an imminent BLIZZARD!?!?
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 3:40 PM on October 29, 2012

Hoboken has lost all their traffic signals
posted by lyra4 at 3:40 PM on October 29, 2012

My lights in Wash. Heights just flickered. Now I feel like I'm in the in-group now.
posted by Stynxno at 3:41 PM on October 29, 2012

Re: Virginia Blizzard:
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/lwx/

And I have to add: WOW! That's some insane weather!
posted by joecacti at 3:41 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Lights just flickered here in Jamaica, Queens.

I'm watching the documentary Marley on Netflix. It's a lot sunnier and warmer in the other Jamaica.
posted by Jahaza at 3:42 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Don't know about the Brigantine shark, but this one was passed around during Irene, I've seen it on Twitter today, and it's still fake.
posted by desjardins at 3:42 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Katullus, can you post a screenshot from the gazebo-less can? Our cable is out and I can't pull it up on my phone.
posted by troika at 3:42 PM on October 29, 2012

SNOWFALL..SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 3 FEET ARE EXPECTED IN THE
MOUNTAINS OF WEST VIRGINIA WITH LOCALLY HIGHER TOTALS TODAY THROUGH
WEDNESDAY. SNOWFALL OF 1 TO 2 FEET IS EXPECTED IN THE MOUNTAINS OF
SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA TO THE KENTUCKY BORDER...WITH 12 TO 18 INCHES
OF SNOW EXPECTED IN THE MOUNTAINS NEAR THE NORTH CAROLINA/TENNESSEE
BORDER AND IN THE MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN MARYLAND.

Hence, Frankenstorm.
posted by futz at 3:43 PM on October 29, 2012

elizardbits lost power I guess

that's the real tragedy
posted by ninjew at 3:44 PM on October 29, 2012 [10 favorites]

What the Hell, New York Times. Embedding live video in your web site is not going to help us load it faster.
posted by Jahaza at 3:44 PM on October 29, 2012

My boyfriend's UPS registered a power flicker.

Major building collapse at 8th Ave and 14th Street.
posted by TrishaLynn at 3:45 PM on October 29, 2012

4-story apartment building collapse at 8th Ave and 14th St. Is in Chelsea area.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 3:45 PM on October 29, 2012

troika, here's a screenshot of the gazebo cam.
posted by insectosaurus at 3:45 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

My apartment building here in Cambridge is a narrow 3-story affair with a one bedroom apartment on each floor. There is a giant tree in back of it, twice as tall as the building, with enough foliage to keep the ground dry during gentle rains. The trunk is big enough that I don't think I can wrap my arms around it, and I'm 6' 2. I think the winds today have made my house shake more than the tree's lower trunk.

I love watching that tree. If the winds don't get any worse, I think we're going to make it through OK here.
posted by A dead Quaker at 3:45 PM on October 29, 2012

the drains in my building just started making odd bubbling sounds. toilet water is lowered. neighbor just stopped by to let us know that once she had sewage come flying out of her drains. so we'll be stoppering them up I guess.
posted by sciencegeek at 3:45 PM on October 29, 2012

Anyone on the coast of RI that can give a report?

Not there but saw some shots of Narragansett on the news. Ocean drive is completely flooded. Looked like there was flooding in Westerly too. About 100k people without power.
posted by murfed13 at 3:46 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Weather channel just had a short vid of cars driving through snow in W Va.
posted by carter at 3:47 PM on October 29, 2012

Be safe everyone!
posted by Renoroc at 3:47 PM on October 29, 2012

Is that shark pic real?

I don't know for certain if this particular shark pic is real, but that great white shark photo that was passed around during Irene was definitely fake.
posted by Neilopolis at 3:48 PM on October 29, 2012

I showed my daughter the ASL lady.
She said 'She's signing with a NY accent!'
posted by MtDewd at 3:49 PM on October 29, 2012 [10 favorites]

Bittman is not reliable for baking
posted by shothotbot at 3:49 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Building that collapsed is a 4 story building. Yikes - I used to work on 8th just north of there, I am trying to remember which building was at 15th.

#BREAKING U/D 4 STORY BUILDING COLLAPSED IN MANHATTAN WITH POSSIBLE PEOPLE TRAPPED AT 8 AVE. @FDNY ON SCENE. #SANDY #911BUFF
posted by lyra4 at 3:50 PM on October 29, 2012

And there goes power here in central Jersey. Might be time to spring for the iPad data plan.
posted by mollweide at 3:50 PM on October 29, 2012

> ... governor of Virginia calls state of emergency due to an imminent BLIZZARD!?!?

Yeah, blizzard.
posted by nangar at 3:50 PM on October 29, 2012

I showed my daughter the ASL lady.
She said 'She's signing with a NY accent!'

Intriguing! How so?
posted by sweetkid at 3:50 PM on October 29, 2012

Shades of Boardwalk Empire... man mountain Chris Christie just held a press conference in which he savaged Atlantic City mayor Lorenzo Langford for ignoring his orders by encouraging residents stay in town. Langford is a Democrat and Christie seems to be looking for a reasonable death toll as just punishment for Langford’s malfeasance.

Langford worked as a casino pit boss before he got into politics. He won the mayoral race in 2001, served his four year term, and then lost in the next Democratic primary to Bob Levy. Three years into his term Levy mysteriously vanished. Langford won the special election to replace him. He has been mayor since then.
posted by Huplescat at 3:50 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

How so?
I think it was just the mouthing of the words (whatever that's called). Can't ask her now...
posted by MtDewd at 3:52 PM on October 29, 2012

Ugh. How awful for the people in that building. I hope they're all okay.
posted by idest at 3:52 PM on October 29, 2012

Uh so I'm in economics, not structural engineering - what could've made the building collapse? Water weakening the foundations? I'm sure the answer's obvious and I'm just being stupid.
posted by dismas at 3:52 PM on October 29, 2012

Jesus Christ, you guys, I can see your hurricane from my house. In Peoria.

(Pretty much what the Madison folks are seeing.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:53 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Uh so I'm in economics, not structural engineering - what could've made the building collapse? Water weakening the foundations? I'm sure the answer's obvious and I'm just being stupid.

Wind, I'd think. Unusually large forces on the building from wind.
posted by Jahaza at 3:54 PM on October 29, 2012

(Southern Ontario between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay)

Well I got sent home from work early. We're under severe wind warning here (sub tropical storm level) and over the past few hours it's been picking up. The radio has been broadcasting the weather warning and advising people to be prepared for several days of power outage.

Even as far away as we are the effects are noticable. My small town was dead with about half the traffic as usual. My boss drove up from Buffalo today. He was actually in NY and got the last spot on a flight yesterday. He said the drive was eerie as the whole way up it was just very quiet. It seems that people are just staying or getting home. He closed the restaurant a few hours early. We and the few customers that did come in just sat and watched the news all afternoon.

I decided that even though I have more then enough food to deal with no power it wasn't really what I felt like eating so I stopped by the grocery store for some more yummy stuff. I got cake!! Now it was busy, especially for a Monday. No panic, just people stocking up and chatting about what's coming.

I got home and a big branch from an old tree had already fallen on my driveway. It's twice as windy here as it was in town. The branches on my weeping willow are pratically parallel to the ground. The wind is blowing in a direction it doesn't normally blow in which is strange. That means that the old tree which I wasn't too worried about would blow down where my car is parked so I decided to park it on the other side of the lawn. It looks pretty funny right now. Hopefully I won't get stuck if it gets too swampy. It was a damned if you do damned if you don't decision. I decided that a stuck car would be better then a smashed car.

I wish I had got my video out before it got dark though. My stupid chickens decided to go up in their tree. They were all on this swaying branch clucking with annoyance. I wonder if chickens get seasick.... So there's me, on my porch yelling at the damn things to get down and stop being morons like those people out jogging in NJ that I saw on CNN.

Fun times.
posted by Jalliah at 3:54 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

You can't really see much by now on the Nogazebocam. It's mostly just whitecaps battering that pier.
posted by Kattullus at 3:55 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

its a two alarm fire as per the nytimes homepage. hooe those folks and firefighters end up ok, it is not fun out there.
posted by larthegreat at 3:55 PM on October 29, 2012

Thanks, insectosaurus and Kattullus!

My cousin in Fredonia, NY (near Buffalo) just texted to report some flooding. Crazy that she's hundreds of miles away and feeling the same storm.
posted by troika at 3:57 PM on October 29, 2012

Checking in from Ft. Greene - Decided to take a hot shower to ease my nerves (and in case we lose power.) Turns out you can hear the wind gusts inside my windowless bathroom. It kinda sounds like someone distantly pummeling their fists. Also the lights flickered twice.

At least the smell of banana bread is permeating throughout my apartment!
posted by joeyjoejoejr at 3:57 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm getting a HELL of a lot of wind through my living room windows - I'm nailing blankets over them just overnight, to contain any debris should it blow through.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:58 PM on October 29, 2012

the building
posted by stagewhisper at 3:58 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

Winds seriously scary here in the lower east side. Cracking the Dogfish 120 Minute for comfort.
posted by newpotato at 3:59 PM on October 29, 2012

Was just out with the pooch for a (necessary) walk, out along Riverside Drive on the UWS and thinking, This isn't so bad, when I heard a rending crack and a 15-foot branch came down about 10 feet away. It's remarkable how quickly things can go from quiet to roaring, terrifying gusts.

Most shops along Broadway up here are shut by now. I would not go out again tonight. Sorry dog.
posted by stargell at 4:00 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Holy crap, stagewhisper, that looks like a movie set.
posted by dfan at 4:00 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wow. That wasn't what I had pictured when I heard "building collapsed" but that has to be pretty damned scary regardless.
posted by restless_nomad at 4:00 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Those people have a nice living room, stagewhisper.
posted by brina at 4:01 PM on October 29, 2012

How everybody holding up? I am worrying for you all.
posted by marienbad at 4:01 PM on October 29, 2012

Thessely brought down the moon
posted by The Whelk at 4:02 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

7 pm update.

AS INDICATED IN THE 5 PM DISCUSSION...SATELLITE...RADAR...AND
AIRCRAFT DATA INDICATE THAT SANDY HAS CONTINUED TO LOSE TROPICAL
CHARACTERISTICS. NHC IS NOW DESIGNATING SANDY AS A POST-TROPICAL
CYCLONE. IN ADDITION...THE MAXIMUM WINDS HAVE DECREASED SLIGHTLY
AND ARE NOW NEAR 85 MPH...140 KM/H.

NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE TIDE GAUGES HAVE RECENTLY REPORTED STORM
SURGE HEIGHTS OF 12.4 FEET AT KINGS POINT NEW YORK...AND 7.2 FEET
AT THE BATTERY NEW YORK...AND 7.5 FEET AT SANDY HOOK NEW JERSEY.
TOTAL WATER LEVELS WILL BE EVEN HIGHER WHEN HIGH TIDE OCCURS.

A WIND GUST TO 82 MPH WAS RECENTLY REPORTED AT ISLIP NEW YORK. A
SUSTAINED WIND OF 45 MPH WITH A GUST TO 67 MPH WAS RECENTLY
REPORTED AT JFK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN NEW YORK.

ANOTHER UPDATE WILL BE ISSUED AT THE TIME OF LANDFALL AND AT 900 PM
EDT. NHC WILL ISSUE ITS LAST ADVISORY ON SANDY AT 1100 PM EDT. THE
HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER...HPC...WILL BEGIN ISSUING
PUBLIC ADVISORIES AT 500 AM EDT TUESDAY. HPC PUBLIC ADVISORIES WILL
BE ISSUED UNDER THE SAME WMO AND AWIPS HEADERS AS THE NHC PUBLIC
ADVISORIES...AND WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE VIA THE NHC WEBSITE.
posted by futz at 4:02 PM on October 29, 2012

(Posted this in the wrong damn thread earlier)

Here in Raleigh, NC it's been raining off and on all day and it's pretty windy. Just so happens that the way the buildings are configured at my apartment we get that whistling, moaning sound anytime the wind blows, so I've been hearing that all day too. Combining the rain and the wind with reading this thread all day, I keep forgetting that we aren't actually in the hurricane here and I could get out and go somewhere if I wanted to.
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 4:03 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

its a two alarm fire as per the nytimes homepage. hooe those folks and firefighters end up ok, it is not fun out there.

I haven't seen anything saying it's a fire. It's "MAN 2-ALARM 92 8TH AVE, MULTIPLE DWELLING BUILDING COLLAPSE," per the NY Times/NYFD twitter, which pretty much means what it says. 2-alarm is the size of the response (the earlier crane issue was 4-alarm)
posted by Jahaza at 4:03 PM on October 29, 2012

Hurricane now a Superstorm
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:03 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

There are some truly unearthly sounds coming out of my windows now.
posted by The Whelk at 4:04 PM on October 29, 2012

I just opened the door to my balcony for 0.5 seconds, and it was like a horror movie. Extremely loud noise + strange unrecognizable sounds.
posted by milestogo at 4:06 PM on October 29, 2012

Lots of sirens in Jersey City. From what I can see out the window there's quite a bit of flooding going on down there again.
posted by lyra4 at 4:06 PM on October 29, 2012

whoops, yea missread that. not a fire apprently. false alarm.
posted by larthegreat at 4:06 PM on October 29, 2012

He... brought... home... horror movies... and then went outside? Alone?

Has he never watched a horror movie?!?

Turns out, he was figuring out how to secure the screen door so it would stop bang-bang-banging against the threshold all night. ('Cause he knew the noise was getting on my nerves. What a good guy!)

Sending safe thoughts your way, everyone!
posted by Elsa at 4:07 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Calmed down here, must be between two bands.
posted by vrakatar at 4:07 PM on October 29, 2012

I really, really wish I knew what is making that creaking noise on my roof...
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:07 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Kids are watching Monsters inc. The wind is very, very bad. Landline phones are dead.
posted by zarq at 4:10 PM on October 29, 2012

From the BBC Live Feed

New York fire officials have told the BBC that the building collapse reported on its Twitter feed was in fact "partial facade damage" to the building, and not a full collapse. Nobody was injured in the incident.
posted by fullerine at 4:10 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Crustless quiche (made with leftover carmelized onions) in the oven! Mmmmmmmm.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:10 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I really, really wish I knew what is making that creaking noise on my roof...

Nightgaunts.
posted by vrakatar at 4:10 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Hholed up in Stuytown with some friends... so far it just seems like a regular storm, except the hot water's out.
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:13 PM on October 29, 2012

abc news reports that all the people who live in that building have been accounted for.
posted by royalsong at 4:13 PM on October 29, 2012

Chinese food failed to deliver! I've broken out the Southern Tier creme brulee stout to go with some apples and cheddar. That counts as dinner, right?

No more branches have fallen, but the power's been flickering a few times an hour. Only a matter of time...
posted by Karmakaze at 4:13 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE TIDE GAUGES HAVE RECENTLY REPORTED STORM
SURGE HEIGHTS OF 12.4 FEET AT KINGS POINT NEW YORK...AND 7.2 FEET
AT THE BATTERY NEW YORK...AND 7.5 FEET AT SANDY HOOK NEW JERSEY.
TOTAL WATER LEVELS WILL BE EVEN HIGHER WHEN HIGH TIDE OCCURS.

The tide indicator for The Battery can be accessed online here.
posted by Jahaza at 4:14 PM on October 29, 2012

LANDSHARK!
posted by Lord_Pall at 4:14 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Power went out around 5:00, T-Mobile's HSPA+ service is hanging in there like a boss. No orange glow in the sky... my folks in Westport report the same. Power is likely out from Fall River to Dartmouth. Windy, but not terribly so... should't have gone out so early. Wonder if the storm surge took out the electric plant... it's right on the water, no flood walls or anything.
posted by Slap*Happy at 4:14 PM on October 29, 2012

It's getting CRAZY out there and both my cats are still acting normal. What gives, weirdo cats?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:15 PM on October 29, 2012

Wind is screaming right now and the little Japanese maple tree out back is writhing like a backup dancer for Tina Turner. Hoping this is the worst it gets. Dog is still unfazed, though.
posted by Mchelly at 4:15 PM on October 29, 2012

Route 1, I95, I76, 476 all closed in Philadelphia until 2 AM.
posted by zerobyproxy at 4:15 PM on October 29, 2012

Just walked the dog. There is lightning and occasional crashes.
posted by shothotbot at 4:16 PM on October 29, 2012

Watching CNN. They just reported that two dozen people in Lyndhurst, NJ -- all of whom refused to follow the mandatory evacuation -- were just rescued.

As per above, they weren't 'prepared fools,' but were truly 'unprepared, obstinate, selfish IDIOTS.'
posted by ericb at 4:16 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Okay, now I can feel my building moving. Creepy.
posted by idest at 4:16 PM on October 29, 2012

Omigod I just felt my building shake. Now I'm scared.
posted by Sara C. at 4:16 PM on October 29, 2012

Ugh there are strange banging noises and random shaking here : /
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 4:17 PM on October 29, 2012

Thank fucking god this is not happening next week. Kudos to all you first responders out there.
posted by longdaysjourney at 4:17 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, building seems to be a bit shaky.
posted by shothotbot at 4:18 PM on October 29, 2012

zerobyproxy: " Route 1, I95, I76, 476 all closed in Philadelphia until 2 AM."

Hopefully the number of lives saved by closing the Schuylkill will exceed the death toll from the storm.
posted by tonycpsu at 4:18 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

New York fire officials have told the BBC that the building collapse reported on its Twitter feed was in fact "partial facade damage" to the building, and not a full collapse. Nobody was injured in the incident.

That would have been my guess. A facade can detach from the building and create a bunch of rubble in the street without actually causing much structural damage. Except that it opens the building up to the wind and rain which really sucks.
posted by smackfu at 4:18 PM on October 29, 2012

Wind just picked up here in Brooklyn, too.
posted by ocherdraco at 4:19 PM on October 29, 2012

I made quiche, too! Thanks for the idea, GenjiandProust.

(Just lost power for like 30 seconds as I tried to write this. Hmm. Hope it stays on enough for my quiche to bake through.)
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 4:19 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

EEK be safe, peeps!
posted by 1000monkeys at 4:19 PM on October 29, 2012

vrakatar: "Any reports of snow in the mountains south of New York"

It's been lightly snowing most of the day here in WNC but it's only started accumulating since nightfall; just an inch here so far (but I know Mt. Leconte in the Smokies had 7" by this morning).
posted by Red Loop at 4:20 PM on October 29, 2012

Halal cart gone, newsstand closed, scored some Gold Peak unsweetened iced tea and dark chocolate peanut butter cups. It's windy but not "zomg it's raining sideways" windy.
posted by Ad hominem at 4:20 PM on October 29, 2012

Still have power in Gramercy. Windows are rattling in a terrifying manner. We went downstairs to chat with the building staff and one of the cars parked out front was moving ever so slightly with each big gust. Someone is not going to be happy that they didn't put their parking brake on.

I think it is time for hurricane scotch.
posted by bedhead at 4:21 PM on October 29, 2012

My building has definitely been swaying with the loudest gusts. I'm gonna have super weird dreams tonight, I bet.
posted by prefpara at 4:21 PM on October 29, 2012

You know, being the greatest city in the world, you'd think our local newscasters would be worth a damn. But. Really. Pretty terrible.

I've always assumed it's because most of the major media outlets are headquartered here, which probably means that the good ones get snapped up quickly. In order to be stuck at the local affiliate level in New York, you have to be distinctively mediocre.

I also feel like because there's a sense that NY is the center of the universe, people don't feel that they have to depend on local coverage, and thus they don't hold local newscasters to a high standard. Meanwhile, if you ask people in southeastern Louisiana, the sun rises and sets based on Norman Bell and Susan Roesgen's whims.
posted by Sara C. at 4:21 PM on October 29, 2012

We're doing asparagus and gnocchi with sage butter, prosciutto, garlic and parmesan. Bittman's goddamn sugar cookie recipe resulted in some sort of cracker-like monstrosity.
posted by brina at 4:22 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

ALL GAWKER SITES ARE DOWN.... REPEAT ALL GAWKER SITES ARE DOWN... WE HAVE LOCATED SILVER LINING.
posted by eyeballkid at 4:22 PM on October 29, 2012 [33 favorites]

wolf blitzer was talking about a storm in the 60s which "literally tore long island in half"

that sounds like a bad storm
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:22 PM on October 29, 2012 [11 favorites]

Power is intermittent here but most on for that last couple of hours
posted by humanfont at 4:22 PM on October 29, 2012

My 80 year old mother is visiting New York from Florida, she just called to say they were going out for ice cream (upper west side). Is it that quiet there now?
posted by InkaLomax at 4:23 PM on October 29, 2012

My apartment is getting such a weird reaction - the wind is whipping down Clinton Avenue by my front window and I can hear the roof creaking in the kitchen, but go into my own room - which overlooks the back of the building - and, nothing. I can HEAR wind, but it's got nowhere near the force as in the front of the building. It is BIZARRE.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:23 PM on October 29, 2012

Philly -- still have power and 4 dozen chocolate chip cookies. Wind is making streetlights outside sway, which is eerie. We're having penne with swiss chard, red peppers, onions, and hot Italian sausage for dinner.
posted by coppermoss at 4:23 PM on October 29, 2012

Flooding reported in the Dumbo section of Brooklyn.
posted by jason's_planet at 4:23 PM on October 29, 2012

what WOULD happen if this storm hit next week, over election day?
posted by changeling at 4:23 PM on October 29, 2012

"BREAKING: The water level at the Battery in #NYC has reached 11.25 feet, surpassing the all-time record of 11.2 feet set in 1821."

Well. Sadness. Hoping to see images to see what the damage is like.
posted by sciencegeek at 4:23 PM on October 29, 2012

Uh, no. UWS is INSANE right now.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:23 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah well, I suspected as much.
posted by InkaLomax at 4:24 PM on October 29, 2012

The power was out here for a couple hours, but is back now. Work was canceled today, which they never do except under the direst of circumstances. They now chirpily expect thngs to be business as usual tomorrow. Gusts seem to be picking up again. I am drinking Victory Golden Monkey.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 4:24 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Buzzfeed is down.
posted by desjardins at 4:25 PM on October 29, 2012

I've never thought reading all these hurricane updates would make me so damn hungry.
posted by perhapses at 4:25 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

wolf blitzer was talking about a storm in the 60s which "literally tore long island in half"

that sounds like a bad storm

It's true - look on an old map. Before the other half sunk, it was known as "Very Long Island".
posted by Flunkie at 4:25 PM on October 29, 2012 [17 favorites]

You have to watch this: http://www.ustream.tv/occupiedair
posted by Neilopolis at 4:25 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

> I've broken out the Southern Tier creme brulee stout to go with some apples and cheddar.

Karmakaze, if teleportation technology existed, I would so offer to be your new best friend right now...

And I'd bring some Monterey Jack and frozen mini peanut butter cups to the party.
posted by booksherpa at 4:27 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Riverside & 105, watching 28 Weeks Later and it's getting rough out there. Big dog is pacing, staring at us. Wine and beer flowing.
posted by thinkpiece at 4:27 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm not enjoying watching this. The flooding of lower Manhattan is definitely happening.
posted by Neilopolis at 4:27 PM on October 29, 2012

Empress -- Clinton Ave is a total wind tunnel. It's so noticeable that, in the winter, I almost exclusively walk on Waverly instead.

Earlier today when everyone else was like "the weather is not bad at all", I thought they were all insane. Then I remembered that when I went outside, I was on Wind Tunnel Avenue.
posted by Sara C. at 4:27 PM on October 29, 2012

There are whitecaps in the flooded street behind my apartment.

I see some lights across the hudson in lower manhattan but possibly few than normal - hard to tell with all the fog & rain.
posted by lyra4 at 4:28 PM on October 29, 2012

The Battery tide gauge chart is now off the chart.
posted by Jahaza at 4:28 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

what WOULD happen if this storm hit next week, over election day?

As a two-time California poll inspector, I was explicitly trained that if an earthquake or power outage happened on Election Day, we would NOT under any circumstances stop the election, because "voting! never! stops!". If the building housing the polling place is declared unsafe halfway through the day, we are supposed to just move outside and keep going.

I'm not sure that these instructions would still apply to a multi-state disaster situation where heading outside to vote could actually kill ya, but there you go.
posted by Asparagirl at 4:28 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I think it may be time to bust out the booze. I think this very fine Midleton Irish Whiskey should do it.
posted by idest at 4:30 PM on October 29, 2012

Here in Philadelphia, I can't really hear the wind outside. The cats have gone to sleep. The newscasters are mostly talking about South Jersey, though Darby Creek is a popular spot. The power is still on. It has been mostly a rainy day with occasional gusts of wind. I'm not complaining, mind you.
posted by Peach at 4:31 PM on October 29, 2012

> You have to watch this: http://www.ustream.tv/occupiedair


Aaaahhhhh water ahhhhhhh power cords
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:32 PM on October 29, 2012

chocolate martini up here.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:32 PM on October 29, 2012

DC so far has not been too bad. It's been like a crappy rainy day, but the wind has picked up and the rain is starting to be more in earnest, and we'll see what tomorrow brings.
posted by OmieWise at 4:33 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh Karmikaze! I have finished the Dogfish 120 and will now join you in a Southern Tier Unearthly (so glad I stocked my fridge with IPA's I wanted to try a few weeks ago and have been too busy to drink them all).
Also LOVE the Southern Tier 2XIPA...
posted by newpotato at 4:33 PM on October 29, 2012

How are everyone's wind chimes doing?
posted by futz at 4:33 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Uh, no. UWS is INSANE right now.

I'm prob 10-20 blocks higher than you but it is fine here. I just went outside and it was gusty but not really raining. Supermarket still has fruits and vegetables out. I only closed one window so far because stack effect was slamming my doors.
posted by Ad hominem at 4:33 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

My sister lives in China and is texting me asking about the storm. As usual, she comes bearing ridiculous rumors about current events- namely, that the Statue of Liberty is underwater. She must have one really, REALLY dumb friend...
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:33 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

I did not know about this Southern Tier Creme Brule Stout. Must resist going out to look for some.
posted by mountmccabe at 4:34 PM on October 29, 2012

(The chart has now recentered to give a top level of 14 feet, previously it was 12.)
posted by Jahaza at 4:34 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Southern NJ, outside of Philly: It's eerily quiet now.
posted by kimberussell at 4:34 PM on October 29, 2012

PinkSuperhero - Lady Liberty appears to have lost power (her torch is not lit, so far as I can see, no lights on the island) but she is still standing & not underwater just yet. ;)
posted by lyra4 at 4:35 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

IT SOUNDS LIKE IM STRAPPED TO THE MAST OF A SHIP ABOUT TO BE DEVOURED BY THE MIGHTYLY GOD OF THE SEA
posted by The Whelk at 4:36 PM on October 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

I have officially opened a bottle of 2010 Domaine de Fontsainte Corbieres.

It sounds fancy, but it was $13, so.

Definitely going down easy, though.
posted by Sara C. at 4:36 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

IPA is hellspawn, but I'm so with you on Southern Tier. If the bottle of Mokah I have wasn't so large (and me the only drinker) that would have been my beverage of choice this evening.

Also, Central NJ, wind picking up, raining but not too bad. Our river levels actually look like they'll stay below flood stage pretty much.
posted by booksherpa at 4:36 PM on October 29, 2012

The Whelk, since when are you Gary Sinise?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:36 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

High wind warnings are posted from Northern Michigan to Lake Okeechobee, Florida, and from Chicago to Maine. All-time low pressure records have been set at Atlantic City, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, and Wilmington Delaware. The rain is coming down in sheets along the east coast, where heavy rain stretches from Virginia to Pennsylvania and New York....

Storm warnings are posted for Tuesday on Lake Michigan near Chicago, where sustained 55 - 60 mph winds and waves of 20 - 25 feet are expected. Storm warnings are posted on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, and high winds from Sandy blowing off of Lake Erie caused damage to signs in Port Clinton, Ohio this afternoon.

(via Jeff Masters's latest wunderblog)
posted by argonauta at 4:36 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I CAN'T HEAR MY SO IN THE NEXT ROOM BECAUSE OF THE WIND NOISE
posted by The Whelk at 4:37 PM on October 29, 2012

Southern MD, down by the Chesapeake Bay: Water levels are good, wind is howling outside. Looking at the radar, we've got a band overhead right now, and I'm watching a snow band the height of Virginia and about a quarter of the width bearing down on us as I type. I wonder if it'll still be frozen when it gets here or if it'll just be more rain.

Power and internet holding up so far.
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 4:37 PM on October 29, 2012

How are everyone's wind chimes doing?

SO GLAD YOU ASKED. We have a neighbor with a buoy bell hanging on a second-story window frame. Many a breezy night I have laid in bed daydreaming about setting their entire home afire shimmying up a drainpipe and sneakily removing their wind chime. Of course, in a hurricane, it CLANG CLANG CLANGS like a terror from hell.
posted by Elsa at 4:37 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

AND WHERE, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY IS ELIZARDBITS?

I'm worried.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:37 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

We just watched last night's Walking Dead. Heavy wind and rain here in Fredericksburg VA but it's not window rattling wind.
posted by COD at 4:38 PM on October 29, 2012

Flickering lights here.
posted by ocherdraco at 4:38 PM on October 29, 2012

Neilopolis: You have to watch this: http://www.ustream.tv/occupiedair

It is so weird that I can click on a link and suddenly I'm inside a couple's house on the other side of the world watching them deal with their apartment flooding due to a hurricane.

It's stuff like that which reminds me how changed the world has become.
posted by Kattullus at 4:38 PM on October 29, 2012 [9 favorites]

nonane and I get the impression, reading this thread, that we should be drinking more.
posted by dmd at 4:39 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

>AND WHERE, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY IS ELIZARDBITS?

I was just thinking that. And Sonika's husband has been laying low too...
posted by chela at 4:39 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

ELIZARDBITS IS COMMUNING WITH THE DARK FORCES
posted by The Whelk at 4:39 PM on October 29, 2012

The live streaming guy on weather.com is starting to freak out. The guy of course outside in the flooded and flooding battery park area.
posted by bquarters at 4:40 PM on October 29, 2012

The weather channel guy is at Battery Park City - and I'm desperate to see anything from The Battery. Gnawing fingernails now.
posted by sciencegeek at 4:41 PM on October 29, 2012

OMG U GUIZE...ELIZARDBITS IS SANDY!!!1!!one!! Ever notice they're never in the same room or on MetaFilter at the same time? :-O
posted by 1000monkeys at 4:41 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

And Sonika's husband has been laying low too...

Comic Relief Husband is sitting next to me playing a video game and very much wondering what all the fuss is about. To be fair, the wind in Boston has largely died down and he only got up to "Geeeeeee" on his impressed scale - didn't even merit a "Oh my God." Not to say it couldn't get worse again, but... since he's been home, he's largely been trying to either clean or do things that would inevitably destroy the house or one of its inhabitants.

Which is, of course, so much better than being trapped at work without underpants.

Yes, I did laundry. He has plenty of clean underpants here. He can change underpants every hour if he feels like it.
posted by sonika at 4:42 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

elizardbits currently has her hands full with a Balrog. When she comes back, she will be elizardbits the White, awesomer than ever.
posted by Danf at 4:42 PM on October 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

NOAA Report from the Battery

Latest observed value: 11.25 feet at 7:00 P.M. EDT 29-October-2012

Flood Stage is 6.7 Feet
posted by jason's_planet at 4:42 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'll send you ridin' ah on the storm

I don't even know, my brother found this when we were kids and I still don't understand
posted by ninjew at 4:43 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I CAN'T HEAR MY SO IN THE NEXT ROOM BECAUSE OF THE WIND NOISE

Psyche that's just me making very realistic whooshing noises over a loud public address system to mess with you.
posted by humanfont at 4:43 PM on October 29, 2012

Why is our bathroom ceiling leaking? It's not even raining very hard. I can only assume it has to do with someone's water bathtub.
posted by dysh at 4:43 PM on October 29, 2012

To give a true picture of how insane this storm is, this animated map of the wind in the continental United States is a good illustration. I point this out because we lost power here in the suburbs of Atlanta because the wind is blowing 25 mph and gusting to 40 here, nearly a thousand miles from the center of the storm.

Stay safe up there y'all.
posted by ob1quixote at 4:44 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

IPA is hellspawn

Yes, perhaps, but I've recently discovered that I like really hoppy beer. Like, REALLY HOPPY. And so far the IPAs have delivered the most hoppiness I can find.
I am extremely open to suggestions of other varieties to try to satisfy this need for hops.
Also, so as not to be a derail: OMG STORM.
posted by newpotato at 4:44 PM on October 29, 2012

Great, my friends on Facebook are saying "lol, now its not even a hurricane" not understanding that a Post Tropical Cyclone with the force of a Cat 1 Hurricane is not something to mess with.

And that "Hurricane" is a very specific kind of thing, and this is a thing we don't have a name for yet it looks like.
posted by mrzarquon at 4:44 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Triborough bridge is closing (wind gusts of 100 mph) and the runways at LGA are starting to flood.
posted by Stynxno at 4:44 PM on October 29, 2012

AFAIK she is good but will not be here tonight due to reasons.

Shouldn't that be: DUE TO REASONS?

I mean, put some muscle into it.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:45 PM on October 29, 2012

I know the height, I just don't know how high it is in relationship to the gardens that are there. I can guess that things are destroyed, I would like to know how much.
posted by sciencegeek at 4:45 PM on October 29, 2012

My husband wants to watch the Lion King while we drink. Fantastic night as long as the lights stay on.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:46 PM on October 29, 2012

Apparently there are cars floating on Wall Street.
posted by idest at 4:46 PM on October 29, 2012

My quiche came out tasty! Looks like we'll have power for the last 15 minutes of work, at least, but lots of my friends in Brooklyn are starting to post to facebook about scary wind noises and cracked windows. Worryin'.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 4:46 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

So the thread will be devoid of cupcake comments for awhile?
posted by futz at 4:46 PM on October 29, 2012

Every time I look at that wind map I feel humble and puny. Damn.
posted by ambrosia at 4:46 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

From BBC: Hurricane Sandy time-lapse animation from space, courtesy of NASA.
posted by cendawanita at 4:47 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

these occupiedair folks on ustream are aiming for the Darwin awards. Commenters are screaming at them to shut off the breakers in their flooded house.
posted by desjardins at 4:47 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Guys I've got it we rebrand lower Manhattan " New Venice "
posted by The Whelk at 4:47 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

I've never been through a hurricane, and am more than a little surprised that hurricane food apparently = quiche.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:47 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I hope all mefites and their loved ones stay safe. Insane weather plus blizzards, and high winds, and power outages, I am follwing news from here in the uk. Frightening stuff.
posted by Faintdreams at 4:48 PM on October 29, 2012

Found a picture of a bit north of the gardens.
flood

They're gone. oh crap.
posted by sciencegeek at 4:48 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Building collapse in Chelsea. Gods revenge against 'the gays!'

Original target was G Lounge ... missed, but still retribution against 'the geh!'
posted by ericb at 4:48 PM on October 29, 2012

God I can't even imagine what central park must look like right now, we lost like 2/3 rds of the old trees last year, yikes.
posted by The Whelk at 4:49 PM on October 29, 2012

Yes, perhaps, but I've recently discovered that I like really hoppy beer. Like, REALLY HOPPY.

That explains it, then. Me, can't stand hoppy beers. For you, I recommend IPAs and beers that actually have "Hop" in their name.

I did that once, not thinking. Bleah!
posted by booksherpa at 4:50 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm one block from the river as well and I'm seriously considering going down there to see if I can detect any flooding. I will report back
posted by Ad hominem at 4:50 PM on October 29, 2012

Imminent Con Ed shutdowns, according to Fire Dept scanner:

-Bowling Green
- Fullton
- Brighton Beach
posted by carter at 4:50 PM on October 29, 2012

Saw on the Twitters that Con Ed is shutting off service in Lower Manhattan. Dunno how many MeFites this affects - may the force be with you and whatnot!
posted by sonika at 4:50 PM on October 29, 2012

This OccupiedAir guy is freaking me out vicariously
posted by SomaSoda at 4:51 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wait - NOW I hear the wind outside in Philadelphia. Pretty impressive.
posted by Peach at 4:51 PM on October 29, 2012

Oh, that must bite hard, sciencegeek. So sorry.
posted by Catch at 4:51 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wow, sciencegeek, that is terrible news. There is going to be a lot of cleanup downtown.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:51 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

this is going to be a snuff film in a minute. can't watch this guy get electrocuted.
posted by desjardins at 4:51 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

crap, sciencegeek, I'm sorry.
posted by shiny blue object at 4:52 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Flooding reported on 14th and Avenue C
posted by jason's_planet at 4:53 PM on October 29, 2012

You have to watch this: http://www.ustream.tv/occupiedair

I had to STOP watching that, yikes. ack. ack. ack.
posted by Theta States at 4:53 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Good grief. I'm in a brick building cloistered on all sides by taller buildings and this wind is still SHAKING MY BUILDING.
posted by davidjmcgee at 4:53 PM on October 29, 2012

oh wow, even the newscasters are leaving battery park, the benches are under water.
posted by larthegreat at 4:54 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm one block from the river as well and I'm seriously considering going down there to see if I can detect any flooding. I will report back


Definitely don't go out. I just got some text messages from the husband (he is out working in this) and he was stressing that it's not safe at all outside in NYC right now. Stay inside, stay away from the windows.
posted by lyra4 at 4:55 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

newpotato: " I am extremely open to suggestions of other varieties to try to satisfy this need for hops. "

Much of the Troeg's lineup is "A hoppier interpretation of style X" so if you find a style you like, see of Troeg's makes it. Their Dead Reckoning Porter is a top-notch hoppy porter, and if you like wheat beers, give their Dream Weaver wheat a shot -- not my favorite style, but definitely a refreshing summertime brew.
posted by tonycpsu at 4:55 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, when I posted that OccupiedAir link, he was documenting the flooding of the West Side Highway. I didn't count on what would happen next. I've stopped watching.
posted by Neilopolis at 4:55 PM on October 29, 2012

this is a thing we don't have a name for yet it looks like.

Blizzardcane. Hurrizard. Deathstorm 3000. The Avenging Swirl.
posted by emjaybee at 4:56 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

chelsea piers

also, our sketchy former neighbors who borrow 20 bucks once a month (and they repay it), just called to ask if they could come over and borrow 20 bucks. they live about two blocks from here but seriously, are they that desperate for cigarettes?
posted by sciencegeek at 4:56 PM on October 29, 2012

12.93' at The Battery. And still an hour 'til high tide.
posted by hwyengr at 4:57 PM on October 29, 2012

Wow, this OccupiedAir stream...they need to gtfo!
posted by m0nm0n at 4:57 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I didn't count on what would happen next. I've stopped watching.

There's like 24" of water on the floor and he's looking for things to unplug. He just said, "And it's saltwater, too, so it's, like, super fucking conductive."

Girl with the camera is crying.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:58 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I just went out to the westside highway in Hell's Kitchen to see the flooding in Riverside Park South and around the Intrepid and Circle Line piers. Some (self-link, sorry) pics are here.
posted by minervous at 4:58 PM on October 29, 2012

This OccupiedAir stream is making me really nervous. They really should get away from the downstairs area. Aughs.
posted by lizarrd at 4:58 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Jane's Carousel in Dumbo surrounded by water. :(
posted by precipice at 4:58 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

From off-screen: "I'm okay Joseph, I'm on a raft"
posted by mudpuppie at 4:59 PM on October 29, 2012

What do non-English-speaking people say when it’s raining cats and dogs? Here are 16 idioms that mean “heavy rain” from around the world.

1. Argentina: “It’s raining dung head-first.”
In Spanish: Esta lloviendo caen soretes de punta.

2. China Hong Kong: “Dog poo is falling.”
In Cantonese: 落狗屎

3. Denmark: “It’s raining cobbler boys,” or “raining shoemakers’ apprentices.”
In Danish: Det regner skomagerdrenge.

4. France: “It’s raining like a pissing cow.”
In French: Il pleut comme vache qui pisse.

5. Faroe Islands: “It’s raining pilot whales.”
In Faroese: Tað regnar av grind.

6. Finland: The direct translation (apparently) is “It’s raining as from Esteri’s ass,” but a better interpretation is “It’s raining like Esther sucks,” which can be used for both rain and snow. The origin is disputed here, but the phrase comes either from an old brand of water pumps used by firemen, or a goddess Esteri who has mostly disappeared from history except for in this idiom. (Anyone have additional info on this story?)
In Finnish: Sataa kuin Esterin perseestä.

7. Germany: “It’s raining puppies.”
In German: Es regnet junge Hunde.

8. Greece: “It’s raining chair legs.”
In Greek: Rixnei kareklopodara. (βρέχει καρεκλοπόδαρα)

9. Ireland: “It’s throwing cobblers’ knives.”
In Irish: Tá sé ag caitheamh sceana gréasaí.

10. The Netherlands: “It’s raining old women,” and “It’s raining pipestems.”
In Dutch: Het regent oude wijven and Het regent pijpestelen.

11. Norway: “It’s raining troll women,” or “It’s raining witches.”
In Norwegian: Det regner trollkjerringer.

12. Poland, France, Romania: “It’s raining frogs.”
In Polish: Pada żabami.
In French: Il pleut des grenouilles.
In Romanian: Plouă cu broaşte.

13. Portugal, Brazil, and other Portuguese-speaking countries: “It’s raining pocketknives,” and “It’s raining frogs’ beards.”
In Portuguese: Está chovendo canivetes or Está chovendo barba de sapo.

14. Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia: “The rain kills the mice.”
In Serbian: Pada kiša, ubi miša. (Пада киша уби миша)

15. Slovakia, Czech Republic: “Tractors are falling.”
In Slovak: Padajú traktory.

16. South Africa and Namibia: “It’s raining old women with clubs.”
In Afrikaans: Ou vrouens met knopkieries reen.
posted by netbros at 4:59 PM on October 29, 2012 [51 favorites]

I had to turn the stream off, but right before I stopped, he was right at the main breaker box and didn't turn it off. I really hope it works out for them after that. :(
posted by tonycpsu at 4:59 PM on October 29, 2012

They're calling the fire department. Good idea.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:59 PM on October 29, 2012

Checking in from Northwest Baltimore: So far, so good. Power has flickered, but hasn't gone out. We've developed one roof leak, and I can hear the house creaking in the wind. I'm quite worried about a large tree in our yard; if it comes down I just hope it doesn't hit anything important. Otherwise, we're safe and dry.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:00 PM on October 29, 2012

This is apparently Stuy Town pretty much underwater (Facebook link will work for people not logged in).
posted by davidjmcgee at 5:00 PM on October 29, 2012

To give a true picture of how insane this storm is, this animated map of the wind in the continental United States is a good illustration. I point this out because we lost power here in the suburbs of Atlanta because the wind is blowing 25 mph and gusting to 40 here, nearly a thousand miles from the center of the storm.

Friends in Livonia (a suburb of Detroit) just lost their power because of the crazy wind. We still have it here in Toledo, but the wind is gusting so hard that the house is shaking. The boxer keeps going to look out the window and the pit bull is running around in circles like a wild thing. This is her first wind storm, she doesn't appear to be amused. The cat? He has no fucks to give.

I hope everyone in the East is holding up well and isn't without power for too long.
posted by MissySedai at 5:00 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

(They saved the beer, and they're out of tobacco. Disaster has occurred.)
posted by mudpuppie at 5:01 PM on October 29, 2012

That picture of Stuy Town is insane. I can't believe this. Incredible. On Friday I thought I was being pessimistic about the storm.
posted by sciencegeek at 5:02 PM on October 29, 2012

Just walked outside briefly, northwest of Philly. Blustery, billowing, rain going sideways. Lightning. The sky's a strange gray color.
posted by jetlagaddict at 5:02 PM on October 29, 2012

That Battery tide data is off the chart again.
posted by futz at 5:02 PM on October 29, 2012

Thanks netbros, that's awesome.
posted by insectosaurus at 5:02 PM on October 29, 2012

I also had to turn that feed off pups. . . .I hope for the best, for every one.
posted by Danf at 5:02 PM on October 29, 2012

Too late. I went over to Riverside on 106. I didn't go downinto the park because trees but I didn't see any flooding and there is still traffic on the west side highway. I definitely saw some large branches down on riverside. My doorman now thinks I am an idiot.
posted by Ad hominem at 5:03 PM on October 29, 2012

Power still on in woodside, going to refresh my buzz then explore outdoors. This thread is too fast for more than scanning.

Friends on the Vineyard report high wind, coastal/ll flooding, but power still on.
posted by vrakatar at 5:04 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm not going to argue with your doorman.
Inside is the place to be right now. Unless you're actively flooding.
posted by sciencegeek at 5:04 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Not a flood, but apparently a street sign just blew down and killed someone here in Toronto. WTF, Sandy?
posted by Go Banana at 5:04 PM on October 29, 2012

They made it to the 2nd floor and are really sweary but alive.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:04 PM on October 29, 2012

Much of the Troeg's lineup is "A hoppier interpretation of style X"

I HAVE THIS IN MY REFRIGERATOR. Well, the Troegs Perpetual IPA. I was gonna grab the Three Heads Brewing Loopy next but that is getting pushed to the back of the shelf as I try the Troegs.
I seriously hope this storm lightens up cuz I think I'm gonna need someone to hold my hair for me at this pace...
posted by newpotato at 5:05 PM on October 29, 2012

I was walking under the opening for whole house fan when the wind blew the levers open for a second. There was a instant wind blast and then they slammed shut with a bang. I thought it was over. Seems to be holding now. Fuck this is exceptionally scary.
posted by humanfont at 5:05 PM on October 29, 2012

Yep, they went upstairs.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:05 PM on October 29, 2012

I've never been through a hurricane, and am more than a little surprised that hurricane food apparently = quiche.

It's just one thing you could cook, but MetaFilter is a quiche and tell site.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:06 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Hey, by the way people, I've been home sick today with a FrankenCold. I just made some chicken noodle soup (homemade, with the best homemade chicken stock you've ever tasted, made with two HEADS of garlic), and I'm sending you all a virtual bowl of soup. Be careful, it's hot.
posted by mudpuppie at 5:06 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Much of the Troeg's lineup is "A hoppier interpretation of style X

Troeg's Nugget Nectar is one of mankind's greatest achievements.
posted by COD at 5:07 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Somebody on NBC reporting that there is some evacuation going on in Stuy-Town.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:07 PM on October 29, 2012

To clarify this happened inside the house.
posted by humanfont at 5:07 PM on October 29, 2012

Now the dude is walking down to the corner of their (flooded) street. But at least he had a smoke.
posted by mudpuppie at 5:07 PM on October 29, 2012

Aaand that was a tree falling across power lines and perpendicularly across the road. Good night, folks.
posted by Karmakaze at 5:08 PM on October 29, 2012

No! Don't go in the water!
posted by Mouse Army at 5:08 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

theyre evacuating parts of chinatown as per the news now... not sure how accurate that is.
posted by larthegreat at 5:08 PM on October 29, 2012

You are not helping the Occupy cause's reputation any, buddy.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:10 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

I'm in this weird place where I'm very full of dinner but keep thinking: "I should eat a fig newton. That would make things better."

Do I eat emotionally? Yes, I eat emotionally.
posted by Sara C. at 5:10 PM on October 29, 2012 [13 favorites]

News is reporting that parts of the east village are flooding. Water is now 4 blocks east of us. Hoping it doesn't come any further in.
posted by bedhead at 5:10 PM on October 29, 2012

I guess I'd like to also request that we not live blog that feed with the stupid people. It is not helping my hurricane anxiety.
posted by ocherdraco at 5:10 PM on October 29, 2012

Out the back windows of our apartment it really seems like the whole world is being systematically uprooted. Out the front windows, everything seems wet but unharmed. I can totally understand someone going out in this thinking it's not so bad (after all, it wasn't bad all day here), and then getting hit by the wind without expecting it. Definitely not safe. Booming noises seem to have stopped here, though.
posted by Mchelly at 5:11 PM on October 29, 2012

For those who don't want to click that Occupied Air link, this is what's been happening.

Occupied Air is some kind of internet television stations associated with Occupy Wall Street. They were documenting flooding on the West Side Highway, when water started to flood into the apartment they are in. There were two people in the apartment, a couple, and they started to do two things, unplugging all of their electrical equipment, and panicking. Water kept flooding their apartment and then something started smoking. The smoke filled up their apartment. It took them a really long time to finally give in an turn off the breakers. During all this the couple kept panicking and it got quite hard to watch. Finally, the guy turned off the breakers and the couple moved up to a second floor apartment. Now the guy is back outside documenting the flooding.

They are safe now.
posted by Kattullus at 5:11 PM on October 29, 2012 [9 favorites]

Worcester, MA checking in. Everything's peachy here at the top of Bancroft Hill.
posted by xbonesgt at 5:11 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Cool, well, I'm glad their predicament is entertaining for you? I'm not trying to be an asshole but it's not really a funny situation. Maybe I'm reading your tone wrong.

I'm actually kind of dismayed, not entertained. But I get your point, and I'll stop. Apologies.
posted by mudpuppie at 5:12 PM on October 29, 2012

1. Argentina: “It’s raining dung head-first.”
In Spanish: Esta lloviendo caen soretes de punta.

The correct phrase is "Están cayendo soretes de punta". Literally, "Turds are falling vertically/head-first."
posted by palbo at 5:12 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh I wish I had fig newtons.

Since the wind appears to mostly be dying down in Boston, basically I used the day as an excuse to study a little, eat a lot, and dick around on Metafilter.

My thoughts are with those of you in NYC. Don't take any stupid chances, please.
posted by dismas at 5:12 PM on October 29, 2012

Same and same.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:13 PM on October 29, 2012

Finally, the guy turned off the breakers and the couple moved up to a second floor apartment.

Was watching this but had to stop - but at one point someone was saying "The breakers are off" and all the lights were still on.
posted by carter at 5:13 PM on October 29, 2012

Not a flood, but apparently a street sign just blew down and killed someone here in Toronto. WTF, Sandy?

Yes, just down the street from my place. (Part of a large Staples sign, not a street sign.) I was out in that plaza midday today when the wind was maybe 25-35 km/hour, and it wasn't much windier about 90 minutes ago, but it's been gusting hard for the past hour, just enough for an accident like that to happen. Poor woman. I wonder if she was just on her way home from work: there's a bus stop right there.
posted by maudlin at 5:13 PM on October 29, 2012

Are these the same people who tweet under the OccuWeather account who are/were in a boat of some kind docked at Chelsea Piers? Because they are also making me nervous.
posted by Sara C. at 5:13 PM on October 29, 2012

Post-Tropical Cyclone SANDY Update Statement

Home Public Adv Fcst Adv Discussion Wind Probs Graphics Archive

US Watch/Warning UPDATE

000
WTNT63 KNHC 300002
TCUAT3

POST-TROPICAL CYCLONE SANDY TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATE
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL182012
800 PM EDT MON OCT 29 2012

...POST-TROPICAL CYCLONE SANDY MAKES LANDFALL ALONG THE COAST
OF SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY...

SUMMARY OF 800 PM EDT...0000 UTC...INFORMATION
8 PM UPDATE
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...39.4N 74.5W
ABOUT 5 MI...10 KM SW OF ATLANTIC CITY NEW JERSEY
ABOUT 40 MI...65 KM NE OF CAPE MAY NEW JERSEY
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...80 MPH...130 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...WNW OR 300 DEGREES AT 23 MPH...37 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...946 MB...27.93 INCHES

SURFACE...RADAR...AND AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT
DATA INDICATE THAT POST-TROPICAL CYCLONE SANDY MADE LANDFALL NEAR
ATLANTIC CITY NEW JERSEY AROUND 800 PM EDT...0000 UTC...WITH
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS OF 80 MPH...130 KM/H.

NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE TIDE GAUGES HAVE RECENTLY REPORTED STORM
SURGE HEIGHTS OF 11.9 FEET AT KINGS POINT NEW YORK...8.4 FEET
AT THE BATTERY NEW YORK...AND 8.6 FEET AT SANDY HOOK NEW JERSEY.
posted by futz at 5:14 PM on October 29, 2012

Was there just some giant explosion in brooklyn? There ws a really loud as thrumming/banging noise and the whole horizon lit up for about 2 seconds...what was that????
posted by newpotato at 5:14 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

The streaming people have gone off air now anyways, he's headed back in. Hopefully they will be safe and sound and have a crazy story to tell their friends.
posted by 1000monkeys at 5:14 PM on October 29, 2012

Are there any local NYC stations with a live stream going?
posted by gjc at 5:15 PM on October 29, 2012

News 12 NJ newscaster who was down by the Grove Street PATH entrance talking about the flooding on the nearby streets said that there were reports of a building collapse in Jersey City Heights. I'm not turning up anything in a google search, though I did hear some sirens in the distance.
posted by oh yeah! at 5:15 PM on October 29, 2012

(My apt windows face the williamsburg bridge and bkln and though I can't see the buildings in bkln I see the sky above them)
posted by newpotato at 5:15 PM on October 29, 2012

Btw, thanks for the concern. I will stay in now, just had to know.Those of us uptown are in one of the highest parts of manhattan so I don't think we are in any danger.
posted by Ad hominem at 5:16 PM on October 29, 2012

gjc: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/live-video-two/
posted by mudpuppie at 5:16 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Crazy blue/green flashes in South Slope. Transformers? Seriously nuts.
posted by unknowncommand at 5:17 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

So far, lots and lots of rain and a decent bit of wind, but nothing else in Northern Delaware.... It looks like it should pass almost directly over us between 10pm and 2am. (I have to check again for a more precise time.)
posted by JMOZ at 5:17 PM on October 29, 2012

jesus, Greg Nog.
posted by desjardins at 5:17 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

con ed plant on 14th st had an explosion.
https://twitter.com/Newyorkist/status/263071268683804673
transformer
posted by sciencegeek at 5:17 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Wind Map is pretty amazing right now.

The wind has died down and we just have a drizzle here in Western Mass. I think it's going to get more intense overnight. There are a lot of trees down and power outages in neighboring towns, but we're okay for now.
posted by apricot at 5:18 PM on October 29, 2012

what was that????

Transformer going up?
posted by carter at 5:18 PM on October 29, 2012

Apparently there was an explosion at a Con-Ed plant on 14th street in Manhattan. Which might explain the noise/flashes?
posted by Sara C. at 5:18 PM on October 29, 2012

Those of us uptown are in one of the highest parts of manhattan so I don't think we are in any danger.
It's not just flooding, though. Falling trees, flying debris, etc. The folks who are outside working wear hardhats & other protective gear (and, um, are very very well trained in this stuff). stay inside!
posted by lyra4 at 5:18 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Greg nog, I think I see north williamsburg area so maybe what you're talking about is what I saw, but seriously, the entire horizon lit up and it was a BIG NOISE...
posted by newpotato at 5:19 PM on October 29, 2012

Oh god the noise
posted by The Whelk at 5:19 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm hearing it was a building on Central Avenue that collapsed, oh yeah! The sirens were pretty loud here.
posted by stagewhisper at 5:19 PM on October 29, 2012

Yeah, if someone is already dead in TORONTO from debris, maybe you should stay inside in Manhattan?
posted by 1000monkeys at 5:19 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Close-in Silver Spring again: Still raining, still gusty wind, but nothing that really freaks me out. To be fair, the trees in our neighborhood are mostly quite tall with most of the foliage up high, so it's hard to look out the window and see whether there's tons of wind without peering waaaaay up high (and even more difficult now that it's super dark out).

At any rate, the weather ain't great, but I've seen worse. (Funny story, I grew up on the Texas Gulf coast, like my parents -- and my mom lived through Carla in '61 and Celia in '70 -- but until I moved to DC *two years ago* I had never lived through a direct or near-direct hit from a hurricane. I know a lot about being prepared, and when to evacuate, but had never ridden a storm out until Irene last summer -- and now Sandy.)

Anyway, we're holding steady. Drinking the bottle of Cava our neighbor gave us when we moved in, running the dishwasher, and generally avoiding thinking about what the occasional power flicker means. And trying not to think too much about my 1 year old sleeping upstairs in a room looking out over our back patio that's ringed by trees.
posted by devinemissk at 5:19 PM on October 29, 2012

Hey, you guys in MA are between bands right now. This is (probably?) not over for you guys. Be safe.
posted by Sara C. at 5:19 PM on October 29, 2012

Yup, transformers exploding are always a "fun" part of a hurricane event. It happens.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:19 PM on October 29, 2012

Internet out. Winds really violent. Car alarms all over the place. I have a fear of going to sleep, as my bed is next to an exterior wall and I am now paranoid about facade collapse.
posted by idest at 5:20 PM on October 29, 2012

Not a flood, but apparently a street sign just blew down and killed someone here in Toronto. WTF, Sandy?

That was at Keele and St. Clair. According to the TTC, there were downed power lines in Scarborough (Bellamy/Progress) two hours ago. It has been really windy since about 2:00 this afternoon.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 5:20 PM on October 29, 2012

Rain's picking up. Dag.
posted by dismas at 5:20 PM on October 29, 2012

Woman killed in Toronto by flying debris.
posted by Theta States at 5:20 PM on October 29, 2012

The 14th street trnsformers could definitely be it. They are close enough, maybe 3/4 of a mile away, and huge enough that if there was a big enough explosion I would see the effects
posted by newpotato at 5:20 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

The bang and horizon lighting up was likely a power transformer going. At least that's been my experience during hurricanes.
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 5:21 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hey, you guys in MA are between bands right now. This is (probably?) not over for you guys. Be safe.

There's a big band of rain moving in now, with possible thunder and lightning. The wind seems to be calmer now though it might just feel better because it's dark and I can't see the trees bend.
posted by bondcliff at 5:21 PM on October 29, 2012

That Stuy Town photo -- are there people IN that car? That does not look good at all. That looks really very much not good.
posted by KathrynT at 5:21 PM on October 29, 2012

Yep, power flickering here too, I lost cable then it came back.

It's not just flooding, though. Falling trees, flying debris, etc. The folks who are outside working wear hardhats & other protective gear (and, um, are very very well trained in this stuff). stay inside!

Thanks, Very good point. I will stay inside. I do feel much better knowing the river isn't at my doorstep yet.
posted by Ad hominem at 5:22 PM on October 29, 2012

Queens: Lithonia Ave & 166 St Tree fell on a person, FDNY on scene confirming victim is DOA on scene.

(stay inside!)

wind is totally picking up here again. microwaving some leftover chinese food & brewing coffee.
posted by lyra4 at 5:22 PM on October 29, 2012

Holy crap the whole sky just lit up and there was a wailing final hiss howl
posted by The Whelk at 5:23 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm in this weird place where I'm very full of dinner but keep thinking: "I should eat a fig newton. That would make things better."

Do I eat emotionally? Yes, I eat emotionally.

I will be coming out of this hurricane not only intact, but also 10 lbs heavier.
posted by sallybrown at 5:23 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

13.26ft tide recorded at The Battery, NY. Still not high tide.
posted by panaceanot at 5:24 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

THE WIND IS DORWNING OUT DUSTY SPRINGFIELD
posted by The Whelk at 5:25 PM on October 29, 2012

The mayor is tweeting to tell New Yorkers to stay inside.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 5:25 PM on October 29, 2012

Cuomo reports Holland Tunnel is flooding.
Report: Water cascading into south tube of Holland Tunnel
posted by lyra4 at 5:25 PM on October 29, 2012

I have just authorized a release from the Strategic Scotch Whisky Reserve.
posted by xbonesgt at 5:27 PM on October 29, 2012 [16 favorites]

Please be safe and sensible everyone.

Signed,

every MeFite not in the shitstorm.
posted by SomaSoda at 5:27 PM on October 29, 2012 [19 favorites]

Googling on "It’s raining like a pissing cow" was good fun.

When Hurricane Ike was approaching Houston back in '08 our local congressional fucking tool John Culberson was on my news talk radio station telling us to make sure we had food and water and radio batteries and plenty of ammunition. A bunch of the neighborhood had no power for a few days but nobody that I personally knew had any problems bigger than that. The first time I went to the grocery store after the storm they had a line to get in and I had to wait ten minutes. That was the single biggest impact it had on me personally other than I woke up at three in the morning and loose shingles were flopping up on the roof and I was afraid for a few seconds the roof was going to blow off.
posted by bukvich at 5:28 PM on October 29, 2012

They're suggesting that people with houses in low elevations evacuate...

in Wisconsin.
posted by desjardins at 5:28 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I need to dispute your translation here: "..., but a better interpretation is “It’s raining like Esther sucks”

It doesn't make any sense in Finnish either and I'd guess that nobody I know would know the origin, so the literal translation is the best idea of the meaning.
posted by zeikka at 5:28 PM on October 29, 2012

Yes, it just got very quiet here in Clinton Hill.
posted by Sara C. at 5:29 PM on October 29, 2012

Wind had died down quite a bit in Boston, but I hear it picking up a bit more.

Also, Comic Relief Husband is showering which totally woke the tot and all we need is the power to go out RIGHT NOW to make this comedy GOLD.

(Also: geeeez NYC. Thinking safe and dry thoughts for you.)
posted by sonika at 5:29 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

re:http://newyork.cbslocal.com/live-video-two/

I had forgotten what it was like to watch a local station without being bombarded with political ads.
posted by COD at 5:30 PM on October 29, 2012

Ate three fig newtons. May explode.

(But, yes, it made everything better. And, shit, the wind is back.)
posted by Sara C. at 5:30 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

In the Philly suburbs - soon to be the eye of the storm: wind has gone crazy, but less rain than expected.
posted by blahblahblah at 5:30 PM on October 29, 2012

Gumbo was great, wind is still battering everything. One out of four cats is plainly stupid as she wanted to go out for JUSTFIVEMINUTESISWEAR. Husband just brought me a drink of some sort with lots of bourbon.
posted by ersatzkat at 5:30 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

this is a thing we don't have a name for yet it looks like.

Warren Ellis has a name for it... Ruinstorm.
posted by Slap*Happy at 5:30 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yes, there are periods of eerie silence here in the LES as well. I do not like. I am suspicious of eerie silence during frankenstorm conditions...Lights just came back on full strength-hurrah!
posted by newpotato at 5:31 PM on October 29, 2012

Yeah, I've been "editing my manuscript," i.e. drinking and refreshing this thread a lot.

Me too, eustacescrubb!!
posted by theredpen at 5:31 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well I was just in the middle of writing that in the last 10 mins the wind has really picked up here and the power went out for a second. My house feels like it's getting smacked and it's rumbling. Usually the wind in a storm comes from one direction and right now it seems to becoming from several with my house feeling like where it's meeting. Bamm, bamm.

The storm isn't even here yet. I checked the local weather center and it's only at 25 m/h with gust of 35. Overnight it's supposed to double.

I can't imagine what it's like down south. I don't think my house would survive down there. At least right now it doesn't FEEL like it would. It's kinda freaking my out a bit and I'm used to big storms here. This one just feels different.

Thinking of all of you. :(
posted by Jalliah at 5:32 PM on October 29, 2012

The wind seems to have picked up again in the Boston area and it's raining pretty hard again. Lights still flickering.
posted by Cygnet at 5:32 PM on October 29, 2012

Meanwhile, in North FL where I am, it is slightly chilly and DEAD CALM outside. It feels a little spooky to be hearing about all this weather and step outside to... nothing but autumn, and life going on as normal.

Please stay safe and INDOORS, East Coast Mefites.
posted by subbes at 5:33 PM on October 29, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h55p4jolMLs
more stuy town. video showing rate of water influx.
posted by sciencegeek at 5:33 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

My sister in the East Village says her apartment building is shaking terribly.
posted by Cygnet at 5:34 PM on October 29, 2012

Nothing too terrible in Northern Delaware still (lots of rain). Can anyone suggest a good online tracking map; I'm having trouble figuring out where it is.
posted by JMOZ at 5:35 PM on October 29, 2012

I have never been so grateful to live in Crown Heights, away from the water, as I am right now.
posted by whimsicalnymph at 5:35 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

It took me a while to figure out that the flashes of light I can see across the Hudson in Jersey were transformers blowing and not lightning.
posted by minervous at 5:35 PM on October 29, 2012

Ad hominem, we must have the same cable provider. I have had a couple outages. Internet is back for the moment.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 5:36 PM on October 29, 2012

Yeah, I've also been "writing and editing," eustacescrubb and theredpen, which means having pen and paper on my lap while refreshing and reading this thread.

Like everyone reading this not in Sandy's path, I hope all you people being affected by the storm come out none the worse for wear.
posted by Kattullus at 5:37 PM on October 29, 2012

Huge green lights shooting up from Jersey behind the GWB.
posted by shothotbot at 5:37 PM on October 29, 2012

"writing and editing"

Heh, me too.
posted by carter at 5:38 PM on October 29, 2012

okay going outside with a martini.
posted by vrakatar at 5:38 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Houses across the street from us just lost power but ours is still on but we're only getting a tiny taste what you all are getting back east. Take care all. This is fucking scary.
posted by octothorpe at 5:40 PM on October 29, 2012

New Yorkers... I'm so worried about you right now. Please be careful and stay safe.
posted by crackingdes at 5:40 PM on October 29, 2012

no more power in the east village. time to start battery rationing.
posted by larthegreat at 5:40 PM on October 29, 2012

REMAIN INDOORS
posted by subbes at 5:40 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Just lost power in Stuytown!
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:41 PM on October 29, 2012

A friend of mine in Queens just said she saw a large flash and then most of Manhattan below 42nd lost power.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 5:41 PM on October 29, 2012

Ad hominem, we must have the same cable provider. I have had a couple outages. Internet is back for the moment.

TWC, I think my installation is particularly bad though, I lose cable every time it rains. I don't like this flickering lights business at all though.
posted by Ad hominem at 5:41 PM on October 29, 2012

Brooklyn Battery Tunnel
posted by bowmaniac at 5:42 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Some of the usual voices in this thread have gone dreadfully silent. I'm sure you have more important things to be doing right now, but hope you're all okay.
posted by Jehan at 5:42 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

FDNY units reporting power out from 14th south, "as far as they can see"...

Anyone in that area still have power and able to post?
posted by rollbiz at 5:42 PM on October 29, 2012

Power is flickering even here in MI. There are outages in the Thumb and Detroit area. 50 mph winds coming off Lake Huron. Obviously nothing like the East coast, but this is an insanely large storm.
posted by MaritaCov at 5:43 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I really hope everyone is ok out there. Get somewhere safe!
posted by milestogo at 5:44 PM on October 29, 2012

Friend in Murray Hill around 39th Street posts on Twitter that power is out there.
posted by Jahaza at 5:44 PM on October 29, 2012

8:15PM EDT October 29. 2012 - BALTIMORE — With Sandy barreling into Maryland late Monday, curators at the National Aquarium prepared with hammocks and flashlights for a night with 16,000 creatures.
...
Nocturnal creatures such as the Empire Gudgeon, which only displays its bright orange, blue or red breeding colors at night, will swim into startling view during a midnight patrol, Fauth says.
...
Portions of the aquarium flooded in 2003 when Isabel roared up the Chesapeake Bay pushing a surge of water ahead of it. The faculty closed while workers scrambled to pump oxygen into the creatures' water tanks with generators to keep them alive.

No animals were lost. "We saved every last cricket," Seyjagat says.
posted by futz at 5:45 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

what WOULD happen if this storm hit next week, over election day?

Then it wouldn't be an October Surprise, silly!
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:45 PM on October 29, 2012

WOW. Looked out the window at lower manhattan - only a few emergency lights on in the buildings. OMG. I can only see up to about WFC, but it is.... all dark. Surreal.
posted by lyra4 at 5:45 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm in northern VT and I'll we've had so far is a little wind, but of course we've already lost power. I swear a bird lands on a power line and the whole town shuts off.

After last year though I really, REALLY hope this is all we get.
posted by pintapicasso at 5:46 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Don't forget about the Triangle of Life if you're in an older home or building!
posted by snsranch at 5:46 PM on October 29, 2012

2 million people now without power in the area.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 5:46 PM on October 29, 2012

Now more than 13.5 feet of storm surge at the Battery.
posted by Jahaza at 5:47 PM on October 29, 2012

Will be keeping fingers and toes crossed for you folks in the line of fire tonight. I'm not a theist, but I'll be hoping extra hard.
posted by Malor at 5:47 PM on October 29, 2012

FDNY scanner broadcasting urgent call for water pumps, apparently Bellevue Hospital is flooding and they can't get their generator running.
posted by rollbiz at 5:48 PM on October 29, 2012

MTA Twitter reports Queens-Midtown tunnel is now closed. That was the last MTA anything still in service.
posted by Jahaza at 5:48 PM on October 29, 2012

That's terrible news. Any word on the situation at Rikers?
posted by stagewhisper at 5:48 PM on October 29, 2012

FDNY scanner broadcasting urgent call for water pumps, apparently Bellevue Hospital is flooding and they can't get their generator running.

Thaaaaaaat's not good.
posted by Sticherbeast at 5:49 PM on October 29, 2012

At 5th Ave and 9th St, we just went dark. We have a fire going in the fireplace, and plenty of candles and AA batteries for flashlights. I figure I can keep my phone going a long while by charging it from my laptop... (if I don't play any Letterpress...) See you on the other side!
posted by nicwolff at 5:49 PM on October 29, 2012

MTA Twitter reports Queens-Midtown tunnel is now closed. That was the last MTA anything still in service.

So Manhattan is now totally cut off, I believe. Be safe over there.
posted by lyra4 at 5:49 PM on October 29, 2012

No power, it just gets worse and worse.

Sitting on West Coast with major concern for everyone in the maelstrom. Stay safe!

You cannot stop New York City
BED-STUY - DO OR DIE!
posted by porn in the woods at 5:50 PM on October 29, 2012

Hmm, occasional flickering in Delaware, but compared to what things look like in NY, I feel pretty lucky so far. Good luck to those who are getting hit harder!
posted by JMOZ at 5:50 PM on October 29, 2012

Greenpoint: cable Internet through TimeWarner just went out. And my iPhone's AT&T data service, which is admittedly never great in Greenpoint, is also down. My iPad's Verizon data plan seems to be working, for the moment.
posted by eustacescrubb at 5:50 PM on October 29, 2012

Interactive map with the following layers (click "open" and choose "map viewer." Once the map comes up, pick your layers by clicking the middle icon under "details.")

Active Hurricanes
Stream Gauges
NOAA Storm Reports
NOAA Wind Speed / Direction
USGS Stream Gauges and Weather Stations
Hurricane Wind Force Probability
US Precipitation Radar
US Weather Watches & Warnings
Surface Wind Velocity (NOAA)
NOAA GOES Visible Image
Web Cameras
National Data Buoy Center

(Note: I did not create this)
posted by desjardins at 5:50 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

5th and 9th in Manhattan, not Brooklyn, right, nicwolff?
posted by dysh at 5:50 PM on October 29, 2012

Extreme Threat Alert Message via cell phone: "Emergency Alert in this area until 8:00 AM GMT Take Shelter Now NYC_OEM"

GMT???? Why?
posted by Jahaza at 5:51 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

All still good at 105 & Riverside. Just a block from Ad Hominem and not a flicker...
posted by thinkpiece at 5:51 PM on October 29, 2012

Yes, Manhattan.
posted by nicwolff at 5:51 PM on October 29, 2012

Photo of Brooklyn Battery Tunnel is of the Hugh Carey Tunnel. Not from NYC so not sure if these are the same.
posted by carter at 5:52 PM on October 29, 2012

The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel was renamed the Hugh Carey Tunnel.
posted by Jeanne at 5:53 PM on October 29, 2012

Extreme Threat Alert Message via cell phone: "Emergency Alert in this area until 8:00 AM GMT Take Shelter Now NYC_OEM"

I have a new phone and that damned noise scared the living crap out of me. Is the same alarm sound the tornado radio used to make in Texas.
posted by zarq at 5:53 PM on October 29, 2012

(they just renamed it)
posted by sciencegeek at 5:54 PM on October 29, 2012

@carter- yes. Same tunnel.
posted by lyra4 at 5:54 PM on October 29, 2012

Also, we still have power and cable in northeastern Queens for now. But the winds are really pounding against the house.
posted by zarq at 5:54 PM on October 29, 2012

Photo of Brooklyn Battery Tunnel is of the Hugh Carey Tunnel. Not from NYC so not sure if these are the same.

Yep, the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel was recently renamed for maximum confusion.
posted by Jahaza at 5:55 PM on October 29, 2012

High wind steady power in woodside. Not too bad out, my martini is still dry.
posted by vrakatar at 5:56 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm not in the thread because I'm huddled in a ball listening to Vera Lynn and waiting for the lights to go out, one hand full of bourbon, the other with an LED flashlight, the the other one in the iPad playing Plague Inc and trying to drown out the howling lovecraftian wind outside.
posted by The Whelk at 5:56 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

My sister in the East Village has suddenly stopped responding to me even though we were in touch every 15 minutes or so all afternoon. Does anybody know if the cell phone towers are out? I know she has lost power...
posted by Cygnet at 5:57 PM on October 29, 2012

Downtown Boston is as of this moment when I just looked out my bedroom window merely at "nasty thunderstorm" levels of wind/rain.

Very much wishing I could share my power/not flooded-ness with NYC.
posted by sonika at 5:57 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Lost power a few minutes ago. All I can hear between gusts of wind is emergency vehicle sirens. Well, that and my UPS beeping at me.
posted by bedhead at 5:57 PM on October 29, 2012

Just took the dog out - awesomely fun time. I checked the weather when bondcliff said we were between bands... if that's between bands, I'm glad I didn't go out in one.

We've had the power flicker a few times, the TVs unplugged so the sound system doesn't die. Thank god for wifi, or I'd be twiddling my thumbs. Kids are in bed, both with flashlights (a 15 month year old will apparently start a riot if she doesn't get a flashlight like her brother), wife is sick and in bed... and the dog and I are toweling off, though I may take a spin in the clothes dryer since I'm officially in charge and soaked...

Dear AskMe;
How do I escape from inside a spinning clothes dryer, everyone is asleep and I think a broom handle must have fallen across the door....
posted by Nanukthedog at 5:57 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Cygnet, whenever power goes out due to hurricanes down in Louisiana, cell service usually goes down with it.
posted by ColdChef at 5:58 PM on October 29, 2012

Still have power here in central NJ, but the wind is sounding scarier and scarier. Raritan River looks like it's going to remain below flood levels, which is amazing and surprising wonderful news.

Sister is in the UWS (near Lincoln Center) and seems to be doing okay, Mom in Ocean County has power but no cable, cousin at Rutgers has no power, cousin in Newark says "Power out, really bad here" Sister-in-law evacuated to friend's house - they're listening to lots of dispatch calls for downed trees and power lines. She suspects there will be remodeling in her future, and power will be out for a week minimum.

On the plus side, olive oil worked just fine for me in the mug brownies.

High winds are really fucking scary sounding.
posted by booksherpa at 5:58 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

At 5th Ave and 9th St, we just went dark. We have a fire going in the fireplace

Are you sure that's a good idea with winds of up to 100MPH? What happens if your baffle or cowl is damaged & there's a massive downdraft into your place? Fire + extreme wind can't be a safe combination....?
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:58 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

NY1 seems to be off the air, by air I mean time warner cable.
posted by vrakatar at 5:58 PM on October 29, 2012

Whatever is in this bourbon drink is totally working...
posted by ersatzkat at 5:59 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

MTA: "Water entering all Lower Manhattan under river tubes."

Also, "Flooding in stations and tubes in Lower Manhattan as well as parts of Queens. Water reaching the platform at Rockaway Park."

The subway is going to be a mess for days if not weeks.
posted by Jahaza at 5:59 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

MBTA service resuming as "normal" tomorrow morning. (Insert "the trains being shut down was an improvement over normal service" here.)
posted by sonika at 5:59 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm headed to bed...expect to read 1000 new comments in the morning.
Been a good day on this post.
posted by MtDewd at 5:59 PM on October 29, 2012

Power here in the northeast corner of Rhode Island was down and then back up. Down south by the coast it's not doing very well, though.

I was just on a call for the college where I work and the students who live on the campus down near the Providence harbor front are "sheltering in place" tonight, and one building is having power (or mechanical?) trouble. All in all, the city seems to be doing OK.

Good luck to everyone down in NY, NJ, PA, and southwards.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:00 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

@Cygnet: cell service is out for one of my accounts here. I'm guessing that the power outage in Manhattan is affecting some Internet and cell service providers, since my outages for both occurred around the time Greg Nog heard the explosion.
posted by eustacescrubb at 6:00 PM on October 29, 2012

Don't forget: the hurricane is not over when the hurricane is over. The hurricane is over when your power comes back on.
posted by ColdChef at 6:01 PM on October 29, 2012 [18 favorites]

MBTA service resuming as "normal" tomorrow morning. (Insert "the trains being shut down was an improvement over normal service" here.)

I'm kind of pissed I have no excuse to stay home tomorrow. My commuter rail line often floods though, so there's still hope.

My son's school has already canceled for tomorrow due to the power being out. I somehow still have power at home. By this time during Irene I had lost it and it stayed out for five days.
posted by bondcliff at 6:02 PM on October 29, 2012

Power out here in Jersey city.
posted by lyra4 at 6:02 PM on October 29, 2012

NY Fox 5 "much of lower east side under water."

Deep Ones: "Prepare the sauce."
posted by vrakatar at 6:02 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

The tide at the Battery seems to be peaking now, at 13.78ft
posted by titus-g at 6:02 PM on October 29, 2012

And... back? who knows for how long.
posted by lyra4 at 6:03 PM on October 29, 2012

Dog has decided she likes being outside in hurricanes. Managed to wrap herself around a tree, play in the puddles, and get every bit of fur coated in rain during a brief prison break from inside the house. The humans are less excited about this newfound love.
posted by jetlagaddict at 6:03 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Thank you eustacescrubb. My sister also heard the explosion - that was one of the last things she told me before we lost contact.
posted by Cygnet at 6:04 PM on October 29, 2012

Weather channel saying:

3 million without power.

13.7 Feet at the Battery. Near high tide.

East Village flooding. NYFD using boats to evacuate some people.

6 feet of water at 4 New York Plaza (east side of Battery Park).
posted by zerobyproxy at 6:04 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Still no internet-- using my phone. Lights are still on, so that's something. Wondering when I'll be able to get into Manhattan from Brooklyn-- not anytime soon from the sound of it. I really should have bought cookies.
posted by idest at 6:05 PM on October 29, 2012

Windows blown out at 30 Rock.
posted by mudpuppie at 6:05 PM on October 29, 2012

The tide at the Battery seems to be peaking now, at 13.78ft

It is now high tide, but the water level hasn't been slowing at all as we approach it. Still going up just under an inch every 6 minutes since 13.2 feet.
posted by hwyengr at 6:06 PM on October 29, 2012

The occupied folks are back on ustream (I promise, no snarky commentary). Their apartment is flooded and there's stuff everywhere.
posted by desjardins at 6:06 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think the Lincoln Tunnel is still open?
posted by Mchelly at 6:06 PM on October 29, 2012

NY cbs affiliate: 911 overwhelmed, call 311 unless someone is about to perish.
posted by vrakatar at 6:07 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

The deviation from the normal tide level is steady around 7ft, so shouldn't get any higher.
posted by panaceanot at 6:07 PM on October 29, 2012

Following this from England, as many people are, through our media. Text updates/blogging on the BBC, Guardian and Telegraph websites. While The Sun isn't tracking Sandy, but does have an article about deep fried bacon sandwiches for sale in New York.

Apparently there are cars floating on Wall Street.

I'm hoping to see the words "Sharks spotted in Wall Street" before I fall asleep...
posted by Wordshore at 6:08 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Just checking in from North Baltimore (Hampden.) We have power and so far our biggest problem is the fact that our dog WILL NOT GO OUTSIDE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM. Hope everyone is well and also I'm freaking the fuck out reading about what is going on in NYC/NJ/the north lands.
posted by capnsue at 6:08 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

You can listen to the Brooklyn Fire and Hatzolah EMS radio feed online here. Basically, it's a litany of guys with very thick Noo Yawk accents reporting back to the dispatcher that they just can't get through to wherever each call is because of the water levels.
posted by Asparagirl at 6:09 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Lincoln is listed as closed on 511nj.org. I think. Unless maybe it just says the center tube is closed?

Our building is REALLY shaking now. Power is up, down, up, down, up, down.
posted by lyra4 at 6:10 PM on October 29, 2012

She is weakening, moving in. North Delaware? South Central PA, watch out.
posted by vrakatar at 6:10 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm hoping to see the words "Sharks spotted in Wall Street"

Dude, if you want to see that, just go to Wall Street during normal business hours.
posted by Malor at 6:10 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Four feet of seawater is entering the East River subway tunnels.
posted by jason's_planet at 6:10 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Damn my satellite just went out. Better come back on before Castle starts.
posted by Jalliah at 6:11 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

In-laws just called from Elizabeth NJ (Hillside), they have no power
posted by Mchelly at 6:11 PM on October 29, 2012

It occurs to me only now that I should post the feed I'm listening to.

Here it is: FDNY Five-Boro
posted by rollbiz at 6:12 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Do we trust the twitter? not snark.
posted by futz at 6:13 PM on October 29, 2012

NBC news just showed cars afloat near the Battery.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 6:13 PM on October 29, 2012

Molly Crabapple lost power in the Wall Street area and her cat objects
posted by The Whelk at 6:14 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just got an e-mail not to come to work tomorrow, as not only is there no transit, but the lobby of our building is flooded.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:14 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks rollbiz.
posted by carter at 6:14 PM on October 29, 2012

Right about now would be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to pull off a heist of the gold stored underneath the Federal Reserve building in Manhattan. There's no power to run the security system, no one around to stop you, and you could probably swim right up to the wall of the vault through an adjacent flooded subway tunnel.

I'm just sayin'.
posted by Asparagirl at 6:15 PM on October 29, 2012 [34 favorites]

My sister reached me again. She says there are cars floating down Ave C.
posted by Cygnet at 6:15 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

2 million without power in the tri-state, somehow i am not one of them.
posted by vrakatar at 6:15 PM on October 29, 2012

9:16pm EST... Colonial Rd and 92nd St in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY... winds are dying down for this first time in ~3 hours.

The Ridge retains command and control. Victory imminent. Hail Grod. Red falcon out.
posted by redfalcon at 6:15 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Really weird flashes of light in the distance of Jersey City. Lots of fire trucks on my street, and I see flooding creeping my way. But people are walking around in shorts and boots, so not so crazy?
posted by armacy at 6:16 PM on October 29, 2012

Whipping hail here in Ontario, couple hours north of Toronto.
posted by unSane at 6:16 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

You guys are going to need a bigger boat.
posted by Dr. Zira at 6:16 PM on October 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

this is a frame from the CCTV at the Hoboken subway station (? I'm not local) showing water POURING in
posted by desjardins at 6:16 PM on October 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

From the MTA: stop the rumors. Rumors are wrong. The MTA cannot assess damage until Tuesday. It is way too early for a subway reopening timetable.
posted by ColdChef at 6:16 PM on October 29, 2012

The subway is going to be a mess for days if not weeks.

And worse yet, while this may kill the weaker rats, the stronger ones will swim to safety and breed.

I worry about the LES and Alphabet City. They're sitting on top of what used to be swamp, land claimed from the East River. I hope people there are OK.

In the last half hour, it's gotten a lot quieter here in Boston (well, Cambridge), and while it's still raining, I can't hear the wind any more. I hope the calm makes its way to NYC soon.
posted by A dead Quaker at 6:17 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wishing everyone the best from the UK.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 6:17 PM on October 29, 2012

Major new Connecticut evacuations
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:17 PM on October 29, 2012

This shot is eerie
posted by drezdn at 6:17 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Those weird flashes of light (usually green in color) are usually major transformers blowing up with the accompanying loss of power.
posted by rq at 6:17 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm in CT. Weather has calmed in the last half hour. Our neighborhood is a peninsula, now apparently an island. We are just a few lots from the sound but more than 20' above sea level, hope our house'll survive.

We evacuated to the in-laws, in-land. We have power but other parts of this town do not.

High tide is 1130 tomorrow; that'll be frighening for my neighborhood.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 6:18 PM on October 29, 2012

this is a frame from the CCTV at the Hoboken subway station (? I'm not local) showing water POURING in

That would be Hoboken PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson - separate system), not subway </pedantic new jerseyian> ;)

But yes, we are screwed. That is the Hoboken PATH station.
posted by lyra4 at 6:18 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Okay, just checked: Lincoln Tunnel center tube is open (outbound only). Currently set to reopen in both directions tomorrow at 5 am. link
posted by Mchelly at 6:18 PM on October 29, 2012

Right about now would be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to pull off a heist of the gold stored underneath the Federal Reserve building in Manhattan. There's no power to run the security system, no one around to stop you, and you could probably swim right up to the wall of the vault through an adjacent flooded subway tunnel.

I'm just sayin'.

Lex Luthor built a weather machine to distract us!
posted by The Whelk at 6:18 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

But people are walking around in shorts and boots, so not so crazy?

crazy confirmed. trust your gut.
posted by futz at 6:18 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yup, in the last 20 minutes Boston/Cambridge has calmed way down.
posted by Cygnet at 6:19 PM on October 29, 2012

@Cygnet: I'm guessing your sister has AT&T? My cell service for my iPhone just came back on as well.
posted by eustacescrubb at 6:20 PM on October 29, 2012

On the UWS, on Broadway from 88th to 89th, two trees have fallen across the street and been cleared, and numerous pieces of a sidewalk shed have blown loose (giant piece of plywood and 2x4s) landing on parked cars. I'm not sure why this block in particular has been so affected; I can see down Broadway to 84th, and there seem to be no other major damage.
posted by kimdog at 6:21 PM on October 29, 2012

FDNY Scanner blog is terrifying
posted by The Whelk at 6:21 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Right about now would be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to pull off a heist of the gold stored underneath the Federal Reserve building in Manhattan. There's no power to run the security system, no one around to stop you, and you could probably swim right up to the wall of the vault through an adjacent flooded subway tunnel.

Hmmm. Mathowie has been somewhat quiet on MetaFilter this evening. Just sayin'.
posted by Wordshore at 6:21 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Also, power is out at my house, probably because of this. (Or at least systems are un-ping-able.)
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 6:21 PM on October 29, 2012

winter is coming.
posted by futz at 6:22 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Whipping hail here in Ontario, couple hours north of Toronto.

Where are you unSane? I'm up at the Bruce Pennisula. No hail but lots and lots of wind and some rain.
posted by Jalliah at 6:22 PM on October 29, 2012

For more info on the status of NYC, Google's crisis map is useful (and somewhat terrifying).

http://google.org/crisismap/2012-sandy-nyc
posted by jeremias at 6:22 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

eustacescrubb - yup, AT&T.
posted by Cygnet at 6:22 PM on October 29, 2012

34th and 1st
posted by The Whelk at 6:22 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

In DC, is the worst over? Things seem to have quieted down some.
posted by sallybrown at 6:22 PM on October 29, 2012

"Damn my satellite just went out. Better come back on before Castle starts."

IT IS ALL FUCKING RERUNS TONIGHT on network. Presumably because of the lost ad revenue from half the East Coast being unable to watch Gossip Girl, et al.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:23 PM on October 29, 2012

Downtown Boston at mere "October" levels of noise - rain, slight wind. There have been more sirens than usual, but nothing hinting at disaster. No more water on the street than after a big thunderstorm.

(Very HAPPILY underwhelmed!)
posted by sonika at 6:23 PM on October 29, 2012

FUCKING NEW YORK POST KEEPING IT CLASSY
posted by stagewhisper at 6:23 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Another emergency alert.

"Extreme Alert. Go indoors immediately and remain inside. DO NOT DRIVE. Call 9-1-1 for emergencies only."
posted by zarq at 6:23 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hmmm. Mathowie has been somewhat quiet on MetaFilter this evening. Just sayin'.

elizardbits has been gone a while too.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 6:24 PM on October 29, 2012

You know the part in Star Wars with the trash compactor? That's what their apartment in the OccupiedAir stream looks like to me. I just keep waiting for a hairy eyeball to poke up somewhere and for him to say, "Something just moved past my leg!"
posted by Mouse Army at 6:24 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Just heard that Boston can expect the worst near midnight...
posted by thinkpiece at 6:25 PM on October 29, 2012

In DC, is the worst over? Things seem to have quieted down some.

Not in my neighborhood. Wind's howling and things are getting banged around. AlertDC text from about 20 minutes ago said that the period of highest winds has started and will last until tomorrow morning.
posted by EvaDestruction at 6:26 PM on October 29, 2012

Still have power and walls and a roof here in Bed Stuy, at least so far. Successfully watched DS9 on Netflix earlier. Now watching NBC and attempting to comfort the cat.
posted by brina at 6:26 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Where exactly are the Occupied Air folks filming from?
posted by mochapickle at 6:26 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm in Toronto, but I ate a bag of jalapeño cheddar Cheetos and am drinking bourbon in solidarity. Stay safe everyone!
posted by sevenyearlurk at 6:27 PM on October 29, 2012

Just heard that Boston can expect the worst near midnight

Where did you hear that? I was under the impression the worst was over, at least in terms of wind.
posted by bondcliff at 6:27 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just heard that Boston can expect the worst near midnight...

I think that refers to potential flooding due to a high tide occurring then.
posted by Cygnet at 6:27 PM on October 29, 2012

"Extreme Alert. Go indoors immediately and remain inside. DO NOT DRIVE. Call 9-1-1 for emergencies only."

I'm impressed that my phone makes all kinds of new and bizarre and horrible and frightening sounds for these alarms. Which, I suppose, is the point.
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:28 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

IT IS ALL FUCKING RERUNS TONIGHT on network. Presumably because of the lost ad revenue from half the East Coast being unable to watch Gossip Girl, et al.

Hmm. The guide says it's a new one. They better not be tricking me.
posted by Jalliah at 6:29 PM on October 29, 2012

Taking a break from cable weather news. NY1 is offline, that freaks me out. Tuning in MNF for a bit. Will continue to drink and will go outside later.
posted by vrakatar at 6:29 PM on October 29, 2012

We either just had some lightening or another transformer blew. That was a big one.
posted by lyra4 at 6:29 PM on October 29, 2012

CT Gov just ordered an evac of shoreline between greenwich and old say brook.

Four houses are on fire in Old Greenwich that fire trucks can't get to.

My parents are in high ground in Riverside, but still only a few thousand feet from the water front (and about 100' above high tide).
posted by mrzarquon at 6:29 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

We have friends on 6th St between B & C... anyone know if that area is flooded?
posted by kimdog at 6:30 PM on October 29, 2012

Some flickering here in Montclair, but our power's surprisingly still on. So far, no other real problems. We're just watching movies and eating cookies. Hope everyone else is hanging in there.
posted by lullaby at 6:30 PM on October 29, 2012

As of 21:18, the water level at the Battery is finally holding steady from the previous measurement at 13.87 feet.
posted by Jahaza at 6:30 PM on October 29, 2012

Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy has just held a news conference pointing out that high tide is still 2-3 hours away, and that thousands of citizens are in harms way.

The weather channel commentator said earlier that there won't be much ebbing, if any, after high tide at various locations, and that the worst might be 12 hours away.

This is far from over.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 6:30 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Storm is moving a smidge north but mostly west now.
posted by lyra4 at 6:31 PM on October 29, 2012

My brother is on 6th and D. He lost power but said the water wasn't awful about 40 min ago.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:31 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

cbs live feed reporting 2 children killed by falling tree in North Salem in Westchester County
posted by desjardins at 6:32 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

A friend just posted 14th & c looking like a river.
posted by shothotbot at 6:33 PM on October 29, 2012

RE: cellphones, it is fairly standard kit for cell phone towers to have backup batteries and generators. If they have microwave links that are immune to tree falls they can continue to serve 3G and voice until the generator dies, which might take 12-24 hours. We often see that in storms which don't quite do as thorough devastation as Katrina, where the cell service will last until the storm passes but then go dead because there's nobody to refill the generator's gas tank.
posted by localroger at 6:33 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

And now it's ticked up again to 13.88.

The MTA has issued a correction saying that they in fact don't know if the East River tunnels are flooded.
posted by Jahaza at 6:33 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

As of 21:18, the water level at the Battery is finally holding steady from the previous measurement at 13.87 feet.

To put that into perspective, 11.2 feet was previous record. 10.5 is where subway flooding happens. And that's salt water going in there.
posted by panaceanot at 6:33 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Weather Channel

Lots of water in the PATH system.

MTA confirms 4 feet of water in tunnels.

MTA confirms Hoboken shot of flooding.
posted by zerobyproxy at 6:34 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you hear what sounds like lightning it really is very much more likely to be a transformer blowing. Hurricanes tend not to produce a lot of lightning. Tornadoes on the other hand...
posted by localroger at 6:35 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I heard it from the Boston reporter on Rachel Maddow, not 10 minutes ago. And yes, tide surge at 8 a.m. ...
posted by thinkpiece at 6:35 PM on October 29, 2012

Evacuating CT shoreline NOW? In this? I can't even imagine how it can be done before high tide. Who has power down there to even get the message?
posted by smalls at 6:35 PM on October 29, 2012

cbs live feed reporting 2 children killed by falling tree in North Salem in Westchester County

And the lady anchor is crying. :(
posted by mudpuppie at 6:35 PM on October 29, 2012

Jalliah, I'm in Grey County just south of Meaford. Not far from you at all.
posted by unSane at 6:36 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

To put that into perspective, 11.2 feet was previous record.

And that was in 1821, so 191 years ago.
posted by Jahaza at 6:37 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

According to local news, most of Manhattan below 42nd lost power
posted by rmannion at 6:38 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

There's some sort of machinery outside my house that sounds like a cross between a vacuum and a woodchopper and it's wicked loud.

Anyone have any clues about W. T. F. ? (Boston, downtown, no real flooding - can't see trees down or anything like that.)
posted by sonika at 6:38 PM on October 29, 2012

@rdevro

FDNY is coordinating row boat rescues on the radio. That's the kind of situation we're in.
posted by SomaSoda at 6:39 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Power gone here now. night folks - please stay safe.
posted by lyra4 at 6:39 PM on October 29, 2012

"Hmm. The guide says it's a new one. They better not be tricking me."

It's tricking you. I just watched a bunch of crappy reruns because there was nothing new on. The TV guides I use are all still claiming I just watched new episodes. I expect it was a last-minute decision. Dancing with the Stars on ABC appears to be live. I think The Voice on NBC is but I can't tell for sure. All pre-taped shows on CBS the CW have been surprise reruns.

omg it looks so bad in NYC, talking about TV seems really trivial. But here is the little service I can perform for you, checking networks for reruns.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:39 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sf 10- Arz 0
posted by vrakatar at 6:39 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Apparently enough people are tweeting emergencies at the @FDNY twitter account that they have to tell people not to do that.
posted by desjardins at 6:40 PM on October 29, 2012

Jalliah, I'm in Grey County just south of Meaford. Not far from you at all.

Ah cool. That's not far at all. :) My lights are flickering a lot right now. Considering it regularly goes out in any run of the mill storm weather I'm expecting to get shutdown at any moment.
posted by Jalliah at 6:40 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm listening to Brooklyn EMS dispatch and almost every call is being responded to with "we are unable to access that area due to flooding." Ughhhhhh.
posted by subbes at 6:40 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

The NY Post deleted the tweet I referenced above, @Bro_Pair was smart enough to get a screen cap before they did: lovely
posted by stagewhisper at 6:40 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

There's some sort of machinery outside my house that sounds like a cross between a vacuum and a woodchopper and it's wicked loud.
Anyone have any clues about W. T. F. ? (Boston, downtown, no real flooding - can't see trees down or anything like that.)

St Botolph St? They're feeding a tree that fell down around 2:00 into a wood chipper.
posted by bowmaniac at 6:41 PM on October 29, 2012

In DC, is the worst over? Things seem to have quieted down some.

Things have definitely not quieted down. Winds picked up dramatically and have not stopped howling for more than a few seconds at a time since around 8:30pm, and raining hard in every direction. Picking up more as I type. (Same area as EvaDestruction.) Power still on here. Not about to go up to the roof to see if it's out elsewhere!
posted by zennie at 6:41 PM on October 29, 2012

...[cell service that eventually goes] dead because there's nobody to refill the generator's gas tank.

Or, like happened in Lincoln, RI, last year after Irene, when some scumbag steals the generator on the standby gear that Cox put up. Grrr......
posted by wenestvedt at 6:42 PM on October 29, 2012

The Battery Park water level just peaked, at 13.88ft.
posted by eemeli at 6:42 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Cory Booker on Rachel right now -- he's literally been driving around troubleshooting, including evac'ing 30 homeless people huddled beneath an underpass ...
posted by thinkpiece at 6:42 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

Yes, bowmaniac - that's definitely it. St. Botolph is the next cross street. Thnx!

(Couldn't see the downed tree, but can't see squat from my apartment on a *good* day.)
posted by sonika at 6:43 PM on October 29, 2012

If The Voice is airing something called "Battle Rounds" and each judge has 10 people on their team, then yeah, it's a new episode that they will hopefully show again when this mess is over, just sayin'
posted by booksherpa at 6:43 PM on October 29, 2012

According to CNN, there are 3 feet of water on the floor of the Stock Exchange.
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 6:43 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Eyebrows-I'm in NYC nervous as hell about all this, about to fix myself my second drink (rationing the vodka judiciously) and I'm gonna pissed as hell if I don't have a new Castle to distract me. MAD AS HELL.
posted by miss-lapin at 6:43 PM on October 29, 2012

The carousel in Dumbo submerged but still lit up.
posted by stagewhisper at 6:43 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

In DC, is the worst over? Things seem to have quieted down some.

WE just had our worst wind gust of day - the whole house shook.
posted by COD at 6:43 PM on October 29, 2012

Any word on the situation around Rye, NY?
posted by ChuraChura at 6:44 PM on October 29, 2012

Take it from someone with a lot of experience, it is very normal for things to get quiet between feeder bands in a hurricane. This does NOT mean the storm is over. It is even possible to get freakishly lucky in the matter of being between feeder bands for an hour or five at a time, only to have the world ripped apart without warning when your luck fades. Pay attention to the NWS and be careful.
posted by localroger at 6:44 PM on October 29, 2012 [9 favorites]

NYC CBS feed seems to have died. :(
posted by mudpuppie at 6:44 PM on October 29, 2012

They're suggesting that people with houses in low elevations evacuate...

in Wisconsin.

Lakefront residents here in Ohio have been advised to get the hell out of Dodge, too, and the Coast Guard is telling people to stay the fuck off the lake, because they can't come out and fetch your dumb ass if you decide you want to go jet-skiing in this. (Erie is pretty famous for her ghastly weather, she'll throw her own madness on top of what Sandy is sending, and will do so with glee.)

A number of our outlying school districts are planning to delay school for two hours tomorrow morning, but I suspect they'll call school off altogether if the wind doesn't lay off. Winds are sustained at ~35mph, gusting to 50mph, though they're reporting 60-65mph gusts near the lake. And we're expecting SNOW around 1AM.

Freaky.
posted by MissySedai at 6:44 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

mg it looks so bad in NYC, talking about TV seems really trivial. But here is the little service I can perform for you, checking networks for reruns.

It is trivial. But trivial can sometimes help people (like me) from getting more stressed. It will be nothing like NY up here but my house is constantly getting slapped by wind gust and shaking and it's only supposed to get worse as the storms comes up here. I don't like it much. It's creeping me out. So I'll focus my energy at getting annoyed at re-runs!
posted by Jalliah at 6:44 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

ABC is showing a new DWTS right now (my wife is watching.) She says the promos have claimed Castle will be new.
posted by COD at 6:45 PM on October 29, 2012

Video of a ConEd explosion, action starts at 0:17.
posted by komara at 6:45 PM on October 29, 2012 [10 favorites]

Cory Booker is a goddamm mensch.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:45 PM on October 29, 2012 [9 favorites]

I can't believe the water pouring into and out of the brooklyn battery tunnel. Unreal.

Cbs: con ed spokesperson says 350k customers in nyc, 5 Boros and westchester without power.
posted by zarq at 6:46 PM on October 29, 2012

According to CNN, there are 3 feet of water on the floor of the Stock Exchange.

Christ. Are we going to have to bail out Wall St again? Only, literally, this time?
posted by eustacescrubb at 6:46 PM on October 29, 2012 [51 favorites]

The kiddos in Westchester. Ugh. I'm half hoping the woodchipper wakes up mine so I can cover him in smooches.
posted by sonika at 6:49 PM on October 29, 2012

Bah seconds after my last post my power went on and off. It's looking like I may not be able to watch tv soon anyways.
posted by Jalliah at 6:49 PM on October 29, 2012

Re: TV, it doesn't really matter whether it's new or a rerun, because they're not showing it. We dutifully recorded the new HIMYM and went to play it only to discover it was half an hour of NBC 4 coverage of Sandy.
posted by devinemissk at 6:49 PM on October 29, 2012

someone's already made a gif of that transformer explosion komara posted.
posted by desjardins at 6:50 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I live near the border of Williamsburg and Bed-Stuy, just off of Myrtle Ave. There's still electricity, though the lights have flickered several times tonight. I don't plan on sleeping just yet.
posted by Neilopolis at 6:51 PM on October 29, 2012

Southern NJ, outside of Philadelphia: The winds have been blowing for hours now, but the leaks around our northern-facing windows that sprung this afternoon have stopped leaking. I made a small batch of sugar cookies and am slowly drinking my husband's supply of Stone Smoked Porter. I saw a transformer go a few hours ago toward the west, but closer than Philly -- maybe Mt. Ephraim, NJ? But we still have power, despite some flickering.

I'm off of work tomorrow because our office, located in Philadelphia, closed again.
posted by kimberussell at 6:51 PM on October 29, 2012

WOOHOO ROOF LEAK! Aaaand the phone number for my roofing guy is not in service. Hopefully it just means there's a tree down and he hasn't stopped doing roofing. I've sent him email, so maybe that'll work. I *think* it's just wind driving water under the tiles or under flashing or maybe a crack in a slate tile because it's a pretty slow leak. I'm just glad it started leaking through the ceiling as soon as it did. I've cleared out the wet drywall and the insulation with a prybar and have a bucket under the dripping bit.

STAY SAFE, NY/NJ MEFITES!
posted by rmd1023 at 6:51 PM on October 29, 2012

Well, we did literally bail them out last time...

and most of us are still bailing.
posted by futz at 6:51 PM on October 29, 2012

How do I still have power? I'm going to go crawl into something ans feel SO GUILTY
posted by The Whelk at 6:52 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Don't screw around during a hurricane. My video from Hurricane Gustav.
posted by ColdChef at 6:52 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Video of the building at 8th and 14th collapsing
posted by The Whelk at 6:52 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

I hear you whelk. I am eating sammiches and watching football, I feel guilty.
posted by vrakatar at 6:53 PM on October 29, 2012

Me too! We are snug as bugs, UWS, yo.
posted by thinkpiece at 6:55 PM on October 29, 2012

The Whelk, I feel guilty too...
posted by Cygnet at 6:55 PM on October 29, 2012

Does anyone know the situation in Hackettstown, NJ? Irene flooded up the town pretty bad last year due to the river, so I have no idea what it must be like now.
posted by ElectricBlue at 6:55 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm going to end up signing off a paycheck to the Red Cross aren;t I....
posted by The Whelk at 6:56 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Still have power up here on the UES although it sounds horrible outside.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 6:56 PM on October 29, 2012

Also feeling guilty. Comic Relief Husband especially underwhelmed that I was worried about THIS? Well... um. Yeah.
posted by sonika at 6:57 PM on October 29, 2012

waterfalls at Ground Zero
posted by desjardins at 6:57 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

So, those Italian geologists issued a warning about all this right?
posted by COBRA! at 6:57 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

Yes, bowmaniac - that's definitely it. St. Botolph is the next cross street. Thnx!
(Couldn't see the downed tree, but can't see squat from my apartment on a *good* day.)

Sure thing. It's right out our LR window and landed right about where my car was on Friday. Boy am I glad I had to go get cat food over the weekend...
We're taking it as a good sign that they're spending time to clean up a tree on our little quiet out of the way side street...
posted by bowmaniac at 6:57 PM on October 29, 2012

Passed out asleep and woke up to finding flooding at the end of my street and everything east of me on Dupont and McGuinness, near the Pulaski bridge in Greenpoint. Everything's pretty confused, lots of people down here just looking at the flood waters and I think they're rising. Also smells strongly like gasoline. But this is Evac area A so they got this right. Wind seems to have died down a bit...

Power seems to be gradually being turned off, cable internet is out. Using wireless tether. Surge is going to last a few hours with high tide. Another tomorrow morning.

This is feeling pretty real now. Pretty disoriented. Note to self: During future disaster/emergency sleep before the poop hits the fan.

If this is the last you guys hear from me there's only one thing I ask of you all and that is...

Vote for Obama!

Oh crap...the ASL lady is back on TV! I <3 the ASL LADY!
posted by Skygazer at 6:58 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

As a former New Yorker, my heart is breaking. If this were another country I'd be donating to Doctors Without Borders. Who's going to be dealing with this?
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:58 PM on October 29, 2012

MAYOR NOT WEARING COMFORTING SWEATER.
posted by brina at 6:58 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

NYSE under three feet of water.
posted by The Whelk at 6:58 PM on October 29, 2012

Oh, gawd. That video of the building... what a nightmare. I feel guilty about having power, too.
posted by idest at 6:59 PM on October 29, 2012

I need some Spanish noticias to make me feel better.
posted by zerobyproxy at 7:00 PM on October 29, 2012

So, bowmaniac, we're neighbors then? Funny that! (I'm in the Garrison Sq. building at the end of, well, Garrison St.)
posted by sonika at 7:00 PM on October 29, 2012

holy shit

Gov Dan Malloy in CT issues "Katrina like Warning" urges people to get to top of homes. Says thousands could be cut off by water.
posted by desjardins at 7:00 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Waiting for El Bloombito.
posted by Jahaza at 7:01 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yaaaay!!!! ASL lady is my special friend!
posted by vrakatar at 7:01 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Whew, just got e-mail from my aunt and uncle in Rye ... they're expecting lots of flooding.
"Our hatches are battened down as best as we can. We actually moved a lot of furniture etc upstairs. Power went out but we have a generator so Uncle Bob is actually watching the storm report on tv. We're waiting for high tide at midnight."
posted by ChuraChura at 7:01 PM on October 29, 2012

Bloomberg:. Do not drive. Stay off roads. Stop calling 911. 911 receiving 10k calls every 30mins. Usually avg 1k every 30m.
posted by zarq at 7:02 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Castle is new. Enjoy!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:02 PM on October 29, 2012

MAYOR SPEAKING SPANISH. CHUG.
posted by brina at 7:02 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

YAY...Bloombito.....BOOOO....cut off by TWC.
posted by zerobyproxy at 7:02 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mayor Bloomberg's Spanish is...um...
posted by Dr. Zira at 7:03 PM on October 29, 2012

Zone B in Greenpoint (near Greenpoint / Manhattan ) & we still have power and no flooding yet. Cable Internet is out ( Time Warner ).
posted by eustacescrubb at 7:03 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Excelente!
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:03 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oh crap...the ASL lady is back on TV! I <3 the ASL LADY!

Me too! I don't know ASL, but she is communicating a hell of a lot just through her facial expressions. Good job, whoever-you-are!
posted by gjc at 7:03 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

no power since 630 here in central nj but I did solve the bathtub with Saran wrap and a pot lid. winds got real scary but are now dying down. kind of. phone batt is at a premium so am going to peace out. good luck and be safe everybody.
posted by en forme de poire at 7:03 PM on October 29, 2012

Oh boy, he's speaking Spanish again.
posted by zarq at 7:03 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

WTC Construction Site.
posted by ColdChef at 7:03 PM on October 29, 2012

That was the first time I heard Bloomberg speak Spanish. Wonderous.
posted by sciencegeek at 7:03 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Castle is not a repeat. Yay for Canadian tv!
posted by Jalliah at 7:03 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm sorry for the hurricane, but I'm very grateful that it's introduced me to El Bloombito. He's like Peggy Hill, only real.
posted by mudpuppie at 7:04 PM on October 29, 2012 [14 favorites]

Who's going to be dealing with this?

Red Cross, for sure!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:04 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

NYSE under three feet of water

Evidence from Twitter suggests that that report is bogus.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 7:04 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Muy interesante!
posted by shothotbot at 7:04 PM on October 29, 2012

NY1 back on, mayor says DO NOT CALL 911 FOR WIND DAMAGE! DO NOT DRIVE!
posted by vrakatar at 7:04 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

While I was at the front of the curve reminding everyone to be super careful and all because, let's face it, you guys don't see hurricanes with the regularity we do and don't have our (however pitifully inadequate) defenses, issuing a "Katrina like warning" does seem a teensy bit over the top.
posted by localroger at 7:05 PM on October 29, 2012

MSNBC just reported that 4 'unoccupied' buildings in Baltimore collapsed.
posted by zennie at 7:05 PM on October 29, 2012

Comic Relief Husband should be grateful that Sensible Concerned Wife cares about him dying in a giant storm, sonika. Tell him the internets said so.
posted by emjaybee at 7:05 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

sonika, sounds like! If I crane my neck to look around the musician's relief building I can see that building. Hi neighbor -- small world!
posted by bowmaniac at 7:07 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

OccupiedAir is back on for a brief, non-terrifying* update.
posted by SomaSoda at 7:07 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow I just googled Katrina Sandy to try and find a comparison of the damage, people affected, etc, and ended up finding someone named Katrina Sandy. That's kind of unfortunate at this point.
posted by insectosaurus at 7:07 PM on October 29, 2012 [14 favorites]

Everyone's watching the billionaire building crane in Manhattan, hanging precariously by a thread basically, and really isn't it a great symbol for the folly and the excess and arrogance of the 1%, and they're ridiculous cranes to build their ridiculous prestige palaces in the sky and putting everyone below their heavy fucking equipment and cranes broken and dangling ready to fall on the heads of the 99%....

It's the end of the plutocratic era. Say no to Wall Street. Say no to Romney.

/OccupyHurricaneSandy
posted by Skygazer at 7:07 PM on October 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

Bloomberg speaks Spanish the same nuanced pronounciation of Peggy Hill.
posted by Dr. Zira at 7:07 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

He's like Peggy Hill, only real.

I laughed at this image.
posted by KokuRyu at 7:08 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

If this were another country I'd be donating to Doctors Without Borders. Who's going to be dealing with this?

I know that some people have issues with them, but I am donating to the American Red Cross. This is what they do.
posted by muddgirl at 7:08 PM on October 29, 2012

Right about now would be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to pull off a heist of the gold stored underneath the Federal Reserve building in Manhattan. There's no power to run the security system, no one around to stop you, and you could probably swim right up to the wall of the vault through an adjacent flooded subway tunnel.

Human nature being what it is there are probably many nefarious deeds being done in the dark and confusion of Manhattan tonight. And, human nature being what it is, there are probably also countless heroic deeds being done tonight.
posted by islander at 7:08 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

El Bloombito's got a jodido mess in his city
posted by porn in the woods at 7:08 PM on October 29, 2012

bowmaniac: If you imagine looking *through* the musician's relief building somehow, you'd be looking directly into my apartment. (I am wearing pants. I promise.)
posted by sonika at 7:08 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

In zone C and no power since around 8:30. Reading by candlelight and feeling like a class-A seductress. Wind howls and siren noises not very romanctic though. Damn this finite phone battery. Will sensibly conserve it now. Good luck everyone.
posted by prefpara at 7:08 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Can someone link to a stream of el bloombito?
posted by saturday_morning at 7:09 PM on October 29, 2012

ZOMG BABBY AWAKE SO HAPPY TO GIVE HIM SMOOCHES. (Srsly, NY stop breaking my heart with things happening to babies.)
posted by sonika at 7:09 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Feeling very privileged here in Boston; I've lost power for a total of 2 seconds so far.
posted by dmd at 7:09 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

bloomberg in spanish
posted by shothotbot at 7:10 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Gawker is temporarily down because the 57th Street Crane just flooded our servers with sea foam, or something. Back with you shortly.
posted by ninjew at 7:10 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Switched to CNN and Anderson Cooper is in the storm. Isn't he high enough in the organization now that he can stay at the desk and let some other schmuck stand in the rain?
posted by brina at 7:10 PM on October 29, 2012

Oh thank God it's not a hurricane without Anderson Cooper being blown.
posted by Dr. Zira at 7:11 PM on October 29, 2012 [28 favorites]

Why doesn't NY get an actual Spanish-speaking person to read the announcements? I'd hate for anyone to be in harm's way because they couldn't understand what El Bloombito was saying.
posted by desjardins at 7:12 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I don't know, brina but I tweeted him and told him he was crazy to be out there.
posted by royalsong at 7:12 PM on October 29, 2012

Anderson Cooper's show just got canceled. Perhaps he's motivated by that.
posted by sciencegeek at 7:13 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Zone C, still no power, have charged laptop for watching movies, pouring the really good booze. Hand crank radio to the rescue for El Bloombito entertainment. Seriously, his Spanish is so entertainingly awful.
posted by bedhead at 7:13 PM on October 29, 2012

Hurricane Sandy’s Breakout Star: Mayor Bloomberg’s Sign Language Interpreter
posted by desjardins at 7:13 PM on October 29, 2012 [15 favorites]

I don't think this posted, so apologies if it did:

Does anyone know if power is out east of the Gowanus?
posted by evidenceofabsence at 7:14 PM on October 29, 2012

Yikes, futz, that's me. Stay safe, everyone!
posted by maggieb at 7:14 PM on October 29, 2012

SF 17-Arz 0 at the half.
posted by vrakatar at 7:15 PM on October 29, 2012

Hi everyone in storm's way! I hope you are OK!

I don't hang around here anymore but that doesn't mean I don't care.

Hi small tag I missed you small tag
posted by jtron at 7:15 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Gov Dan Malloy in CT issues "Katrina like Warning" urges people to get to top of homes.

Apparently this is directed at people who didn't evacuate, and now may need to "get to the highest place you have to, given the circumstances you are facing".

Those people are between the rock and the hard place-- or rather between icy cold water and bone-chilling rain and wind. I hope they will be safe.
posted by zennie at 7:16 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

evidenceofabsence: still have power at 3rd Ave & Bergen and at Prospect Park West.
posted by moonmilk at 7:16 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Most of my friends and family are in NYC, thanks everyone for helping keep me up to date.

The Con-Ed explosion, a mere 14 blocks up from my family's home, is especially terrifying.
posted by The Biggest Dreamer at 7:17 PM on October 29, 2012

I got Hobgoblins for everyone

And for jtron

(hi!)
posted by The Whelk at 7:18 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Reports of thundersnow in Pennsylvania now, y'all.

Also, the Potomac River is now predicted to crest at 11.5' in Georgetown/Washington Harbor on Wednesday (6' is flood stage).

Meanwhile I honestly cannot fathom what NYC, NJ and CT will look like in the light of day. We are all so fervently rooting for you.
posted by argonauta at 7:18 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

NYSE under three feet of water

Evidence from Twitter suggests that that report is bogus.

I dunno, I have a friend who lives right on Wall, he says his apartment building's lobby has a good 2 feet of water in it.
posted by MissySedai at 7:18 PM on October 29, 2012

Human nature being what it is there are probably many nefarious deeds being done in the dark and confusion of Manhattan tonight. And, human nature being what it is, there are probably also countless heroic deeds being done tonight.

and a whole lotta babies being made
posted by komara at 7:19 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Ugh, just the creepy sight of pics of lower Manhattan 100% dark is scary enough
posted by Miko at 7:19 PM on October 29, 2012

Quiero uno link al Bloombergo!
posted by jgirl at 7:19 PM on October 29, 2012

What the hell is "thundersnow?"
posted by ColdChef at 7:19 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ah.

Thundersnow, also known as a winter thunderstorm or a thunder snowstorm, is a relatively rare kind of thunderstorm with snow falling as the primary precipitation instead of rain. It typically falls in regions of strong upward motion within the cold sector of an extratropical cyclone. Thermodynamically, it is not different from any other type of thunderstorms but the top of the cumulonimbus are usually quite low.
posted by ColdChef at 7:20 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Thundersnow? That shit should be illegal.
posted by vuron at 7:20 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

coldchef: A very freaky and weird phenomenon where it's snowing and lightning is flashing and booming at the same time.

(Michigan has weird weather)
posted by royalsong at 7:21 PM on October 29, 2012

Thundersnow is awesome.
posted by rtha at 7:21 PM on October 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

So just as Luther is Obama's anger translator, Lydia Calas is Bloomberg's full panoply of human emotions translator. Got it.
posted by maudlin at 7:21 PM on October 29, 2012 [13 favorites]

Thundersnow? That shit should be illegal.

We had that in Chicago during the blizzard last year. A really strange sound.
posted by gjc at 7:22 PM on October 29, 2012

Thunder snow is excellent.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:22 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

@ Coldchef Here you go.
posted by zerobyproxy at 7:22 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thundersnow? That shit should be illegal.

True story: Five years ago, or so, I was at my parents' house in Texas for xmas. On xmas eve, we had a thunder-snowstorm. Lightning hit the house at about 2 a.m. The lightning was so bright, I could see the room around me with my eyes closed. It was freaky.
posted by mudpuppie at 7:23 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

Pretty much the only thing keeping me sane right now.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:23 PM on October 29, 2012 [14 favorites]

He encontrado un escrito antes.
posted by jgirl at 7:24 PM on October 29, 2012

So what I'm getting from the CT shoreline evacuation is that certain town officials were urged to tell residents to evacuate, but didn't. Now the governor is all like "i told you guys to get out". Yes? Because HOLY SHIT.
posted by smalls at 7:24 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Power out now, this is crazy, I just posted to MeFi maybe. And all the other posts...this is crazy, keep on posting to Mefi maybe.
posted by humanfont at 7:25 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

having experienced thundersnow last year, I can tell you it is fucking amazing. it makes no sense but it is trippy when the lightning illuminates all the falling snow
posted by ninjew at 7:25 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I blame all the mug brownie mentions in this thread for the brownies I am baking right now.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 7:26 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Y thundersnow daba mucho miedo la primera y única vez que lo vi - en una pista de metro elevado, nada menos.
posted by jgirl at 7:26 PM on October 29, 2012

Thudersnow is freaky. I think of snow as something that will kill you silently as the big fat white flakes just keep coming down inexorably until you are buried under a mile of the stuff and we're back to hunting mastodons. Or something. I'm heading offline to sleep so I hope I wake up and discover that y'all are still all in good shape, hurricane-survival-wise.
posted by rmd1023 at 7:27 PM on October 29, 2012

G'night people, shutting down the computer now in case of power issues overnight.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:28 PM on October 29, 2012

nb we get thundersnow reasonably frequently here on the Front Range (rocky mtns) when we get powerful upslope storms.

its been said before but I don't know if it's been stressed enough: please please please stay indoors everyone. the storm is less than half over and you will get eerie areas of calm as the bands wrap in. we get 70mph winds here in chinook season and last spring a guy was killed driving down the freeway when the winds drove a tree branch thru the windshield of his car.

the wind is not the most dangerous part, it's the flying debris. broken flying glass and small pieces of metal shrapnel from signs can be PARTICULARLY dangerous. please, try to resist the temptation to go out even to smoke.
posted by lonefrontranger at 7:28 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

ARGH, I'm in Nicaragua, and my dog is in Williamsburg and the Australian subletters in my apartment must be freaking. the. hell. out.

Shit, I'm freaking out down here. Mad stressin.
posted by functionequalsform at 7:28 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

@joelhousman of Alexandria, VA, created a useful aggregator for Sandy-related information.
posted by Haruspex at 7:29 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Greenpoint: My roommate is making chili and needs to time the rice. But my roommate's spiritually from the 1870s and uses the oldest possible device to do anything. So while the wind and rain batter our windows, with a completely dark Manhattan visible from our candle-lit living room, I'm hearing a loud ticking countdown like that clock on 60 Minutes. Freaky.
posted by eustacescrubb at 7:30 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

Brooklyn Battery Tunnel
posted by zarq at 7:31 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ffs: STAY INSIDE DUMMIES
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:31 PM on October 29, 2012

WTF is this douchebag on CNN doing standing in the middle of street turned river? Good footage isn't worth risking your life bro.
posted by vuron at 7:31 PM on October 29, 2012

There's this guy in new jersey on CNN who's standing in the middle of an intersection. He's got water up to his knees and the wind is threatening to knock him over.

He's making me nervous and I wish he'd get indoors.
posted by royalsong at 7:32 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm in Etobicoke, next to Toronto. I live on the 23rd floor in a corner apartment and somehow there is water on the floor in the bedrooms. Ceilings aren't leaking, so we're guessing it has to be from all the rain and the wind.
posted by zix at 7:32 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

@joelhousman of Alexandria, VA, created a useful aggregator for Sandy-related information.

Excellent! Thanks for posting it.
posted by zarq at 7:32 PM on October 29, 2012

zix, strong wind from just the right direction can drive rain into vents, causing leaking inside, even if the roof is fine.
posted by Malor at 7:34 PM on October 29, 2012

That CNN guy is Ali Velshi and he's been out there for what seems like all day/evening. I bet he's going to be sore tomorrow from fighting that wind/water all day.
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 7:34 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow. Just wow. I am having a hard time sleeping due to nervousness but our power has been on and consistent for a while, so thank goodness for that. I'm in Windsor Terrace/Kensington area.

I live in South Slope/Windsor Terrace area and have also had no power issues besides a flicker a couple hours ago. DirecTV hasn't even been interrupted.
posted by Falconetti at 7:34 PM on October 29, 2012

I don't think the short term spectacle is going to match Katrina (here's hoping), but the long-term impact of this is hard to wrap your head around. The Northeast has 1/6 of the population of the country and about 25% of GDP. Tons of those people are going to need new cars, new computers, new furniture, new roads, maybe at the outside new subway systems...

What a disaster.

The debate on climate is going to be a lot different going forward.
posted by gerryblog at 7:34 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

Reading Twitter reports that NYU Hospital lost power and their generators aren't working. Hundreds of patients being transported elsewhere.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:35 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

According to the Brooklyn EMS chatter, Coney Island hospital is cut off by flood waters.
posted by subbes at 7:35 PM on October 29, 2012

Re CNN, that's Ali Velshi and he's been there all day. He's one of the more sensible CNN reporters. I wouldn't worry about him.
posted by unSane at 7:35 PM on October 29, 2012

The debate on climate is going to be a lot different going forward.

Nice thought. No chance.
posted by shothotbot at 7:36 PM on October 29, 2012 [14 favorites]

The debate on climate is going to be a lot different going forward.

Why do you say that? I thought it was the gays and/or liberals who were responsible for Sandy.
posted by dmd at 7:36 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

and a whole lotta babies being made

and

What the hell is "thundersnow?"

The answer? The most awesome name possible, to be give to a bunch of babies born in about 9 months time.
posted by howfar at 7:36 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

Salt water in the subway tunnels which is pretty much a given at the current time has got to be doing a fuckton of damage. It's going to be ages to get some of those lines working.
posted by vuron at 7:37 PM on October 29, 2012

Why do you say that? I thought it was the gays and/or liberals who were responsible for Sandy.

Yeah, we were. Sorry. Kitchen mishap.
posted by mudpuppie at 7:37 PM on October 29, 2012 [17 favorites]

The debate on climate is going to be a lot different going forward.

That would be nice, but I doubt it.
posted by dfan at 7:37 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Can you wait on the lame political jokes until the storms over? Kthanks.
posted by sweetkid at 7:37 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

NY Scanner ‏@NYScanner

Manhattan: 30 West 15 St Crane has detached from the building and is hanging over the side, Multiple agency's staging.
posted by shothotbot at 7:37 PM on October 29, 2012

Nice thought. No chance.

This is happening to a bunch of very rich and powerful people in the heart of America's media brain. I think climate change looks different post-Sandy for sure.
posted by gerryblog at 7:38 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I read on Twitter that they are carrying the NICU and PICU babies down 9 stories.
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 7:38 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Ugh, without power for elevators, Twitter is reporting patients at NYU being transported manually down the stairs :(
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:38 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm in Etobicoke, next to Toronto.

I'm from Vienna, Austria.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 7:38 PM on October 29, 2012

Weather's starting to kick up out here in Western PA now, lots of rain and the wind is up to 30MPH but looks like it'll go up to almost 50 by 1am. Considering that half the power lines around here were put up while George Westinghouse was still alive, I'm not expecting to wake up to a house with power.
posted by octothorpe at 7:39 PM on October 29, 2012

I read on Twitter that they are carrying the NICU and PICU babies down 9 stories.

Oh my god. My prayers go to them and their families.
posted by jetlagaddict at 7:39 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Durn Bronzefist: Hi from another current resident of Vienna.
posted by syzygy at 7:40 PM on October 29, 2012

I read on Twitter that they are carrying the NICU and PICU babies down 9 stories.

Oh G-d. Hope they're going to be okay. :(
posted by zarq at 7:40 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Power is flickering again in Hell's Kitchen.
posted by obvious at 7:42 PM on October 29, 2012

CBS 2 reporting that their studio lights are flickering.
posted by zarq at 7:42 PM on October 29, 2012

If twitter is right, patients requiring ventilators are having air manually pumped into them.
posted by Stynxno at 7:42 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Gourd, just got my son back to sleep and now since I can't help NICU babies, I wanna snorgle him all over again.
posted by sonika at 7:43 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

power is flickering more than before (like 10 times in 3 minutes) here in Washington Heights
posted by Stynxno at 7:43 PM on October 29, 2012

Bed-Stuy here. Lights flashing on and off, more and more frequently. Wind whipping against windows.
posted by dysh at 7:43 PM on October 29, 2012

Interesting NYT article from September this year warning about NYC's unpreparedness for severe flooding.
posted by gladly at 7:44 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Anyone near the Lorimer stop in Williamsburg? Do you still have power? Trying to reach a friend.
posted by murfed13 at 7:44 PM on October 29, 2012

Flickering here on the UWS and at friends' places in Greenpoint and Crown Heights.
posted by oinopaponton at 7:44 PM on October 29, 2012

The Hudson County, New Jersey police scanner is interesting if you like dire situations.
posted by sibboleth at 7:44 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm kinda surprised that a hospital wouldn't have essential services on backup diesel generators. I mean those can obviously be flooded out as well but we are barely into this event and they already have no power at hospitals?
posted by vuron at 7:45 PM on October 29, 2012

More Bed Stuy lights flickering.
posted by brina at 7:45 PM on October 29, 2012

"Brooklyn: FDNY is enroute to Coney Island Hospital for a reported fire on the third floor with a heavy smoke condition."

@nyscanner but it's all flooded
posted by Stynxno at 7:45 PM on October 29, 2012

Now I'm worried - can't get any responses from my West Village pal. Anybody know what's going on around Greenwich and 7th?
posted by cmyk at 7:46 PM on October 29, 2012

ucking power surges and spotty-ass internet, I can't get on for longer than like ten minu
posted by griphus at 7:46 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Flickering lights here in South Slope.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:46 PM on October 29, 2012

Holy crap. Our power, here in Michigan, just cut out for like 10 seconds due to the winds that are reaching us.

Taking this as a sign I should go to bed. Good night all, I hope everyone remains safe and that tomorrow you find yourselves with loved ones, power, and the internet.
posted by royalsong at 7:46 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

horrifying.
posted by stagewhisper at 7:47 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm kinda surprised that a hospital wouldn't have essential services on backup diesel generators.

The almost certainly do -- but in flooding situations, they often fail as well. They're too heavy for rooftops.

See Fukushima -- if the tidal wave hadn't flooded out the backup generators, it would have been a non-event.
posted by eriko at 7:48 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Something to remember: The NHC and NWS called this. They pretty much nailed this storm 72 hours ago.
posted by eriko at 7:49 PM on October 29, 2012 [21 favorites]

Oh. Turning my phone's sound on would help, here. She's got no power but otherwise is okay.

Killer sinus infection vs. needing to know my people are all right.. sound stays on. I can roar at the bill collectors early in the morning.

(thank you, young rope-rider)
posted by cmyk at 7:49 PM on October 29, 2012

Westside Highway southbound lane is a river. I can see the high-water debris, though, and from that it is clear that the water is receding. Pictures.

Also, smells strongly of gasoline.
posted by minervous at 7:51 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

UWS lights are flickering pretty frequently now (1-2 times a minute sometimes). Still on super high ground so no flooding at least. Wind is still fierce and loud, but we're feeling really lucky (poo poo poo, as my mom would say)
posted by Mchelly at 7:53 PM on October 29, 2012

Flooding is receding a bit in my corner of Greenpoint.
posted by Skygazer at 7:55 PM on October 29, 2012

WNYC is reporting Bellevue Hospital has only two hours of power left.
posted by gerryblog at 7:55 PM on October 29, 2012

Is that partially collapsed 57th St. crane still a situation right now? I haven't heard updates about it lately.
posted by Neilopolis at 7:55 PM on October 29, 2012

Jesus, the thing with the generators is disturbing. I am sure they weren't installed or located with flooding in mind, more so with power outages from winds and heavy snow fall.
posted by mrzarquon at 7:57 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm watching CBS2 right now. The crane is still dangling all Damoclesian-like. Fuck.
posted by maudlin at 7:57 PM on October 29, 2012

Is that partially collapsed 57th St. crane still a situation right now? I haven't heard updates about it lately.

They evacuated the area, but as far as I know it's still dangling.
posted by oinopaponton at 7:58 PM on October 29, 2012

Flickering in UWS as well, but it seems to be okay now.

I am assuming hospitals like Bellevue and NYU do NOT want people to try and come help tomorrow, right?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:58 PM on October 29, 2012

Is that partially collapsed 57th St. crane still a situation right now? I haven't heard updates about it lately.

Yes and no. It's still there, swaying in the wind, but they've evacuated the area below and turned off local utilities, so that if it does fall, it won't pierce active gas or steam lines
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:58 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thinking good thoughts for all those in NYC.

And hoping that Bloomberg is crucified once the storm is over and the city is cleaning up and everyone realizes that what's happening right now was EXACTLY what the experts were predicting, and he still declined to order evacuations -- and issued a statement that was insanely wrong on so many levels telling people that things were not going to be all that bad.
posted by devinemissk at 7:59 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Anyone near the Lorimer stop in Williamsburg? Do you still have power? Trying to reach a friend
I'm at Lorimer and Montrose, and we have only had a flicker or two, otherwise power and internet, directtv etc all on.
posted by coupdefoudre at 8:00 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Thanks, maudlin.
posted by Neilopolis at 8:00 PM on October 29, 2012

His disaster record is not all that hot. I'm still scarred from the Christmas blizzard clusterfuck, what was that, 2 years ago?
posted by Miko at 8:00 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sleepy drinky sexy time. Still have power, chitchat later. Be good everyone.
posted by vrakatar at 8:00 PM on October 29, 2012

Twitter is filled with reports of desperate and trapped people across the city. This is a nightmare.
posted by gerryblog at 8:00 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's also filled with incredible assholes making jokes about dead hipsters. So there's that.
posted by gerryblog at 8:01 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I adore the sign language lady, Lydia Calas, from Bloomberg's conferences. The Mayor's talking about physical events, like not touching downed power lines, and you can tell when she gets to that sentence because there's the incredibly obvious "WHOA SERIOUSLY DO NOT TOUCH THAT DOWNED POWER LINE, FOOL" moment.

I wanted her to continue interpreting when he turned into El Bloombito. She almost looks like she's parodying him, so it would be like our affectionate eye-rolling at Bloombito would be captured on her face. Maybe tomorrow!
posted by BigJen at 8:01 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

This is so, so minor but I now regret wanting to snorgle my kiddo. He just woke up... barfing. First time for him - very confused.
posted by sonika at 8:01 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

This is probably the best picture of Times Square I've ever seen. (via buzzfeed's tumblr)
posted by desjardins at 8:01 PM on October 29, 2012 [13 favorites]

Is that partially collapsed 57th St. crane still a situation right now? I haven't heard updates about it lately.

Yep, it's hanging their swaying about ready to go if the cable holding it doesn't hold. Most NYC stations have cameras on it and the show it every coupla minutes. They're really working the suspense and symbolism of it as proof of Sandy's power.

I think it's a clear sign that this country has come to the end of it's tolerance for unrestrained obscene plutocratic arrogance (the building's top nine floors are all for billionaires) cos I'm trying to get that meme out there.../AxgrindIKnowSorry...
posted by Skygazer at 8:03 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I hope everyone in NYC is OK.

Things are pretty mellow at the moment in Somerville. There is super-localized flooding on my street but I went out there and helped the DPW people open a few of the storm drains and the water is going down again. I also gave them some of the brownies I made.

Again, I hope everyone else out there is alright.
posted by Aizkolari at 8:04 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

A friend in India just IM'd on Facebook me to see if I was OK. Seems like a little bit of role reversal having someone from Pune worried that things are falling apart in the US. He said it was it biggest story on Indian news.
posted by octothorpe at 8:04 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

That gif of the SLA person is hypnotic. Someone needs to photoshop in some glow sticks.
posted by carter at 8:04 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

MetaFilter: It's also filled with incredible assholes making jokes about dead hipsters. So there's that.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 8:06 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

If it's any consolation to New Yorkers, my power has been out in solidarity for most of the evening and it's barely even raining here in Toronto.

Fuck you Toronto Hydro.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:06 PM on October 29, 2012

This is probably the best picture of Times Square I've ever seen.

The only place in NYC that deserves a power outage. :(

Guys I'm wondering what if anything I can do, being several hundred miles away. If I go donate blood tomorrow, is that going to help anyone at all? Or will it be a 9/11 situation where too many people donate and it ends up getting tossed?
posted by saturday_morning at 8:07 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

The one 57 obscenity is two doors down from whete i live and my place is on the top floor. im in Canada until the 19th and didn't have to evacuate but i hope thry can get the crane down before anything happens
posted by brujita at 8:07 PM on October 29, 2012

ChuraChura - regarding Rye, family down there reported earlier that Rye Beach is "gone, the water comes up to Playland".

Regarding the CT coastal evacuations - the towns were doing a poor job of communicating or enforcing the evacuation order. My town said that "direct coastline and areas that tend to flood" need to evacuation, which is nearly meaningless. Doesn't seem like there was advance preparation to know what areas need to be evacuated for given situations.

All the same, I figure 80% of anything out of a politician's mouth in times like this is ass-covering. Didn't stop us from leaving.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 8:08 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Stolen from Facebook: they should have named the storm A-Rod and it never would have hit anything.
posted by shothotbot at 8:09 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

Does anyone have a link for a live police scanner for DC? There's some unnerving honking/yelling/siren action going on outside.
posted by argonauta at 8:10 PM on October 29, 2012

I have a lot of family in India who have also been asking after me. It's not a "role reversal," Pune is not falling apart.
posted by sweetkid at 8:10 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Guys I'm wondering what if anything I can do, being several hundred miles away.

Give money to the Red Cross or other disaster relief organizations. They are not going to have any use for your blood - there are millions of people close by; probably thousands and thousands of them would be willing and eligible to donate.
posted by desjardins at 8:10 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Mayor's talking about physical events, like not touching downed power lines, and you can tell when she gets to that sentence because there's the incredibly obvious "WHOA SERIOUSLY DO NOT TOUCH THAT DOWNED POWER LINE, FOOL" moment.

Let me reinterpret the first 24 seconds of that video.

ASL lady: There's this groundhog with a really kinky quirk burrowing under the sidewalk and then emerging to do some disturbing things to a fire hydrant. [Waits for Mayor.] We saw it put on its leather gear and empty its bowels and then it lit up a joint and it got really high again and ran back underground. And then it OH HEY BALD GUY.
posted by mudpuppie at 8:10 PM on October 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

Police/Fire/EMS feeds from all over the US
posted by desjardins at 8:11 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Sidebar on Pune - I was there a year ago and, yeah, anything but 'falling apart'.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 8:12 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Stay safe New Yorkers.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:12 PM on October 29, 2012

Kinda shallow, but I'm feeling sad and concerned for the Jersey Shore I know and love, and its history. Ocean City, Atlantic City, Wildwood, Seaside totally inundated, the end of an amusement pier (of the last few in NJ, you can't build them any more) washed away. Are those century-old Skee Ball machines gonna survive this? Those old "dusty arcades" that come back to life every summer? It looks like the Shore is just getting thrashed. Most of the people have evacuated so there's very little info, but there keep being glimpses of splintered lumber and absent structures along the shore.
posted by Miko at 8:13 PM on October 29, 2012 [9 favorites]

Rich peoples cars going floaty floaty is sorta funny. But hey stupids watching that GO INSIDE DONT GET ELECTROCUTED.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:13 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Guys I'm wondering what if anything I can do, being several hundred miles away. If I go donate blood tomorrow, is that going to help anyone at all?

Don't think there's any need for blood here that can't be filled by the millions of more or less unscathed people already in NYC. On preview, desjardins has it. Places like Coney Island and the Rockaways are going to have a long, crappy road ahead of them, and the Red Cross will probably be leading the charge in organizing relief.
posted by oinopaponton at 8:13 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

And hoping that Bloomberg is crucified once the storm is over and the city is cleaning up and everyone realizes that what's happening right now was EXACTLY what the experts were predicting, and he still declined to order evacuations -- and issued a statement that was insanely wrong on so many levels telling people that things were not going to be all that bad.
posted by devinemissk at 10:59 PM on 10/29

Actually Bloomberg has done very well, remaining calm and giving out useful information. And really, how did you miss all the evacuations he ordered?
posted by mountmccabe at 8:14 PM on October 29, 2012 [10 favorites]

The only place in NYC that deserves a power outage

I just learned last week that Times Square zoning requires 30% of any building to be screen.
posted by Miko at 8:14 PM on October 29, 2012 [10 favorites]

Damn. That was fast. There is this humongous truck/machine in the street eating up, crunching and shredding the downed trees and branches from the park across from me. Bravo, Mayor Menino and Governor Patrick for having crews available to worK ASAP!
posted by ericb at 8:15 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

> Regarding the CT coastal evacuations - the towns were doing a poor job of communicating or enforcing the evacuation order. My town said that "direct coastline and areas that tend to flood" need to evacuation, which is nearly meaningless. Doesn't seem like there was advance preparation to know what areas need to be evacuated for given situations.

Yeah, and the CT coast line is also very weird.

My parents are about 1500 feet from the water (or a small inlet of it), but also at 75' above high tide, and multiple blocks of houses / trees / etc between them. The CT coast is pretty steep in some parts, so saying "coastline" doesn't mean the same as New Jersey or Long Island, where you have long slopping beaches and coastline where entire towns are 15' above high tide.
posted by mrzarquon at 8:16 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I, too, am worried about my beloved Ocean City, NJ; the place I want to take my son because my Mom took me because her parents took her. I know they can rebuild but I'm sure it will be a lot of work and money. We'll be there next summer, OCNJ, throwing our cash at ya!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:16 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

sweetkid: "I have a lot of family in India who have also been asking after me. It's not a "role reversal," Pune is not falling apart."

That's what I was saying, Pune's fine but the stereotype is of westerners patronizingly worrying about the third world when our cities are falling apart.
posted by octothorpe at 8:17 PM on October 29, 2012

The crane is turning into the star of the storm. Any and every tv station is doing a story on, using pretty much the same footage.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:17 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

re: bathtubs, if you have a plastic shower curtain liner, just drape that over the tub. The tub provides the shape, the plastic sheet keeps things watertight.
posted by indubitable at 8:17 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, Miko, I've stayed away from pictures of the Jersey shore as much as possible today. Hits a little too close to my heart, however much I've grown up and away from it. I don't even want to think about what LBI is going to look like when all this is over.
posted by EvaDestruction at 8:17 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Rich peoples cars going floaty floaty is sorta funny.

That's a Hyundai.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:18 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Rich peoples cars going floaty floaty is sorta funny.

Yikes. Hopefully no-one got caught inside there.
posted by carter at 8:18 PM on October 29, 2012

Those cars don't look like they're going floaty floaty. They look like they're stucky stucky in strawberry Jell-O Brand gelatin.
posted by perhapses at 8:19 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Only called them that because they're in a parking garage in the financial district, probably not actually that funny tbh.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:19 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm surprised CBS 2 isn't focused on the Coney Island Hospital.
posted by desjardins at 8:20 PM on October 29, 2012

What is extremely unfunny is the situation at NYU. Local news just starting to cover it with an air of 0_0
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:20 PM on October 29, 2012

Rich peoples cars going floaty floaty is sorta funny.

What is all that red in the water? Dexron?
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 8:20 PM on October 29, 2012

According to scanner, Bellevue hospital has 1 hour of power left and is out of oxygen. They're prepping for evacuation.
posted by Stynxno at 8:21 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Huh. I'd half expected them to flip upside down, submerged cars tend to do that. Maybe the water rose too slowly for them to flip?

West Village friend reports "no visible excitement here, sadly." I told her to put the cats in the bathtub if she needs to liven things up a bit.

.. you don't want a hurricane to be exciting. It's like an airplane ride, the best case scenario is mind-numbing tedium and mild inconvenience with an occasionally interesting view out the window.
posted by cmyk at 8:23 PM on October 29, 2012 [11 favorites]

On Twitter:

Liz Henry ‏@lizhenry
My friend has only so many hours left on his ventilator battery, at Broadway and Duane in Manhattan, anyone nearby have a generator?



Liz is a real person, she's a friend of an internet friend of mine on the West Coast...if any of you can help, please message her on twitter.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 8:23 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

that's an old Hyundai suv, so just an ordinary car. but it's like 18' long and floating at a perpendicular angle.. so, damn
posted by ninjew at 8:23 PM on October 29, 2012

Why does the water from that hyundai pic look red? Very weird...
posted by Admira at 8:24 PM on October 29, 2012

If I'm reading the wiki right, this is now the tenth longest thread ever on MetaFilter.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 8:24 PM on October 29, 2012

That scanner chatter on the hospital oxygen and generator status is seriously scary. Good luck, everyone.
posted by carter at 8:25 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm surprised CBS 2 isn't focused on the Coney Island Hospital.

FDNY tweet says units are at the scene; no confirmed fire or reports of injuries.
posted by compartment at 8:25 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

NBC New York is finally reporting about the NYU situation - so they're 1 hour behind Twitter/Metafilter.
posted by Stynxno at 8:26 PM on October 29, 2012

Scroll through for an OC Tabernacle pic for ThePinkSuperhero. They seem to have a rotating set of messages up today because I've seen a few.
posted by Miko at 8:27 PM on October 29, 2012

NBC New York is finally reporting about the NYU situation - so they're 1 hour behind Twitter/Metafilter.

Or you know, they have to double check it's not a troll regurgitating a script from some shitty disaster movie.
posted by fullerine at 8:28 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Really weird flashes of light in the distance of Jersey City.

Would that be in the vicinity of Grover's Mill?
posted by philip-random at 8:30 PM on October 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

Outside Online has the original 1994 article by Sebastian Junger that became the book 'The Perfect Storm" up.

If present reality isn't enough for you right now, that is.
posted by Rumple at 8:31 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Does anyone know where the NYU and Bellevue patients are being sent?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:32 PM on October 29, 2012

Something just went up over in Jersey.
posted by OldReliable at 8:32 PM on October 29, 2012

Or you know, they have to double check it's not a troll regurgitating a script from some shitty disaster movie.

You know, I would be very okay with jail time for spreading false rumors in a disaster situation.
posted by Malor at 8:32 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

The FDNY feed says that they may be able to get gas to the Bellevue generators (which need 30gal/hour) but haven't heard much else.
posted by sibboleth at 8:33 PM on October 29, 2012

Xeni Jardin's twitter (@xeni) has really good up the minute info on hospital evacs.
posted by sonika at 8:33 PM on October 29, 2012

Can you be more specific, OldReliable? What has gone up (in flames?) and where in NJ?
posted by booksherpa at 8:33 PM on October 29, 2012

Does anyone know where the NYU and Bellevue patients are being sent?

Mt. Sinai. Possibly others. I'd expect New York-Pres since NYU is big.
posted by Stynxno at 8:34 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Scroll through for an OC Tabernacle pic for ThePinkSuperhero

Thanks for that. I'm sure my Grammy would be glad to see that pic, too (they go to events there when they're in town); I'll e-mail it to her.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:34 PM on October 29, 2012

NYU patients are being moved to Sloan Kettering and Mt. Sinai.
posted by zix at 8:34 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

NYU/Bellevue patients sent to Sloan-Kettering.
posted by sonika at 8:35 PM on October 29, 2012

NY Times is reporting dangerous water levels at Oyster Creek nuke plant in Toms River, NJ.
posted by marsha56 at 8:36 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Latest I'm seeing on Twitter: @FDNY says no fire at Coney Island hospital, @dailyintel reports 30 ambulances involved in NYU evacuation, @WNYC says Bellevue has 2 hours of power left and evac preparations are underway, @CoryBooker trying to persuade homeless Newarkers at Penn Station to come with him to shelter.
posted by EvaDestruction at 8:37 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

CoryBooker trying to persuade homeless Newarkers at Penn Station to come with him to shelter
I would join a religion that worships that man.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 8:39 PM on October 29, 2012 [28 favorites]

We gotta move Booker to a bigger stage.
posted by shothotbot at 8:39 PM on October 29, 2012 [10 favorites]

NYT reports dangerously high water levels at Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, threatening cooling systems for spent fuel. About two hours outside NYC.
posted by brina at 8:41 PM on October 29, 2012

About two hours outside NYC.

And uncomfortably close to some of my family. :-/ I think that's the nuclear power plant we visited on a school trip in 5th grade.
posted by EvaDestruction at 8:44 PM on October 29, 2012

Toms River is my boyfriend's hometown. All his family is there. What's the best place to look for news related to Toms River?
posted by ocherdraco at 8:44 PM on October 29, 2012

There was some earlier mention of an "unusual event" at Oyster Creek, which is the lowest level alert; this is second level, so that has me freaked out.
posted by Miko at 8:44 PM on October 29, 2012

Oyster Creek isn't just close to New York, it's close(r) to a good 4 million people in NJ as well.
posted by Miko at 8:45 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ocherdraco, I grew up near there. Probably http://app.com, home of the Asbury Park Press, the big-ish regional paper.
posted by booksherpa at 8:46 PM on October 29, 2012

thePinkSuperhero and Miko and EvaDestruction, yes, I grew up spending summers at the Jersey shore as well, and my family still goes there every summer. I feel bad being so upset by this with all that is going on, but the photos of beaches and streets I know in Ocean City, NJ are making my heart hurt.

The Oyster Creek plant is pretty close to where my family is also (worrying ...).
posted by gudrun at 8:47 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

ocherdraco, I hate to say this, but (like with a lot of NJ towns) it's probably Toms River Patch and the associated Facebook. The Asbury Park Press also seems to be awake and getting stuff up.
posted by Miko at 8:48 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks for keeping me updated guys... I'm out beyond the immediate effects but whenever these things happen I feel like MeFi is my best source for accurate and real-time info. I really appreciate you all contributing what you can.
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 8:48 PM on October 29, 2012

Once again, I'd like to throw my support in to nominate Cory Booker for Batman.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:48 PM on October 29, 2012 [30 favorites]

Yeah, my parents and brother and SIL are all riding this out in NJ, all without power, and I'm very concerned. My parents are pretty near Sandy Hook Bay and the water in their creek was rising last time they called. Hopefully all is OK though, as they did have cells up and running. Hard for me to think about sleeping though.
posted by Miko at 8:49 PM on October 29, 2012

There was some earlier mention of an "unusual event" at Oyster Creek, which is the lowest level alert; this is second level, so that has me freaked out.

The power plant has been shut down, so it is a manageable situation - the fuel in the pools is cooler than it would be if they had to suddenly stop operations (which happened a Fukushima).

I believe they can still draw outside water in to cool the fuel storage ponds. In a worse scenario, they would have to bring in fire hoses to do the job, so you would need to worry about how to fuel the pumps.

It's not like this is an unforeseen scenario, so I would expect everything is in hand.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:50 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

NYT reports dangerously high water levels at Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, threatening cooling systems for spent fuel. About two hours outside NYC.

Note that the reactor itself has been shut down since the 22nd, so there's no particular sign of danger in that area. They're going to have trouble cooling their spent fuel if the water comes up another foot. They have 25 hours from that point before the water starts to boil, and I would assume that the floodwaters would recede long before then.
posted by Malor at 8:51 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

We gotta move Booker to a bigger stage.

That is truly the only way to save the erstwhile vision of America as a land of opportunity and a better future.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:51 PM on October 29, 2012

Sandy in Hell's Kitchen this afternoon and a collection of Sandy related pics, tweets and vids tonight.
posted by nickyskye at 8:52 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

I won't be sleeping tonight here in central NJ. I'm worried enough about a tree falling on my house, but worried more about my mom in Marlton on a ventilator in my parents' house. I am hoping that they still have power and that the night nurse showed up for her shift.
posted by amro at 8:52 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

We gotta move Booker to a bigger stage.
posted by shothotbot 5 minutes ago [3 favorites +]


Staaaaalwart and steady and truuuuuuue
posted by The Whelk at 8:52 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's not like this is an unforeseen scenario

This is true. If there's anything true about the shore it's that disaster scenarios always include hurricanes and flooding. Still, eep, a little.
posted by Miko at 8:52 PM on October 29, 2012

Also, following Jersey Shore Hurricane News on Facebook is useful for news across New Jersey, not just the shore.
posted by booksherpa at 8:52 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks, all.
posted by ocherdraco at 8:54 PM on October 29, 2012

Why is it so quiet right now? Where's the wind? Is it going to come back or was that it?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:56 PM on October 29, 2012

I love JSHN but I have to say, they are kind of fanning the flames of hysteria tonight. I know it's a fast moving environment but...

amro, I'll be thinking of you. Don't know if it helps but there is some discussion on the Moorestown NJ Patch which I think might be the closest one to Marlton.
posted by Miko at 8:57 PM on October 29, 2012

So seems quiet now.

Where do we line up for Volunteer work?
posted by The Whelk at 8:59 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Why is it so quiet right now? Where's the wind? Is it going to come back or was that it?

Did it suddenly disappear to nothing? You're probably in the eye of the storm; the centre where nothing happens. The other half is going to have to pass you before it's over.

TL;DR: DO NOT GO BACK OUTSIDE YET, there's more to come.
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:59 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Liz is a real person, she's a friend of an internet friend of mine on the West Coast...if any of you can help, please message her on twitter.

Arrrrgh. I wish I could. Nearly all of my friends in the area seem to be without power, and none of us have working generators.

I have power (for now, it's been going in and out,) but getting anyone from Manhattan to Northeastern Queens is impossible because (aside from intensely hazardous conditions,) the island is completely cut off. You literally can't get in or out of Manhattan right now. And the only 24 hour Home Depot I know of where she might be able to buy a generator is in Brooklyn (Hamilton Ave near Red Hook) -- also unreachable.

St. Alia, I wish her luck. Hope he's okay. :(
posted by zarq at 8:59 PM on October 29, 2012

Got quiet here for a good 20-30 minutes but now the winds are screaming again. Am going to bed soon, will check back in in the morning. Stay inside, stay safe.
posted by Mchelly at 9:01 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

"The water level at the Battery in #NYC has reached 11.25 feet, surpassing the all-time record of 11.2 feet set in 1821." via Google OOPS GOOGLE FACTS, NOT REALLY GOOGLE on Twitter.
posted by Miko at 9:01 PM on October 29, 2012

Yeah, winds are howling here. Not quiet.
posted by zarq at 9:02 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm going to ask this again in the morning but - hey where can best put my money/time to help this situation?
posted by The Whelk at 9:03 PM on October 29, 2012

United Way is never a bad place to start asking that question. Or maybe NYCares.
posted by Miko at 9:05 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Jesus. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame here in Cleveland is close to flooding. Lake Erie is infamously temperamental and wind gusts have topped 60mph here. Airport is shut down. It's a little crazy out here on the edge!
posted by bitter-girl.com at 9:09 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

So I still have CBS2 running and it's suddenly Letterman and Paul Shaffer riffing in an empty studio. (Well, some staff are laughing.) Weird.
posted by maudlin at 9:09 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

There was no fire at Coney Island hospital. It was a car fire outside the building which was put out with extinguishers.

FDNY units that initially tried to respond couldn't because streets were flooded and unpassable, and no boats were available. See this link, with outdated headline.
posted by zarq at 9:11 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

This Letterman episode is amazing.
posted by ndfine at 9:12 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Here's a picture of an Avenue U subway canal stop in Brooklyn.
posted by Jahaza at 9:12 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

Jahaza, WOW.
posted by zarq at 9:14 PM on October 29, 2012

Looking at radar images on Weather Underground & NHC-NOAA, it seems like the bulk of the storm is inland now, but there are still some pretty big bands to pass over the coast, including NYC. (Looks like. I am not your hurricane scientist.)

localroger is dead on about the weird quiet between storm bands. Doesn't mean things are over yet, but you can relax a bit while it's calm. Stay hunkered down, by which I mean drinking and eating brownies and quiche.

Y'all do hurricanes way fancier than we do. It's nothing but beer and tinned tuna out here in the citrus colonies.
posted by cmyk at 9:15 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

You're probably in the eye of the storm; the centre where nothing happens.

CNN or the weather channel was saying earlier it's not a hurricane anymore not because the winds are any weaker (they're not), but because the form is now more like a nor'easter. Basically there's no eye anymore, it's just a crazy weather system with various cold fronts and forces that make it harder to predict... It's a blizzard in DE, winds all the way out to the great lakes, flooding at the coast...
posted by mdn at 9:17 PM on October 29, 2012

Well, I'm going to turn in. The wind has been quiet down here in Southern MD for the past couple of hours, although the rain is pounding down outside. Power and Internet have held together (with a few wobbles) although there is a small cell of yellow on the radar that's bearing right down on me, so we'll have to see.

Stay safe, everyone, I'll be back in the morning.
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 9:20 PM on October 29, 2012

Looking at radar images on Weather Underground & NHC-NOAA, it seems like the bulk of the storm is inland now

But will it spin back around and hit us again (albeit with a weaker force)?
posted by amro at 9:20 PM on October 29, 2012

Water over the platform at a subway stop in Brooklyn.
posted by Jahaza at 9:23 PM on October 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

Wow. Just sending out some prayers and hopes and good thoughts to anyone that is out in this tonight. I am late to this thread and about to go to sleep. Stay safe, tonight, friends.
posted by gauche at 9:25 PM on October 29, 2012

Late to this thread, too, but I'm tearing myself away from the coverage to say that I am sending out every single good thought for safety to all of you and your families. Much love and concern and hope coming to you from west to east, dear Mefite friends.
posted by scody at 9:27 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

The homemade top 10 signs were priceless.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:28 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Going to sleep in Boston, which seems to be mostly intact. Dreaming safe and dry dreams for NYC and everyone caught in the storm.
posted by sonika at 9:28 PM on October 29, 2012

amro - it shouldn't, no. This thing is changing from a hurricane to a post-tropical critter. The circular organization will break up over land, so anything that's already gone over you shouldn't come back and do it again. Radar shows some pretty long bands still out in the Atlantic which might slide inland -- depending on other atmospheric movement they could break up, scoot north or south, do a little dance, and/or get down tonight.

All my guesses are based on what I've learned from gulf/caribbean storms though, I don't know how things will work up there with the cooler water. Your weather people will be able to tell you better what to expect.

Stay safe out there.
posted by cmyk at 9:31 PM on October 29, 2012

In the mildly "silver lining" department, the western edge of Sandy made for a pretty spectacular sunset this evening.
posted by dnash at 9:34 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

The homemade top 10 signs were priceless.

Loved that! I'm not a huge Letterman fan, but I'm enjoying him tonight. It's been wall to wall storm coverage here, by choice, and I didn't realize how nice it would be to watch something fun and goofy and silly.

Love when they cut to the shots of the empty audience.
posted by booksherpa at 9:34 PM on October 29, 2012

Time for bed. I thought I would stay up and watch coverage obsessively, but I think I'm done for now...
posted by booksherpa at 9:37 PM on October 29, 2012

Amateur video of Sandy from Virginia to Maine.
posted by gudrun at 9:41 PM on October 29, 2012

Two downed trees near our house in Arlington VA have cut off power for the block and blocked the streets, but noone hurt as far as we can tell. Sleeping in the basement. Broke out the halloween glowsticks a few days early for our toddler to calm her down when we lost power; fun with glowy lights! Be safe everyone!
posted by onlyconnect at 9:42 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

We still have power in New Paltz, NY. Surprising--we were slammed by Irene. It's quiet now, and I'm wondering if this is just another lull or if it's over.

Everyone stay safe, get some sleep if you can . . .
posted by exlotuseater at 9:44 PM on October 29, 2012

A bunch of NYC-hosted websites may be offline tomorrow. From Twitter: "Internap reports 75 Broad Street has significant flooding in sub-basement; destroyed fuel pumps; only 5-7 hours genny run time now"
posted by Asparagirl at 9:48 PM on October 29, 2012

MSNBC says 670,000 out of 1.2 million people on Long Island have no power.
posted by zerobyproxy at 9:49 PM on October 29, 2012

I started to read that Jersey Shore Hurricane News page because I've still got people up there and I wanted to find out about Funtown Pier, but I had to give it up after the second or third comment of the, "All those dumb-asses shoulda left. Let 'em drown!" variety.
posted by ob1quixote at 9:52 PM on October 29, 2012

Look, I am supportive. And I am concerned. I've been following this whole thing all damn day. But I really wish the people on Twitter who are making the same stupid Snooki joke over and over and who still think they are clever would be swallowed up by a wave already. I'm sorry if that's insensitive.

GOT IT. BLOWJOBS. YOU ARE NOT ORIGINAL. MOVE ON.
posted by mudpuppie at 9:54 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Here's video of the apartment facade in NY collapsing under high winds (mentioned upthread).

Also, the comments on the Wunderground blog seem to be one of the best sources of info about the storm and related info.
posted by flug at 9:54 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Still got my fingers crossed for you all. Stay safe, get some sleep if things have quietened down.
posted by harriet vane at 9:55 PM on October 29, 2012

wind map.
posted by latkes at 9:57 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Watching this webcam on EarthCam is oddly comforting. Watching people and cars calmly stroll by Times Sq.
posted by The Biggest Dreamer at 9:58 PM on October 29, 2012

I'm a former New Yorker now living in Portland, and I can't stop reloading this thread, the NY Times, and Twitter, over and over. In Queens, the area of Long Island City between Gantry Park and Vernon Blvd. seems horribly hard-hit by flooding too. Here is the first floor of the high-rise building where I used to live. There's an elementary school on the first floor, too. And before that, I lived in the East Village: here is a shot of around Ave C & 8th Street. I can't help thinking about all the basement apartments in that area.

New York City is one of the most resilient cities in the world, and it'll get through this -- but what an utter disaster.
posted by lisa g at 10:00 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

I'm in Crown Heights, nice and high up and feeling very lucky to have power.

But my Verizon cell reception is completely gone - why would that be? Cable vision Internet thankfully still working.
posted by Salamandrous at 10:00 PM on October 29, 2012

Off to bed on the west coast. Be well, people. I want you to know (again), we're all counting on you.
posted by mudpuppie at 10:00 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Just went through a five-minute power outage in Toronto.

Yes, I am posting to MetaFilter instead of going back to bed. But then I am going back to bed.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 10:06 PM on October 29, 2012

Maudlin: The crane is still dangling all Damoclesian-like.

70 ft long, 6 ton Crane of Damocles dangling a thousand feet above the city.

And the rain and wind is picking up again pretty intensely now.
posted by Skygazer at 10:09 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Asparagirl: A bunch of NYC-hosted websites may be offline tomorrow. From Twitter: "Internap reports 75 Broad Street has significant flooding in sub-basement; destroyed fuel pumps; only 5-7 hours genny run time now"

I'm scrounging for confirmation of this, but can't find anything except the original tweet and a similar tweet an hour later from a user who commented on the first tweet containing a dubious looking pastebin. Nothing at all on Internap's official twitter account. Internap did tweet yesterday linking to an article asking if Amazon Web Services will go down again because of Sandy, which makes me even more suspicious.

If this is true, I kinda need to know, but I'm seeing nothing at all about it on official channels. No e-mails from my upstreams. Nothing.
posted by ob1quixote at 10:12 PM on October 29, 2012

My dad's on Staten Island. I hope he's ok. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to call him earlier. I don't think he's on the coast but I'm extremely worried and feeling very guilty ugh.
posted by bleep at 10:13 PM on October 29, 2012

I no longer believe that the subway will run on any day this week in any meaningful sense. Looking forward to the charge of 200,000 first-time bikers over the Queensboro Bridge on Wednesday. Hope I can get in front of them.
posted by zvs at 10:15 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

75 broad going down will cause a lot of Internet problems. I think a lot of interconnects go through there.
posted by empath at 10:19 PM on October 29, 2012

I heard 75 broad, 55 broad, 25 broad and 60 Hudson are all running out of fuel fast. It was buried somewhere on HN, I think the YC deadline thread. Don't know how much stock to put into rumors though.
posted by Ad hominem at 10:22 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

My dad's on Staten Island. I hope he's ok. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to call him earlier. I don't think he's on the coast but I'm extremely worried and feeling very guilty ugh.
posted by bleep at 1:13 AM on October 30

I have family there as well Bleep. There's some flooding near the shore near South Beach and Midland Beach, and Wiman Avenue in Great Kills. Other than that, it doesn't seem too bad. My brother said a lot of heavy roof tiles were blowing around though and his power was out..

So I imagine if he's indoors he's probably fine and sleeping through the power outage and the wind and rain, which is what I'm imagining my parents are doing...(not sure though, their TimeWarner landline cable phone is out).
posted by Skygazer at 10:24 PM on October 29, 2012

I've never had the opportunity to even visit any of the areas being affected by this, but I just wanted to tell you all that I've been refreshing this thread all day. I'm not much for praying, but I'm sending the bunch of you, along with my friends and family that live in those areas, all the safe and positive thoughts. Hope you keep safe, dry, and warm.
posted by lilywing13 at 10:25 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

> But my Verizon cell reception is completely gone - why would that be? Cable vision Internet thankfully still working.

Cell towers are popping. Reception over CT has gotten bad according to my sister who had to call me from their house landline (a crazy trend). Really strong winds can knock the antennas off the towers, along with debris.
posted by mrzarquon at 10:25 PM on October 29, 2012

I've been reading along here all night, in between putting groceries away and catching up on laundry. It's been quiet on Facebook, as my NY and NJ friends are all either asleep or without power now but the Toronto friends are all having wind issues. So on Facebook my NY updates have been coming from Tom and Lorenzo, who posted this video of the ConEd Explosion. Wow. Earlier, when I was reading here about those of you who heard and saw it, I couldn't quite imagine it. Now...wow.

Then a Toronto friend posted a link to the Firefighters page, with a post "Third alarm sounded in Queens -- at least 12 houses on fire. Multiple other working fires, some inaccessible. Reports of multiple trapped residents on Staten Island .. developing." bleep, I hope your dad is okay - please don't feel bad. Nobody knows exactly what to do or think during events like these.

That page led to a link to the FDNY Incidents page...and sadly a Connecticut firefighter has been killed by a falling tree.

Here in Toronto, I can't sleep because the wind here is causing my Forsythia to rub against the window and the hamster has started up on her wheel, so I've got squeaky bookends. The most I've had to worry about when it came to the storm has been a few days of indoor recesses at school (I stocked a couple of extra board games, craft supplies and a wine box for my dinnertime.) I was about to carve a watermelon brain for the school's breakfast program tomorrow, but now I'm just distressed about the big, big messes everywhere and all the sadnesses so many will have to recover from. We love all the places that are getting hit hard. My daughter fell asleep worrying about the ponies on Chincoteague/Assateague. But when she wakes up, I'll have to tell her about the fire on Queen Street that's taking the building where the Silver Snail was. We'd just been by it yesterday, and reminded ourselves to visit the new location. I'm actually wringing my hands (in between typing) about what a mess it all is tonight.

Take care, everyone.
posted by peagood at 10:26 PM on October 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

bleep: “My dad's on Staten Island. I hope he's ok. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to call him earlier. I don't think he's on the coast but I'm extremely worried and feeling very guilty ugh.”

Just a small note here: this is not your fault. Natural disasters unnerve and confuse all of us, and make us forget things like that. I'm sure you'll worry, and I'll be worrying along with you, but please don't blame yourself.
posted by koeselitz at 10:28 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Thanks for your kind words, friends.
posted by bleep at 10:36 PM on October 29, 2012

U.S. Declares 'Alert' At Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant In N.J.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said that at “Alert” has been declared at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Forked River, New Jersey, an event related to Hurricane Sandy.

The NRC said that the plant, which is in a regularly scheduled outage, declared the Alert at 8:45 p.m. Eastern time “due to water exceeding certain high water level criteria in the plant’s water intake structure.”

The Commission notes that an Alert is the second lowest of four NRC action levels. Before reaching Alert status, the plant declared an “Unusual Event” when the water first reached a minimum high water level criteria, the NRC says.

“Water level is rising in the intake structure due to a combination of a rising tide, wind direction and storm surge. It is anticipated water levels will begin to abate within the next several hours,” the NRC says.

The NRC added that as of 9 p.m. EDT, no nuclear power plants had to shut down as a result of the storm, adding that “all plants remain in a safe condition, with emergency equipment available if needed and NRC inspectors on-site.”

The government agency noted that the NRC has inspectors providing 24-hour coverage of all plants that could be affected by the storm, including Oyster Creek; Salem and Hope Creek, in Hancocks Bridge, N.J.; Calvert Cliffs, in Lusby, Md.; Limerick, in Limerick Township, Pa.; Peach Bottom, in Delta, Pa.; Three Mile Island, in Middletown, Pa.; Susquehanna, in Salem Township, Pa.; Indian Point, in Buchanan, N.Y.; and Millstone, in Waterford, Conn.

Oyster Creek is operated by Exleon, an NYSE-listed, Chicago-based power company.

That pretty frightening stuff. I mean, this is the way things start out in catastrophe movies. There's a crazy freak storm, then some sort of "not-so-serious" alert. Some scientist dude, played by Bruce Willis, works in the basement of the nuclear plant and knows what's really going on but is being threatened by the ruthless so and so, to keep mum...


Then an asteroid gets spotted headed for Earth.
posted by Skygazer at 10:37 PM on October 29, 2012

started to read that Jersey Shore Hurricane News page because I've still got people up there and I wanted to find out about Funtown Pier, but I had to give it up after the second or third comment of the, "All those dumb-asses shoulda left. Let 'em drown!" variety.

Totally agree, people were real assholes about that and it bothered me too. There was a time when that was a relatively new and useful message - get out even if you think you're tough so you don't put safety workers at risk - but now it's just another excuse to be nasty to people and take pleasure in their misery and not have to care for them.

Then there were the Chicken Littles in the Oyster Creek thread talking about how we were going to have another Fukushima. Ah, very calm and reasoned, all around! They are generally a pretty cool example of citizen communications kind of working, but they were overmatched in the moderation dept. tonight.
posted by Miko at 10:38 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Feeling extremely lucky that I have power, up here in Washington Heights. Thoughts with everyone.
posted by tickingclock at 10:39 PM on October 29, 2012

"NYSE Euronext said it is preparing to implement a new contingency plan to help resume stalled U.S. equity trading, and added that its famed trading floor is not yet damaged by Hurricane Sandy."
posted by zarq at 10:45 PM on October 29, 2012

Some Subway Tunnels Flood; Pumping Them Out Could Take 4 Days
posted by zarq at 10:49 PM on October 29, 2012

From one small voice on the other side of the country, I hope all of you are staying warm and dry, that tomorrow brings a chance to catch your collective breath, and that you know that so many of us are waiting to hear what we can do to help.
posted by clearly at 10:50 PM on October 29, 2012

Miko: They are generally a pretty cool example of citizen communications kind of working, but they were overmatched in the moderation dept. tonight.

Indeed.

The Oyster Creek thread was the straw that broke the camel's back for me too. I really wanted to try and jump in and offer a reasonable opinion, but, given my history of thinking that there's no way the people running a nuclear plant wouldn't be screaming bloody murder if there was even a chance they could lose control of the reaction, I was reticent to chime in.
posted by ob1quixote at 10:51 PM on October 29, 2012

Been obsessively refreshing news and discussion sites for some of the towns I'm concerned with, and just frustrated because there's no new content. But that's because people don't have power. And even though they've got cells, they are conserving batteries, because of lack of power. It's a big flaw in the whole "social media will always keep us looped in" idea. There are just swaths of area where people are saving phone power for potential 911 needs (I'm seeing there are a lot of fires now in NJ) and because they don't know when they can next catch a charge. Uploading photos and "we're all fine here thanks" comments to local news sites isn't a wise use of battery power just now.
posted by Miko at 10:52 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

After an evening of watching the wind, we were ready to settle down to an hour of TV before bed. Our choices (established days earlier): Boardwalk Empire or Treme.
posted by chortly at 10:53 PM on October 29, 2012 [10 favorites]

Some Subway Tunnels Flood; Pumping Them Out Could Take 4 Days

I had this momentary thought that maybe this flooding would kind of clean up the debris and smell and give them a new lease on life. Then I thought about standing water with whatever crap from the tunnels is rotting in it for even just a day or two and the continuing dampness and probably mold down there for quite some time and realized, yeah, no.
posted by Miko at 10:55 PM on October 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

To echo what others have said, it's really weird to step out into a calm Calfornia night after following this all day. I hope the worst is passed for most of you, and that you can all stay safe and warm until things get back to normal.
posted by gofargogo at 10:56 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

OFficial Twitter feed of the MTA: "Again: rumors are wrong. There is no timetable for subway reopening. Rumors of one week are just that: rumors."

"The NYC subway ... has never faced a disaster as devastating as what we experienced last night." -Chairman
posted by Miko at 10:58 PM on October 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Listening to WCBS over the internet. It has periodic traffic updates, and they're all almost identical: "There are trees all over the roads, tunnels and bridges are all closed, stay home." And the weather report for Wednesday is "breezy, but nothing like today." Understatement much?
posted by BungaDunga at 10:59 PM on October 29, 2012

It seems like as dawn breaks it's just gonna be intense. Not the usual strolling around looking at the tree branches in your neighbor's yard. Major damage. It seems far worse than Irene, more widespread, more costly. I hope the death toll goes no higher. Power's going to be out a long time for some people. The subways...not coming back right away. Commuter rail? Who knows. Highway bridges and tunnels? Seems like they all need to be checked for damage. Coastal erosion, undermining? Probably. It's tiring just thinking about it - and all the disaster folks who have been up all day and through the night are going to have just as massive a day tomorrow, but with that sudden stunned effect when the adrenaline's gone and you see just exactly how much shit there is to clean up.
posted by Miko at 11:02 PM on October 29, 2012 [7 favorites]

> It seems like as dawn breaks it's just gonna be intense.

I am too anxious to go to bed, here on the west coast. I'm afraid I am going to wake up tomorrow to find the eastern seaboard is completely different than what I grew up with.
posted by mrzarquon at 11:08 PM on October 29, 2012

Something to remember: The NHC and NWS called this. They pretty much nailed this storm 72 hours ago.

Something else to remember: European climate modelers were ahead of U.S. modelers by days in predicting this storm. From the first link in the original post:

First, we started seeing it repeatedly come up on the best medium range computer model we have – the European. Second, and more importantly, what the European was showing made sense synoptically. This was the reason why we were able to at least mention the possibility this could happen back on Sunday...

This scenario, while once felt somewhat unlikely, is supported by nearly every major model we have. The American model, or GFS, has finally come around to the European’s thinking, which is why just today you have been likely hearing about this storm on your local news.

That was Friday but the Europeans had been warning about the scenario for days before; you can trace weather bloggers mentioning it early last week.
posted by mediareport at 11:09 PM on October 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

Among other major issues, there are a number of very serious wind-fed fires happening in NYC. This is in Breezy Point, for example.
posted by rollbiz at 11:21 PM on October 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

They are reporting that power may be out for a week in lower Manhattan.
posted by fshgrl at 11:22 PM on October 29, 2012

How One Well-Connected Pseudonymous Twitter Spread Fake News About Hurricane Sandy, Andrew Kaczynski, Buzzfeed Tumblr, 30 October, 2012
posted by ob1quixote at 11:24 PM on October 29, 2012 [13 favorites]

Whelp. I've uneventfully been studying with power on, TV on, and internet just dandy here in Philly. I can't even hear the wind anymore.
posted by DoubleLune at 11:34 PM on October 29, 2012

Breezy Point blaze is now 5 alarms.
posted by rollbiz at 11:51 PM on October 29, 2012

Do you know what's burning at Breezy point?
posted by carter at 11:54 PM on October 29, 2012

Carter, local news and FDNY are saying 15 to 20 houses.
posted by compartment at 11:58 PM on October 29, 2012

Thanks, compartment.
posted by carter at 12:01 AM on October 30, 2012

ob1quixote: "I'm scrounging for confirmation of this, but can't find anything except the original tweet and a similar tweet an hour later from a user who commented on the first tweet containing a dubious looking pastebin. Nothing at all on Internap's official twitter account. Internap did tweet yesterday linking to an article asking if Amazon Web Services will go down again because of Sandy, which makes me even more suspicious."

It's confirmed. Some floors in the building are apparently out as of 11EDT.
posted by wierdo at 12:03 AM on October 30, 2012

Wait, so Buzzfeed reports that a "well-connected" Twitter user - one of those modest folks, you know, who prefer to "keep their widely-followed Twitter voices separate from their careers" - is deliberately spreading false information during a natural disaster, "trying to trick his media followers...with fake news," and Buzzfeed can't be bothered to mention his name, even as it notes that he's had drinks with - wait for it - the fucking editor of Buzzfeed?

If the accusation is true, it'll be interesting to see who has the guts to break the "pseudonymity" of this jerk. I guess we can be pretty clear it won't be Buzzfeed.
posted by mediareport at 12:05 AM on October 30, 2012 [10 favorites]

ob1quixote, that is fascinating.
posted by mwhybark at 12:06 AM on October 30, 2012

Reports from Breezy Point area are that there's three streets of houses burned to the ground. Command is asking them to try to search beyond that for whatever/whoever might be left.

134 truck was in the area a bit earlier, called a mayday, and is still unaccounted for.

The situation is...not good.
posted by rollbiz at 12:06 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Speaking of pseudonymous twits, is the Crane of Damocles tweeting?
posted by mwhybark at 12:10 AM on October 30, 2012

Command at Breezy Point fire says 134 truck never made it there. It's unclear what has become of them, and there's just not resources to go looking...
posted by rollbiz at 12:10 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Photos of Breezy Point fires from the NYC ARECS Twitter feed: #1, #2

(NYC ARECS is the New York City Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Service. Worth following them for news, since they're basically Old Timey Twitter.)
posted by Asparagirl at 12:11 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

That's six firefighters and a truck that radioed a mayday, and then haven't been heard from in an hour, and there's no resources available to try to find them and/or it's just too fucking hairy. They're still trying to raise them on the radio, but failing.
posted by rollbiz at 12:14 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Good news on a bad night: All members of 134 truck have just been accounted for.

And with that, I've had all that I can take for a night, and more...goodnight. Hope to find all you NYCers online and doing great tomorrow...!
posted by rollbiz at 12:18 AM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

Online HD live feed from WNBC, which is Channel 4 in New York.
posted by Asparagirl at 12:19 AM on October 30, 2012

rollbiz: "That's six firefighters and a truck that radioed a mayday, and then haven't been heard from in an hour, and there's no resources available to try to find them and/or it's just too fucking hairy. They're still trying to raise them on the radio, but failing."

Here's to hoping they just got wet enough to zap their radios.
posted by wierdo at 12:21 AM on October 30, 2012

Marc Ambinder (a journalist who is kind of famous for being a police scanner junkie) says this on Twitter: "_50_ homes fully destroyed, 8-10 still burning in six alarm fire in Breezy Point, Queens, NY. ConEd can’t reach the area to shut off gas."
posted by Asparagirl at 12:25 AM on October 30, 2012

Weirdo, I know they're on generator power, but the report is that they can't refuel the generators from fuel storage due to flooding. That's what i can't find any official confirmation of. Do you have a link?
posted by ob1quixote at 12:28 AM on October 30, 2012

One of the missing crewmembers of the HMS Bounty, 42-year-old Claudene Christian, has died in the hospital after she was pulled from the water. Don't visit the ship's Facebook page unless you want more sadness and lots of second-guessing in the comments; the posts from Sunday - "So far so good! Bounty's move to the east avoided all the storms up the Atlantic Coast" - are now heartbreaking.
posted by mediareport at 12:33 AM on October 30, 2012

The mother of another crew member, 20-year-old Anna Sprague, said her daughter had been aboard the HMS Bounty since May...Sprague said her daughter told her the ship's diesel engines failed, and then it started taking on water.
posted by mediareport at 12:36 AM on October 30, 2012

See also.

Apparently Ms. Christian was some sort of relation to Mr. Christian.
posted by mwhybark at 12:37 AM on October 30, 2012

Claudene Christian's family lived close enough to me that I saw them interviewed by the local news. Her family takes comfort in that she died doing what she loved.
posted by lilywing13 at 12:41 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

ob1quixote: "Do you have a link?"

Sorry, I was confusing Internap on Broad Street with 111 8th, which is confirmed to be having generator problems. I've seen the pastebin you reference, but I have no further information. That said, based on its location and elevation, it almost certainly flooded.
posted by wierdo at 12:47 AM on October 30, 2012

Ah, PEER1 has information on their site:

14:40 PT - The New York facility has made the transition over to generator power due to a drop in commercial power.

17:36 PT - New York site is still on generator, facility team's routine checks shows data center is operating at normal levels. Building reports that the lobby has taken in some water.

19:27 PT - Building has detected some flooding in the 1st and 2nd basement due to the storm surge. Extent of the damage will not be determined until the basement is accessible. The fuel system has a header with 5000 gallons of fuel and will be the primary supply for the next 12-24 hours. They are also observing some lowering of the water level outside the building.

00:30 PT - We are still running from emergency generator power. Water has receded and we are currently waiting for a report back from building engineers on the status of the fuel and power systems that were located in the basement. We will post further updates when we have them

There have been no updates since, but the basement flooding itself is confirmed. I don't know if Internap and PEER1 share generation or not, but I do know they're both in 75 Broad Street.
posted by wierdo at 12:57 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Close up of the crane.
posted by Ad hominem at 1:18 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Floating cars. Non-disaster-time view.
posted by wierdo at 1:36 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Finally lost power in PA; generator has kicked in and the winds are dying down for now. Whole area dark. Waiting to see flood levels tomorrow.
posted by jetlagaddict at 2:49 AM on October 30, 2012

That jackass that ob1quixote posted about deserves a good kicking around, if not more. His momentary fame is worth more to him than the harm he's doing to jangled nerves in and around Sandy? I take back the kicking around part. He deserves a long, contemplative stay in prison.
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 2:51 AM on October 30, 2012

At least 50 homes were destroyed in the New York City borough of Queens early Tuesday as crews battled a six-alarm fire.
Officials said the fire was reported at about 11 p.m. ET on Monday in a flooded Zone A area.
posted by futz at 2:52 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

The silence in this thread is making me uneasy.
posted by futz at 2:55 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

I think/hope everyone's just sleeping off the booze and stress and power outages.
posted by wierdo at 3:01 AM on October 30, 2012

Jesus. 50 homes? Was this in a section of town which was supposedly evacuated?

That's the worst part of these storms. You make it through the wind and the rain, but then the real slog begins if you're hit hard enough.
posted by maxwelton at 3:04 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Internap did tweet yesterday linking to an article asking if Amazon Web Services will go down again because of Sandy, which makes me even more suspicious.

It looks like Internap is a competitor of sorts for AWS? Anyway, AWS's main location is actually in northern Virginia, which was also hit hard by this storm, but AFAICT they're doing fine. I've been watching closely because my company uses AWS and we were definitely worried about the effects of the storm. We suffered a lot from the effects of the derecho in June and there was an outage in one zone of US-EAST just last week. So far so good though.
posted by A dead Quaker at 3:20 AM on October 30, 2012

Homes in Breezy are close together, and with the streets flooded, no trucks or firefighting equpment can get through. This time of year, most of the summer families are gone.

I hope people evacuated.

Superstorm Sandy: fire rips through Queens destroying at least 50 homes. Video of fire.

CNN timeline coverage

Beach 207th st. is a short walk far from our house. My father went up to take care of it during the storm. So far ok, says some water damage to first floor, basement completely flooded. No word from my FDNY cousins.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 3:43 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

npr reporting that 7 subway tubes below the east river are flooded.
posted by futz at 3:47 AM on October 30, 2012

Just woke up. Things are okay here in Riverdale, BX. We seem to still have power and running water. Waiting for sunrise at a bit after 7 to see what it looks like out there. Still windy, but not horribly so.

Planning on being some part of the recovery after this storm. I've got work boots and so on.
posted by sciencegeek at 3:50 AM on October 30, 2012

NYT:

In New York City and Westchester County, where more than 670,000 Consolidated Edison customers, some of them large buildings with hundreds of residents, were dark Tuesday morning, a Con Ed spokeswoman, D. Joy Faber, said it would take days to restore power.
In Manhattan, Ms. Faber said, where preemptive power shutdowns by the utility to to keep floodwater from hitting live equipment account for a large number of the 230,000 customers without power, “we could see some restoration within 3 or 4 days,” Ms. Faber said. “Tidal surge caused considerable damage to equipment,” she said, and assessments need to be done.
“In other areas,” Ms. Faber said, “particularly for Westchester and Staten Island, we’ve got larger things that are going to hamper our restoration efforts,” including closed roads and the fact the utility has to wait until winds die down to send crews up to fix wires and poles.
posted by futz at 3:53 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

(rubbing eyes)

So, my cable went out last night at 9 pm or thereabouts. The power was still holding, as were the blankets over the living room windows, so I got a DVD on my laptop and went to bed. It's 7 am and I'm just waking up - cable has literally just now gotten back (although my wireless router seems to be down and I can only connect to the internet via ethernet cable, so I'm sitting cross-legged on the floor next to the TV). East River bridges still out and subway still down, so I can't get to work - my boss just texted me that the markets are closed anyway so it's moot.

So my aftermath recovery consists of "why the frak isn't my wireless working," and if that's it, then I am DAMN lucky.

Will now reread all 800 comments since I dropped out to check in on you all.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:07 AM on October 30, 2012 [8 favorites]

Woke up in DC to much quieter winds and continued power, yay. I've raised the blinds (lifting the drape off of my birdcage so to speak), and things don't look too bad.

Now we have to start working to communicate that the millions of benefit checks my federal agency sends out each month may be arriving late since they were mailed from the east coast. Normally it wouldn't be a huge deal, but since a lot of people rely on them arriving on or before the 1st of the month to pay rent and bills, it could affect people all across the country.
posted by kinsey at 4:12 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you're looking for power outage info for Massachusetts, the Globe has a zoomable map. Looks like my old house is OK - hope the old trees on the property didn't drop. My ex has a hellish commute to Quincy so I hope he doesn't have to go in today.

My boss just called me from work and we discussed the logistics of evacuating an inpatient mental health facility (since we work in one). My thoughts are with the patients, staff, and families of Bellevue; it must have been a tremendously stressful day and night for everyone.
posted by catlet at 4:16 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Apparently the fire at Breezy Point is still going: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/10/28/nyregion/hurricane-sandy.html?hp (11:09 update)
posted by titus-g at 4:17 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Dawn in Queens. Still some wind but much quieter. Thankfully I still have power - wondering if it's ok to drain the bathtub and go out for coffee.
posted by bunderful at 4:18 AM on October 30, 2012

Probably best to leave the water, there may be secondary effects that could cause the utilities to go out.
posted by titus-g at 4:25 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

On the other side of the world, but just wanted to wish you all good luck and god speed. And please stay safe.
posted by Hello, I'm David McGahan at 4:27 AM on October 30, 2012

Yep, almost sleepytime in Sydney as well. Best of luck with the cleanup, all, and good to see that it's probably only going to be a major PITA, not massive destruction & loss of life.

If this year's floods in the outback are anything to go by, it might get a bit stinky for a while - critters tend to get drowned & then decompose for a while after, and there's all kinds of garbage washing around. Invest in whatever counteracts stinkiness if you can. Note that this does not include patchouli.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:43 AM on October 30, 2012

UWS - Just woke up. Still have power, still dry. View from the windows is literally unchanged from noon yesterday: wet but not rainy, normal winds, no trees down. A bit messier out back (some large outdoor stuff that wasn't taken in was knocked over) but even the little maple tree that took that huge beating is still up and seems to have all its branches (still too dark out to tell, but now that I know power could still go from the flooding, I won't waste flashlight batteries on the status of an ornamental ;) Our building's elevator flooded during Irene but that doesn't seem to have happened this time. So surreal to read all the damage accounts and know many of them are so close I could walk there, and on my block there's almost no evidence that it happened.

Going to go out and take a look around later. Kids ran through a gallon of milk and half a loaf of bread in the last 24 hours and we only have 1 gallon more and about 3/4 loaf left - not sure when we will be able to get more bread (stores were all out on Sunday evening already), but am hoping to still find milk if anyplace is still open. We were very, very lucky. My heart goes out to all of you struggling through the blackouts and floods. Hoping the worst is over and recovery is swift.
posted by Mchelly at 4:45 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Williamsburg up and reporting in. Like EmpressCallipygos, I lost cable internet last night but still had power. This morning the internet is back up and running, power is still on, and I have no leaks other than a bit of water around some of the windows. The effing Mocking Birds are back outside my living room window making their usual racket. I wonder where they were hiding last night? I feel very, very lucky. Going to catch up on the news and then I'll go have a walk around the neighborhood later, if it seems safe. Pretty clear I won't be going into work any time soon.
posted by idest at 4:48 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

In Crown Heights, the heat just came on, we still have power, and the internet is working. Amazingly insulated from what the rest of the city went through.
posted by whimsicalnymph at 4:52 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Some serious coastal flooding, but the power's already back on, internet's up. 4G never went down. Seems like NYC and Jersey got the worst of it.
posted by Slap*Happy at 4:53 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

UWS - we are fine. Tree went down across the street, but everything else looks OK. Waiting for my brother to wake up to see if he wants help getting out of the East Village.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:59 AM on October 30, 2012

I've been watching this thread , and I'm also unnerved by how quiet it's gotten. I'm going to assume it's due to power outages.

(on preview, it looks like everyone is waking up and checking in. Yay!)

I hope everyone out there is okay, my thoughts are with you!

In Chicago it's getting pretty windy. One of my dogs has started to act like he does during storms, curling up and hiding in a small place.
posted by Fig at 5:00 AM on October 30, 2012

UES, Zone C, everything is ok here but the cat who is hiding inside the sofa for unknown reasons. Just waking up and responding to worried messages.

Wondering sadly when regular activities will resume.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 5:01 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think I actually see patches of SUNLIGHT outside. About to un-nail the blankets from the windows now.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:04 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's early in New York too. On Twitter I'm mostly seeing talk about the subway line and how quickly they might be able to get parts of it running again. On CBS apparently the MTA called the flooding worse than their worst case scenario, so full rehabilitation might take quite a while.
posted by gerryblog at 5:04 AM on October 30, 2012

Local bodega is open, out of bagels, low on beer, but has coffee and breakfast sandwiches. I don't think that we're all that near anyone, but if anyone in the Riverdale area needs help, memail me.
posted by sciencegeek at 5:06 AM on October 30, 2012

Sandy left a trail of devastation in Ontario. There are also many large puddles.

Seriously though, that Breezy Point fire is horrific.
posted by unSane at 5:07 AM on October 30, 2012

West Harlem checking in. Wind has died down, but still raining. We still have power and cable. BF has been reading me updates on CNN.com. What a night. Any word on the East River bridges?
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 5:08 AM on October 30, 2012

Hopping in on battery & EVDO power to note that I have no power, neighborhood is flooded. Heard from my husband, he is going to have a crazy day and has no idea when he'll be home. Be safe everyone.
posted by lyra4 at 5:10 AM on October 30, 2012

Good luck eastern USA. And don't stress about a day or two off work, we'll cover for you.
posted by bystander at 5:11 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm seeing patches of SUNLIGHT and BLUE SKY here and there out the window. Some gray clouds as well, further east, but things are mostly unscathed.

Anyone in the Clinton Hill/Ft. Greene area in Brooklyn? Wanna have a mini-meetup like Sara C. suggested? (I say at Putnam's at Clinton and Myrtle if it's open, about noon. Who's in?)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:11 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Here is nj.com on my neighborhood

Jersey City is dealing with a full-fledged disaster tonight, with extensive flooding throughout Downtown that has both City Hall and the Jersey City Medical Center surrounded by water, officials said.

Good times.
posted by lyra4 at 5:11 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

My friend William is reporting that IHOP in Flushing will open at 9am for your pancake needs.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:18 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

"Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on our entire transportation system, in every borough and county of the region,” the head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said in a statement. “The New York subway system is 108 years old, but it has never faced a disaster as devastating as what we experienced last night.”
posted by gerryblog at 5:18 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I mean no disrespect and I know that some people are a hell of a lot worse off than me and a lot of us.

But this Bruce Cockburn song is on heavy repeat here - it's always been a song about "we lived through the night and woke up and the world didn't end and you know, everything's gonna be okay" song for me. we've got a lot ahead of us, but we're alive to handle it.

"Sun's up, uh-huh, looks okay,
The world survives into another day...."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:22 AM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

All is well in my corner of Brooklyn. Just woke up and still have power, water, and heat.

I'm in Kensington, for those keeping track.
posted by ocherdraco at 5:23 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Dough in Bed Stuy is open if anyone needs a delicious fried donut. Bodegas are open too.
posted by Mavri at 5:27 AM on October 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

The people who actually live in these areas obviously have it worse, but it's so disconcerting to see so many places I've spent wonderful summer days (Coney Island, the Hyannisport Yacht Club, now Breezy Point) just destroyed in one night. Breezy hits especially hard because that's such a wonderful, weird, artsy little beach town. The houses are tiny wooden bungalows that are packed right up against each other.
posted by oinopaponton at 5:29 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well it wasn't one tree; it was two. They tore the power meter right off our house and smashed the transformer across the street. We're not getting power back any time soon. My housemate is making pancakes and coffee on the gas range so at least all is not dire.
posted by Karmakaze at 5:34 AM on October 30, 2012

The houses are tiny wooden bungalows that are packed right up against each other.

We thought we were just going to come here and see people who just didn't want to leave - now they are being forced to leave. Not by flood, not by water, not by Sandy, but by fire.

News says 50 homes, friends on fb saying 100+.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 5:38 AM on October 30, 2012

Woke up with power, light winds, and little rain here in VA. It looks like we dodged the bullet on this one. I don't think we ever had a wind gust that exceeded 50 mph. Wish it were so for everybody up North.
posted by COD at 5:39 AM on October 30, 2012

Here in Hartford, CT, I woke up and saw clouds breaking to blue skies behind. In the 90 or so minutes since it's gotten overcast and broken up again twice, which I think means we're under the trailing edge of the storm. Seems like coastal and rural CT, NY, NJ & RI got hit pretty bad overnight, and I'm still a little shocked at the pictures I saw of NYC last night.
posted by gauche at 5:45 AM on October 30, 2012

So glad to see everyone checking in and thinking dry, safe, and calm thoughts for those in NYC who can't update us right now.

Here in Boston everything is totally normal. Some of our trees around our place still have leaves! Sun's trying to peek out! Feeling extremely lucky and wish I could take some of our excess good fortune and donate it. Guess since I can't, I'll send some money to the Red Cross.
posted by sonika at 5:48 AM on October 30, 2012

We're totally fine here in the Northern VA suburbs, but I'm worried about a friend in Jersey City who had to evacuate. Last I heard they were ok but they live close to city hall, and I'm worried that they may have lost everything. Been trolling You Tube looking for videos from their street.
posted by JoanArkham at 5:48 AM on October 30, 2012

Six alarm fire in Queens requires 198 firemen.
posted by ColdChef at 5:48 AM on October 30, 2012

Waiting for the check-ins from my peeps in NJ whose power is no doubt still out. I assume no news is good news though. There is SO much damage.
posted by Miko at 5:49 AM on October 30, 2012

All is well here for us in Washignton Heights!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:49 AM on October 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

Wind map from 6am 10/30/12, in case you want to see just how big this fucking storm is.

Even though I know, intellectually, that everyone is almost certainly safe, I can't but let out a little whoop of joy every time people check in.
posted by Kattullus at 5:49 AM on October 30, 2012 [7 favorites]

Miko, my mom is in Englishtown. They lost power about 20 hours ago, no sign of it coming back anytime soon. They are safe though.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:50 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

All is well here for us in Washignton Heights!

Great! But the more pressing question is, did you get Doritos?
posted by idest at 5:51 AM on October 30, 2012

I DID NOT. And my husband is still alive! It's a tragedy AND a miracle.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:53 AM on October 30, 2012 [9 favorites]

Richmond VA checking in. It is still raining, a bit breezy, but all is well! Thinking about all of you in the NYC area!
posted by tarantula at 5:55 AM on October 30, 2012

volunteering in NY/NJ
posted by mail at 5:55 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

It's not on the scale of what's going on along the coast, but over 100,000 people are now without power in West Virginia with snow totals over four feet in some places. What a complete clusterfuck this storm is causing.
posted by wierdo at 6:00 AM on October 30, 2012

I DID NOT. And my husband is still alive! It's a tragedy AND miracle.

Send him out again. It's bad enough he never delivered my cookies, but YOU'RE HIS WIFE. YOU HAVE NEEDS.
posted by idest at 6:01 AM on October 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

I sincerely hope and wish everyone safety and luck in this storm.

But I also have to wonder if the ASL Lady and the Mars Rover Star Mohawk Man will ever get together.
posted by shortyJBot at 6:01 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

This is where I usually park. I moved my car expecting maybe a fallen branch not two freaking trees! Still, we are all ok with only some house damage. I am choosing to see this as an adventure, well, because its better than whining.
posted by Karmakaze at 6:01 AM on October 30, 2012

Boston 'burbs. Other than the tree on the neighbor's house there's surprisingly little damage in my neighborhood, though my town got hit pretty hard in general. We still have power. This seemed a lot worse than Irene but there was much, much more damage after that storm. Maybe Irene took down all the weak trees.

The trains ran fine, the subway (at least the Orange line) was fine. Everything seems to be back to normal in my world.

Of course I had to listen to people at work raz me for not coming in yesterday, as if coming in only to leave at 11:00 is something they should be proud of.

Best to all you south of here. Sounds like things aren't too fun.
posted by bondcliff at 6:02 AM on October 30, 2012

Does anyone know what time ASL lady will be at work today?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:03 AM on October 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

If anyone's checking in for the Rumson, NJ area, I just talked to my parents there. They (and everyone else as far as they can see from the front porch) are without power, and there are some downed trees and stuff, but the weather is down to just some lingering rain. So, not fun, but no longer terrifying either. They're in the non-evacuated part of town and haven't ventured out to see how the lower-lying areas fared.
posted by Stacey at 6:03 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Somehow made it through the whole thing with power, cable, and Internet. Any Mefites within walking distance of Sunset Park (and I don't mind a long walk) who need a hand today, give me a shout.
posted by Ragged Richard at 6:04 AM on October 30, 2012

Sympathy for anyone who's experienced stressful day and night, property damage, power shortages etc. waking up this morning.

Those waking up with a raging Dark and Stormy induced hangover also have my sympathies.
posted by panaceanot at 6:05 AM on October 30, 2012

Watching cams of New York from here in England, and watching east coast friends and colleagues re-emerge on Facebook and MetaFilter. Relieved is probably the closest word, for the news reports of the small number of deaths caused by this storm.

Tunnels can be dried out; infrastructure fixed; roofs and houses rebuilt; ephemera and cars and furniture and trinkets and just 'stuff', replaced.

Lives can't be relived.
posted by Wordshore at 6:05 AM on October 30, 2012 [7 favorites]

Wow the lack of volume in this thread kinda speaks volumes. Normally there is a decent amount of chatter throughout the night and into the morning that really picks up speed at 7-8am EST but this thread is painfully quiet.

Good Luck, East Coasters
posted by vuron at 6:07 AM on October 30, 2012

Miguel Bloombito ‏@ElBloombito

Employees de Citydad, necesito to que climbo over los pile de rubble, y walko to worko. Nuevo Yorko necesito tu!
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:09 AM on October 30, 2012 [10 favorites]

Christie on the Today Show. Never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad he's running NJ right now-- he really cares about the state.
posted by oinopaponton at 6:10 AM on October 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

EmpressCallipygos: I love that song. The album it comes from is probably my fave Cockburn album.
posted by eustacescrubb at 6:12 AM on October 30, 2012

I wonder if Christie is fantasizing about throwing a benefit concert for NJ and finally meeting Bruce.
posted by sallybrown at 6:13 AM on October 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

Yeah, pouring in South Williamsburg. Guess I'll take my walk later. Maybe.
posted by idest at 6:14 AM on October 30, 2012

Cable (Internet) is out, power is out and the destruction in central Jersey looks vast, but our family and neighbors are fine, I have cell service ( although this is a big thread to load onto an iPhone) and I have coffee. I am content today to count my blessings and await a return of electricity and otherwise normal life in the coming days. This was exciting but a little boring would be OK right now.
posted by caddis at 6:17 AM on October 30, 2012

My DC office colleagues are beginning to check in; sounds like most have kept power, but have lost cable and/or internet. Haven't yet heard from the one in NoVa who lives out by Dulles - when she texted me yesterday she said her lights were flickering a lot. I'm glad to see all of you here checking in and being okay!
posted by rtha at 6:18 AM on October 30, 2012

All is well here on my block in Brooklyn. There was a quarter on my stoop this morning that wasn't there last night, so I'm actually coming out ahead.

The rain we're getting right now is much heavier than yesterday. Honestly, if they hadn't told me it was a hurricane I might not have noticed. It's so surreal, being completely fine here when I know people not that far away are having a very bad time of it.
posted by mgar at 6:18 AM on October 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

Yeah, we were. Sorry. Kitchen mishap.
posted by mudpuppie

A kitchen mishap started the war of extraterrestrials resulting in the hurricane being steered?

That's some powerful stuff you are cooking.
posted by rough ashlar at 6:20 AM on October 30, 2012

Are there updates this morning on the hospitals that had to evacuate? I had trouble sleeping last night thinking of the NICU babies being evacuated. :( (My "babies in danger" alarm is very miscalibrated this week, for various reasons, and New York is NOT HELPING IT.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:20 AM on October 30, 2012

I've got some weird folding-table temporary desk here to connect to the internet via ethernet and be able to plug in my battery - apparently the single electronic device I own that went down is my wireless router. First world problems - I have them.

(Feeling damn, damn lucky. About to take a hot shower and wander to the pub/whatever up the street to see if they survived and maybe get brunch.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:22 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've been at work catching up on this thread for thirty minutes and it only just now occurred to me to check the actual news sites. Whenever something like this happens I always rely on metafilter for the most accurate picture of what is happening, so thank you all for taking the time to keep us posted when you are dealing with such a dangerous, scary situation.
posted by something something at 6:23 AM on October 30, 2012 [14 favorites]

Wow West Virginia getting hammered by a massive blizzard. Some areas got up to 2 ft of snow. That's crazy.
posted by vuron at 6:25 AM on October 30, 2012

Our Internet came back sometime while I slept and we still have power. Boyfriend is checking up on the servers at his office and will be checking in on my boss' office as well.

Watching NY1 right now, and apparently Rockway Point is gone, as State Senator Malcolm Smith calling in and talking to Pat Kiernan. BTW, when it comes to local anchor teams, ain't nobody better than Pat Kiernan and Kirsten Shaunnessey (sp?).

Bloomberg will be updating the city at 10:00 am.
posted by TrishaLynn at 6:26 AM on October 30, 2012

All is fine up in 'da Bronx. Still have full power and internet.

Without the sounds of the subway trains, no flights on approach to LaGuardia, noone walking the streets yelling into their cell phones, no honking, no booming radios, not even any car alarms, the sound of the rain is abnormally serene. There is still the occasional siren, but nowhere near typical ruckus that they would make if they were fighting their way through traffic.

The wind was strong enough to sway our solid brick townhouse a few times last night. Neighbor reports some trees were downed on the block and some slack overhead cables, but otherwise it's just a prolonged windy rainstorm.
posted by ceribus peribus at 6:26 AM on October 30, 2012

Ehode Island here. Went to work, and that went OK. Lots of small branches and leaves down that I can see, I understand that it is worse toward the Bay. A fair number of people seem to be without power, again, mostly in the low-lying areas around the Bay -- NationalGrid says 200K are without power. And we only got the edge of it....
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:26 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

South Philadelphia here. Woke up still with power, now eating hurricane coffee cake and catching up on this thread. We're oddly fine despite the proximity of the storm's track, and my heart goes out to NYC where a good number of my friends live.
posted by The Michael The at 6:26 AM on October 30, 2012

Greg Nog: Only a LITTLE whoop of joy? Damn, son, feel free to give a massive shout for me

Dammit, Greg, you made me scare the everliving crap out of the poor stump-tailed cat sunning itself in the garden. THE CRUELTY OF SANDY RESPECTS NO NATIONAL BORDERS!
posted by Kattullus at 6:26 AM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

Modest proposal:

They should allow volunteers to go help out in Ohio and West Virginia with storm recovery, with the understanding that for 20 hours of volunteer work, the volunteers will get to cast a presidential vote in that state. I'd go right away.
posted by ColdChef at 6:28 AM on October 30, 2012 [18 favorites]

They should allow volunteers to go help out in Ohio and West Virginia with storm recovery, with the understanding that for 20 hours of volunteer work, the volunteers will get to cast a presidential vote in that state. I'd go right away.

You, and the entire state of Utah.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 6:30 AM on October 30, 2012 [22 favorites]

I didn't say it was a perfect plan.
posted by ColdChef at 6:32 AM on October 30, 2012 [17 favorites]

Greenpoint: power and Internet are back for us. Power was out for a very short time. Cafe Grumpy is open at 10 and I'm going to take a walk and get a cup and see how things look out there.
posted by eustacescrubb at 6:35 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Heard from my loved ones in MD and CT. MD has power and internets. CT's apartment is/was underwater as of last night, and roof of a nearby building was ripped off. She can't check to see what kind of damage has been wrought, but she's okay. (Although two trees nearly hit the house of the friend she's staying with)

Her apartment was underwater during Irene too. CT has the worse luck of any person I have ever known. She teases that some person must have cast a curse on her.

I hope everyone else's loved ones are okay too!
posted by royalsong at 6:36 AM on October 30, 2012

Some big waves on Lake Michigan this morning. I drive by the marina on my way to work and I took a quick video of the waves crashing on the break wall.
posted by desjardins at 6:37 AM on October 30, 2012

I'm glad he's running NJ right now-- he really cares about the state.

I can't fault him for that; it's true, he's dyed in the wool NJ and it's all sincere. He's just befuddled about his political ideas. Basically, he's in the wrong party, but too stubborn to know it.

He's a big Obama fan today though. At least Obama will give him his phone number, unlike Bruce.
posted by Miko at 6:38 AM on October 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

Central Maryland - winds have died down, but we're still under a wind advisory until early afternoon. The neighbors across the street lost a tree. Well, not lost, as it's plainly splayed across their front yard, but you take my meaning. We lost a little soffiting on the front porch, but found most of it in the side yard.

During the worst of it last night I had to pull all the blinds and draw all the curtains so I couldn't see things whipping around. I think the lesson here is that I'm likely part parakeet - assuming a parakeet can also be soothed with bourbon.
posted by ersatzkat at 6:39 AM on October 30, 2012

Christie on the Today Show. Never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad he's running NJ right now-- he really cares about the state.

Well, I'm sure we'll learn more about this later, but it's worth noting that the mayor of Atlantic City disputes Christie's angry attack last night:

Speaking on NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday, Mayor Lorenzo Langford disputed Christie’s criticism that Langford erred by allowing people to shelter on the barrier island rather than moving them inland. Langford says the governor was either misinformed or ill-advised. The mayor says while most Atlantic City residents fled the island, some decided to stay. Langford says the city had a contingency plan in place for those who didn’t heed the warning to evacuate. Langford says it’s reprehensible that the governor would try to play politics out of a serious situation.

Not sure I want to defend Langford too much, given Huplescat's insinuations about his political career above, but having a contingency plan for people who stay doesn't seem quite the same as sending mixed messages about whether folks should leave, and singling out fellow leaders for attack at the high point of a crisis doesn't seem quite the same as "really caring" about a state. It's also worth noting that a reporter in Atlantic City on CNN last night suggested that the bridges off the island were very close to being underwater when the mayor (apparently, I was watching at the laundromat) said something like "If you haven't left now, it's better to stay."
posted by mediareport at 6:40 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm in the New Paltz area and we made it through fine--no damage, no flooding (a miracle after last year's lake in our back yard). We only lost our power for a total of about thirty seconds. Pretty amazing. Time to call our relatives and make sure they're okay.

He's a big Obama fan today though. At least Obama will give him his phone number, unlike Bruce.

He was a big Obama fan yesterday, too. My husband thinks it's a 2016 election bid. If so, dog help us.

Still, nice to get a push from a repub, I guess.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 6:40 AM on October 30, 2012

they're talking about "is this proof of the impact of climate change and global warming" on NPR right now. Thank you for bringing that up guys!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:40 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Re: hospital evacuation. I have the local (CT) news on, and they are talking about it. However, they have said that 260,000 people were evacuated from the NYU hospital, and that included 29 week old babies. So yeah, my local news is useless...
posted by smalls at 6:42 AM on October 30, 2012

My cousin in Medford Lakes, NJ, reports that she has power and no trees down, which is a goddamn miracle.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 6:42 AM on October 30, 2012

smalls, I think that number is 260, not 260,000.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:42 AM on October 30, 2012

He was a big Obama fan yesterday, too. My husband thinks it's a 2016 election bid. If so, dog help us.

It may be partially that, but he is also undoubtedly well-aware that his only hope for real federal disaster relief is if Obama wins reelection.
posted by gerryblog at 6:43 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Christie will definitely try to use this as a springboard for 2016 ala Guiliani. It's interesting if we actually see him try to stick the dagger in Romney's back over the next week.
posted by vuron at 6:44 AM on October 30, 2012

Things are back to normal in Somerville, MA. The schools are still closed, but city services are otherwise back to normal. I was listening to the city frequencies on a scanner yesterday for a while and they were just playing whackamole with downed trees and wires and such. I kinda want to buy them all coffee. Everyone knows the FD/PD/EMS folks are heroes, but kudos to the folks in less glamorous departments out there who were working through the storm.

I heard from folks on the south side of Cape Cod and while the water got high, it didn't get high enough to flood the house down there, so yay.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:45 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

The Tappan Zee is open, for those looking to get in or out.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:47 AM on October 30, 2012

No "In the Papers" this morning so far, due to no paper delivery. DAMN YOU, SANDY!
posted by TrishaLynn at 6:48 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm kind of shocked, in my neighborhood just outside of DC our power goes out for days at a time at every possible chance, and my own basement floods if a dog pees in anywhere in my yard. Yet we have had no power loss, and the basement hardly got wet at all (by the standards of our wet basement). We really got off easy. I wish the same for everyone else.
posted by OmieWise at 6:49 AM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

As per the NY Times on Gov. Chris Christie's morning show appearances today:

On a subsequent appearance on the Fox News Channel, Mr. Christie was asked whether he had plans to tour storm-ravaged areas of the state with Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee for president who is supported by Mr. Christie.

"I have a job to do that much bigger then presidential politics," he said, taking time on each show to mention three calls he had with the president. "If you think right now that I give a damn about presidential politics, then you don’t know me.”

So there's that.
posted by TrishaLynn at 6:51 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

It feels really weird to be checking in from Vermont to say "The storm basically missed us" (pic) I woke up to bright sunshine which has since turned over the last 30 minutes to pelting rain. I don't think we even lost power which has not been the case for my more southern neighbors in the state. No work today except MeFi work. Anyone who needs a place to hide out from damage repair is welcome up here, we've got rain but the power is on.
posted by jessamyn at 6:51 AM on October 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

singling out fellow leaders for attack at the high point of a crisis doesn't seem quite the same as "really caring" about a state

This is true. Christie gets kind of emotional in emergencies. You may remember the "Get off the beach!" moment - a full 24 hours before hurricane landfall while the sun was shining.

On the other hand, he was on vacation during the Christmas blizzard of 2010, so maybe he's making up for lost excitement as well.
posted by Miko at 6:58 AM on October 30, 2012

I'm just glad you aren't living in that lake anymore.
posted by shakespeherian at 6:58 AM on October 30, 2012 [17 favorites]

News Flash! The sun was seen very briefly from Rhode Island, so rumors that Sandy extinguished the sun are likely to be exaggerated.
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:01 AM on October 30, 2012 [7 favorites]

It feels really weird to be checking in from Vermont to say "The storm basically missed us" (pic) I woke up to bright sunshine which has since turned over the last 30 minutes to pelting rain.

But don't worry, the state reminds you to exercise chainsaw safety during any cleanup.

Jessamyn, you seem to live on the other side of a mountain from my mom. So I guess they got wet.
posted by hoyland at 7:02 AM on October 30, 2012

I'm just glad you aren't living in that lake anymore.

Strange women lying in ponds distributing favorites is no basis for a system of web site moderation!
posted by Jahaza at 7:04 AM on October 30, 2012 [32 favorites]

I should take a shower and go to work but I think I read somewhere that Bloomberg is giving a press conference at 10AM so I'm parked in front of CNN because I want to see the ASL lady again. Don't tell my wife.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 7:04 AM on October 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

Lower Manhattan still without power so I expect many Mefites in that area can't check in yet.

Once the buses and taxis start running if those folks can read this or if other Mefites know of anyone who wants a shower or a place to sleep, the NYC google group has a dedicated thread full of uptown and Brooklyn dwellers with water and power volunteering their places for anyone who needs it. Post in there or email us.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:05 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Still haven't heard from my sister in central Jersey or my cousin in Staten Island. Assuming that it's just a lack of power.
posted by octothorpe at 7:06 AM on October 30, 2012

Apparently 75 Broad Street will indeed be going dark soon:

06:30 PT - We are going to implement a controlled shutdown of NY Data Center at 10:45 ET. Customer communications is being prepped.

Wow. That should make the Internet's day a little more interesting.
posted by wierdo at 7:07 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

DC Metro starts running again at 2PM.
posted by JoanArkham at 7:07 AM on October 30, 2012

Does anyone know the area affected by 75 Hudson?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:08 AM on October 30, 2012

NBC has Christie live on TV. Bloomberg was scheduled to do a press conference now, too; why is Christie always briefing right when Bloomberg already planned to?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:09 AM on October 30, 2012

This feels like a really stupid, really trifling question, but has anyone heard what mail conditions are like in NYC right now? I have stuff I was supposed to mail back to my publisher with a firm deadline of November fifth. Was going to express overnight them but I wonder if it might not be better to do so tomorrow.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:09 AM on October 30, 2012

Elmo is guesting on WNYC.
posted by Jahaza at 7:10 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

OmieWise, I've heard it suggested that Pepco fared better during Sandy because it had to basically rebuild a bunch of critical infrastructure after the derecho. That, plus the number of trees that were brought down by the derecho, probably means that the Pepco service area was better positioned to ride out the hurricane than one would expect.
posted by devinemissk at 7:14 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I had mail delivery yesterday morning, not sure yet about today.
posted by bunderful at 7:14 AM on October 30, 2012

Fine here in Somerset County, NJ - never lost power or internet, water stayed potable, trees stayed up, Raritan River miraculously did not flood. Most of my local FB friends checking in are not as lucky, though - reports of power out all over, with predictions of a week before it's restored. One friend, who went back to school, had made a whole semester's worth of meals a few weeks ago and put them in the deep freeze. :( Still waiting to hear that our church building is okay just heard on FB it's good, with only some fence down.

Sister in UWS has power, but no cable, so no TV or internet. Otherwise, neighborhood seems good. Mom in Ocean County has no power, one tree down, but not on house or car. Sister-in-law in Point Pleasant Beach hasn't gotten back home yet, but no power, and heard from neighbors that there's a tree down on the street and 3 feet of water in their house. Sis-in-law's house is 3 feet up; we're hoping for the best. Damn, apparently they have 4 feet of water in the house. :( Haven't heard from cousins in Newark or family elsewhere in NJ yet, but have a call out to them on the extended family FB group (which seems a BRILLIANT thing to have, right now, seriously)

I swear I've been writing this post for an hour, as you can probably tell by the updates...
posted by booksherpa at 7:15 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

I take back everything I said about Donald Trump his latest generous offer clearly indicates where his priorities lie when the chips are down
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:15 AM on October 30, 2012 [10 favorites]

Just checked the news from where I'm. staying in toronto. The broken crane is still threatening my place
posted by brujita at 7:15 AM on October 30, 2012

checkingin via phone. Lower east side as you all know has no power but is relatively calm. I'm sitting in ky car charging my phone and listening to news on radio. Only saw one tree down. There are people walking over the Williamsburg bridge but only people with badges allowed to drive over.
Does anyone know when they are saying power might be restored? I would love a hot coffee.
posted by newpotato at 7:16 AM on October 30, 2012

Octothorpe, where in central NJ?
posted by booksherpa at 7:17 AM on October 30, 2012

OmieWise, I've heard it suggested that Pepco fared better during Sandy because it had to basically rebuild a bunch of critical infrastructure after the derecho. That, plus the number of trees that were brought down by the derecho, probably means that the Pepco service area was better positioned to ride out the hurricane than one would expect.

That may be, and I know I saw them out cutting branches on Saturday. But I mostly feel like we just missed the brunt of it. I just took a walk around outside and I don't even see any large branches down in the neighborhood. There is a huge branch broken during the derecho that has been hanging half off a tree in my neighbors yard (right above where I normally park my car), and even that thing is still up in the tree.
posted by OmieWise at 7:19 AM on October 30, 2012

Brother in Montclair, power still out but otherwise all right. Hearing now from friends in Oceanport, power out but fine. Lots and lots of structural damage in evacuated towns like Brant Beach, Ocean City, Beach Haven, Seaside, and flooding still high in spots.
posted by Miko at 7:20 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

This feels like a really stupid, really trifling question, but has anyone heard what mail conditions are like in NYC right now?

Sideways answer: I have a friend at the FBI, and his work was closed. I'd be impressed if the USPS was made of sterner stuff than the FBI, but somehow I doubt it.

Your publisher probably won't even be at the office tomorrow anyhow. Even the next day might be iffy. I know that an editor friend of mine at Little, Brown is working from home for the foreseeable future.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:21 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Did anyone see places that need volunteers in Manhattan today or tomorrow?
posted by shothotbot at 7:22 AM on October 30, 2012

If you want to help walk outside and start cleaning up trash.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:25 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Does anyone know when they are saying power might be restored? I would love a hot coffee.
posted by newpotato

Reports range from a couple of days to a week. No official announcement.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:26 AM on October 30, 2012

I'd be impressed if the USPS was made of sterner stuff than the FBI, but somehow I doubt it.

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

USPS carriers are pretty much the hardmen of hardmen (gender-inclusive). If there's a way to run mail pickup and delivery, they will. If there's a way.
posted by The Michael The at 7:27 AM on October 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

I'd also like to volunteer, but am going to wait until the winds die down. Of course by that point, I may need to head to work and see what is left there.
posted by sciencegeek at 7:27 AM on October 30, 2012

Photo of the utter devastation at Breezy Point this morning. Speechless.
posted by argonauta at 7:27 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Another check-in from Bed-Stuy. Never lost power, just a few flickers. They wind has gone down, but now it's raining. No downed trees or power lines on the block, but haven't ventured past the bodega next door.

Does anyone know what the Village looks like, near the W 4th station? My friend's mom lives on MacDougal St. and he can't get in touch. I know the power's out, but are folks okay over there?
posted by dysh at 7:28 AM on October 30, 2012

That may be, and I know I saw them out cutting branches on Saturday. But I mostly feel like we just missed the brunt of it.

Well that's certainly true -- it wasn't as bad here as it could have been or was elsewhere. But I still expected us to lose power, just like we did during Irene.

I haven't been out walking, but someone on my neighborhood listserv mentioned a big tree down just over the street (hit someone's house over by the middle school). I do think the tree pruning Pepco's been doing helped minimize the number of branches down, though.
posted by devinemissk at 7:28 AM on October 30, 2012

Did anyone see places that need volunteers in Manhattan today or tomorrow?

The Red Cross is looking for volunteers for their shelters.
posted by mountmccabe at 7:28 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Greetings from Nashville. While Tennessee's eastern border may be covered in snow, all we got here were some higher winds than usual.

My sister in Danbury is without power but otherwise okay. Coworker in Hartford reports no damage. A good friend in Queens got evacuated; she and her family are safe. Just waiting to hear back from someone in Long Beach.

It's funny how events like this will make you contact people you haven't spoken with in months. On the flip side some of y'all are probably getting an avalanche of texts, and while they may be appreciated, you're thinking "dammit I'm trying to conserve battery here..." We mean well, at least...
posted by pianoblack at 7:29 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Checking in from down the block from Empress Callipygos:

Typing this from my bed next to the huge window that did NOT shatter last night, generally feeling a lot more secure about life. Never lost power, cell reception, or internet.

Definitely interested in a Putnam's meetup around noon, though I think I'm going to have to drain the tub in order to take a shower.

Looking out the window over the Pratt campus, I'm seeing trees that still have leaves on them, which is amazing. Foliage does look thinner, though -- might be trees down over there, might just be that Sandy did some pruning. If the rain stops, I'm going to take a wander and check it out.

I have water, power, internet, and snacks if anyone needs anything.
posted by Sara C. at 7:29 AM on October 30, 2012

Hurricane Sandy Check-In Meta Thread. It's a rowboat, not a longboat, so hopefully won't crash your mobile devices that are struggling with this longboat.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:29 AM on October 30, 2012

Christie gets kind of emotional in emergencies.

We all do; it's understandable. What Christie does in addition to that - from my faraway perspective, of course - is let those emotions dictate his behavior in unproductive ways.

Not really my go-to definition of a leader.
posted by mediareport at 7:31 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Sara C.: I'll venture out at about 11:30 to see if it's open. I live a block away - will report back. (Hell, I'll bring my computer and use someone's wi-fi and do it there.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:33 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Checking this thread this morning, I'm so glad to see so many people are reporting in OK. I've always been lucky enough to be away from the coast during hurricanes here in Texas, but this is the fear I grew up with. The scenes of destruction look so familiar after Ike and Rita (and Alicia and so on).

After the storm is over, things are still dangerous with floodwaters (high or receding), downed power lines, etc. Stay safe, y'all.
posted by immlass at 7:33 AM on October 30, 2012

Christie says PATH will be down 7-10 days
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:37 AM on October 30, 2012

Like pianoblack, I am near Nashville (well, about forty-five minutes outside of it) and it was INSANELY windy yesterrday. That wind map is really enlightening; the whole time I was thinking, "There's no way this can be Sandy, it's just coincidence," but it was definitely the storm putting kisses on our cold cheeks.

I'm really, really glad that everyone's okay who's checked in so far. I know I'm about a zillion miles from the real hotzones, but if anyone is displaced by all the snows in the Appalachians, or has relatives that could use assistance that I could help from here, please Memail me.

Also, my heart goes out to firefighers, EMS and hospital workers who had to deal with things like this. It feels like a very personal blow when you lose the fight against fire in even one residence-- I can't imagine doing your best in flood conditions in high wind with minimal equipmetn against eighty. Jesus.
posted by WidgetAlley at 7:37 AM on October 30, 2012

We're in great shape on the UWS but the endless sirens remind us that others in our great city are not faring well. My friend in Flatiron is going to walk uptown to my scruffy brownstone -- she's in a "luxury" high-rise with no power or water.
posted by thinkpiece at 7:37 AM on October 30, 2012

So, what's the best place to check for block-by-block issues in NYC? I'm worried about my aunt, who didn't evacuate despite being right by the water in Red Hook/Carroll Gardens. She's not answering her phone.

Hoping that everyone stays safe. It's funny that 36 hours ago, my social media feeds were filled with friends even wondering if this was going to be a huge deal. Now it's quiet.
posted by dinty_moore at 7:38 AM on October 30, 2012

Fairly sure that this is 1 New York Plaza, where our main office is. And yes, we're in the basement.
posted by sciencegeek at 7:39 AM on October 30, 2012

Downtown bridges to bkln reopened according to radio news.
posted by newpotato at 7:39 AM on October 30, 2012

I can hear a chainsaw on my block, it sounds like (which is really surreal in BROOKLYN, I'm more used to that from my rural Connecticut "oh hey let's chop this huge log up for fire for the woodstove" childhood).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:44 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fairly sure that this is 1 New York Plaza, where our main office is. And yes, we're in the basement.

I used to go to Carmine the Tailor in the basement there!
posted by shothotbot at 7:44 AM on October 30, 2012

USPS carriers are pretty much the hardmen of hardmen (gender-inclusive). If there's a way to run mail pickup and delivery, they will. If there's a way.

A postal worker I know asserts that this isn't so much being "hard" as management almost never cancelling service. So, yeah, they are tough, but they are also in fear of their jobs. So there's that.
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:45 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Free bridges (59th Street, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Williamsburg) are open to traffic again.
posted by TrishaLynn at 7:47 AM on October 30, 2012

The mailman delivered out in Clinton Hill this morning.
posted by hooray at 7:49 AM on October 30, 2012 [7 favorites]

Ace hotel in lower midtown never lost power/internet. feeling DAMN lucky. The restaurant downstairs is hustling to caffinate the guests and tons of people who walked over and found us the furthest south place with power.
posted by ansate at 7:49 AM on October 30, 2012

Pretty sure wherever you work is going to be looking for temporary office space sciencegeek. The amount of damage in those basements and subbasements is going to be very significant. Pumping out water and installing fans to dry it out is going to be the easiest part of a very time consuming clean up process.
posted by vuron at 7:49 AM on October 30, 2012

The thing that really hit me about Sandy was hearing that Sandy sunk the HMS Bounty off the coast of North Carolina. The ship's captain, Robin Walbridge, has been reported as missing at sea.

I was on board this ship several years back when it visited San Francisco, and fell instantly in love with her. You've likely seen it in Marlin Brando's "Mutiny on the Bounty" or the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films.

It was a labor of love to all those who kept it afloat over the years, and it is not the least bit surprising to me that its captain appears to have gone down with the ship, while trying to safeguard the lives of its crew and passengers. Tragic.
posted by markkraft at 7:50 AM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

I work at ONe New York Plaza as well. Holy crap, that looks bad. Mr. Soup, the bodega, Subway, the barber, everything in the basement down there must be ruined.
posted by Falconetti at 7:50 AM on October 30, 2012

Twitter hashtag #njsandy good for NJ-specific info.

People on JSHN joking that the storm is aptly named Sandy because it's left tons and tons of sand on roadways and in buildings. Long cleanup ahead.
posted by Miko at 7:51 AM on October 30, 2012

Seems like Baltimore didn't get too badly hit compared to NYC. This is the biggest understatement of all time.

I'll check and see if the Windup is open this evening. My guess is that it will be.
posted by josher71 at 7:51 AM on October 30, 2012

There is a separate thread about the HMS Bounty if people are interested in more information about that.
posted by jessamyn at 7:52 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Good thoughts to all of you in NYC. Here in Southern NJ outside of Philly we fared okay. The power and internet connection in our apartment only flickered a few times. I'm very grateful, and saddened about the devastation at my beloved Jersey shore.
posted by kimberussell at 7:52 AM on October 30, 2012

No power at home, but both my and Mrs. Fish's workplaces are up and running.

The fact that it isn't the other way around is just one of the signs that we live in a cold and uncaring universe.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:52 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Your publisher probably won't even be at the office tomorrow anyhow. Even the next day might be iffy. I know that an editor friend of mine at Little, Brown is working from home for the foreseeable future.

Yeah, I know they're closed today. I sent an email to my agent just in case but she's probably not working today, either (lives in Manhattan). It's just so hard to tell what's going on. Stressful.

Also I haven't been able to get a hold of my mom in NJ so I'm sort of piling worry upon worry.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:53 AM on October 30, 2012

why is Christie always briefing right when Bloomberg already planned to?

Trolling Bloomberg is probably the only bit of fun he's going to have for days, don't begrudge him that.
posted by fullerine at 7:56 AM on October 30, 2012 [8 favorites]

My cousin reports from Newark that they did not have cell service or power, and had to drive until they got cell service. If you're looking to hear from Newark, NJ family and haven't, that may be why.

PhoBWanKenobi, where in NJ?
posted by booksherpa at 7:57 AM on October 30, 2012

Mailman just pulled up to the curb like a BOSS.
posted by ersatzkat at 7:57 AM on October 30, 2012 [17 favorites]

Doing fine here in Crown Heights, have heard from friends in both Bushwick, Brooklyn and Tenafly, NJ that they're out of power. Wondering when transit will allow a return to my work in Morningside Heights and trying to get myself to stop re-loading this thread long enough to finish the homework I have that is due (online) today.
posted by milkweed at 7:57 AM on October 30, 2012

Greenpoint: There is a couple sitting next to my table in Cafe Grumpy arguing about how wet she actually got.
posted by eustacescrubb at 7:58 AM on October 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

NY1: New York Aquarium experienced significant flooding (they're in Coney Island). Hope the baby walrus is okay!
posted by TrishaLynn at 7:58 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Tweet on volunteer opportunities:

NYC Mayor's Office NYC Mayor's OfficeVerified ‏@NYCMayorsOffice Thank you so much for offers to volunteer. Best way is to register w/ @NYCService. You'll be notified of opportunities http://www.nycservice.org/register
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:59 AM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

Feeling good that my only issue right now is cabin fever. The pictures of NY are terrifying.
posted by josher71 at 8:00 AM on October 30, 2012

Cafe Grumpy is open at 10

For all of the personal attachments I have there, and for all of the worry and uncertainty I have been experiencing about y'all back East, this news made me extremely happy.
posted by Danf at 8:02 AM on October 30, 2012

Bloomberg talking now! (We're watching on Channel 9)
posted by mountmccabe at 8:03 AM on October 30, 2012

All four of the big NYC airports -- LGA, JFK, EWR and TEB are NOTAMed closed.

JetBlue has groundstopped their entire system -- apparently, res/routing system is offline.

And, to make air travel truly hell, ORD is running a delay program and accepting only 36 arrivals an hour -- they normally accept 112 on west flow, 100 an hour otherwise. Average delays for the flights making it in is over four hours. Midway, with a ton of flights to LGA and EWR, is doing okay despite accepting only 25/hr -- the load is below that, thanks to the NYC cancellations.

Finally, LAX is ground stopped because of fog. So, the three big International airports in the US, one of them isn't accepting flights, one is running at one third capacity, and one is flat-out closed, as they say in the trade, WIE UFN.^*.

PHL and the DC airports are open, running limited schedules. DTW is open, but expecting winds and low ceilings to affect flights later. ORD will be in bad shape all day.

Talk about a bingo day for air travel.



* With Immediate Effect, Until Further Notice.
posted by eriko at 8:03 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Bloomburg is on live: http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/live_event_static.html
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 8:03 AM on October 30, 2012

Pan back! We can't see the ALS lady! Pan back!
posted by thinkpiece at 8:04 AM on October 30, 2012 [8 favorites]

Bloomberg notes over 80 houses destroyed in the Breezy Point fire.
posted by eriko at 8:04 AM on October 30, 2012

ASL, duh.
posted by thinkpiece at 8:05 AM on October 30, 2012

Sounds like many of my friends/relatives have made it through unscathed. Hopefully the rest of the mefites we haven't heard from are still ok.

We have tickets to fly through Newark on Thursday. They haven't cancelled the flight yet, so the airline won't change the routing. I think they're crazy if they think Newark will be flying on Thursday. Sigh.
posted by blurker at 8:05 AM on October 30, 2012

Is there anyone in West Virginia/the Appalachians that can comment on the situation there? Are all y'all without power 'cause of the snow? I imagine access to internet is kinda limited, but I'm from the Smokies and it would be good to hear from you....
posted by WidgetAlley at 8:06 AM on October 30, 2012

I drank bourbon in an I ♥ NYC glass for you all last night. You're welcome.

Some Toronto damage this morning: branches dangling over the sidewalk, maybe-unrelated fire.
posted by heatherann at 8:08 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

ConEd: "Power may be out in lots of places for two or three days, and maybe beyond that."
posted by TrishaLynn at 8:08 AM on October 30, 2012

Cab drivers can take multiple in one trip; livery cabs can take street hails until MTA gets back up and running.
posted by TrishaLynn at 8:09 AM on October 30, 2012

NYC public schools closed Wednesday.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:11 AM on October 30, 2012

1 closed hospital, 2 evacuated hospitals, 1 on backup power but no fatalities at them. Awesome. That's good news.
posted by Stynxno at 8:11 AM on October 30, 2012 [10 favorites]

Checking in from Bed Stuy. No power, internet or cable loss. Winds and rain have died down for time being. BF's company decided to do a conference call the minute Bloomberg finally appeared on screen, no clue what he's said/saying.
posted by brina at 8:12 AM on October 30, 2012

Meanwhile, at the other end of the storm:

Wet snow and high winds spinning off the edge of superstorm Sandy spread blizzard conditions over parts of West Virginia and neighboring Appalachian states Tuesday....At least 236,000 customers were without power in West Virginia early Tuesday....Authorities closed nearly 50 miles of Interstate 68....Schools were closed in at least 39 counties....Officials in West Virginia said a woman was killed Monday in a storm-related traffic accident....At Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, park spokeswoman Dana Soehn reported 22 inches of snow at the highest elevations, with strong winds blowing drifts up to 4 feet deep.

The snow is enabling one North Carolina ski resort to schedule its earliest season opening ever.
posted by mediareport at 8:12 AM on October 30, 2012

NYC schools are closed tomorrow too so my daycare is closed (though it is still without power right now). Looks like Oliver will be coming to work with me tomorrow.
posted by Stynxno at 8:14 AM on October 30, 2012

Apparently the Red Cross *does* need blood donations, since their regularly scheduled blood drives were cancelled yesterday. I didn't think of that.
posted by desjardins at 8:14 AM on October 30, 2012

It's never to early to start teaching him about what you do for a living. :)
posted by TrishaLynn at 8:15 AM on October 30, 2012

Spanish starting now!
posted by shothotbot at 8:15 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

su--... sus--... suspendido!
posted by saturday_morning at 8:15 AM on October 30, 2012

su--... sus--... suspendido!

To be fair, he was doing that to English words earlier.
posted by Sticherbeast at 8:16 AM on October 30, 2012

Bloomberg guesses 4-5 days before the subway opens.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 8:17 AM on October 30, 2012

su--... sus--... suspendido!

He's channeling Phil Collins?
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 8:17 AM on October 30, 2012 [14 favorites]

When Christie said part of the amusements in Seaside Heights were in the ocean, he wasn't exaggerating at all.
posted by NoraCharles at 8:17 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

NYCSerivce.org is down - maybe it was on broad street?
posted by shothotbot at 8:17 AM on October 30, 2012

Bloomberg will be happy if the subways are running in 3-4 days
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:17 AM on October 30, 2012

The MTA are starting to update their Flickr account with pics of damage. And a boat with identity problems.
posted by titus-g at 8:18 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Don't drink water from the streets people.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 8:21 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Lavalette is my favorite place on the Shore. I hope the people there are okay, and my friend's parents' house.
posted by rtha at 8:21 AM on October 30, 2012

Leisure Suit Chuck Schumer
posted by Sticherbeast at 8:21 AM on October 30, 2012

The MTA are starting to update their Flickr account with pics of damage. And a boat with identity problems.

A boat on the rail tracks, and the train sitting in a few feet of water - GUYS YR DOIN IT RONG
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:21 AM on October 30, 2012 [7 favorites]

Another Greenpointer here. I'm fine-- I don't think we ever even lost power. As far as I know, it was just a lot of wind and rain. I'm not sure about my Internet-- it went out last night.

I wish I could say the same about my office-- Broadway at Rector and Wall. We got an e-mail telling us not to come in until further notice-- the power is out, the server is dead, etc.

Nonetheless, I feel extremely lucky. I hope you are all safe and sound. It warms my heart to see the amount of concern and caring on this thread. It really helped my cabin fever last night.

(And I may be up for a Greenpoint meetup later as well.)
posted by bookwibble at 8:22 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

WTF!!! Went away from the screen for a sec and Bloomberg ages like a hundred years
posted by fullerine at 8:23 AM on October 30, 2012

The surge going out, combined with tide coming in, has kept water levels at the battery just above flood, but they're receding now, and this should be the last dangerous high tide in the city.
posted by eriko at 8:24 AM on October 30, 2012

I woke up just in time to see sweet Lydia signing, yay!
posted by vrakatar at 8:25 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

WCBS just had a great/awful BABA BOOEY! BABA BOOEY! interruption.
posted by Sticherbeast at 8:27 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

People who (allegedly) broke into a NYC subway station (3 train/148th St) and what they found.
posted by clarknova at 8:29 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Photos from Breezy Point
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:31 AM on October 30, 2012

ConEd is saying 4 days to restore power for people without overhead lines.
posted by eustacescrubb at 8:33 AM on October 30, 2012

The boat on the tracks is in Ossining, home to John Cheever and where Don Draper lived with his first wife. Surely the boat is commenting on fin de siècle American culture.
posted by Ad hominem at 8:34 AM on October 30, 2012 [8 favorites]

JetBlue has groundstopped their entire system -- apparently, res/routing system is offline.

Hm. I wonder if I'm still moving to California next Tuesday.
posted by Sara C. at 8:35 AM on October 30, 2012

Looks like National Grid has it down to 50K people in RI without power, so there's that.
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:35 AM on October 30, 2012

We're making biscuts, will start drinking again no earlier than 3.
posted by vrakatar at 8:38 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Baltimore people: "WINDUP SPACE IS OPEN! COME HERE, ESCAPE YOUR FAMILY. TUESDAY OCTOBER 30, 2012".
posted by josher71 at 8:39 AM on October 30, 2012

Wow, Governor Cuomo just made the global climate change connection loud and clear. "We have a once-in-a-hundred-years storm every two years. That's reality, not a political statement." Some paraphrasing.
posted by thinkpiece at 8:40 AM on October 30, 2012 [18 favorites]

Our cell service is out but we have landline still. Waiting to see how soon the Lincoln Tunnel will reopen so my inlaws can come stay with us. Sorry I can't offer accommodations for Mefites just yet, but may be able to if my in-laws can't get in.
posted by Mchelly at 8:43 AM on October 30, 2012

Dude across the street must think he'll get a prize if he has this tree chainsawed to a fare-thee-well by noon.
posted by ersatzkat at 8:43 AM on October 30, 2012

Kind of psyched for Cuomo's levee.
posted by brina at 8:44 AM on October 30, 2012

Not sure who's going to see this, but the aforementioned Clinton Hill, BK mini-meetup will need to cancel due to the projected establishment being closed. Sara C., if you have another idea for a locale, go for it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:45 AM on October 30, 2012

Hey, we made biscuits, too!
posted by devinemissk at 8:47 AM on October 30, 2012

UES update: Can here shouting, chainsaws and sirens coming from the East River half a block away.

Thinking of going out and getting supplies for brownies because this thread has made me crave them.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 8:50 AM on October 30, 2012

Does anyone know how badly Asbury Park, NJ was hit?
posted by Mchelly at 8:50 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney coming to NJ with Walmart tat!!!
posted by fullerine at 8:51 AM on October 30, 2012

Thanks for the signal boost St. Alia of the Bunnies! My friend is okay but he and his partner and their friend who's helping could still definitely use help. They are at Broadway and Duane and on the 12th floor, and their friend (the only one who can take the stairs) is going up and down every few hours to swap the ventilator batteries and pick up a recharged one from the fire station. They haven't had much rest and still could really use some way to charge their phones, powerchairs, and so on. So if anyone is in or near Tribeca and might be able to give practical help, please contact me or comment here: https://www.facebook.com/superaleja/posts/10151104448372218
posted by geeklizzard at 8:51 AM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

Photos from Breezy Point

A couple of quick thoughts.

A. where is the mastershot (or shots) -- the ones that give us workable perspective on just how much of the neighborhood has/hasn't been destroyed? Focus on the devastation and you send the message that everything is devastated. I realize that "if it bleeds, it leads" but please, it would really help to know how much of a place like Breezy Point survived the storm.

B. I wonder where Breezy Point got its name.
posted by philip-random at 8:54 AM on October 30, 2012

Make sure to thank Donald Trump for donating 5million dollars to disaster relief / shame him for being a jerkoff and not donating or showing any sympathy for his employees and neighbors via #ThanksDonald.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:56 AM on October 30, 2012

@Bronze_Hammer:

REUTERS: @realDonaldTrump will not, I repeat, will NOT take the tax deduction for his generous $5M Sandy recovery donation. #ThanksDonald.
posted by milestogo at 9:01 AM on October 30, 2012

geeklizzard, I will probably be near there tomorrow, mefimail me. I have to work but could easily run the stairs a couple of times or run out to the store for them.
posted by vrakatar at 9:04 AM on October 30, 2012

The New York Daily Post tweets: BREAKING: We are looking into reports of looting at the Southstreet Seaport #nyc #hurricane #sandy #worsethanthedailymailffs
posted by fullerine at 9:06 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Given the track record of both the NY Post and police when it comes to reporting looters, I'm not inclined to believe rumors along those lines. But, thank you NY Post for continually reinforcing your reputation as a paper not even worth wiping your ass with.
posted by kokaku at 9:09 AM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

DC seems to be in fairly good shape. We'll see how long it takes to get power back for those who lost it.

Couldn't help checking out the Virginia power outage map and thinking of possible political consequences.
posted by zennie at 9:09 AM on October 30, 2012

Letterman did a show without an audience last night. Here's the Top 10 list. CBS has put up a couple of other clips, a small clip of the monologue and Denzel Washington's entrance, but the Top 10 is the best of these vids.
posted by Kattullus at 9:11 AM on October 30, 2012 [9 favorites]

The Atlantic photos of aftermath.

Breezy is full of houses. There should be houses everywhere, packed in cheek-by-jowl, lining the walks, with porches, stairs, awnings. It's hard to even orient myself on these photos - all the landmarks are gone.

has what looks like the set of AP photos.

There should be more houses.

'Breezy' because of the winds, which last night whipped the fires up.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:14 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Can't imagine why anyone would care if Trump takes tax advantage of his donation. It's a big, useful donation either way.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:15 AM on October 30, 2012

FWIW, Bellevue is not just a mental health facility, it's now a full-on hospital

Actually, Bellevue is the oldest public hospital in the United States with a history almost three centuries old (e.g. they treated Alexander Hamilton after his duel with Aaron Burr); the psychiatric hospital for which it became famed outside New York was only opened in 1937.

I wonder where Breezy Point got its name.

Well, the place didn't exist 150 years ago -- as best I can determine Fort Tilden, now some distance back from the point, was built to protect the entrance to Jamaica Bay. The area probably was first settled about the time the railroad was built and by a century ago became a beach resort area. It was probably a marketing name from the beginning. Since mid-century last the majority of the properties are part of a co-op with that name, incidentally, so I wonder on whom the financial hit will fall.
posted by dhartung at 9:19 AM on October 30, 2012 [7 favorites]

A dead Quaker: It looks like Internap is a competitor of sorts for AWS?

Yes, that's why I was suspicious. Although weirdo did find confimation that the data center at 75 Broad is going dark. Which is…not good.

NoraCharles: When Christie said part of the amusements in Seaside Heights were in the ocean, he wasn't exaggerating at all.

Ow! Right in the childhood!


I'm still waiting to hear from my New Jersey relations. Given the terrain, they didn't get flooded, but I'm sure it was extremely windy where they were facing Raritan Bay and those houses are old.
posted by ob1quixote at 9:24 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Who's up for a VERY LARGE MEETUP in a week or so?
posted by vrakatar at 9:25 AM on October 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

(fff, there is no Trump donation—he’s too busy tweeting things like “[h]urricane is good luck for Obama again- he will buy the election by handing out billions of dollars.” People are using #ThanksDonald to talk about the non-existent pledge in a futile effort to shame him.)
posted by nicepersonality at 9:25 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Can't imagine why anyone would care if Trump takes tax advantage of his donation. It's a big, useful donation either way.


He'd have to make the donation first, anyway.

I don't think a Twitter campaign designed to shame him publically is really all that well thought out. All it's doing is confusing people into thinking Trump actually did something worthwhile.
posted by rewil at 9:25 AM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

Californian w/ parents in Rockaway Beach (Neponsit). Not getting any answers on the landline or cell. Guessing the power is out and service is disrupted. The house is solid, they're well stocked, and this aint their first rodeo.

Anyone know if the Marine Parkway Bridge is open? Cross Bay Bridge? Sister is in Manhattan right now.

Re: Breezy Point: it's a private community on the far eastern tip of the Rockaway Peninsula. It was densely packed with houses and bungalos. Those fire photos are... yeah, there should be more houses.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 9:27 AM on October 30, 2012

Unfortunately all it got me to do was read his tweets, which are steeped in vitriol and hatred for virtually everything. What a self-serving jerk.
posted by jetlagaddict at 9:27 AM on October 30, 2012

Crazy Photo, Video: Hurricane Pulls TANKER Onto Staten Island Street
posted by homunculus at 9:28 AM on October 30, 2012

looking at all these pictures.. there are going to be soooo many ruined cars. i can't even imagine the numbers..

msnbc slideshow
posted by ninjew at 9:29 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

parents in Rockaway Beach (Neponsit)

This is as good of a time as any to ask about the locale-naming scheme in New York. I know about the five boroughs. Is Rockaway Beach, for instance, a separate town? And is Neponsit a neighborhood in it? If I were to mail a letter, would the city be Rockaway Beach? Is R.B. in one of the boroughs? It's all very confusing if you don't live there.
posted by mudpuppie at 9:31 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Heard an update from one of the people who works in my office - the office is a total loss, but while the gardens were under water, they're dry now. We'll just have to wait and see how the salt water effects the plants.

So there is a garden there.
posted by sciencegeek at 9:32 AM on October 30, 2012 [8 favorites]

Marine Parkway Bridge is open? Cross Bay Bridge?

NY1 reports Rockaway bridges remain closed.
posted by vrakatar at 9:34 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

If I were to mail a letter, would the city be Rockaway Beach? Is R.B. in one of the boroughs?

There are lots of places within the 5 boroughs that have their own city name (other than New York City, I mean), but they're still considered part of New York City/the 5 boroughs. Rockaway Beach is part of NYC.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:36 AM on October 30, 2012

"USPS carriers are pretty much the hardmen of hardmen (gender-inclusive). "

That'll be because of all the drugs.
posted by marienbad at 9:38 AM on October 30, 2012

'Breezy' because of the winds, which last night whipped the fires up.

Breezy Point is a spit of land way out -- it, along with Sandy Hook, NJ, basically defines the line where Rockaway Bay ends and the North Atlantic begins. It's called that because, well, when you're a spit of land surrounded by water, and one of those bodies of water is the North Atlantic, you will be breezy pretty much all of the time.

It's about as far south as you can get in Queens. The main road to is Rockaway Point Blvd, but you need to cross the Marine Pkwy Bridge or the Cross Bay Bridge to get there. It's about as far off, in terms of time, as you can be in Queens.
posted by eriko at 9:38 AM on October 30, 2012

Mudpuppie: We're mainly discussing neighborhoods within what most other people just call "The Rockaways".

It's a peninsula, so Breezy Point is the far western tip. Moving East next neighborhood is Roxbury. Then comes Ft. Tilden and Jacob Riis Park. After the park starts Neponsit. Then comes Belle Harbor, Rockaway Park... and I just always labeled everything east of that as "Far Rockaway". And all of it is part of the Burrough of Queens.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 9:39 AM on October 30, 2012

Thanks for the explanation.
posted by mudpuppie at 9:40 AM on October 30, 2012

I'm confused by why Breezy Point is Queens and not Brooklyn. Where's the dividing line? Geographically is seems really close to Brooklyn.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 9:42 AM on October 30, 2012

Queens kind of spoons Brooklyn.
posted by vrakatar at 9:44 AM on October 30, 2012 [10 favorites]

I'm confused by why Breezy Point is Queens and not Brooklyn. Where's the dividing line?

The border lines are kind of ridiculous. I know someone who lives in Brooklyn and right across the street is Queens.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:44 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

the five boroughs. Before the Gil Hodges bridge went in, the only road was to/through Queens.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:45 AM on October 30, 2012

I'm confused by why Breezy Point is Queens and not Brooklyn. Where's the dividing line? Geographically is seems really close to Brooklyn.

The Rockaways are separated from Brooklyn by Jamaica Bay. By the time the peninsula hits the main body of Long Island again, it's passed Brooklyn and onto Queens.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 9:45 AM on October 30, 2012

If nothing else, this thread and the coverage of this storm have vastly improved my geography-of-NYC knowledge.
posted by rtha at 9:46 AM on October 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

Although weirdo did find confimation that the data center at 75 Broad is going dark. Which is…not good.

Yeah, took MS Paint Adventures offline for the better portion of the morning. One Homestuck fan observed on the forums (which are on a different server) "I believe this was foreshadowed all the way back when Rose lost power and internet connection due to rain."
posted by radwolf76 at 9:46 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

there are going to be soooo many ruined cars

Both an opportunity for the auto industry, and a caution for those buying used over the next couple of years. Carfax.

mudpuppie, the five boroughs were wholly consolidated by state law in 1882-1898, overriding any existing municipal charters. The names persist as neighborhoods, police districts, subway stops, and yes, post offices.

Breezy Point is the far eastern tip

eastern western

I'm confused by why Breezy Point is Queens and not Brooklyn.

Well, originally (and still technically, e.g. for the DA) they were Queens County and Kings County. And as I note, the barrier islands have somewhat altered themselves over time.
posted by dhartung at 9:46 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Alive wp have power but no internet and this thread breaks my phone
posted by The Whelk at 9:49 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hey Whelk! Still got booze and ice?
posted by vrakatar at 9:50 AM on October 30, 2012

Snarky Nate Silver is fun Nate Silver.
posted by dirigibleman at 9:51 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Rockaways, before Sandy. The second-longest boardwalk in the world is toothpicks right now.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 9:52 AM on October 30, 2012

I did some checking as to what a six alarm fire meant to FDNY. Turns out it's pretty close to what a 6-11 would mean to the CFD.

Total turnout for six alarms.

24 engine companies.
13 ladder companies (two of the FAST ladders -- rapid intervention for rescue)
5 battalion chiefs
1 heavy rescue unit (Hazardous, Confined Space, etc.)
1 squad (rescue/engine combo)
1 deputy chief
1 RAC unit (Recuperation and Care)
1 safety battalion
1 SOC battalion (Special Ops)
1 MSU (Mask Service Unit, also handles bottles, etc.)
1 tactical support unit (Extra lights, tools, a boat)
1 field comm
1 Assistant Chief (Borough Commander)
1 Operations Chief
(in winter) 3 Thawing units (keeps ice off hoses and gear)
posted by eriko at 9:53 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

I've lived here my entire life and never been to half these places. Places like Rockaway and Jamaica bay were reserved for those big school trips.
posted by Ad hominem at 9:53 AM on October 30, 2012

they were Queens County and Kings County.

Name the other two "royal" counties and win a fabulous prize!
posted by vrakatar at 9:53 AM on October 30, 2012

This is as good of a time as any to ask about the locale-naming scheme in New York. I know about the five boroughs. Is Rockaway Beach, for instance, a separate town? And is Neponsit a neighborhood in it?

Here's the rundown.

New York City is a city. Period. It's not like Los Angeles or Boston where it's the common name for a metropolitan aggregation or whatever. Anything in New York City shares the same municipal services and is A City.

The five boroughs are five separate sections of New York City -- each is its own county, but, again, in terms of infrastructure and municipal government it's all one big city. The counties are New York (AKA Manhattan), Kings (AKA Brooklyn), Queens, Bronx, and Richmond (AKA Staten Island).

Because these were mostly densely settled places before the city merged into the Five Borough structure in 1898, there are all kinds of other place names layered on top of the official municipal and county-level place names. Brooklyn was its own city, with other towns in Kings County being Williamsburg (where the hipsters live now), Flatbush, Gravesend, etc.

Queens is the place where you see the most diverse old town names, because Queens County was mostly tiny villages before joining up with New York City in 1898. In fact, even now, if you live in Queens, mail gets addressed to Astoria, NY, Jamaica, NY, Corona, NY, etc. Queens is also really fucking big and sprawly compared to the other boroughs, so its place names are less like neighborhood names and more like village or town names*. I lived in Long Island City, Queens, for a few years, and it bears no resemblance whatsoever to, for example, Far Rockaway, Queens. Despite being in the same city and the same county. So it makes sense that names like that haven't faded out of prominence.

Also worth noting is that each borough/county has a "President". I'm not actually sure what the borough presidents do, and can't name any but my own, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who mostly as far as I'm aware is the grand marshall of parades and puts up funny signs on the bridges that say "NOW ENTERING BROOKLYN - FUGHEDDABOUDIT!" I don't think he has any actual governmental function aside from that sort of civic boosterism and ceremonial role. Though on the other hand, the boroughs are probably glad to have people like that today, because it's another responsible body who can be in there delegating resources, marshalling aid, dealing with the press, etc.

*Though, again, these are only used for social or community purposes, as all these places are governed by the municipal structure of NYC.
posted by Sara C. at 9:54 AM on October 30, 2012 [19 favorites]

I'm not actually sure what the borough presidents do, and can't name any but my own, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who mostly as far as I'm aware is the grand marshall of parades and puts up funny signs on the bridges that say "NOW ENTERING BROOKLYN - FUGHEDDABOUDIT!"

oh man I love those signs!

Good collection of NYC-specific photos.

All is nice and partly-cloudy here in Boston now, nbd. I heard West Virginia got some blizzards though?
posted by The Biggest Dreamer at 9:57 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Does anyone know how badly Asbury Park, NJ was hit?

I can't be exactly sure but I've been carefully monitoring all Monmouth County stuff and it just doesn't look like it got the worst of it. That fell farther south, from Pt. Pleasant down to Ocean City. I did see some of the Casino buildings taking a (further) beating and missing some window panes, etc, but I didn't hear anything about the Boardwalk or the big buildings being undermined. Bradley Beach has reported a ton of flooding. I'm afraid that's all I know; the Asbury Park Press website would be good for more info, as would Jersey Shore Hurricane News on Facebook.

Boston

Hmm, I live near Boston and we also only call Boston (as in the city of Boston). The rest we call "Greater Boston," "Metro West," "The North Shore" etc. LA I don't know anything about but the nomenclature of Boston, though miniscule in comparison, works the same way as NYC.
posted by Miko at 9:59 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

On the off-chance that any Sandy-threatened MeFites evacuated in a southerly direction and are in the North FL area, I have a sofa upon which one, maybe two people can doze, and two affection-hungry cats.
posted by alex.dudley at 10:01 AM on October 30, 2012

Stay Away Irene Sandy
posted by The Biggest Dreamer at 10:03 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Miko - I think this is more how Boston is made up of Boston, Dorchester, Allston, Brighton, etc.
posted by rmd1023 at 10:03 AM on October 30, 2012

Breezy Point Co-op member here (I have a winterized bungalow down there that has been in the family for 50+ years, and I can go back over a century in terms of family living there). That fire took out a lot of houses, and that's not even counting the 3 ft of water most of the homes along bay side took in last night. This is easily the worst natural disaster since the founding of the Cooperative. I don't know if the community is going to come back from this one. It just may bust us financially.

@mudpuppie: Like most addresses in Queens, our "town" mailing address is determined by the closest Post Office, in this case the Rockaway Point post office. As mentioned above, the Rockaway Peninsula is in Queens because at the time of incorporation, the only access to it was through Queens (The Marine Park Bridge wasn't built until the 1920's/30's and I don't think the Cross Bay Bridge existed at that time, either) My grandpa used to tell me stories of rowing across the inlet from Brooklyn when he was a kid.
posted by KingEdRa at 10:05 AM on October 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

Miko - you just made my point for me.

Outside of the Boston area, people tend to think of all those places as "Boston", just like we think of Santa Monica, CA, as part of Los Angeles.

For example, most people would probably say that Harvard is in Boston. Even though it is actually in Cambridge, which is its own city. But it shares a public transit system, a local culture, etc. with the city of Boston.

New York is very adamantly not like that at all. Hell, there is a working farm in Queens, with cows and tractors and a corn maze and everything. And it's technically in New York City. Regardless of the fact that it's not an urban environment at all and is a good 40 minute drive from Manhattan.
posted by Sara C. at 10:06 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm at my local using thier wifi and ithout speaking i got a guiness and a chegrilled chesse

If anyone neds a shower or recharge station on the UWS hit me up on memail
posted by The Whelk at 10:07 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

So it looks like the death toll is around 94 now. Kind of irksome to me that most news outlets keep saying 26, since that's exclusively the US death toll – 51 people died in Haiti alone, but I guess those don't count.
posted by koeselitz at 10:08 AM on October 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

Speaking of NJ, an additional data point: My boss's sister and brother-in-law have an inn in Cape May, one block from the beach. They stayed through the storm and lost power and a few shingles, but didn't have any more significant damage.
posted by mudpuppie at 10:09 AM on October 30, 2012

I have a total crush on Cory Booker.

@corybooker On way to check in on your family now RT @LVLY13: Borh r disabled & I can't get to them?

posted by desjardins at 10:12 AM on October 30, 2012 [10 favorites]

From what is said to be a furniture/flooring store: I heart Sandy! Bring me drift wood
posted by The Biggest Dreamer at 10:14 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Speaking of NJ, an additional data point: My boss's sister and brother-in-law have an inn in Cape May, one block from the beach. They stayed through the storm and lost power and a few shingles, but didn't have any more significant damage.

This is definitely making me want to go support Cape May's economy and recovery efforts as soon as possible by buying copious amounts of salt water taffy and fudge and many dishes of pasta from Godmothers. Glad to hear that they're okay.
posted by jetlagaddict at 10:16 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think this is why LGA is closed.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:18 AM on October 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

We definitely need to get Cory Booker a superhero outfit. Or something.
posted by bookwibble at 10:20 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Atlas Drenched. How Would The Paul Ryan Budget Handle Disaster Relief?
posted by ericb at 10:21 AM on October 30, 2012

Is there anyone in West Virginia/the Appalachians that can comment on the situation there? posted by WidgetAlley

East Tennessee checking in here: it's cold and drizzly but no snow at the lower elevations. Mount Leconte reported 8 inches at daybreak and still snowing intensely; US441 over Newfound Gap is closed with several inches.

Most of the action is north of here in Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia; I spoke on the phone with a customer in Beckley and they had 15" on the ground and still snowing.

My mom is in Ridgewood, NJ and has been without power for about 18 hours. They're not expecting her area to be restored for at least a week (priorities are hospitals, then police/fire stations, then by population density and Ridgewood is relatively sparsely populated.) I'll be loading up our truck with propane tanks, a generator and supplies and heading north tomorrow. She's 73 and doesn't need to be cleaning this crap up.
posted by workerant at 10:22 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Cory Booker is kinda awesome. Is he pretty much aiming to be elected mayor of Newark for life?
posted by vuron at 10:22 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mitt Romney Vetoed Flood Prep Funding In 2004, Blamed For Subsequent Flooding.
posted by ericb at 10:23 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

New York Times:A Big Storm Requires Big Government.
posted by ericb at 10:25 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Mitt Romney Vetoed Flood Prep Funding In 2004, Blamed For Subsequent Flooding.

Governor Romney After the (2006) Flood: Not Good
posted by homunculus at 10:28 AM on October 30, 2012

I think this is why LGA is closed.

That would do it. Note how you don't see a runway out there...
posted by eriko at 10:29 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Lavallette, Ortley Beach, Seaside Heights and Seaside Park are nearly completely underwater, Christie said. Water carried houses out into the middle of Route 35. link

Damn. I spent a lot of time for a few summers when I lived in DC and a friend who lived in Boston and I would meet up at her parents' house in Lavallette. That family and town made it easy for me to love the Shore.
posted by rtha at 10:30 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

For those of you with little people, here is Elmo's interview today. Sesame Street has apparently put up the full hurricane episode, where Big Bird's nest is ruined in the storm and everyone comes together to fix it, with other guidance for parents in talking to kids about hurricanes, but their website is slammed right now. Here's the first segment of the episode on Sesame Street's YouTube channel.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:31 AM on October 30, 2012 [13 favorites]

Boston proper can also be subdivided into North End, Beacon Hill, Back Bay, and South End - not to mention East Boston, South Boston, Jamaica Plain, etc. I'm on the Back Bay/South End border and there aren't the sort of neighborhood distinctions as stark as NYC but meeting people locally, I would indicate I live in "Back Bay" and not "Boston." (And I would do so sheepishly as my neighborhood is FANCY and I am not.)

Anyhow. We're fine and I saw a photo of an amazing rainbow over the skyline this morning :) It's actually nice enough that I'm gonna venture to the playground with the tot, now that he's starting to feel better from his Hurricane Tummy Virus.
posted by sonika at 10:34 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I had to come in and say that when they televised part of that Mitt Romney "Storm Relief" event today from Ohio without even a hint of irony, despite the fact that other than the soup cans it was the identical program to the "victory" rally scheduled for the same place and time, I almost threw my television out the window.
posted by ob1quixote at 10:35 AM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

So, what's the libertarian position on disaster recovery?
posted by amtho at 10:35 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

fixed Greg Nog's link
posted by desjardins at 10:36 AM on October 30, 2012

So, what's the libertarian position on disaster recovery?

Hope you put some bootstraps in your go bag.
posted by desjardins at 10:37 AM on October 30, 2012 [17 favorites]

Powerful offer of help from NY Daily News, screencapped earlier today.


Do I get to mock this if I also looked for the beach bodies' story?

(I haven't yet.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:38 AM on October 30, 2012

I'm more concerned that it's not even Halloween and I have to start worrying about my beach body again...I haven't even had any peanut butter cups yet, goddammit it.
posted by sallybrown at 10:41 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

It looks like OV-101 Enterprise, newly installed at the Intrepid Air & Space Museum, may have been damaged.
posted by eriko at 10:41 AM on October 30, 2012

She cannae take it, captain!
posted by Kattullus at 10:43 AM on October 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

Libertarians will work together in ad-hoc groups based on who's around and what's left standing. The first job is to create a clear field of fire to, ahem, deter looters.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:44 AM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

So, what's the libertarian position on disaster recovery?

If your neighbors loot you, you can sue them. Collection of any judgement is at your discretion.
posted by dhartung at 10:45 AM on October 30, 2012

So, what's the libertarian position on disaster recovery?

Why do people even live in New Orleans considering that it's below sea level????

Why do people even live on the barrier islands in NY/NJ, considering it's a tiny low lying island with only one bridge that goes there??????

Etc. Etc.

Basically fuck you, I got mine.
posted by Sara C. at 10:46 AM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

Even the hardest core libertarians I used to hang out with would often say that big government is good for national defense and disaster relief. So for Romney's folks to continue to talk about dismantling FEMA the day before a disaster... I mean, like, oops, damn, unsmart.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 10:47 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

So, what's the libertarian position on disaster recovery?

First in line for federal support, if it's their house.

What, you don't think they actually believe in what they say?
posted by eriko at 10:48 AM on October 30, 2012 [9 favorites]

Everything's pretty good here - no power at home but work is still online, so am charging all the things. Thinking of you guys.
posted by en forme de poire at 10:49 AM on October 30, 2012

Cool details, KingEdRa. I love little funky communities that form on strange pieces of property. I've only just learned about Breezy Point from this thread and I'm feeling its loss already. Hope people find a way to rebuild something.
posted by benito.strauss at 10:51 AM on October 30, 2012

sciencegeek: It's probably worth giving the plants a good watering to dilute the salt, and possibly spray the leaves to offset the dehydration from the salt water. Presumably if they're outdoors then they aren't being particularly active at this time of year (and processing less water) anyway.
posted by titus-g at 10:52 AM on October 30, 2012

Lucy the Elephant 1881 novelty house survived Sandy

Previously.
posted by homunculus at 10:56 AM on October 30, 2012 [9 favorites]

I may have missed it in this behemoth thread, but is the Statue of Liberty still with us?
posted by yoga at 10:59 AM on October 30, 2012

I've been so wrapped in reading about the storm, it's almost surreal to go outside into the Southern California sunshine.

I hear that blood donations could be helpful - am I too far away, or do they ship blood across the country?
posted by insectosaurus at 11:00 AM on October 30, 2012

So I found some articles and pictures concerning my hometown, where my relatives still live. Needless to say, they have not assuaged my worry.

Gallery: Sandy damaged Perth Amboy waterfront - Oct. 30, 2012 (11 photos), Chris Faytok, The Star-Ledger at NJ.com, 30 October, 2012

At Least 30 Boats Lost at Perth Amboy Yacht Club, Juila Terruso, The Star-Ledger at NJ.com, 30 October, 2012

Perth Amboy Begins Storm Recovery Process, No Byline, NJ Today, 30 October, 2012
posted by ob1quixote at 11:01 AM on October 30, 2012

amtho: "So, what's the libertarian position on disaster recovery?"

What Sara C. said about "it's all your fault for living in the wrong place", plus what eriko said about being the first to beg for help if they're on the wrong end of the next one.

This pretty much sums it up.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:01 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just send me your blood, I need some for tomorrow night.
posted by vrakatar at 11:01 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I hear that blood donations could be helpful - am I too far away, or do they ship blood across the country?

This article says they shipped blood to areas hit by Sandy, so I suspect even if your blood doesn't make it to the Big Apple, it will still be welcome.
posted by jetlagaddict at 11:02 AM on October 30, 2012

AFAIK there's only so many blood types, so unless there's an extreme shortage they don't move very far.

Still, nothing wrong with donating. Especially when you consider that the Red Cross essentially sells those back to the hospitals and does some pretty decent stuff with the profits. (The blood may not move far, but the money definitely does.)
posted by Blue_Villain at 11:03 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

FIVE DAY WEEKEND!!!!!!! FUCK YEAH!!!!

*ironic fist-pump*
posted by jason's_planet at 11:03 AM on October 30, 2012

Thanks, I will find somewhere to donate later today in that case.
posted by insectosaurus at 11:04 AM on October 30, 2012

WNYC: News Analysis: For Cuomo and Christie, Sandy Offers Peril and Possibilities.
posted by ericb at 11:05 AM on October 30, 2012

Yeah, my school closed for tomorrow, so I'm off too. Trying to find out if my church building has power to see if we can't organize some sort of freezer clean-out pot luck/charge all the things/be together event.
posted by booksherpa at 11:07 AM on October 30, 2012

Are Greenpointers interested in a meetup this evening? If so I'll scout the neighborhood for a meeting place.
posted by eustacescrubb at 11:17 AM on October 30, 2012

Wow, this thread is intense, especially in mid-storm. Have been hooked on it for ages, trying to stay away a bit so I don't feel like a disaster voyeur. The pics and video are unbelievable, the Metro pics - oh my god.

Good to see so many checking in and ok, and also all the support for one another - that has been amazing.
posted by marienbad at 11:19 AM on October 30, 2012

Bush’s FEMA Director During Katrina Criticizes Obama For Responding To Sandy Too Quickly
Warning: Not Onion Article
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:20 AM on October 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

eustacescrubb: I might be interested, especially if it's a place that has an ATM that's up and running.
posted by bookwibble at 11:21 AM on October 30, 2012

I hear that blood donations could be helpful - am I too far away, or do they ship blood across the country?

"The Red Cross did move blood and blood products to those areas most likely to be affected by Sandy so that the blood needs of people in those communities could be met. However, the long- term impact of power outages and blood drive cancellations [on the national blood supply] is expected to be significant."

So donating is still urgent right now, even if you're far from the storm and if your blood/platelets/etc. don't wind up being shipped to the East Coast. (And as someone who needed a lot of emergency transfusions several years ago, my deepest thanks to everyone who donates -- not just now, but at any time.)
posted by scody at 11:21 AM on October 30, 2012

Virtually unscathed here in Vegas.

Non-stop TV campaign ads seem a bit more psychotic somehow.

Awfully glad to see so many folks checking in OK.

My best wishes for with those w/o power, cold, wet, etc.

Never did get to see Gazebo...
posted by mmrtnt at 11:21 AM on October 30, 2012

Heckuva job, lackey.

Brown turned then to a reliable right-wing attack on the President's response to the attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi that killed four Americans:

"One thing he's gonna be asked is, why did he jump on [the hurricane] so quickly and go back to D.C. so quickly when in...Benghazi, he went to Las Vegas?" Brown says. "Why was this so quick?... At some point, somebody's going to ask that question.... This is like the inverse of Benghazi."

posted by tonycpsu at 11:22 AM on October 30, 2012

(Whoops, didn't see Potomac's post on preview.)
posted by tonycpsu at 11:23 AM on October 30, 2012

Bush’s FEMA Director During Katrina Criticizes Obama For Responding To Sandy Too Quickly

Heckuva job, Brownie! Yet again.
posted by Danf at 11:24 AM on October 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

The pseudonymous false rumour-monger @comfortablysmug has been outed:

"@comfortablysmug is Shashank Tripathi, a hedge-fund analyst and the campaign manager of Christopher R. Wight, this year’s Republican candidate for the U.S. House from New York’s 12th congressional district."
posted by sevenyearlurk at 11:24 AM on October 30, 2012 [9 favorites]

Was @comfortablysmug spreading false rumors on purpose? Or were they just getting sucked into the whirlwind?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:25 AM on October 30, 2012

Well, let's hope Brown somehow makes his way to the platform during a Romney appearance today then.
posted by mwhybark at 11:25 AM on October 30, 2012

Baltimore (Remington) checking in. We came through pretty much OK. I didn't even see the lights flicker and the wireless Internet stayed up. The local diner is open (and pissed about this morning's road restrictions keeping customers away.)

I hear the road in front of or near the Windup is closed, which makes sense as it tends to pool water. I'll try to drive by later to confirm.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 11:28 AM on October 30, 2012

I think even Romney isn't tonedeaf enough to pal around with Brown but you never know.
posted by vuron at 11:28 AM on October 30, 2012

@comfortablysmug was the origin point for numerous false news items last night, TPS. Pretty hard to argue it was accidental. A result of poor judgement? Obviously. Not intentional? No way.
posted by mwhybark at 11:28 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

TPS: Forbes has this explanation, which seems right to me:

Now everyone wants to know why he seemed so determined to spread misinformation during the storm. I think the answer will be an obvious one: he liked the attention and the RTs. This is why trolls do what they do. He wanted to be part of the storm, causing as much chaos online as Sandy was causing in Manhattan.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:31 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Here in our neighborhood of Portland, Maine, we lucked out and got nothing worse than an average windy rainstorm. All my preparations were unnecessary (except that they made me feel better). Some area schools are closed, and looking at the list of outages, I'm amazed to report that we never even lost power fully. I feel very lucky.

I'm sending good thoughts to those of you in harder-hit areas. (And via the Red Cross, I'll send some blood this week, too.)
posted by Elsa at 11:32 AM on October 30, 2012

Does anyone know how any of this might affect the upcoming New York Marathon? A friend of mine is planning to run it (for the first time-it's on her bucket list) but I would imagine that this would throw a rather large wrench into things. OTOH I know very little about New York and where they run this thing so....
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 11:40 AM on October 30, 2012

A quick way to donate $10 is to text REDCROSS to 90999. While $10 doesn't sound like much, it adds up quickly. In the first day after the catastrophic Haiti earthquake, the Red Cross raised $10M through text donations.

Everyone in my house has donated in this fashion, and intend to do so once a week for a while.
posted by MissySedai at 11:40 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

MTA is announcing limited NYC bus service starting tonight at 5 pm - Sunday schedule, no fares.
posted by Mchelly at 11:41 AM on October 30, 2012

This photo made me laugh.
posted by rtha at 11:42 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

This one was a bit amusing, too. That poor, sad cake.
posted by crackingdes at 11:44 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

This one was a bit amusing, too. That poor, sad cake.

I rather think the "Caution: Wet Floor" sign is what really sets it off.
posted by Jehan at 11:47 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

And it took so long to bake it!
posted by Metroid Baby at 11:48 AM on October 30, 2012 [10 favorites]

"That poor, sad cake."

And I'll never have that recipe again!
posted by alex.dudley at 11:49 AM on October 30, 2012 [7 favorites]

Someone left the cake out in the rain!
posted by sallybrown at 11:49 AM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

The cake is not dry.
posted by cmfletcher at 11:50 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Does anyone know how any of this might affect the upcoming New York Marathon? A friend of mine is planning to run it (for the first time-it's on her bucket list) but I would imagine that this would throw a rather large wrench into things. OTOH I know very little about New York and where they run this thing so....

At this point NYRR (the organization that runs the NYC marathon) is going ahead with plans. Yes, the storm is throwing an extremely large wrench into things. The Javits Center (where the expo is held, where runners pick up their race materials) is flooded and they are apparently making alternate plans. The race has a very large international field (about 20,000 of the ~47,000 runners are international) and so there is of course a lot of concern about them being able to get into NYC with the airport closures, and of course there is the concern about everyone being able to get to the race start if subway service is, as I expect, still limited on Sunday.

My guess is the biggest problem is the level of police and other emergency services necessary for the marathon, and the road closures which accompany it. At this point I can't imagine they would be able to close that many roads, and divert that many police and ambulances, when the cleanup will still be ongoing.

I am scheduled to run it, and so I am following the story closely, but I recognize that it's about the least important thing going on right now.
posted by matcha action at 11:51 AM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Gallows humor, the young rope-rider. That and a nodding acquaintance with the lyrics to "McArthur Park."
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 11:52 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

"This photo made me laugh.
posted by rtha

If that photo was the cover of a DVD I would want to watch it.
posted by marienbad at 11:53 AM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

I am scheduled to run it, and so I am following the story closely, but I recognize that it's about the least important thing going on right now.

Absolutely, of course. But thanks for the info.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 11:56 AM on October 30, 2012

The flooded garage on Stone street kinda messed with me a bit ever since we started seeing it last night, I walk past there a couple times a day when I am working out of my office on Water street.
posted by Ad hominem at 11:58 AM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Don't go, tyrr. People cope with things in different ways, if that means laughing at some strange image then let them.
posted by marienbad at 11:58 AM on October 30, 2012

Radar imaging of Hurricane Sandy reveals the power in its core
posted by homunculus at 12:01 PM on October 30, 2012

I have been worrying a lot like most of the people in this thread, and I too have made a joke here and there to ease out of the worry a little, but maybe it'd just be better to avoid talking much about which photos of destroyed neighborhoods we find funniest, especially when they're not our neighborhoods.
posted by koeselitz at 12:02 PM on October 30, 2012 [11 favorites]

Why do transformers explode in storms?
posted by moonmilk at 12:03 PM on October 30, 2012

Why do transformers explode in storms?

Because the downed lines short them out.
posted by localroger at 12:05 PM on October 30, 2012

moonmilk: "transformers "

Why Do Transformers Explode?
posted by octothorpe at 12:05 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Why do transformers explode in storms?

There's a lot of energy in them. If that's shorted into the transformer itself, it boils the transformer coolant -- usually an oil -- and blows up. As a bonus, the very hot and partially vaporized oil then burns too.

This is why you get the flash-foomf. The blue flash is the power arcing. Don't stare at it, it's loaded with UV. It's basically a welding arc in the wrong place. The foomf is the oil going afterward.
posted by eriko at 12:06 PM on October 30, 2012 [7 favorites]

> Photos from Breezy Point

One of those shots reminded me of the episodes of the Sopranos when they bought a seaside cottage.

Same or near place?

posted by mmrtnt at 12:07 PM on October 30, 2012

Why Do Transformers Explode?

Michael Bay.
posted by radwolf76 at 12:09 PM on October 30, 2012 [20 favorites]

Don't go, tyrr. People cope with things in different ways, if that means laughing at some strange image then let them.

I feel like it's one thing for a guy whose like grandfather just died to be like 'Jesus, man, but did I ever tell you about the time when he was paving the driveway and plastered his foot with hot asphalt?' and a completely other thing for someone to be like 'Dude your grandfather just died, isn't it hilarious that he was so old? I COPE VIA HUMOR IT'S FINE'
posted by shakespeherian at 12:10 PM on October 30, 2012 [12 favorites]

Right around the corner from that flooded parking lot is Fraunces Tavern, where Washington Gave his final farewell to the troops. Contrary to what people may think there is a lot more than hedge fund guys down there. Lower Manhattan is what passes for historical in a country where almost nothing is over 100 years old.
posted by Ad hominem at 12:12 PM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

maybe it'd just be better to avoid talking much about which photos of destroyed neighborhoods we find funniest, especially when they're not our neighborhoods.

Agreed. When my city shut down from an ice storm a couple years ago, those of us dealing with burst pipes, exploded trees, and frozen fish tanks had a hard time finding humor in the pics of the mess until much, much, much later. Ditto when we got hit with a rash of tornadoes the following summer. Sure, the big shard of glass sticking up out of Lake High School's football field looked strange and kind of funny...but people died in those storms, and many in the affected areas lost everything.

I respectfully submit that those of us on the outside of Sandy's devastation looking in should think twice, then twice more, before opining on what we find "funny" in the company of people still reeling from the storm. Compassion should be worth more than a one liner.
posted by MissySedai at 12:12 PM on October 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

One of those shots reminded me of the episodes of the Sopranos when they bought a seaside cottage.

Same or near place?

No, that was on the Jersey Shore (not sure if they ever specified a town). But in general oceanfront terrain is more or less the same all over the mid-Atlantic (read: low beaches with few natural or manmade barriers), which is why there's been so much damage.
posted by oinopaponton at 12:13 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

There is no Trump donation—he’s too busy tweeting things like “[h]urricane is good luck for Obama again- he will buy the election by handing out billions of dollars.” People are using #ThanksDonald to talk about the non-existent pledge in a futile effort to shame him.

I don't think a Twitter campaign designed to shame him publically is really all that well thought out.

Trying to get Donald Trump to feel shame? Seriously? Definitely not well thought through.
posted by klausness at 12:15 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

One of those shots reminded me of the episodes of the Sopranos when they bought a seaside cottage.

Same or near place?

I'm no Sopranos expert, but it appears that was in New Jersey (so no).

As oinopaponton, notes, the terrain is similar.
posted by Jahaza at 12:16 PM on October 30, 2012

from the New York Times:

Lower Manhattan flooding: The Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent its National Unwatering Team to drain out downtown, and is offering other assistance.

So what do you do for work?

Oh, I'm a member of the National Unwatering Team.
posted by medusa at 12:17 PM on October 30, 2012 [7 favorites]

The "Unwatering Team" consists of one guy and a massive ShamWow.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:19 PM on October 30, 2012 [7 favorites]

The "Unwatering Team" consists of one guy and a massive ShamWow.

And two bulldozers to squeeze the water out of the ShamWow.
posted by eriko at 12:20 PM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

Reported our power outage to PSEG (clearly redundant, i'm sure our building management did it last night) and got this back as an estimated date of power coming back: " 8:00 PM on 11-05-2012"


gulp.

i am hoping that is just a very very conservative estimate.
posted by lyra4 at 12:21 PM on October 30, 2012

I feel a tiny swell of pride in noting that the Southwest Coordination Center, the interagency coordinator for wildland firefighting resources here in New Mexico and the surrounding environs, is dispatching four Incident Management Teams and eleven wildland fire crews, a total of over 200 personnel, to help with the hurricane aftermath on the eastern seaboard.
posted by koeselitz at 12:23 PM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

(That's not much, I know, but it's huge for us.)
posted by koeselitz at 12:24 PM on October 30, 2012

Unwatering, I believe, is on the Hudson near Ossining.
posted by dhartung at 12:26 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Calypso Windsmash was late this year.
(supposed to be in April...)
posted by MtDewd at 12:29 PM on October 30, 2012

I notice in a lot of captions they refer to tourists as "Visitors." Is that a thing?
posted by postcommunism at 12:32 PM on October 30, 2012

I think that some of us who might be looking for humor have great fondness for New York, even if we don't live there anymore. So we're not being callous; it's our city, too.

But you're right -- I'm sitting here in my dry house, power on, heat on, supermarkets open, schools open. It's not my place to decide when it's appropriate to laugh in public at the "CAUTION WET FLOOR" sign.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:33 PM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

If I wanted to take a map of my town, and mark the (50!) roads/road sections the local PD has reported as closed, what's the easiest way to make such a shareable map? Something besides Google, by preference, since I've tried to use it in the past and it's annoying and crappy.
posted by booksherpa at 12:35 PM on October 30, 2012

Can't we all just keep laughing at Elbloombito? Surely we can agree on that.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 12:36 PM on October 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

Well, I live very near those same areas and also know people that live there and I found the images amusing, especially the sad cake. I don't think anyone was laughing at people, especially not in a dismissive or malicious way. But, to each her own; it has definitely been a traumatic experience for many people around here and I hope no one has any intent to belittle them.
posted by Falconetti at 12:38 PM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

I notice in a lot of captions they refer to tourists as "Visitors." Is that a thing?

"Visitors" is a lot more inclusive and is more likely to be accurate, esp. if someone's just checking out an area near home.
posted by psoas at 12:40 PM on October 30, 2012

* clears throat * I'm assuming since it's not coming up much in the thread that the Statue of Liberty must be ok.....?
posted by yoga at 12:40 PM on October 30, 2012

If the Statue of Liberty had been hit bad it would be all over the news. It was renovated some years back with the aid of some computer models to withstand at least a cat 3 hurricane. The problem with Sandy wasn't so much direct wind load as duration and storm surge, neither of which is apt to be a problem for Lady Liberty.
posted by localroger at 12:42 PM on October 30, 2012

Yes, the Statue of Liberty is fine. If the Statue of Liberty had toppled over or something, you would definitely be hearing about it.
posted by Falconetti at 12:42 PM on October 30, 2012

Thanks, guys. :)
posted by yoga at 12:43 PM on October 30, 2012

Republicans vs. FEMA: GOP Politicians Advocate Cutting Disaster Relief (VIDEO).
posted by ericb at 12:43 PM on October 30, 2012

Can we take it as read that we all feel horribly about what just happened (and continues to happen) even as we find humor in the incongruous sight of WET FLOOR sign in the middle of a recently flooded street?

Yoga, someone up thread said the lights were off, but that's all I've heard.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 12:44 PM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

I am so happy to see so many people checking in here and in the rowboat thread that I might just use up my favorites for the first time ever. So many names I've come to care about, and I'm pretty sure I am not the only person in California relieved that so far, the news is that people are ok.

fiercely determined that anyone we haven't heard from is fine, just without internet access or perhaps too busy cleaning shit up to check in.
posted by ambrosia at 12:50 PM on October 30, 2012

Thanks to all who've agreed on the whole being-careful-with-the-humor thing. Sometimes I think the best thing about Metafilter is our ability to recognize the way others feel about things and move on with a better understanding.

And, yeah, ambrosia, I think there are a lot who didn't have electricity – but they all seem to have been pretty well prepared. We keep hearing from those who were just fine and hunkered down. I'm hoping the same thing.
posted by koeselitz at 12:53 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

New York City is a city. Period. It's not like Los Angeles or Boston where it's the common name for a metropolitan aggregation or whatever. Anything in New York City shares the same municipal services and is A City.

Okay, this was way back in the thread, but Los Angeles is a city. Places like Santa Monica and Beverly Hills and Pasadena are their own cities, and are not part of the City of Los Angeles. No one from Santa Monica would say they are from L.A. There is also a Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, but there is a New York Metropolitan Area as well, comprising parts of New York, New Jersey, the Hudson Valley, and Connecticut. So I guess I don't understand the point you are trying to make.
posted by oneirodynia at 12:53 PM on October 30, 2012

The point, I think is the difference between places like Culver City and Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:56 PM on October 30, 2012

Probably it means more to say "New York is a city, period" in contrast to Boston. Most of "Boston" is really just townships; Boston proper is actually quite small.
posted by koeselitz at 12:58 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

The point is also more about people's conception of the respective cities. I think lots of people conflate Beverly Hills with LA, but almost no one conflates Hoboken with NYC.
posted by Falconetti at 12:59 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's not my place to decide when it's appropriate to laugh in public at the "CAUTION WET FLOOR" sign.

On the other hand, clearly someone thought it worth their effort to prop the sign up in the first place.

The basic situation we're dealing with here is an essential absurdity -- trawlers up on train tracks, minivans bobbing like ice cubes, living rooms visible like art exhibits, cakes left out in the rain. I'm comfortable finding humor there. Over in Breezy Point, even with no apparent loss of life, not so much. Still, it's hard to stifle the impulse to express relief somehow.

Snorkel guy and his phone-gesturing pal, though, are surely destined for memetic longevity....

Los Angeles is a city

What we're actually dealing with here is a change that took place late in the 19th and early in the 20th century when cities stopped being able to simply annex their way larger and larger. Most of Chicago and LA grew this way. Boston, for probably arcane legal or political reasons, couldn't. New York didn't annex its way, the state annexed it out to all five boroughs by fiat. County limits were reached; suburbs started fighting annexation. A lot of that was tied, then and now, to the provision of services such as water/sewer or public transportation.

New York is mainly a special case in that it incorporates five full counties of disparate urban character. At the same time, just like LA or Boston or wherever, there is a NY Metro Area that extends into three states. Brooklyn, once the 2nd largest city in the US, was swallowed by Greater New York, but only the legal geography of state lines, it seems to me, separates places like Jersey City (which is much more like Manhattan than is Staten Island) from the city.
posted by dhartung at 1:04 PM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

Actually, it seems like the point was more about administration; in which case the it kind of stands, I think. Los Angeles has a bunch of different city districts that are more or less autonomous; New York doesn't seem to, it seems to be more centralized. But I'm not really sure; I don't know New York's system quite as well as I do Los Angeles' (which is really saying something.)
posted by koeselitz at 1:04 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Here comes the sun in Boston.
posted by ericb at 1:06 PM on October 30, 2012

For those of us who spend a lot of time on MetaFilter, it's easy to forget that we're not sitting around a table together, having a discussion. When you're in a face-to-face situation, it's easy to read the atmosphere and get a feel for what's appropriate to say and what's not. On the internet, that's a lot harder. I've made almost twenty comments in this thread, and I regret a bit that I commented so often. Looking back, a lot of this was noise, and in a thread like this, noise can be pretty stressful when you're in the middle of an unfolding disaster.

When I was fourteen a town in the Northwest of Iceland where I have a lot of family was hit by a snow avalanche. Twenty people died. No one I knew or who was closely related, but people close to my family died and a lot of my family members spent a whole week digging for survivors and bodies.

The night after the avalanche happened, those in the extended family who were in Reykjavík gathered. The kids were in a separate room, where we exchanged stories and told jokes. It was fun and a relief, honestly, to kid around about it. However, on the day after, in school, when classmates told similar jokes, it was abrasive. I didn't really understand why the same sort of jokes were suddenly so uncomfortable, and I was reluctant to speak up.

When it comes to humor, context matters, and I would absolutely hate to make anyone who's gone through this hurricane feel like I felt back then. So I apologize for the noise and stupid quips I've made.

Thanks, the young rope-rider, for bringing it up.
posted by Kattullus at 1:08 PM on October 30, 2012 [21 favorites]

>The point, I think is the difference between places like Culver City and Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

Perhaps to shed some light, Los Angeles County is home to 84 (last I heard) municipalities, of which Culver city is one, if that helps

posted by mmrtnt at 1:10 PM on October 30, 2012

The "[National] Unwatering Team" consists of one guy and a massive ShamWow.

You're gonna love our NUT.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 1:10 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Finally was able to connect with my mom, to find out that a falling tree took out the roof and top floor of windows of the house next door to her after midnight last night. FDNY had to rescue a couple of people and then taped off the building.

For whatever it's worth, and not that my opinion should matter overmuch, but I'm okay with people here finding humor in the situation. It's a natural response. Won't be joining in, though. This hit way too close to home.
posted by zarq at 1:13 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

No one from Santa Monica would say they are from L.A.

People from Santa Monica do sometimes say they're from LA, if they're talking to someone from out-of-state. I went to college near Pomona, CA, but I say that I went to school "in LA" if I'm talking to someone who doesn't live in California.

By contrast, someone who went to, say, York College (to pick a random one on google) would be 100% correct to say they went to school in NYC. Or in Queens. Or in Jamaica, NY.

The point is that NYC is sort of a special case - LA County contains many cities, one of which is Los Angeles the city. New York City contains many counties, one of which is New York County.
posted by muddgirl at 1:16 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

NPR: At New York University Medical Center, A Dramatic, Critical Evacuation
posted by zarq at 1:25 PM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

the young rope-rider: "I thought the gallows humor was generally reserved for the folks in the gallows, not the folks sitting comfortably thousands of miles away, but I could be wrong. Either way, it's a bit much for me so I'm going to take a break from this thread."

I understand you're knocked a bit off-balance by the storm, and worried about people you know. Folks in these threads who you think are comfortably thousands of miles away may also have gone through this storm or others like them, or worse. They have loved ones in the area, or have anxiously been watching these threads for days, keeping tabs on the Mefites they know to make sure they are safe. Now that we know you are all okay, that gallows humor provides a much-needed release of that tension we've all been feeling.

When you come back to this thread and read my comment, skim through the thread and you'll see what I mean: people asking what they can do, trying to help out whenever possible, vowing to donate money or aid or give blood.

Empathy goes both ways; these are not mean-spirited jibes. How about you try to give the people making them the benefit of the doubt?
posted by misha at 1:27 PM on October 30, 2012 [10 favorites]

Whoa. Gate C34 at New York's LaGuardia Airport.
posted by ericb at 1:28 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

The CBS link in that NPR article gives some details, and has a video.

They were all racing against time to try to transfer approximately 200 patients out of the Tisch Building. That included 20 newborns - four with breathing tubes - in the intensive care unit, or ICU. Those infants were swaddled in blankets and carefully carried with intravenous lines, oxygen, and monitoring devices attached. I saw a 29-week-old premature being held by a nurse who held an oxygen mask to his face. Anxious faces of parents and family members dotted the lobby.

Evacuations after major NYC hospital loses backup power

How could this have happened? I was told by a member of the NYU response team that water flooding over the FDR Drive had taken out not only the backup generator but the backup to the backup generator. The secondary backup device is on a low floor and was disabled by the flooding. The primary backup generator is on the roof but the pump that supplies fuel to that generator is on a lower floor and was flooded. When I arrived, there was still some power left in the backup generator but nobody knew exactly how much. Some lights still worked. I was told that some ventilators still worked but that some were operating on battery power.

posted by zarq at 1:29 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

There is also a clearly defined aspect of being from New York City vs. being from anywhere in Jersey, Westchester, or outer Long Island. Not only do people from the city not consider those outside the five boroughs as being "from New York", those outside probably like it that way. Whereas while I liked to point out that I lived in Evanston while I did, I had no problem describing the whole of what is sometimes termed "Chicagoland" as being from Chicago. Sure, you might find those who are in a simliar city/suburb mindset, but it's just not as pronounced.

To pick up a comment from earlier in this subthread:
The border lines are kind of ridiculous. I know someone who lives in Brooklyn and right across the street is Queens.

I was going to quip, "What do you expect? Fortifications? Checkpoints? Customs?" but really, the point is that mentally there aren't any there, but they do sort of exist at the edges of the city. At the same time, people identify with their boroughs, and with their neighborhoods, almost as strongly as they would if they were independent.
posted by dhartung at 1:29 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

While running, I took some photos in Red Hook. The sidewalks are slick with oil and God knows what else. The parking kiosk from Fairway floated five blocks away. Lots of debris and broken parts of piers and such. Some surreal juxtapositions. Still considerable flooding, even at low ebb.
posted by Sticherbeast at 1:31 PM on October 30, 2012 [8 favorites]

I'm confused by why Breezy Point is Queens and not Brooklyn. Where's the dividing line?

The border lines are kind of ridiculous. I know someone who lives in Brooklyn and right across the street is Queens.

Growing up, my cousin's front yard was in one town and their backyard in another. Really, that's not unique to New York so much as it's a feature of any densely populated east coast area where towns/boroughs/whatever have grown closer and closer together over time.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 1:35 PM on October 30, 2012

Stir-crazy tots in Boston have retaken the playgrounds. Some other parents and I were touched to find that during storm prep, someone had thought to put all of the plastic cars and trikes underneath the play structure.
posted by sonika at 1:35 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

dhartung, Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey, KingEdRa: The Sugar Bowl is flattened.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:39 PM on October 30, 2012

I'm having to read the story about evacuating the NICU one or two sentences at a time so I don't utterly fall apart, and both my kids were born full term and healthy. All my thoughts to those families.
posted by KathrynT at 1:39 PM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

I thought the gallows humor was generally reserved for the folks in the gallows, not the folks sitting comfortably thousands of miles away

People often think this is some kind of obvious truism, possibly because it's a very pat kind of framing.

Here's just one counterexample; Rowan Atkinson in Blackadder Goes Forth: "If you mean, "Are we all going to get killed?" Yes. Clearly, Field Marshal Haig is about to make yet another gargantuan effort to move his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Berlin."

There is absolutely no requirement to be in, near, or a survivor of WW1 trench warfare to find either that quote or the entire series it came from funny.
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:42 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Right there with you, KathrynT. My son had his first tummy virus last night as I was simultaneously reading about the NICU evacs and the contrast was very much OK UNIVERSE I GET IT I AM THE LUCKIEST LADY TO BE CLEANING UP BARF EVER. Wanted to give all of those parents all of the hugs.

Not to mention the babies. Can't hug every baby!
posted by sonika at 1:42 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Whoa. Gate C34 at New York's LaGuardia Airport.

"... LaGuardia Airport, where runways were flooded, will remain closed indefinitely."*
posted by ericb at 1:44 PM on October 30, 2012

Mod note: Folks, we're not going to prevent anyone from either cracking jokes or thinking they're funny, but that does not prevent anyone from thinking your sense of humor is inappropriate or your timing a bit dickish. Please lets not have that meta-debate in a massive thread about a sensitive issue. Thanks.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 1:47 PM on October 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

Now that we know you are all okay, that gallows humor provides a much-needed release of that tension we've all been feeling.

Please keep in mind that some of us are still trying to check in with friends and family. Some of us still have to deal with the damage and devastation now that the storm has passed. What we're dealing with didn't end with the sunrise. What you're seeing is happening to our homes, neighborhoods and places we live in, work in and are probably quite attached to.

I've lived most of my life here and those pictures are absolutely heartbreaking. And as a parent whose kids were born prematurely, the mental image of nurses bringing preemies down 9 flights of stairs while manually pumping air into their lungs is terrifying.

Empathy goes both ways; these are not mean-spirited jibes.

New York is my home town. I'm not thrilled by people laughing. I'm trying to take the high road by not lecturing people and being understanding of human nature.

But no, in this case I'm pretty sure the onus of empathy should be on the people whose hometown wasn't shredded by a hurricane.
posted by zarq at 1:49 PM on October 30, 2012 [16 favorites]

Most people would probably say that Harvard is in Boston. Even though it is actually in Cambridge, which is its own city. But it shares a public transit system, a local culture, etc. with the city of Boston.

Well, not here they don't. Harvard isn't in Boston and people here don't say that it is, any more than people say Hoboken is in NYC.

My point is that the system of thinking about city/noncity areas in Boston is much more similar to NYC than you might realize, scale being the main difference. I've lived in both areas so I feel confident making this assertion.

NYC does share a "transit system a local culture, etc." with places outside the proper boundaries of the city of NY - at least as much as it shares a local culture with things inside the boundaries city of NY, a working farm being a great example. t

I think this is more how Boston is made up of Boston, Dorchester, Allston, Brighton, etc.

Right, all neighborhoods, just like the Rockaways, etc.

dhartung basically has it from a historical angle. And also from a contemporary angle, that the relatively-undifferentiated suburbs of the tri-state-area are all still made up of separate towns, each of which has some distinct identity regardless of its proximity to NY.
posted by Miko at 1:50 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Stir-crazy tots in Boston have retaken the playgrounds.

I was impressed that there was a crew cleaning up the remaining fallen branches and blanket of leaves at the park and playground across the street at noon. The playground is now teeming with Moms, Dads and kids.
posted by ericb at 1:50 PM on October 30, 2012

Harvard isn't in Boston ...

Parts of Harvard are in Boston: Harvard Business School and Harvard Medical School.
posted by ericb at 1:53 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Finally heard from my aunt. She was right at the dividing line between Zone 1 and 2, but managed to be very lucky and didn't even lose power. Was surprised that I was so concerned about her. I pointed out that a building a block away from her had lost part of its facade, and there was horrible flooding two blocks away. Her response was 'oh. Huh'. Completely unfazed by it all.
posted by dinty_moore at 1:58 PM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

South Ferry and Whitehall St. - subway
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:58 PM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

Michelly, I unfortunately saw that there was some damage starting to be reported today. I don't know if it's the boardwalk or the downtown you're thinking about most, but Asbury Park Boardwalk is on Facebook with one update probably more in the comments than in the page itself.. The Stone Pony is fine (not that I was that worried about a one-story concrete building...)

As it gets dark again people have a lot of things on their hands. The cell service is miserable --

Sandy takes out 25 pct of cell towers - Many cell towers that are still working are doing so with the help of generators and could run out of fuel before commercial power is restored, the Federal Communications Commission says.

Lots of towns still inaccessible, not a lot of places to get food, many power outages. I've reconciled myself to not getting any really well organized reports with an overview of whole areas until tomorrow, earliest.
posted by Miko at 2:00 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

AND WHERE, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY IS ELIZARDBITS?

Meanwhile, over in the Hurricane Sandy Rowboat CheckIn Thread, Elizardbits demands FEMA pancakes.

Although Sandy passed through Philadelphia with comparatively minor damage, I've been closely following Metafilter and the news on how things are in NYC. Photos of so much of Lower Manhattan without power bring back some rather grim memories, and the images of familiar streets in the Financial District either flooded or damaged are unnerving to say the least. Still, I'm not going to begrudge someone downtown the understated gag of placing a "Caution: Wet Floor" sign in the midst of a street full of urban flotsam. New Yorkers have all kinds of senses of humor.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:01 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

One report of looting at South Street Seaport

Many references on twitter to looting in the Rockaways -- usually quoting a fire department source to the effect that firefighters were warned to exercise caution.

Also reports of looting at Coney Island -- typically, a reference to 25 police officers on Mermaid Avenue or a level one mobilization.
posted by jason's_planet at 2:01 PM on October 30, 2012

I'm in a town in the dead center of the state of Vermont and I went to the gym because I had the day off of (non-MeFi) work. There was a big parking lot there that was full of utility trucks from the various VT utility/telco/internet companies. I can only guess that the damage was less than they were expecting (people lost power for weeks during Irene) and they're waiting in a central location to be sent out on jobs. Most of yesterday's damage here was in the southern part of the state and according to my local power company's website, they only have two outages currently where more than 500 people in an area have lost power. Not lucky last year but lucky this time.
posted by jessamyn at 2:04 PM on October 30, 2012

I sorta picked up on it when Isaac hit New Orleans, watching the new, massive pumps in action - no drama, shit just worked.

Now I really pick up on it - even Chris Christie is glowing - the difference between Bush's reaction to 9-11 and Katrina and Obama's handling of Isaac and now Sandy. Help is on the way in a matter of hours, the President is expediting and troubleshooting, delegating decision-making to the governors and agency heads closest to the action, making sure all the ducks were in a row come "go-time". No-Drama Obama - man, there's something to be said about a pathologically cool head in a crisis.

To further encourage the special-snowflake-Cambridge derail...

Well, not here they don't. Harvard isn't in Boston and people here don't say that it is, any more than people say Hoboken is in NYC.

Not in my experience. When talking to other Bostonians, or trying to score points with useless trivia, Cambridge is its own city. When talking to people from other parts of the world, people who live in Cambridge or Newton or Quincy say "Come visit me in Boston, it's beautiful this time of year." It's not at all like the split between St. Paul and Minneapolis, or between SF and Oakland.

(I lived in Boston. Well, Allston. And Waltham, which desperately wishes it could say it was in Boston. My sister's in Cambridge, and has been for more than 15 years, to her New York friends, she lives in Boston, to us, she lives in Cambridge.)
posted by Slap*Happy at 2:05 PM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Well, not here they don't. Harvard isn't in Boston and people here don't say that it is, any more than people say Hoboken is in NYC.

Miko, I think you're misunderstanding me. I'm talking about how people outside whichever city think about said city. (E.g. Boston as compared to Chicago or Sacramento or Berlin or Timbuktu.) Travelers who say they're going on vacation to Boston will probably visit Harvard Square, but they don't say they're going on vacation to Cambridge, or Suffolk County, MA, or whatever. They say they're going to Boston. Because they're not going to Philadelphia or Vermont, they're going to Boston. (And also some other towns that are part of the Boston area but technically are governed separately.)

But, anyhow. This is all off topic and largely semantic since I think we both know the difference that's being discussed here. Bottom line, New York has an expansionist municipal approach to government, which means that places that aren't even urban landscapes are part of the same jurisdiction as Manhattan, and which makes it a little bit complicated to grok all the various ways of referring to different parts of the city.
posted by Sara C. at 2:06 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm not going to begrudge someone downtown the understated gag of placing a "Caution: Wet Floor" sign in the midst of a street full of urban flotsam.

Ugh, me neither. Black humor is an important strategy for maintaining morale and solidarity in a lousy situation.

Some Asbury Park Press headlines/photos:

Aerial view of Seaside Heights - that poor town is just buried in sand.

Bayshore aftermath - low lying, old fishing area, working-class area with mainly small tract houses.

Monmouth County aftermath

Storm high tide was a Sandy Hook record
posted by Miko at 2:07 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Does anyone know how any of this might affect the upcoming New York Marathon? A friend of mine is planning to run it (for the first time-it's on her bucket list) but I would imagine that this would throw a rather large wrench into things.

My guess is that it will happen.

They may change the route to avoid areas where Con Ed and the MTA are working round the clock, or if there is one particular segment of the race that might still be flooded or otherwise dangerous. (The Lower Manhattan segment, I'd imagine. Also maybe around the Gowanus area of Brooklyn.)

Most of New York is on relatively high ground and did not flood. In my neighborhood of Brooklyn, which is very close to a main segment of the course, there's no standing water and people are already clearing the fallen trees. I'd imagine the same is true in a lot of neighborhoods that didn't get hit as hard as Lower Manhattan and Breezy Point.
posted by Sara C. at 2:12 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I lived in Boston. Well, Allston.

And, to further the Harvard trivia derail: Harvard owns a great deal of land in Allston and Brighton, extending the campus and programs there.

Examples:

Harvard Allston Education Portal.

Allston Science Complex (scheduled to open in 2014).

posted by ericb at 2:12 PM on October 30, 2012

I'm talking about how people outside whichever city think about said city.

OK...I guess I just don't agree that they do, exactly. It's the difference between using shorthand and explaining a full itinerary. I don't think of Hoboken or Jersey City as New York City.

They say they're going to Boston

They mean they're going to the Boston area. And they know that, because half the stuff they want to see and do isn't in Boston and they have to figure out how to get there.

New York has an expansionist municipal approach to government, which means that places that aren't even urban landscapes are part of the same jurisdiction as Manhattan...

It's complicated because of the sheer scale of the 5 boroughs, but my point was that yes, so do a lot of other cities have a variety of landscapes - like Philly, which is full of places that aren't urban landscapes. What the landscape looks like doesn't have much to do with where it's incorporated. You don't even need to get into what the places look like to understand that they're all organized under the NYC government. Mudpuppie's question was more about how the titles of areas she was hearing related to municipal New York, and you guys answered that well, but I think it's not that exceptional to have a city that takes in many different kinds of places and spaces and has tight adjacencies with other cities.
posted by Miko at 2:13 PM on October 30, 2012

News Sites Knocked Out As NYC Data Center Floods.
posted by ericb at 2:14 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hm, just checked the course and it avoids Lower Manhattan entirely. My guess is that they may change the route a little in southern Brooklyn if it goes too close any areas potentially contaminated by Gowanus flooding.
posted by Sara C. at 2:14 PM on October 30, 2012

No one from Santa Monica would say they are from L.A.

Do you think someone living in West Hollywood or Culver City might say they are from L.A.? Because they are incorporated cities but people from WH or CC will say they are from L.A. all the time.
posted by Justinian at 2:15 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

New York City Marathon on Sunday Got Dicey.
posted by ericb at 2:16 PM on October 30, 2012

Miko - I don't think it's that exceptional. It's just what it is. As compared to other cities that do things differently. Which is fine. Obviously. I feel like you're reading in a level of New York City exceptionalism that was not intended.

(Frankly, I thought the Boston approach was pretty exceptional when I moved there. And I'm still confused by "Unincorporated East Los Angeles" -- if it's unincorporated, how is it in the middle of a huge city? Wha?)
posted by Sara C. at 2:17 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yes, the Statue of Liberty is fine. If the Statue of Liberty had toppled over or something, you would definitely be hearing about it.

Looks out window.... yup. Still standing. ;) (That was me up thread saying the lights were out, her torch lost power last night when all of JC was going down.)

Just chilled in my car for an hour charging up the all important mophie juice pack & EVDO. Things that are fabulous that I'm so happy I have with me:
* gallons of water
* mophie juice pack (looooooooove this little thing right now)
* handcrank/solar charged radio
* kindle
* lots of handwipes
* all those cookies i baked yesterday
* filled bathtubs THANK YOU METAFILTER

Things that are not so useful that I thought would be cool:
* solar charger. Does.Not.Work. It's one you can charge the internal battery from a wall or from solar, then it charges a phone. I charged it from the wall before we lost power, tried charging phone-which charges great from my mophie- from it. oh well.


Some folks in my building are not doing so well - this is gross, people are peeing in the stairwells bc power is out in the building. YUCK. Our building sent email out saying "It is imperative that all residents currently sheltering in the building conduct themselves with respect and consideration for each other during these difficult times. Any one that does not have ample fresh water supply should reconsider going to a city shelter or relocate to friends or family with power and water."
posted by lyra4 at 2:22 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Gowanus flooding

Holy shit. Didn't even think of that. The Gowanus is the worlds most hardcore body of water, that fucking thing is probably dissolving house foundations and spreading heretofore unknown diseases as we speak. It is less a canal than a biblical plague. There better get some kind of Andromeda Strain level containment going on there stat.
posted by Ad hominem at 2:23 PM on October 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

The parking kiosk from Fairway floated five blocks away

I swear I read that as "the parking kiosk from Fenway floated five blocks away," and I though well, some Yankees fans are going to have fun with that.
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:26 PM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

That NBC sports link is completely incomprehensible. The photo is of a part of the city where the race doesn't even go.

It's true that there will be logistical difficulties getting elite runners into the city from other places. But the other obstacles are either not significant in terms of being able to hold a race (if spectators can't get to their favorite cheering points, well, sorry?) or a matter of changing plans and doing things a little differently*. Which is a part of life when you organize events on this scale.

If anything, I think the race will be a lot smaller this year, and there will probably be (amateur hobbyist) runners who can't compete because they can't get to the city or got bumped from their hotel reservation or whatever.

But I highly doubt they'll call the whole thing off.

*For example coming up with a different way to get runners to the starting point, which actually is a concern.
posted by Sara C. at 2:26 PM on October 30, 2012

They mean they're going to the Boston area. And they know that, because half the stuff they want to see and do isn't in Boston and they have to figure out how to get there.

Lots of people think of Harvard as being in Boston. If neither Harvard, Cambridge, nor Boston are part of your day-to-day, then you may very well think that Cambridge is just a part of Boston, or you might not even know what Cambridge is.

On the other hand, I don't think anyone thinks that Jersey City or Hoboken are part of New York City.

That said, lots of people think that New York City is just Manhattan, which is of course not true.
posted by Sticherbeast at 2:29 PM on October 30, 2012

*For example coming up with a different way to get runners to the starting point, which actually is a concern.

Staten Island, where the marathon starts, might still be having problems at the end of the week. The starting point is nearby (or actually at? I should know this better than I do..) the US Coast Guard base on Staten Island, and that base is not in good shape right now. A lot of Staten Island really got whalloped by the storm last night.

On the other hand, I don't think anyone thinks that Jersey City or Hoboken are part of New York City.

Ha- yes, so true. We make that a point of pride. ;)
posted by lyra4 at 2:32 PM on October 30, 2012

That said, lots of people think that New York City is just Manhattan, which is of course not true.

Unless you live in Manhattan...
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 2:32 PM on October 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

people are peeing in the stairwells bc power is out in the building.

Wha?

I mean, you can physically pee into your toilet. You just can't flush it. Gah.
posted by Sara C. at 2:37 PM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

lyra - the race starts basically at the onramp to the Verazzano Narrows bridge, and from what I understand (my mom ran the race last year) runners are shuttled there from several arrival points -- probably the Ferry at St. George, maybe also some South Brooklyn locations.

It wouldn't be impossible to change the shuttle points this year and stage the start a little differently. Or even to omit the "Staten Island" section of the race and have runners do an extra lap around Central Park.
posted by Sara C. at 2:40 PM on October 30, 2012

‘Obama Caused Hurricane Sandy’ Say Conspiracy Theorists.
posted by ericb at 2:46 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sean Connery caused the hurricane while wearing a tartan suit, all while blustering, "Now is the winter of your discontent!"
posted by Sticherbeast at 2:51 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

‘Obama Caused Hurricane Sandy’ Say Conspiracy Theorists.

Okay, so, this is definitely why we need more science.

(And education in general, but really, so much more science.)
posted by jetlagaddict at 2:52 PM on October 30, 2012

if it's unincorporated, how is it in the middle of a huge city? Wha?

Simple, it's what planners call an "island", "peninsula", or "exclave", sometimes with a qualifier such as "town island". They represent property owners who never allowed annexation (or were never asked). Here in Wisconsin my city is pretty well coterminous with developed areas, but one city over we have a township government that is very built up but resisted incorporation (probably at least in part due to racism) -- the city spreads its tendrils around it until it's a patchwork between city territory and town territory, and both have their own police, fire, water/sewer, and zoning, not to mention government administration including elections.

Anyway, this all is getting far afield from the original question, not to mention the storm. In general, I'm a proponent of metro-style government, which is basically what Greater New York became for a five-county area -- the places where it exists elsewhere are usually confined to a single county with one big city and lots of smaller communities, such as Jacksonville. It avoids messy problems like I just described. When I lived in Jersey City, I always felt like Hudson County should have been part of NYC from the consolidation (and deserved subway service more than, say, Staten Island), but Jersey and Jersey City chauvinism -- probably more than any NYC distaste for the idea -- would have prevented that. This was all well before the NJ and NY port authorities were combined into one bi-state authority, though.
posted by dhartung at 2:56 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Quoting from the rowboat thread:

"Because the longboat thread of Sandy news isn't loading for people on older mobile devices anymore..."

Hell, Firefox on this Solaris Blade 1500 has choked twice loading up the (now) 3400+ messages in this thread!

I can't imagine what all those poor iPhones and Androids are going through.

posted by mmrtnt at 2:58 PM on October 30, 2012

Meanwhile, over in the Hurricane Sandy Rowboat CheckIn Thread, Elizardbits demands FEMA pancakes.

She wasn't all dressed in white, by any chance??
posted by Danf at 2:58 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

MissySedal mentioned the Red Cross text donation business above, but here is some additional information on donating to The Salvation Army, The American Humane Association, and Direct Relief International for Sandy relief as well.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:59 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

My internet connection is comically unstable, but my girlfriend and I went out and took some pictures by Caesar's Bay in Brooklyn. Hurricane tore up brick and steel.
posted by griphus at 3:00 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

if it's unincorporated, how is it in the middle of a huge city? Wha?)

I think it just means it has no city government of its own - so it's administered via the county, state, or some other body. There's a fair amount of unincorporated land in the US, especially in the west.

Boston did a lot of annexation, but one of the factors that made surrounding towns for Boston resist annexation later in the 19th century (when NY was booming) was racism and anti-immigrant prejudice. The surrounding towns did their best to draw borderlines and resistance to growth by any means other than landfill was pretty dug in.
posted by Miko at 3:01 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Mod note: Folks, when you're at the "go screw yourself" point you probably need to take a walk from this thread or go to MetaTalk.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:02 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hell, Firefox on this Solaris Blade 1500 has choked twice loading up the (now) 3400+ messages in this thread!

I can't imagine what all those poor iPhones and Androids are going through.

Loading this just fine in the default browser on a stock droid 1. Dunno what's with y'all.
posted by 7segment at 3:09 PM on October 30, 2012

Yeah, jessamyn, that's my understanding. What I find weird about it is that in the case of L. A. we're not talking about some remote wilderness, but a part of town that is a quick hop over the Los Angeles River from the oldest part of L.A. It's as if Greenwich Village* were still unincorporated and governed only by New York County rather than NYC municipal services.

*Fun Fact - Greenwich Village used to be a whole separate town from New York. This was back in the first half of the 19th century, around the time the city didn't shell out for marble facing for the back side of City Hall because they thought it would always be on the outskirts of town and nobody would ever see the back side anyway.
posted by Sara C. at 3:10 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Media Grinches of Hurricane Sandy: The Liars, The New York Post and Gawker
posted by homunculus at 3:11 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Folks, this is the WTC Path station. Wowza.
posted by lyra4 at 3:12 PM on October 30, 2012

(But, yes, I know that the reason for the Unincorporated East L.A. thing is largely racism, combined with the fact that, at the time, Los Angeles was busy absorbing places with water and was probably all, "You and your zoot suits are NOT A PART OF THIS". That doesn't mean it doesn't boggle the mind.)
posted by Sara C. at 3:14 PM on October 30, 2012

Re: changing the marathon course: The course must be certified for it to be record-eligible, which is likely a big concern for the elite athletes, as well as amateur athletes trying to run a qualifying time for (for example) the Boston Marathon. It is far too late to get the course changed and re-certified.

The amount of police required, the amount of volunteers required (thousands, and they have to get to the course somehow) and the road closures while ConEd, etc. need to access the roads are a way bigger deal than any current potential obstructions on the roadway.

That said, Bloomberg just said that the marathon is still on the schedule, so I'll keep on drinking my beet juice even as I'm skeptical that it'll go forward.
posted by matcha action at 3:14 PM on October 30, 2012

Has this pic of ground zero flooding been posted? It was one of the first that I saw this morning and it floored me.
posted by futz at 3:15 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Are there any good articles about how you repair a train station or subway station after that kind of flooding? What kinds of things get ruined? What kinds of things stay okay?
posted by ifandonlyif at 3:15 PM on October 30, 2012

Re the photos trickling in of lower Manhattan PATH and subway stations:

Dammit. Some of those stations are brand new and really gorgeous.

Now I'm really pissed off. I'm sorry it had to be about beautiful new public works projects getting ruined and not something more humanitarian. I am a robot. A robot with emotional eating issues.
posted by Sara C. at 3:17 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

I feel the same way though -those stations were supposed to be the glossy pride of the rebuild...
posted by Miko at 3:18 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Gowanus is the worlds most hardcore body of water, that fucking thing is probably dissolving house foundations and spreading heretofore unknown diseases as we speak.

Brooklyn's Billion-Dollar Development Dream, Covered in Poop and Mercury
posted by homunculus at 3:18 PM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

Is there a plan for a second thread of updates/neighborhood statuses/debunking scary rumors, aside from the rowboat specifically for checking in? This thread has been wonderful for keeping up with large, accurate bits of news.
posted by BigJen at 3:20 PM on October 30, 2012

if it's unincorporated, how is it in the middle of a huge city?

It's what we used to call "county land". There are little pockets throughout SoCal. Where I grew up there was a little two-block strip that was county land, in the middle of our 6 sq.mi. incorporated city, which was smack in the middle of the 2500 sq.mi. urban sprawl that makes up SoCal.

I think the closest analogue of "New York = five boroughs" in SoCal is "L.A. = Los Angeles County". It's got the same degree of diversity as you mentioned, from downtown to national forest and high desert. Though once you get to the other side of the mountains you probably wouldn't describe yourself as being "in L.A." any more.
posted by benito.strauss at 3:21 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Could the folks who want to argue about the definitions of various towns and cities around the country kindly take that conversation elsewhere? Some of us are checking this page for updates on the post-storm aftermath, and it's getting a little noisy in here.
posted by albrecht at 3:23 PM on October 30, 2012 [17 favorites]

For the folks that have been asking, an earlier photo of the gazebo.
posted by carter at 3:25 PM on October 30, 2012

I know it's been posted here a couple other times, but it's a fast-moving thread: there's a Metatalk thread for Sandy check-ins.

For specific post-storm aftermath updates, local news websites might be better? Or at least quicker-loading.
posted by muddgirl at 3:29 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I got this rather frightening text from our local alert service:

RAHWAY PD: A curfew is in effect from 9pm Tuesday 10/30 until 8am Wednesday. only exception are emergency conditions. violators subject to arrest.

posted by Karmakaze at 3:31 PM on October 30, 2012

One of those shots reminded me of the episodes of the Sopranos when they bought a seaside cottage.

Same or near place?

I'm pretty sure they bought a house in Sea Bright, which is a strip of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Shrewsbury River. Evacuation was ordered as early as Sunday afternoon. The town flooded and the water was "thigh-high". Even the firefighters thought about evacuating.

(I don't live in the area anymore, but most of my family does. I've been following from my flyover state.)
posted by Fichereader at 3:32 PM on October 30, 2012

The last post from PEER1 says they are carrying up half-full barrels of diesel by hand to their 17th floor tank.
posted by ifandonlyif at 3:35 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'll be heading to work tomorrow to start on cleaning up the gardens. Curious if anyone has advice on getting there.

I live at the northern end of the 1 train in the Bronx and I need to get to the Battery. We have a car. I have a bike but recently sprained my knee and fear hurting it by biking, not to mention that I'm a scaredy cyclist and like bike paths which I doubt are functional now. Taking a bus theoretically will take two buses and about two hours if it all goes according to the MTA schedule (which it never does).

The plan right now consists of driving down.
posted by sciencegeek at 3:36 PM on October 30, 2012

Thanks for the Asbury Park updates, Miko.
posted by Mchelly at 3:38 PM on October 30, 2012

Verazzano Bridge is half lit up -lights go from Brooklyn side down to first swoop, then stop.

I see some lights over in Newark & areas past that, but JC is still dark. (As is the Statue of Liberty, since there was some interest in that earlier)

Haven't heard from the husband since a short message early this morning, but I guess that's about to be expected. Currently snacking on hummus & carrots and running down the last EVDO power.
posted by lyra4 at 3:41 PM on October 30, 2012

Well, not here they don't. Harvard isn't in Boston and people here don't say that it is, any more than people say Hoboken is in NYC.

"I went to school in Boston well not IN Boston"
posted by en forme de poire at 3:43 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

sciencegeek, the buses will be running tomorrow, and free. Looks like the M10 or M11 could get you as far as Midtown/Chelsea before you'd need to transfer.
posted by brina at 3:43 PM on October 30, 2012

Does anyone have any ideas on trying to figure out the best way to get to work tomorrow? I am in Brooklyn, work on the UWS; Hopstop and Google are only giving me options with express buses (which don't seem to be operating yet) and mta.info's TripPlanner is down.
posted by matcha action at 3:51 PM on October 30, 2012

MTA surveillance video shows water pouring into LIRR tunnel under the East River.
posted by Jahaza at 3:52 PM on October 30, 2012

> Hell, Firefox on this Solaris Blade 1500 has choked twice loading up the (now) 3400+ messages in this thread!

Well there's your problem. A first gen iPhone is a newer hardware platform than your nine your old machine.
posted by mrzarquon at 3:53 PM on October 30, 2012

Sandy: Evidence That Romney Is the Wrong President

Chris Christie, Your Future President, Sandy Edition
posted by homunculus at 3:54 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

I would think the best method for any long distances or borough hopping will be a cab. Hopefully you can split the cost among multiple riders.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:55 PM on October 30, 2012

Science geek, I invite you to explore my personal favorite NYC bus line: the M5, which you capinto are on the northern end of Riverside Drive and de-bus at South Ferry.
posted by thinkpiece at 3:56 PM on October 30, 2012

Does anyone have any ideas on trying to figure out the best way to get to work tomorrow? I am in Brooklyn, work on the UWS; Hopstop and Google are only giving me options with express buses (which don't seem to be operating yet) and mta.info's TripPlanner is down.

I'm not sure I'd trust Hopstop or Google at this point. You'll want a bus map and timetables. Unfortunately the requisite part of the MTA web site seems to be down currently.
posted by Jahaza at 3:57 PM on October 30, 2012

Romney Donating Sandy Supplies Only to GOP Swing States--Not NJ or NY

This can't be real, right? I mean, I'm no fan of Romney, but this is just so low I can't believe it.
posted by dysh at 4:00 PM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

MissySedal mentioned the Red Cross text donation business above, but here is some additional information on donating to The Salvation Army, The American Humane Association, and Direct Relief International for Sandy relief as well.

AND!

Text FBNYC to 50555 for The Food Bank for New York City

Text iCARE to 85944 for New York Cares

Volunteer or donate to Food Not Bombs
posted by MissySedai at 4:00 PM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

(That's not much, I know, but it's huge for us.)

Getting to The Show! I hope it all goes well for you guys and gals!
posted by Danf at 4:02 PM on October 30, 2012

Ran out of favorites...so just pretend that every post here has one more favorite. Glad most everyone is ok. <3
posted by schyler523 at 4:04 PM on October 30, 2012

Still no word from my folks in Neponsit. Family are trying to make it out there to check. Any news on The Rockaways from ppl close to the ground is most appreciated.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 4:07 PM on October 30, 2012

This can't be real, right? I mean, I'm no fan of Romney, but this is just so low I can't believe it.

The update suggests that he is donating some of it to New Jersey.

That said, don't do as Romney initially did and encourage people to donate goods. Donate money or blood. Seriously.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:09 PM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

As seen on Twitter: MTA bus service restorations -Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island
posted by sonika at 4:14 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

No timetable set for return of Staten Island Ferry service
posted by Jahaza at 4:19 PM on October 30, 2012

Okay, mom & dad are on the Q35 line, so that's a good sign for the neighborhood. Thanks, Sonika.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 4:20 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Heard Bloomberg on radio say the Marathon is a go, Halloween Parade delayed.
posted by caddis at 4:22 PM on October 30, 2012

Why not just combine the two?
posted by The Whelk at 4:26 PM on October 30, 2012 [14 favorites]

If you're almost anywhere else in the US and you say you're from New York, everyone assumes you're from New York City. I happen to be from NYC, but it still surprises me that people don't know how huge the state of NY is.
posted by mareli at 4:28 PM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

mareli: "If you're almost anywhere else in the US and you say you're from New York, everyone assumes you're from New York City."

We assume that because if you were from Buffalo or Rochester or Syracuse or Albany or whereever, we assume you'd say that instead of telling us you're from "New York". HTH. ;)
posted by wierdo at 4:33 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Overview picture of Breezy Point by Mike Groll of the AP.
posted by rewil at 4:37 PM on October 30, 2012 [11 favorites]

I've actually had it happen to me when I say I'm from Vermont (when I lived there - and it's still true that I'm from there, originally) that they ask if that's in New York State. I was tempted to answer yes, just to end the conversation.
posted by sonika at 4:38 PM on October 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Everyone seems to mistake Rhode Island for Long Island. To be fair, they do have the word "island" in their names, so you can hardly blame them.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:44 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Maybe I'll just get a ride to the M15 SBS. That seems like the most efficient method to get to South Ferry.
posted by sciencegeek at 4:46 PM on October 30, 2012

Hey guys, Suburban Coach is cross-honoring NJ Transit tix if anyone needs to get to/from NJ while NJT is down. Prepare for huge lines tho.
posted by en forme de poire at 4:49 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

When living in Rhode Island, I did have to explain to a relative that it's not actually an *island.* (Well, sort of. Newport is on Aquidneck Island... and there's Block Island...but the whole STATE is not an island. Nor is there an actual island called Rhode Island.) This was quite a shocker.
posted by sonika at 4:49 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Nor is there an actual island called Rhode Island

Technically, I think there is. We just aren't sure which one. It's like "Where's Waldo: the Colonial Discovery Game."
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:55 PM on October 30, 2012 [7 favorites]

Okay, my sister & cousin made it out there to Rockaway. Mom & Dad r ok, basement is flooded, power is out. But everyone is ok.

Relenquishing my share of good thoughts in favor of ppl still waiting on news.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 5:00 PM on October 30, 2012 [7 favorites]

So it seems like the interesting thing about NYC is that it did its suburban sprawl in the 19th century and, while the political will existed, decided to unify under a single government, whereas most other cities remain a patchwork of county and incorporated towns whose residents use the shorthand "I live in $big_city" because nobody will know where Mandeville is.

That could be refreshing. New Orleans, which is dinky compared to NYC, is nearly evenly split between Orleans parish (think county) which is equivalent to New Orleans the city governed by the Mayor of New Orleans and the New Orleans city council, and neighboring Jefferson Parish which has its own parish President, council, police department, and sherriff. Wthin Jefferson Parish is the city of Kenner, with its own government and police force (and where our airport is located). North of the lake is St. Tammany Parish, containing the cities of Covington, Mandeville, and Slidell, many of whose residents would call themselves "New Orleans residents" for shorthand. And that's a metro area of only 1.5 million people.
posted by localroger at 5:08 PM on October 30, 2012

Will somebody please make a U.S./Towns/Cities/Boroughs/Parish/Zip Code thread?
posted by futz at 5:10 PM on October 30, 2012 [7 favorites]

That said, lots of people think that New York City is just Manhattan, which is of course not true.

I think also that it used to be a lot more true - people used to talk about the "bridge and tunnel crowd" which wasn't just to refer to NJ but also brooklyn/queens people who weren't real NYers (or maybe more accurately, were real NYers but not the hip ones). Ever see Saturday Night Fever? There used to be a major cultural distinction between the outer boroughs and "New York proper"...
posted by mdn at 5:13 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I was taught that Rhode Island was a corruption of Rogue's Island, so-called by people in Boston (and Cambridge, presumably) who thought Roger Williams was some sort of thug living like a pirate in the swamp because he didn't want to the congregational minister.
posted by shothotbot at 5:14 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Bush’s FEMA Director During Katrina Criticizes Obama For Responding To Sandy Too Quickly

If there were a hell, his would be the New Orleans Superdome post-Katrina, with truck after truck full of supplies and relief workers zipping by filled with laughing people ignoring him while he begged for water and rescue and slowly drowned in overflowing sewage that bubbled in the boiling heat.
posted by emjaybee at 5:16 PM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

Some people think that New York City is just Manhattan below 96th or even 59th St.
posted by sciencegeek at 5:16 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I wonder if Brown just really hates the Republican Party now and is just doing his part to make them look awful.
posted by ifandonlyif at 5:19 PM on October 30, 2012

Holy shit. All of a sudden a flash storm -- torrential downpour, thunder and lightning here in Boston.
posted by ericb at 5:22 PM on October 30, 2012

Boston - huge downpour, less than 1/2 second between lightning and thunder. Wow.
posted by benito.strauss at 5:24 PM on October 30, 2012

I thought I heard thunder, then thought couldn't be! But yeah I'm hearing it again. Warm front departing?
posted by Miko at 5:25 PM on October 30, 2012

I was taught that Rhode Island was a corruption of Rogue's Island

According to Wiki, Roger Williams was himself the first to use the name officially, and there are a couple of credible explanations as to where he might have gotten the idea.
posted by localroger at 5:25 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

(Although it looks like the storm watch doesn't last more than 1 hour. Small storm, thank goodness. Can't blame us for feeling jumpy.)
posted by benito.strauss at 5:26 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I wonder if Brown just really hates the Republican Party now and is just doing his part to make them look awful.

If you are talking about Brown University, I am pretty sure they do.
posted by shothotbot at 5:27 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

people on the south haven, MI beach watch sandy kick up waves

here in kalamazoo, it was simply cold, wet and miserably breezy
posted by pyramid termite at 5:30 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I really hope Brown University wasn't retroactively named after Michael Brown.
posted by ifandonlyif at 5:30 PM on October 30, 2012

people used to talk about the "bridge and tunnel crowd" which wasn't just to refer to NJ but also brooklyn/queens people who weren't real NYers

Nowadays it seems more to refer to a Long Island crowd which is fine cause everything is on Long Island is gross and awful forever.
posted by The Whelk at 5:30 PM on October 30, 2012

booksherpa: "Octothorpe, where in central NJ?"

Didn't actually see your question until now. Sister is in Franklin Park (New Brunswick area). Finally got a call from them around 5:00 PM, they didn't have any cell service and had to drive around to find somewhere with reception. They have no power/heat/hot water and lost of few trees but are otherwise OK.
posted by octothorpe at 5:32 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

everything is on Long Island is gross and awful forever

Except for Brooklyn and maybe parts of Queens.
posted by brina at 5:33 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Also the Hamptons, Northfork...anyway kind of a nasty thing to say about a place where people are still digging out.
posted by sweetkid at 5:39 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

There is a mental ravine running from about Jamiaca down to Far Rockaway and you know it. In fact, why not make it true? divert the East village around, connect Manhattan to Bklyn/queens with lots of new real estate, maybe a few hydro plants. It could work.
posted by The Whelk at 5:41 PM on October 30, 2012

Ok so where in the US are things still pretty awesome right now? I am going to try to gtfo of here once JFK reopens.
posted by elizardbits at 5:43 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I apologize for any and all comments I have been drinking gin immodestly
posted by The Whelk at 5:43 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

My friend in the West Village is safe and dry - no floods, no electricity, but the land line works and I assume there aren't plumbing issues. I'd hear if there were. In great detail. We're like that. Her cellphone battery is dead so I've no idea if networks are up.

I had a minor perspective disconnect when she told me not to worry about flooding because, she said, she is "not close to the river." I didn't think about this until I looked at a map and realized it's five blocks. How is that not close? This is one of those weird Manhattan neighborhood boundary distance things, isn't it?

(...five blocks is expected street flooding from the bay after an hour's rainstorm, florida has distorted my perceptions of reality...)
posted by cmyk at 5:44 PM on October 30, 2012

elizardbits, Seattle is lovely right now except for the soul deadening rain!
posted by KathrynT at 5:45 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ok so where in the US are things still pretty awesome right now?

The only problem I'm having with LA's weather is that it's still too damn hot.
posted by insectosaurus at 5:45 PM on October 30, 2012

> Ok so where in the US are things still pretty awesome right now?

You're near JFK - hop on a plane for Amsterdam FFS!
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 5:46 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Chicago is awesome, as usual. It's autumn and that's the best thing ever.
posted by tzikeh at 5:47 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

people used to talk about the "bridge and tunnel crowd"

Those people can't afford to live in Manhattan themselves any more so oh well.
posted by Miko at 5:47 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Regretsy reveals the tragicrafting has already begun. Ugh. Someone post an inspiring Sandy story before I lose all faith in mankind.
posted by emjaybee at 5:52 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Can someone please explain this weird weather we're having now in Boston? Why so much lightning? Why was it eerily nice this afternoon?
posted by shushufindi at 5:53 PM on October 30, 2012

elizardbits- it's so nice in Austin right now we feel vaguely guilty about it (no quakes, no blizzards, no tornadoes, no floods, no hurricanes, no catastrophes ever! ... it gets hot sometimes is all). C'mon over!
posted by hap_hazard at 5:56 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

This is one of those weird Manhattan neighborhood boundary distance things, isn't it?

I'm up a hill in Brooklyn from the water. I'm, I guess two blocks from the water but the water would have to go uphill, which it thankfully didn't.

I feel like if anything this storm has convinced some out of towners that New York 1) Has trees 2) Has differing elevations, both low lying areas and hills.

W.Vill isn't super hilly but it is at an elevation from the river as I recall.
posted by sweetkid at 6:01 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Super bizarre freako storm in Boston seems to be over. This afternoon at the playground if you looked left (towards Mass Ave), the sun was coming out! Yay, sun! If you looked right (toward the JHT and general ocean vicinity)... DOOM DOOMY DOOM DOOM DOOM.

I guess this is what happen when sun and doom collided.
posted by sonika at 6:05 PM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

My town is uninhabitable--we have no power, water, gas or sewage systems working. But tonight I'm staying with people who have power, heat, Internet and homemade brownies.
posted by inertia at 6:11 PM on October 30, 2012 [9 favorites]

I would totally second Austin as a post hurricane break. They really don't have any disasters except heat in the summer and the weather this time of year is impressively perfect. Book one of those stylish hotels. As Gulf Coast hurricane survivalists the husband and I always take a weekend getaway trip in some nice comfortable hotel near good food and it does us a world of good. You have all earned it.
posted by dog food sugar at 6:11 PM on October 30, 2012

We never lost power but had lots of wind and tons of rain. T-storms this morning, then overcast and calm. I just saw a fox running up my driveway. Aka the dirt road. Also a crow this morning and lots of little birds. So if you like wild life, you can come here. The kitten chirps a LOT, tho'.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 6:20 PM on October 30, 2012

SevenYearLurk: The pseudonymous false rumour-monger @comfortablysmug has been outed:

"@comfortablysmug is Shashank Tripathi, a hedge-fund analyst and the campaign manager of Christopher R. Wight, this year’s Republican candidate for the U.S. House from New York’s 12th congressional district."

My theory on this is that he was testing the amount of attention he could get while putting out false information and getting it to go viral. The fact that he's a GOP political operative (Consults, went to the RNC, raised money for Romney), makes me think it was a sort of a dry run for trying to manipulate public perception in some way on election day. Perhaps put out false information on Voter Fraud or the appearance of a platoon of Black Panthers in a certain area, or other violence in certain areas designed to keep people from going to vote.

Further more, if he was planning something like that, he's probably got other similar twitter accounts and maybe it's a concerted effort across the country with other such GOtP "ratfucker" operatives. It wouldn't take too many with multiple accounts working in tandem to create some serious disturbances, enough to dilute the validity of the results in certain counties in swing states, and from what I've gathered, something like six counties in Ohio could decide that state for either candidate.

Paranoid-sounding to some, I'm sure, but this election there's nothing the GOtP will not do to win.
posted by Skygazer at 6:21 PM on October 30, 2012 [9 favorites]

That tragicrafting is the most cynical thing I've seen in ages. Yuck.

Just got off the phone with my parents - we exchanged messages earlier today but this was my first chance to check in in person. They "sheltered in place" last night but tonight, in search of power, they forayed out and located what was apparently the last hotel room with generator power in Eastern Monmouth COunty, running on generator power. The water came up to the bottom floor of their condo last night at high tide, but receded, came up again this morning a little lower and went down finally, but sand is still everywhere. There is a boat in their yard (not theirs). And part of a dock. The boats from the nearby marina are scattered all over the road and parking lots and yards of town as if some giant scattered them around. ALL the power is out everywhere that they made it today - not far, but eastern Middletown, Hazlet, Rumson, etc. Many power lines down, trees down. No businesses open.

Because they haven't see any video or pictures, just have radio and a Blackberry, they don't have as clear a picture of the extent of the damage as those of us with power do. THey can see how devastated their area is but were a bit stunned to hear that it extends south another 100 miles down the Shore, equally as bad. My dad (who has some basis to make estimations) thinks that it may be a week or more before full power is restored because so many lines and poles are broken.
posted by Miko at 6:24 PM on October 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

OK, now an alternate/Sandy destination post seems in order. Seems more like an askme thing.
posted by futz at 6:24 PM on October 30, 2012

Man, the first comment in this thread really hit the nail on the head. I was super late to realize where it was from.
posted by shushufindi at 6:37 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sandy, the aftermath, assorted pics, vids etc.
posted by nickyskye at 6:37 PM on October 30, 2012 [18 favorites]

aha! thank you freak boston rainstorm just now for showing me that YES THERE IS A ROOF LEAK. not just crazystrong wind blowing rain up under the slate tiles. well, fuck. gotta get the roofing guy back in. at least now it's dripping straight into the bucket (thanks to my diagnostic demolition yesterday) and not getting anything else wet.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:40 PM on October 30, 2012

Overheard on 1010 WINS: "They expect power will be restored to the entire city within 3 days. However, the outer boroughs such as Queens and Staten Island may have to wait up to 10 days."

Hey. Manhattan. Saying "The City" like that is OUR thing. Outer boroughs only. Don't even try it or we'll kick your ass back to "the city".
posted by zvs at 7:13 PM on October 30, 2012 [9 favorites]

Sandy, the aftermath, assorted pics, vids etc.

nickyskye, awesome job.
posted by sweetkid at 7:25 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

elizardbits, Houston is just gorgeous right now, and will stay that way for the next week or so. Come on down!


We feel kind of guilty about it as well. We're not used to watching this happen to another area of the country without being in danger ourselves!
posted by blurker at 7:47 PM on October 30, 2012

OK. Rhode Island has just over 1000 square land miles, and a population of 1.05 million people. It has the second densest population of any state, after New Jersey. It will be on any map of the U.S., look it up... even compared to the super-small neighboring New England states, it's wicked tiny.

The five boroughs of New York City have an area of just over 300 square land miles, and a population of just over 8.2 million people. The brunt of a storm of unprecedented strength and size landed there. Arguing over whether one borough or other is really New York is like arguing over exactly which toe of Godzilla stepped on you. From Florida to Maine, from Cape Cod to Lake Michigan, the sumbitch got a piece of us all. The worst of it was where the ocean meets the sea and Upstate meets Long Island meets New Jersey, the most densely populated state in these United States of America. Pull together. We take care of our own.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:51 PM on October 30, 2012 [9 favorites]

Will somebody please make a U.S./Towns/Cities/Boroughs/Parish/Zip Code thread?

Don't forget those pesky Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas.
posted by sallybrown at 7:54 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Film of the 1938 "Long Island Express" hurricane.

I don't think it's been posted yet, I can't find it in the thread, but this is a long thread!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:56 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Will somebody please make a U.S./Towns/Cities/Boroughs/Parish/Zip Code thread?

After years of trying to get Apple to deliver to a Baltimore City address that shared a ZIP code with (politically unrelated) Baltimore County, I'm not sure it can be done.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:58 PM on October 30, 2012

I had a minor perspective disconnect when she told me not to worry about flooding because, she said, she is "not close to the river." I didn't think about this until I looked at a map and realized it's five blocks. How is that not close? This is one of those weird Manhattan neighborhood boundary distance things, isn't it?

I've been saying the same thing to people. I'm two blocks from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which is a further, I dunno, 500 meters (?) from the water, and yet I'm up a hill and on the twelfth floor and generally not at any real risk from flooding.

In general New York is much more vertical than horizontal, and people tend to have a pretty good sense of what that means for them. Also, because it's so pedestrian oriented, people tend to have a sense of whether they are in a low lying or hilly area. Because if they're on a hill, they literally have to walk up and down hills all the time. We're oddly "close to the land" in New York, considering how urban it is and how people tend to assume that only people in the countryside can have an instinctive sense of the general ecosystem.
posted by Sara C. at 8:04 PM on October 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

OK, real question time:

I have two choices to get to work tomorrow. Work is in the east 40's between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. Home is Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. What's my best bet?

Option A -- Ride my bike over the Manhattan bridge and assume that bike lanes up through Chinatown, the Lower East Side, and the East Village will be above water, clear of debris, and not completely choked with angry car traffic.

Option B -- Walk over the Manhattan bridge and catch the (apparently operational) M15 bus uptown.

What should I do? Is there a real time flood map somewhere? Are streets clear enough at this point that none of this is going to be an issue?
posted by Sara C. at 8:14 PM on October 30, 2012

I also have the same question as Sara, except I'm on the West 50's and need to be in work by 8 (otherwise, Sara, I'd totally be down with sharing a car or something).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:19 PM on October 30, 2012

Are you going to be able to get home before dark? I am worried about you riding a bike without traffic lights.
posted by sweetkid at 8:20 PM on October 30, 2012

Oh, man, I would be so down for that, except I'm not sure my office will be open that early. We're having a slow day -- to the point that I'm weighing the option of just working from home or taking another day off -- and there's no way my equally outer borough-ish coworkers are going to be there bright and early at 8.
posted by Sara C. at 8:22 PM on October 30, 2012

I was out biking today and most roads are cleared in areas that weren't flooded, from what I'm seeing. Go slow, make certain you have back and front lights that work, and bike in and home. Stick to the east side path along the water as much as possible!
posted by BigJen at 8:23 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

In the category of small blessings... I found out that our church building has power, and suggested we open it up to congregants to have an impromptu charge ALL the things/clean out the freezer potluck/gather to commiserate. Put out the word on Facebook, and had about 15 adults and 4 or 5 kids. Everyone seemed so happy to have a chance to charge their stuff and see people and get out of the house. We're doing it again tomorrow. Most of these folks aren't supposed to get power back until Monday. Kinda hoping I'm out of school all week.

Best of the night: The man, who when I offered him coffee, said "You have coffee?!?!" and hugged me.
posted by booksherpa at 8:25 PM on October 30, 2012 [19 favorites]

I have bike lights. I can potentially leave work well before dark, because as I said it's a relatively wishy-washy day tomorrow.

I also ride my bike as if I'm a car in traffic, so if other vehicles are operating without traffic lights, I can do what they're doing provided traffic isn't moving too quickly and people are behaving in a sane manner (the reason I asked about angry traffic choking the typical bike routes). If that seems unsafe, I can disembark and be a pedestrian.

If it's not safe for pedestrians in the Lower East Side late tomorrow afternoon, we're all a lot more fucked than we even know.
posted by Sara C. at 8:26 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Please consider taking a vacation day if you cannot safely get in and out!
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:30 PM on October 30, 2012

The East Side bike path is available? Wow. Did not think that would be the case. I figured I'd be safest going straight up the center.
posted by Sara C. at 8:31 PM on October 30, 2012

see roomthreeseventeen is also worried and do you guys even hang out
posted by sweetkid at 8:32 PM on October 30, 2012

OK, Mom.
posted by Sara C. at 8:36 PM on October 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sara: those early hours are reason #683 why I am going to be looking for another job in one year's time once I am out of debt for serious.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:40 PM on October 30, 2012

Oh, 8am is pretty typical for me, even late. But we lost our permit to shoot tomorrow, which means there's no compelling reason to be in the office early. And I'm assuming that most of my coworkers will also be dealing with hellish commutes. Tomorrow will be a special case for us.

But Thursday? Yeah, Thursday I will probably have to be on the Upper West Side at 6AM, which is horrible and will probably involve a taxi.

Assuming we get our permit back by then, of course. If that doesn't happen, I'm a little afraid to think about what's going to become of my job.
posted by Sara C. at 8:43 PM on October 30, 2012

Empress and Sara C., these buses are running now.

Manhattan:

MTA ‏@MTAInsider
Service restorations! These Manhattan bus routes are now operating: M2, M5, M8, M11, M14, M15+SBS, M34, M34A, M22, M57, M60, M86, M96, M101


Brooklyn:

@MTAInsider
Service restorations! These #Brooklyn bus routes are now operating: B1, B3, B15, B35, B41, B44, B46, B61, B82, Q58, Q59

Bus status for all the boroughs.

But keep an eye on the MTA main page for big announcements.


If I was the MTA I would be putting together shuttles from someplace like Atlantic Center (or is it Barclay's Center now?) to get commuters into different main locations in Manhattan. So keep an eye out for that happening, soon hopefully.

I used to live in Clinton Hill and I';d think taking a car over the Manhattan-Brooklyn Bridge to a Manhattan uptown busline might be cheapest. But actually it might be worth it just splurge on the car and avoid all the hellish confusion bound to at full-boil tomorrow.

This might be another option once they get up and running again:

http://www.nywaterway.com/ERF-Home.aspx
The ferry allows bikes, so it would be a quick ride down to the Dumbo Slip (or maybe South Williamsburg).

I'd also see about doing a Craigslist thing looking for people in Clinton Hills/Ft. Greene?Downtown Brooklyn who might want to share the price of a car service or car pooling.
posted by Skygazer at 9:15 PM on October 30, 2012

As of Tuesday afternoon, I was able to bike the Hudson River Greenway from Battery Park to about 59th St, where it was blockaded from a downed tree. There's a lot of debris on the path, though.
posted by rmannion at 9:17 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

A handy Album of Sandy Photos
posted by The Whelk at 9:37 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Skygazer, there are no cross-borough buses running (that I know of?), and no buses running from my neighborhood, period.

My best chance, bus wise, is my Option B -- walk across a bridge and take the bus the rest of the way.

Some buses running is definitely a good thing, but it doesn't help much for anyone who works in a different borough than the one they live in.

Also, again, my neighborhood is SOL on any buses, anyway.
posted by Sara C. at 9:39 PM on October 30, 2012

Another overhead of Breezy Point. The surviving row of houses on the bottom (the photo is looking West) is Atlantic Walk.

FDNY reports no deaths.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:51 PM on October 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

We spent the day walking around, from Gramercy up to the UES, through midtown and back. Power literally stops at 39th street on the east side. On the north side of the intersection, everything is lit up, and on the south side it's pitch black. By far not the worst thing that could have happened, but it's definitely interesting. We passed a bodega on 3rd that had a generator running and they were doing a pretty brisk business. And if anyone needs a cop, there are like 75 of them congregating on the corner of 20th and 3rd by the police training facility.
posted by bedhead at 10:32 PM on October 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Power is back on in Jersey City. Oh, sweet heat I adore you!
posted by lyra4 at 12:43 AM on October 31, 2012 [6 favorites]

She's wobbling back to the northeast, watch out for snow upstaters.
posted by vrakatar at 3:59 AM on October 31, 2012

Letterman did a show without an audience last night. Here's the Top 10 list yt . CBS has put up a couple of other clips, a small clip of the monologue yt and Denzel Washington's entrance yt , but the Top 10 is the best of these vids.
posted by Kattullus at 9:11 AM on October 30 [7 favorites +] [!]

Clicks on top ten link. Gets a 'sorry content is available in your country' response. Glad to see that even in the worst of circumstances the ongoing stupidity of region blocking knows no bounds.
posted by Hello, I'm David McGahan at 4:13 AM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

Checking in from long island's north shore: no damage to our house and our basement did not flood. We have hot water and a gas stove to cook on. We are counting our blessings and waiting patiently for power to be restored. Our towns waterfront park got worked over, worse than during Irene, but it's recoverable. My main concern is that the lab we work at gets power or a ton of diesel to run the generators ASAP. I heard that NYU lost a lot of research material which is heartbreaking.
posted by mbd1mbd1 at 4:23 AM on October 31, 2012

Commuter update: My son's school is open today, so we went to the M5 bus stop at 89/Riverside at 8 this morning knowing it would likely be a long wait and a crush. There were about 10 people at our stop who had already been passed by more than one bus, too full to stop. The first bus that came had room for a couple people if they squeezed, the next one was too full again. We finally gave up and walked. They are not running more buses or longer ones, so I don't envy the people who had no other choice but to keep waiting - I hope once rush hour ends, it gets better, but that's when they start running fewer buses, so probably not. There were about the usual number of cabs out, but all of them were full with multiple riders, and not stopping for people.

The good news is, I now know my 4 year old can walk 15 blocks (without whining!) under the right circumstances, so it could have been worse. But if you can telecommute or otherwise avoid going to work until the subways are back up, I would advise it.
posted by Mchelly at 6:11 AM on October 31, 2012

I'm going to attempt a run this morning around UWS and Harlem. I have serious apartment fever and the idea of five more days at home is daunting.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:18 AM on October 31, 2012

Sandy's Lethal Power (NYT)
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:29 AM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

I saw lots of runners out today, roomthreeseventeen, should be safe if you stay out from under heavy trees. One thing I saw was that the entrances to Riverside Park are mostly police taped shut, but not all. Saw a cop at 79th harrassing a couple of bikers trying to maneuver through the tape to get out of the park - they said had entered up at 156th where there was no barrier, and there was no marking where you could and couldn't exit the park once you were in. Maybe keep to the streets.
posted by Mchelly at 6:41 AM on October 31, 2012

The good news is, I now know my 4 year old can walk 15 blocks (without whining!) under the right circumstances, so it could have been worse. But if you can telecommute or otherwise avoid going to work until the subways are back up, I would advise it.

Plus now when he has kids he can give the old "When I was your age I had to walk 15 block to school! Uphill! In a hurricane!" speech with the added bonus of it being true. So he's got that going for him.
posted by bowmaniac at 7:09 AM on October 31, 2012 [12 favorites]

Right - the MTA says buses are back up to a "close to normal" schedule, but it is not showing me what those schedules or routes ARE.

So. There is a bus that goes from approximately East Broadway in Chinatown, over the Manhattan Bridge, and has stops in Dowtntown Brooklyn. What is that bus, and what is its route, and where does it stop in Manhattan and where does it stop in Brooklyn?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:17 AM on October 31, 2012

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer estimates up to 25,000 stranded as flood worsens.
posted by zarq at 7:18 AM on October 31, 2012

Right - the MTA says buses are back up to a "close to normal" schedule, but it is not showing me what those schedules or routes ARE.

So. There is a bus that goes from approximately East Broadway in Chinatown, over the Manhattan Bridge, and has stops in Dowtntown Brooklyn. What is that bus, and what is its route, and where does it stop in Manhattan and where does it stop in Brooklyn?

Yeah, I can't figure out how to get from Williamsburg to midtown, either.
posted by idest at 7:21 AM on October 31, 2012

Empress, the Brooklyn Bus Map I'm looking at has no such bus.

Unless the city is setting up provisional inter-borough bus routes that aren't mapped?

The only buses I can see that go between Manhattan and Brooklyn use the tunnels and are express buses. So definitely not operational, and even if they were, they wouldn't get you anywhere close to Downtown Brooklyn.
posted by Sara C. at 7:22 AM on October 31, 2012

I just tried to get to work via car service. I was in the car for an hour and went 3 miles. The traffic is crazy. I hopped out and walked home, and am telecommuting (kind of a last resort, it's much better for me to be at the office). Be advised. This is Brooklyn (South of Prospect Park, made it all the way to upper Park Slope before giving up)
posted by matcha action at 7:27 AM on October 31, 2012

Brooklyn Bus Map (PDF). Wikipedia has a short explanation of each bus route.
posted by zarq at 7:29 AM on October 31, 2012

What is that bus, and what is its route, and where does it stop in Manhattan and where does it stop in Brooklyn?

You're probably thinking of the B51, which used to go across the Manhattan Bridge. The B39 used to go across the Williamsburg Bridge. Both routes were discontinued in 2010.
posted by mgar at 7:29 AM on October 31, 2012

Saw a cop at 79th harrassing a couple of bikers trying to maneuver through the tape to get out of the park - they said had entered up at 156th where there was no barrier

Riverside Park doesn't go north of 125th, though.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 7:37 AM on October 31, 2012

We are below Prospect Park, along Church Avenue in Kensington, and the traffic here, normally only noticeable for a small chunk of rush hour, has been consistently backed up (and honking) since I got up 45 minutes ago.
posted by ocherdraco at 7:38 AM on October 31, 2012

Riverside Park doesn't go north of 125th, though

Am guessing they were on the bike path on the Greenway.
posted by Mchelly at 7:42 AM on October 31, 2012

Scenes from a commute without subways from Streetsblog.
posted by clockwork at 7:44 AM on October 31, 2012

You're probably thinking of the B51, which used to go across the Manhattan Bridge. The B39 used to go across the Williamsburg Bridge. Both routes were discontinued in 2010.


That is what I was thinking.

Crap.


Okay, so now I am seeking ideas for how in the holy blue fuck I am going to get home from Rockefeller Center to ClintonHill, Brooklyn tonight.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:48 AM on October 31, 2012

This is minor compared to the disruption others are facing, but I was supposed to be going to NYC for some work stuff over the weekend, coming in Friday night. Last weekend I was completely blase and sure that the storm would have blown over and through with no lasting effects. Now I'm skeptical that it's going to happen. The train isn't running yet and they aren't predicting when it'll be back up. I can't reach my hotel at all (which is below 40th) and the production I'm supposed to be seeing Friday is hedging too, because they don't know if they're going to have power. We've been looking forward to our trip for ages and I'm bummed it might not happen.
posted by Miko at 7:53 AM on October 31, 2012

The only buses I can see that go between Manhattan and Brooklyn use the tunnels and are express buses. So definitely not operational, and even if they were, they wouldn't get you anywhere close to Downtown Brooklyn.

At least some of those are running. My girlfriend took one to work. Normally it goes through the Queens-Midtown tunnel, but was rerouted because that is closed.
posted by Jahaza at 8:22 AM on October 31, 2012

Fires that destroyed about 14 homes in a New Jersey shore town that was hit hard by Sandy have rekindled, fueled by natural gas.

NBC 4 New York chopper footage shows flames raging through Bricktown. There's a large cluster of flames and smaller fires spread out from it.

Emergency crews are trying to make their way to the barrier island, but the Mantoloking Bridge remains impassable and they have to make a detour through Toms River.

Link, with video.
posted by rtha at 8:43 AM on October 31, 2012

zoinks
posted by tonycpsu at 8:47 AM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

My girlfriend took one to work.

Is taking one to work. Three hours in and they're still in Queens.
posted by Jahaza at 8:50 AM on October 31, 2012

Traffic is fucking obscene beyond imagining. It took my cousin's uncle in law 3 hours to get from the LES to the UWS this morning. I suggest using up sick days or flat out telling your bosses to go fuck themselves.
posted by elizardbits at 8:54 AM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

rtha, that is Brick Township (Bricktown is a colloquial name).
posted by ocherdraco at 9:07 AM on October 31, 2012

zoinks

Who will rip that from the headlines first? L&O? Bones? How about a crossover?!

rtha, that is Brick Township (Bricktown is a colloquial name).

Yeah, it caught my eye because of the Mantoloking reference, since that's the route I usually took to Lavallette.
posted by rtha at 9:12 AM on October 31, 2012

Traffic is fucking obscene beyond imagining.

Yeah, broadway is backed up to 100th street right now. Moving, but very slow. I think if I go into work in midtown tomorrow I would take a cab at 7am and plan to walk home at 3pm.

flat out telling your bosses to go fuck themselves.

As a boss, this seems reasonable.
posted by shothotbot at 9:16 AM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hurricane Sandy Losses Could Be Triple Those Of Irene.
posted by ericb at 9:19 AM on October 31, 2012

Lydia Callis, Bloomberg Interpreter, Warms Hearts As Sandy Sweeps Through New York.
posted by ericb at 9:20 AM on October 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

Checking in: Safe, minor damage. all livestock OK. Power restored after 44 hours, and all of the prep I did paid off. Going to go back and read the thread and see how you guys are faring.

Weirdest part of the whole thing: Standing in stockinged feet in the upstairs of my old farmhouse feeling the floor vibrate with the wind. Best part: Sitting in front of the woodstove, reading by lantern light. Most annoying part: Watching the neighbor's unsecured trampoline fly across my pasture and disintegrate. Lessons: Prep pays, books are still my friend, generators are awesome, and I should have stocked up on soda and barbecue chips.
posted by MonkeyToes at 9:26 AM on October 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

From ericb's link above, here's another link to Lydia's 12 best moves (my favorite is #12).
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 9:29 AM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Does anyone know if the bike lanes are open on the bridges between Brooklyn and Manhattan?
posted by eustacescrubb at 9:46 AM on October 31, 2012

there are pix in the nyt of the brooklyn bridge bike lane being used, and i assume they have correctly sourced them s actually being from today.
posted by elizardbits at 9:53 AM on October 31, 2012

Never mind - I see Greg Nog's post above mine. My Internet service is so bad at the moment, that I clicked "Post Comment" before he commented and mine got posted 10 minutes after.
posted by eustacescrubb at 9:55 AM on October 31, 2012

There will be limited commuter rail service on Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road beginning at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced.

Limited New York City subway service will resume Thursday; it will be supplemented with a bus bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn, Cuomo said.

“There will be more service, literally, on a day-by-day basis as the MTA is working through this,” Cuomo said.

posted by zarq at 9:57 AM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just found out that nine of Brooklyn's library branches won't be open this week, probably because of water damage: Gravesend, Jamaica Bay, Kensington, McKinley Park, Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach, Coney Island, Flatlands, Gerritsen Beach. Other branches should be open tomorrow. (And I'll be back to work, at last.)
posted by Jeanne at 9:57 AM on October 31, 2012

If my office re-opens tomorrow, I'm looking at walking over the Williamsburg bridge. Not too bad - supposedly a 3.3 mile walk. At least it's not January!
posted by silverstatue at 10:02 AM on October 31, 2012

Just walked to work from Brooklyn. The whole "take the bus" option was a fantasy on par with taking my own private helicopter or perhaps teleporting.

Tomorrow I am biking in -- the bike lanes were 100% clear, open, safe, and free of obnoxious road ragey cars. Biking will cut down my commute from three hours to 45 minutes. So the choice is obvious.

It turns out there's a bike convoy leaving from one of the coffee shops in Clinton Hill, so I'll probably ride with them tomorrow. I have decided to be confident about traffic lights being restored to Manhattan by tomorrow evening.

Bright spot: I saw a B54 bus on Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn, which was not one of the Officially Running buses on the list. Which implies that there may be more buses running, in general. Though the Manhattan bus commute situation is still a non-starter. Empress Callipygos, does the B54 help you at all? It goes to Downtown Brooklyn by the Jay Street A/F train.

The smart thing would be for the city to run special Express Buses along the subway routes, a la the shuttles they run when subway service is cut due to maintenance. Which, if you think about it, is sort of the situation all over the city at this point.
posted by Sara C. at 10:04 AM on October 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

Premature babies' story of survival in superstorm
posted by zarq at 10:08 AM on October 31, 2012

Yeah, I saw the b54 this morning, but what I really need is something that gets me over a bridge. I'm thinking more about the return trip now - I'm resigned to having to do a car the whole way to get TO work.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:12 AM on October 31, 2012

silverstatue: I do that walk- Greenpoint to SoHo - all the time. I've done in it January. The walk isn't bad, and so long as you have wind-breaking clothes on, its fine and even lovely in the cold.
posted by eustacescrubb at 10:12 AM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am finding this all strangely stressful given that nothing really bad has happened to me. My place lost power and cell service so I walked around some and read by candlelight and ate some nonperishable foods. My work has been extremely human about this - we all got several emails telling us not to come in. Walking around NYC is very strange, especially when you cross into the areas that still have power and realize how different navigating a street is when there are traffic lights and suddenly everyone is carrying coffee. The damage to the city makes me very sad. I'm all discombobulated. Nobody hurt New York City anymore!
posted by prefpara at 10:15 AM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

I found it hard to find a crosstown bus- uptown buses seemed to be more or less running.

so I got up to midtown and then walked across. it's a world of difference between the east village and midtown... it's like there was no storm here.

Well except for that bit where the building where I usually work is underwater (at battery park) and we've been struggling to maintain business as usual for a big bank.

but I'm warm and safe and connected to internet!

(hoping to make it home before dark- I'm no scaredy cat, but the pitch black streets are of concern)
posted by larthegreat at 10:17 AM on October 31, 2012

Man, the descriptions in the askme about fixing New York have me wondering when I'll ever see downtown again.
posted by ceribus peribus at 10:20 AM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Cool, thanks Eustacescrubb! I'm kinda excited to try it. Right now I'm more concerned about the fact that I'm supposed to be flying to Georgia in a couple days. Anyone hearing anything about Laguardia? I heard they will maybe start doing a few limited flights tomorrow :(
posted by silverstatue at 10:21 AM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

how in the holy blue fuck I am going to get home from Rockefeller Center to ClintonHill, Brooklyn tonight.

I'd probably walk over the Queensborough Bridge and take the B62 all the way home. If the B62 is running. Probably better to get a sense of that before attempting, though I still feel like it's probably easier to get to Clinton Hill via LIC tonight than via Lower Manhattan. At least Long Island City, Greenpoint, and Williamsburg have power, businesses are open if you want to have dinner on the way, etc. Also potentially possible to get a car service -- let me know if you need some recommendations for car services in that area.
posted by Sara C. at 10:23 AM on October 31, 2012

Outrage in Outage Downtown - includes video of a chinatown fish fire sale
posted by The Whelk at 10:31 AM on October 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

Does anyone know if the bike lanes are open on the bridges between Brooklyn and Manhattan?


Can't speak for every bridge, but the Manhattan Bridge bike lane is fully operational.

I walked all the way uptown from Canal and Eldridge to 44th and 3rd, and bike lanes looked to be in good repair, safe, and clear of angry traffic. I would stick to bike lanes -- the more separated from traffic the better -- but all in all biking looks like the most civilized way to commute today.
posted by Sara C. at 10:33 AM on October 31, 2012

(hoping to make it home before dark- I'm no scaredy cat, but the pitch black streets are of concern)

Is it just me, or has the overall aura around the city degraded a little since the 2003 Blackout? Because I remember people really coming together then, and it being not only safe in the dark Manhattan streets but almost a block party.

Is crime in wealthy Manhattan neighborhoods really a serious risk at this point? Like, should we actually worry about "highwayman" type situations? I'm not being flippant, I'm honestly curious. That seems like a HUGE story in all this, if true.

(I know there are reports of looting in Coney Island, and I sure as hell wouldn't want to be roaming the streets of the Rockaways tonight. But that's a different story.)
posted by Sara C. at 10:38 AM on October 31, 2012

Friend stopping in pick up candles - Downtown is much worse then they're reporting but there are armed guards all over the place, basically a ghost town, no one dares leave the house.

Blackout Halloween block parties are a possibility? But the mood is more grim then other oops-no-power times I remember.
posted by The Whelk at 10:43 AM on October 31, 2012

That was not my experience of Downtown when I just walked through it. People seemed to be in good spirits, were definitely out and about on the streets, and I didn't see a single armed guard aside from some Stuyvesant Town security guards who are always there (and I'm not even sure if they were armed).

I saw a lot of people sharing cigs and stories, a fair number of Halloween costumes, and long lines at the Halal carts.

This is all on the East Side and in Chinatown, though.

I saw a lot of people with luggage who looked like they were trying to get out of town, or at least out of the neighborhood.
posted by Sara C. at 10:49 AM on October 31, 2012

For Years, Warnings That Storm Damage Could Ravage New York
posted by homunculus at 10:50 AM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah friend was talking about the Wall Street/WTC area, which sounds like it's a bit more locked down.
posted by The Whelk at 10:55 AM on October 31, 2012

My coworker saw two people get mugged on the LES yesterday, although they may have only gotten shaken down for their flashlights.

It has certainly made me think twice. Yesterday I would have said my biggest concern was not getting run over after dark.

Monday night, my block was lit up with candles and flashlights in the windows. Last night, it was dark- maybe only 2 or three apartments on the block lit up with candles or lanterns at around 8pm. I'm assuming most people have left.

During the day there are people laughing and walking around.

After dark... not so much.
posted by larthegreat at 10:58 AM on October 31, 2012

I see. That sounds a little more realistic. Especially considering that the Financial District already has a reputation for being a little more desolate and residentially unfriendly, even on a good day.
posted by Sara C. at 11:02 AM on October 31, 2012

Limited subway service restored starting at 2PM Follow @nygovcuomo for specific line updates.]

Like this: #subway update: A trains will operate in 2 sections locally: btwn 168th St Manhattan & 34th St | btwn Jay Street & Lefferts Blvd.
posted by Skygazer at 11:02 AM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

2 pm today? Like right now?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:07 AM on October 31, 2012

What we have a train?? That doesnt help me at all in Brooklyn but I am damn impressed.
posted by sweetkid at 11:12 AM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

The mayor is going to do a press conference any second now (link), I'll report anything interesting.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:13 AM on October 31, 2012

2 pm today? Like right now?

Yep. Today. NOW. Follow/check @nyGovCuomo's Twitter feed....
posted by Skygazer at 11:15 AM on October 31, 2012

I hope that I don't get run over on my ride home through downtown. There were abso-fucking-lutely too many cars coming into Manhattan on the W'burg Bridge. This is where congestion pricing would have made a huge difference! There weren't nearly as many cyclists on the road as I would have imagined. If Bloomberg were thinking, he would have restricted the bridges to carpools.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 11:16 AM on October 31, 2012

What we have a train?? That doesnt help me at all in Brooklyn but I am damn impressed.

Sweetkid, the 4 train is running in two parts as well. I don't want to mess up the details so check GovCuomo's Twiiter feed...

THAT IS THE HAPPENING TWEET PLACE FOR THE LATEST MTA DEVELOPMENTS.

Not shouting, just wanting to make that extra noticeable. Heh.
posted by Skygazer at 11:18 AM on October 31, 2012

YAY press conference means more ASL Woman!

It's the little things that can make your day....
posted by tzikeh at 11:18 AM on October 31, 2012

If Bloomberg were thinking, he would have restricted the bridges to carpools.

In New York City? How many people would spontaneously form carpools who aren't already in one?

And I ask in good faith, not living in the metro area: really, how many solo drivers would this save?
posted by wenestvedt at 11:21 AM on October 31, 2012

This just in:

Andrew Cuomo ‏@NYGovCuomo

CORRECTION: Subways will be starting tomorrow morning, not 2PM today #sandy

posted by ceribus peribus at 11:24 AM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Food Trucks Roll into Powerless Zone

We're calling it the Powerless Zone? I vote for THE DARK ZONE.
posted by The Whelk at 11:27 AM on October 31, 2012 [7 favorites]

> In New York City? How many people would spontaneously form carpools who aren't already in one?

On September 11th, the police were arranging them across the Queensboro bridge -- as in, stopping cars and putting pedestrians in them. A friend of mine got a ride home that way.
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:28 AM on October 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

But there is limited service today, the MTA site says. If we do not have access to Twitter at work, how would we find out what service we DO have in a given line?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:28 AM on October 31, 2012

Andrew Cuomo ‏@NYGovCuomo

CORRECTION: Subways will be starting tomorrow morning, not 2PM today #sandy


Nice catch ceribus peribus.
posted by Skygazer at 11:29 AM on October 31, 2012

NBC says New York Blood Centers are in desperate need of blood donations.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:31 AM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wenesvedt: It would prevent a lot of unnecessary solo driving. I don't have the numbers, but the majority of traffic at rush hour is solo commuters.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 11:31 AM on October 31, 2012

During the transit strike, I got picked up in a car by a nice Ukranian family right before entering the pedestrian section of the Williamsburg bridge. I can't recall whether it was to fulfill a carpool occupancy requirement (there was three of them in the car) or whether they were just being nice.
posted by griphus at 11:32 AM on October 31, 2012

NBC says New York Blood Centers are in desperate need of donations.

Ah ha! Something I can do. Thanks!
posted by zarq at 11:33 AM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

Okay, I see now on the MTA site - Metro-North and LIRR may have limited service tonight, and limited subway service is tomorrow.

New question - how do we find out SPECIFIC DETAIL about these limited service changes on a given line? I see that they have a shuttle bus from "downtown brooklyn" to "Midtown Manhattan," but where would I find exactly where that specific shuttle bus would BE? The MTA site is giving me nothing but that main info alert press release.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:34 AM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

I got a ride or two during the transit strike, too, as I recall. But I would think even if every car coming into Manhattan was full to capacity, traffic would still be insane.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:34 AM on October 31, 2012

But if each car had three passengers, instead of one, you'd have a third of the traffic. Sounds somewhat less insane.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 11:36 AM on October 31, 2012

I figure I'll be able to hear when the local line resumes running.

On the bright side, lines north of Grand Central / Penn Station seem to be in good condition.
posted by ceribus peribus at 11:36 AM on October 31, 2012

The mayor's going to brief any minute now (this thing was supposed to happen at 1:30); I imagine he'll be able to provide some detailed information about transit options.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:38 AM on October 31, 2012

New York Blood Center site - Where to donate

From their press release:

Blood and Platelet Donors to Accelerate Recovery from Hurricane Sandy.
Get updated information on blood drives and cancellations.

While deliveries to hospitals have continued without interruption, the blood supply has weakened considerably due to the forced cancellation of all blood drives on October 29 and 30. The schedule for today is still limited and fluid as we assess power outages and other factors to enable us to open additional locations. The following locations are open today:

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

* Kingston Donor Center 51 Albany Ave, Kingston, NY 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm
* Citigroup Donor Center 153 E. 53rd St., NYC 8:00 am to 7:30 pm
* IBM East Fishkill Donor Center 2070 Rt 52, Bldg 320, Hopewell Junction, NY 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm
* Elmsford Donor Center 525 Executive Blvd., Elmsford, NY 8:00 am to 8:00 pm
* Upper East Side Donor Center 310 E. 67th St., NYC 8:00 am to 8:00 pm
* New York Blood Center 1200 Prospect Ave., Westbury, NY 9:00 am to 9:00 pm
* Mercy Medical Center 1000 N. Village Ave., Rockville Centre, NY 6:45 am to 5:15 pm
* Galleria Crystal Run 1 Galleria Drive, Middletown, NY 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
* Ulster Community College Vanderlyn Hall, 491 Cottekill Rd, Stone Ridge, NY 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
* Columbia University School of Law Jerome Green Annex, 410 W. 117th St., NYC 9:30 am to 3:30 pm

Please call 1-800-933-2566 for updated information or visit www.nybloodcenter.org/blood to donate blood or www.nybloodcenter.org/platelet for current locations to donate platelets.
posted by zarq at 11:38 AM on October 31, 2012

there are going to be soooo many ruined cars

Both an opportunity for the auto industry, and a caution for those buying used over the next couple of years. Carfax.

5 Warning Signs That You’re Buying A Flood-Damaged Car
posted by homunculus at 11:39 AM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yes, it seems like every line that is reopening is opening in sections that roughly correspond to "North of 34th street" and "From the other side of the East River to pretty much the end of the line".

I'm surprised the Q and B are still down, seeing as they are the only lines that use a bridge rather than a tunnel. Then again, they are also heavily serve Manhattan below 34th street, so maybe it's simply not worth segmenting them.
posted by Sara C. at 11:41 AM on October 31, 2012

Governor Cuomo Announces Limited Subway, Metro North, and LIRR Service to Resume Today
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:45 AM on October 31, 2012

The headline is kind of a misnomer; very limited LIRR & MetroNorth services resumes today, subway service resumes tomorrow.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:46 AM on October 31, 2012

What will be interesting over the next few days will be watching an enormous organic parallel supercomputer trying to solve a very complex logistics problem. Today the traffic mess will be huge. Tonight, the hive mind will recompute an improved solution, as millions of people determine what did and did not work the previous day. They will seek new routes, new modes of travel, new travel schedules, new methods of cooperation. Then again Thursday night the day's results will be reanalyzed and better solutions computed. And again on Friday. By Monday, traffic should be immensely improved over Wednesday due to several iterations of algorithm improvement. The improvement will be the result of millions of independent parallel computations.
posted by JackFlash at 11:47 AM on October 31, 2012 [14 favorites]

Just spotted a convoy of hydro, FIOS, and Comcast repair trucks making their way through my neighborhood.
posted by ceribus peribus at 11:47 AM on October 31, 2012

Yeah, last night some drunken jackass dudebro apparently tried to halfassedly menace my super's pregnant wife for the awesome Black Diamond headlamp I loaned her. She poked him with her umbrella til he stumbled away into the street and got hit by someone on a bike.
posted by elizardbits at 11:48 AM on October 31, 2012 [10 favorites]

NYC Office of Emergency Management:

NYC Transit update: limited subway service restored starting at 2PM Corrected to TOMORROW, here.

-1 trains will operate local between 242nd Street (Bronx) and Times Square-42nd Street.
-2 trains will operate between 241st Street (Bronx) & Times Square-42nd St, with express service between 96th St and Times Square.
-4 trains will operate in two sections, making all local stops between Woodlawn (Bronx) and 42nd St, between Borough Hall and New Lots Ave.
-5 trains will operate express in Brooklyn between Atlantic Ave-Barclays Ctr and Flatbush Ave.
-6 trains will operate local between Pelham Bay Park and Grand Central-42nd St.
-A trains will operate in two sections locally: between 168th St Manhattan & 34th St, and between Jay Street & Lefferts Blvd.
-42nd St Shuttle S trains will operate between Times Square & Grand Central.
- 7, B, C, E, G, Q train service is still suspended
posted by zarq at 11:48 AM on October 31, 2012

Amtrak service seems to be up b/t Balto and DC this evening. MARC was up this morning.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 11:50 AM on October 31, 2012

Also, OEM lists the following on their front page:

Transit/Transportation
* The following bridges have reopened: Outerbridge, George Washington, Goethals, Verrazano-Narrows, Throgs Neck, Whitestone, Henry Hudson, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg, Ed Koch-Queensboro, RFK, and Tappan Zee.

* All MTA subway and commuter railroad service is suspended. Partial MTA bus service resumed at 5 PM, Tuesday, fare-free. MTA will attempt to run as close to a full weekday schedule as possible on Wednesday. Rides will continue to be fare-free. For more information, visit the MTA website.

* The following sections of FDR Drive are now open: From the Battery to Dyckman Ave. and southbound from East 125th St. to the Brooklyn Bridge.

* Alternate Side Parking regulations (street cleaning) will be suspended citywide on Wednesday, 10/31. Payment at parking meters is also suspended throughout the city on Wednesday, 10/31.

* The Staten Island Ferry service is suspended until further notice.

* East River Ferry service is suspended.

* NJ Transit bus, rail, light rail, and Access Link service will remain suspended until further notice. On Wednesday, 10/31, NJ Transit bus service will operate in Camden County only, on a weekday schedule. Learn more.

* All PATH train service and stations are suspended until further notice. Learn more.

* Amtrak announced has canceled Northeast Corridor service north of NYC, and nearly all service on the eastern seaboard, including Acela Express Northeast Regional, Keystone and Shuttle trains. Learn more.

* The Cross Bay Bridge is closed southbound; all lanes are open to traffic heading north.

* The Gil Hodges - Marine Park Bridge is open.

* All lanes in both directions of the Lincoln Tunnel from New Jersey Side - Center Tube (Weehawken Twp) to New York Side - Center Tube (Manhattan) remain closed until further notice.

* The Queens Midtown, Holland, and Hugh Carey (formerly Brooklyn-Battery) Tunnels are closed. Learn more.

Parks
All NYC parks, playgrounds, beaches, and recreation centers remain closed until further notice due to hazardous conditions.
posted by zarq at 11:51 AM on October 31, 2012

Mayor on the radio now.
posted by Jahaza at 11:52 AM on October 31, 2012

Mayor Bloomberg is live right now
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:52 AM on October 31, 2012

If you can make it down there, Fairway Market is giving away free food.
posted by dinty_moore at 11:52 AM on October 31, 2012

Bloomy's on without Lydia. WTF?? WHERE'S LYDIA DAMMIT??
posted by Skygazer at 11:52 AM on October 31, 2012

Anyone have any news as to re-openings of Zone A projects housing? NYCHA is, as per usual, as useful and responsive as a bag of wet hair.
posted by griphus at 11:52 AM on October 31, 2012

Bloomberg: All day Thursday & Friday (6 am to midnight), cars coming into Manhattan on the East River bridges must have 3+ people in them.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:56 AM on October 31, 2012

NY1 says shuttle bus will run between Atlantic/Pacific over the Manhattan bridge up Third to 57th & Lex. Also a shuttle from Hewes over the Williamsburg Bridge.

@NYGovCuomo: #NYCtransit update: bus bridge will run from Barclays Center, MetroTech & Hewes St station, special lanes up 3rdAve & return down Lex
posted by mgar at 11:56 AM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Amtrak is running Northeast Corridor service up to Newark, but there's no rail connection across the Hudson.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 11:56 AM on October 31, 2012

They're restricting the bridges and tunnels into Manhattan (other than the GW bridge) to HOV (3+ people) tonight and from 6 am to midnight starting tomorrow (Ok the rules are really complicated).
posted by Jahaza at 11:57 AM on October 31, 2012

Important Baby Walrus Update.

(He's fine, no word on the status of the rest of the aquarium yet.)
posted by jetlagaddict at 11:59 AM on October 31, 2012

Bloomberg: Zone A evacuation orders won't be lifted until buildings are inspected and tagged (green)
posted by rmannion at 12:00 PM on October 31, 2012

Anyone have any news as to re-openings of Zone A projects housing?

Bloomberg says, Zone A buildings still need to be inspected to certify safety of occupancy. Staten Island buildings will be done "in the next day or so".
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:00 PM on October 31, 2012

Griphus: at least another day or so, they are waiting for building inspectors to make assessments (per Mayor's current announcements).
posted by ceribus peribus at 12:00 PM on October 31, 2012

@NYGovCuomo: #NYCtransit update: bus bridge will run from Barclays Center, MetroTech & Hewes St station, special lanes up 3rdAve & return down Lex

Ahem. Called it. (My crystal ball rocks.)

*I'm looking at you Sara C.*
posted by Skygazer at 12:01 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Damn. I was planning on taking a car in and out tomorrow. So much for that idea.
posted by zarq at 12:01 PM on October 31, 2012

heh. I'll leave the liveblogging to others.
posted by ceribus peribus at 12:02 PM on October 31, 2012

Thanks y'all. Did they mention who is doing the inspections and/or mention project housing specifically?
posted by griphus at 12:03 PM on October 31, 2012

Bellevue Hospital to close!
posted by Jahaza at 12:03 PM on October 31, 2012

(I'd watch the feed but I'm at work and distracted enough as it is.)
posted by griphus at 12:04 PM on October 31, 2012

Life, hospitals, work. Whatever. When are the kids going back to school?
posted by shothotbot at 12:05 PM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

Did anyone actually get those passenger car rules?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:05 PM on October 31, 2012

Thanks y'all. Did they mention who is doing the inspections and/or mention project housing specifically?

WNYC went to station identification during this section, so not sure if they mentioned NYCHA specifically. The inspections are mostly being done by Dept. of Buildings engineers, but under certain circumstances building management will be able to self-certify if they appropriate staff and an ongoing relationship with Dept of Buildings.
posted by Jahaza at 12:07 PM on October 31, 2012

Bloomberg's gotta give a bit of a boost to how well the billionaires tower with the broken crane is, whatever, also he's talking waaay too fucking fast....slow down asshole Bloomberg!
posted by Skygazer at 12:08 PM on October 31, 2012

Three passengers in a car coming into the city on pretty much any (city or MTA) crossing. Cabs exempt when beginning a shift.
posted by shothotbot at 12:08 PM on October 31, 2012

NYC public schools closed for kids Thursday & Friday. Teachers & staff come back Friday.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:09 PM on October 31, 2012

Schools closed for students through Friday, staff to report on Friday.
posted by Jahaza at 12:09 PM on October 31, 2012

Schools will be closed through Friday and reopen on Monday. Teachers / Administrators being asked to report to schools on Friday,
posted by zarq at 12:09 PM on October 31, 2012

Schools will be closed through Friday, but administrators and such need to go in on Friday.

(Fucking dude...is just ripping through this shit, like he's got an important meeting to get to with Goldman Sachs or something...)
posted by Skygazer at 12:10 PM on October 31, 2012

ECHO
ECHO
ECHO
ECHO
posted by zarq at 12:10 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

wait hang on does anyone have an update on schools?
posted by griphus at 12:11 PM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

He also took a few seconds there to give props to FEMA and the President's response.
posted by ceribus peribus at 12:11 PM on October 31, 2012

This is bullshit. There's is no reason for him to be hurrying through this in this way.
posted by Skygazer at 12:11 PM on October 31, 2012

Protip: Don't drink the floodwater!
posted by rmannion at 12:12 PM on October 31, 2012

Do not drink sewage.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:12 PM on October 31, 2012

wait hang on does anyone have an update on schools?

No, but did you hear, James Brown died!
posted by radwolf76 at 12:13 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

The next mayor and first lady of New York City are doing O.K.
posted by Jahaza at 12:13 PM on October 31, 2012

DON'T LOSE YOUR CHILDREN IN THE DARK
posted by Jahaza at 12:15 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Someone asked me if trick or treating is on tonight and I suppose that's between you and your neighbors, but in some areas we don't have street lights and you should be sure to hold your child's hand and keep them safe."

Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

My kids are native New Yorkers. Anything that's out there in the dark should be scared of them.

Z
posted by zarq at 12:16 PM on October 31, 2012 [9 favorites]

DON'T LOSE YOUR HENS EITHER
posted by The Whelk at 12:17 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Brooklyn Vegan just posted a bunch of photos of Coney Island.

It looks basically the same, just wetter and slightly more dilapidated.
posted by griphus at 12:17 PM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

My work is cancelled yet again. Ugh. The first day or so was sort of fun, but this is actually becoming kinda crappy. Work is piling up. Work is not going away. I still have deadlines to meet, especially with regard to factories in China. I can't work from home due to policy and logistics reasons, and some of my more important work is actually not physically possible to do from home.

My girlfriend is a public school teacher, so I guess she'll be coming in on Friday. It'll be interesting to see how she manages the commute from South Slope to Manhattan Chinatown. Bicycle, I guess? But what are they going to do at work with the power off? Clean and plan? Ugh ugh ugh.

Sandy, no kill count is acceptable, but I'm glad your kill count was relatively low. That said, you are one fucking irritating hurricane.
posted by Sticherbeast at 12:18 PM on October 31, 2012

I don't speak Spanish but it didn't sound like they got all the details of the English version.
posted by ceribus peribus at 12:19 PM on October 31, 2012

I don't speak Spanish

Neither does Bloomberg, from what I hear.
posted by shothotbot at 12:20 PM on October 31, 2012 [6 favorites]

Aerial Tour of Ocean City, NJ
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:28 PM on October 31, 2012

I heard that NYU lost a lot of research material which is heartbreaking.

“The Impact On Science Will Be Terrible”: Sandy’s Effect On NYU Hospital Is Worse Than You Think
posted by homunculus at 12:29 PM on October 31, 2012 [5 favorites]

Grand Central station itself opened (to people with extra large metropasses).
posted by ceribus peribus at 12:33 PM on October 31, 2012

MetroCards
posted by griphus at 12:34 PM on October 31, 2012

You only have a MetroCard griphus?
posted by shothotbot at 12:37 PM on October 31, 2012

That doesn't belong there: gallery of displaced items photos on nj.com.
posted by Miko at 12:40 PM on October 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

Maureen Dowd on Christie + Obama
posted by maggieb at 12:44 PM on October 31, 2012

Comcast offers free Wi-Fi service to all in Sandy's path
posted by homunculus at 12:46 PM on October 31, 2012

Sticherbeast - if bicycle is a realistic option, Park Slope to Chinatown shouldn't be too bad. That's only 4-5 miles, depending on where in Park Slope she is. It's also almost entirely through places with power and thus traffic lights. If she can do that, I would totally recommend it.

Her other option would I guess be to take the Metrotech or Barclay Center shuttle to midtown and then catch a bus back downtown. Which will likely take longer than biking and be more frustrating.

Can she carpool?
posted by Sara C. at 12:51 PM on October 31, 2012

Subway map for Thursday
posted by Jahaza at 12:52 PM on October 31, 2012

Re the Grand Central thing, ha, for a second I thought we were referring to the big $104 monthly metrocard, and I was thinking "hey, cool, I have special access to empty Grand Central by virtue of being a metrocard High Roller?"

Darn.
posted by Sara C. at 12:53 PM on October 31, 2012

Subway map for Thursday

Anyone know why the B/Q and N are totally out in Brooklyn? Mta.info is giving me a general "sucks to be you" message.
posted by griphus at 12:55 PM on October 31, 2012

Q train service to remain suspended tomorrow.

B train service to remain suspended tomorrow.

The N train in Brooklyn is greyed out on the map.
posted by Jahaza at 1:00 PM on October 31, 2012

Sorry, you asked "why", not whether. Don't know.
posted by Jahaza at 1:01 PM on October 31, 2012

Sara - FYI, I just realized that if you want to take the B62 north to Queensboro Plaza, then you could get on the F or the N there. The B62 is down around the corner from me.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:01 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm just wondering if there's a technical/policy/whatever reason they're shutting the entire line down, rather than just not letting it run all the way.
posted by griphus at 1:01 PM on October 31, 2012

My two guesses are:

Integral stations/parts of tunnel are too deep and thus still very flooded.

Because they mostly go express and focus stops between Lower Manhattan and 57th street and then head through a tunnel and into Queens, they're not as logistically worth opening back up. I mean you could do service up to Dekalb Ave (or Pacific for the N), then over the bridge to Times Square-ish, and then a few stops. Much less impact than lines like the A/C/E and 4/5/6, and better to direct resources where they can be of more use.
posted by Sara C. at 1:04 PM on October 31, 2012

Seriously, when NYC floods, think about where the rats are going to go.

Did the Superstorm force diseased rats out of the subway?
posted by homunculus at 1:07 PM on October 31, 2012

Re: the second one, I'm wondering why they weren't running between downtown Brooklyn and Bensonhurst/Gravesend, which is the cutoff between Zones A and B. The B/Q is elevated in south Brooklyn, which is what I find weird.
posted by griphus at 1:07 PM on October 31, 2012

Empress - I've decided to fuck this whole public transit noise and just start bike commuting. I only have 8 more commutes before my move, anyway.

I mean, assuming Jet Blue is flying out of JFK by Tuesday.
posted by Sara C. at 1:08 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Although I guess the relative closeness of the lines in that part of Brooklyn means they can run every other line, so, yeah, resources makes sense.
posted by griphus at 1:09 PM on October 31, 2012

griphus - Yeah, it would make sense to run the D/B/N/Q in Brooklyn, and then run the B/D on the Upper West Side in separate segments. Again, though, that might not be high priority for whatever reason.
posted by Sara C. at 1:09 PM on October 31, 2012

There's nowhere to turn N trains between 59 St and Coney Island other than at Kings Highway, and trains cannot reverse back toward 59 St at that station; they have to continue past it and then turn back. If there's anything impassable between 59 St and Kings Highway this is an automatic no-go.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 1:11 PM on October 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

You can actually walk from the Bay Parkway D train station, past the Kings Highway N station, past the Kings Highway F station and to the Kings Highway Q station in about a half hour.
posted by griphus at 1:12 PM on October 31, 2012

Ah! That makes perfect sense!
posted by griphus at 1:12 PM on October 31, 2012

There's nowhere to turn B/Q trains between Parkside Av and Kings Highway, and trains can't reverse directly out of that Kings Highway station, either. They can turn back more easily at Prospect Park and Brighton Beach.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 1:17 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

NBC is about to bring the President's speech from NJ.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:18 PM on October 31, 2012

I just want to know whether CUNY will be open for the rest of the week. I am not exactly in the homework headspace at the moment.
posted by ocherdraco at 1:27 PM on October 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

Did the Superstorm force diseased rats out of the subway?
posted by homunculus

Probably, but I'm hoping it drowned many of them as well. Those fuckers have been so secure and safe down there for like a thousand generations, so I'm hoping they lost their instinct to head for higher ground when the low pressure moves in.

The subway is probably much more amenable to the alligators now.
posted by Skygazer at 1:27 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Raw sewage flowing on the streets on Long Island, and Bellevue is currently evac'ing all 500 patients. Sandy is just a gift that keeps on giving.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:32 PM on October 31, 2012

roomthreeseventeen: "Raw sewage flowing on the streets on Long Island, and Bellevue is currently evac'ing all 500 patients. Sandy is just a gift that keeps on giving."

Way to make me feel bad that a couple of my DIDs are out because of power problems in lower Manhattan.
posted by wierdo at 1:34 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

HOV-3 Restrictions for cars crossing into Manhattan

From 6 a.m. to midnight tomorrow and Friday, only motor vehicles with three or more occupants are allowed to cross the Lincoln Tunnel, Henry Hudson Parkway, Triboro RFK Bridge, Queensboro Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge, Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge. The Holland Tunnel, Hugh Carey (Brooklyn Battery) Tunnel and Queens Midtown Tunnel remain closed. Harlem River bridges managed by DOT and the George Washington Bridge were not named by the mayor for HOV-3 restrictions.

Mayor Bloomberg said that Governor Cuomo had agreed to HOV-3 restrictions on MTA bridges connecting to Manhattan.

The restriction will apply to taxis, except for the hours between 4 p.m. and midnight to facilitate shift changes. Exemptions also apply to paratransit, commercial and emergency vehicles.
posted by clockwork at 1:35 PM on October 31, 2012

President Obama speaking now. He and Gov. Christie are slobbering all over each other. True love!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:43 PM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

I seriously can't imagine Romney sneering all over people in a similar presser. He'd probably complain that the rescuers near him haven't had a good shower lately.
posted by sweetkid at 1:46 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Con Edison is hoping to have service on in Brighton Beach by tomorrow and the rest of Coney Island by Friday.
posted by jason's_planet at 1:49 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

SHUTTLE BUSES:

All shuttle buses will operate north on 3rd Avenue and south on Lexington Avenue.

1. Between Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center and 57th Street-Lexington Avenue via the Manhattan Bridge

2. Between Jay Street-MetroTech and 57th Street-Lexington Avenue via the Manhattan Bridge

3. Between Hewes Street and 57th Street-Lexington Avenue via the Williamsburg Bridge
posted by clockwork at 1:50 PM on October 31, 2012

The blood bank will have some of Greg Nog's sweet sexy blood?! ::throws self in front of car:: INFUSE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:58 PM on October 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

Skygazer: "Did the Superstorm force diseased rats out of the subway?
posted by homunculus
Probably, but I'm hoping it drowned many of them as well. Those fuckers have been so secure and safe down there for like a thousand generations, so I'm hoping they lost their instinct to head for higher ground when the low pressure moves in. ."

Ahh, but the few rats that survived will breed even stronger lines of super-rats.
posted by octothorpe at 2:04 PM on October 31, 2012

Amphibious super-rats.
posted by Sara C. at 2:07 PM on October 31, 2012

So the bar my buddy opened in the Village is opening tomorrow sans electricity. But with music! (...acoustic music, of course.)
posted by restless_nomad at 2:07 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Has anyone checked the warehouse where they keep those giant inflatable rats for union strikes? The surviving rats may be trying to find their god.
posted by griphus at 2:08 PM on October 31, 2012 [13 favorites]

Did NYC rats survive hurricane Sandy?
posted by octothorpe at 2:09 PM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

When do the baby rats get to go back to school?
posted by shothotbot at 2:15 PM on October 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

Our local police/government is using something called "Nixle" to send out announcements. I signed up, which is where I got the scary notice about curfews. Also, a note about the police running a cell phone charging station downtown (be prepared for lines). And, this gem:

"the city of rahway is suspending routine garbage pickup until futher notice. residents are advised to separate pershiable waste from perishable waste and store in covered garbage cans until garbage pick up resumes. use deoderizers in perishable garbage cans until odors become an issue. "

posted by Karmakaze at 2:31 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

The city of Nyack, hometown of my husband, has both enacted a curfew and prohibited sale of alcohol.
There will be torches and pitchforks in the street anon.
posted by sciencegeek at 2:36 PM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

"If the movie Ratatouille has taught us anything - AND IT HAS - then rats in a watery maelstrom will be swept into a fine French restaurant and magically revamp the menu. "

- a commenter on So What Happened to All of the Subway Rats?, NY Mag
posted by moonmilk at 2:38 PM on October 31, 2012 [9 favorites]

Curfews are pretty much par for the course after a hurricane. There's nothing terribly ominous about it. It's usually because there are power outages, live power lines down, obstructed roadways, and other dangerous stuff they don't want people just wandering around in, because A) that would be bad, and B) the police have other shit to do besides protect the dumbasses who go wandering around on pitch dark hazard-filled streets.

Not sure if that has anything to do with the Rahway and Nyack curfews.

The alcohol prohibition is just silly, though.
posted by Sara C. at 2:55 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

I can't imagine that dead drowned rat is going to smell very nice. : (
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 3:51 PM on October 31, 2012

Sandy on Halloween in NYC.
posted by nickyskye at 4:47 PM on October 31, 2012

Subway map of running lines tomorrow.
posted by gerryblog at 4:48 PM on October 31, 2012

Okay - was EVERY cab trying to charge people 80 bucks to go from the East Village to Brooklyn tonight, or was it just the asshole I hailed?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:08 PM on October 31, 2012

I heard them mention on CNN tonight that someone tried to charge a couple $50 to drive across a bridge (sorry, I don't remember any more specifics than that), so sounds like it wasn't just you.
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 6:19 PM on October 31, 2012

Speaking of rodentia... 40 strains of research mice used to study brain development, the product of decades of research work, were lost when NYU flooded. Linked article points out that most of the data and genes are out there, spread among other labs, but still sucks.
posted by zennie at 6:23 PM on October 31, 2012

If I was in the alcohol prohibition zone I would totally make the effort to get where there was liquor for sale, which I would do anyway, but instead of just a bottle or three to tide myself over I would bring back a couple of cases and distribute those for appropriate kickbacks. Regulate that, motherfuckers.
posted by localroger at 6:41 PM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

Breaking News: Cuomo Waives Fares on M.T.A. Rail, Subways and Buses on Thursday and Friday
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:27 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Why Do Hospital Generators Keep Failing?
posted by homunculus at 7:51 PM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

3D interactive MTA post-Sandy subway map.
posted by Skygazer at 8:18 PM on October 31, 2012 [6 favorites]

Jon Stewart: Chris Christie ‘Kicked Crazy Ass’ Working With Obama On Hurricane Relief
posted by homunculus at 8:38 PM on October 31, 2012 [6 favorites]

Ah, my people, pulling together to face an emergency.
posted by Miko at 8:56 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

I would like to donate some of my delicious red blood as a completely normal and not at all weird homage to Greg Nog, but I have had a tattoo in the past 12 months (well, the past 12 days) and so I am not eligible.

I bailed to a hotel after cooking the last of the still-good perishable stuff on our gas stove and dumping the rest of the fridge & freezer contents. We walked ~40 blocks to the hotel and traffic was just insane. We were walking maybe 3 MPH and going way faster than any of the cars. It's good that they're implementing the HOV rules tomorrow because there were just SO many vehicles. Traffic jams, one accident that resulted in a screaming match that nearly came to blows on 3rd Ave amidst gridlock. Mostly people were being nice to each other, though - I saw a few people who brought power strips to an ATM vestibule so that strangers who came in could charge their devices.
posted by bedhead at 9:47 PM on October 31, 2012

Just heard some trains rolling out of the rail yard onto the subway! They must be getting them in place for this morning's service.
posted by ceribus peribus at 11:28 PM on October 31, 2012 [4 favorites]

I was happy to hear the 1 train back on the tracks this morning, as I dragged my bleary-eyed self out of bed. Those HOV restrictions have made a huge difference in the in-bound traffic on the Williamsburg Bridge. Not to mention that there are a lot more traffic police on Delancey. Also, the walkway was much more orderly, not nearly as many pedestrians walking on the cyclist side. I also asked one of the T.A. volunteers working the Brooklyn side of the bridge to please ask walkers to heed the lane markings.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 6:52 AM on November 1, 2012

I'm loving the sound of the J train up and running, however limited. Looks like the M won't be up and going into Manhattan for a while yet. I can work from home today and tomorrow but will have to join the crowd on the shuttle bus if the M isn't back in service on Monday.
posted by idest at 7:08 AM on November 1, 2012

I live near one of the LIRR stations on the Port Jefferson line, and it's been strange not to hear the trains come in. No telling how long it'll take to get this line cleaned up.
posted by pemberkins at 7:21 AM on November 1, 2012

I currently have a system down directly affecting patient care and the only way to get it back up is to get in touch with a vendor in Fairfield, NJ. Needless to say I can't get through.

Anyone know the status in that area? Sounds like they're mostly without power. Obviously I'm sure the employees there have bigger things to worry about than my system, but it would be nice if I had a first-hand account of what it's like there and some idea of when things would be restored.
posted by bondcliff at 8:09 AM on November 1, 2012

Baby walrus is OK.
posted by neroli at 8:13 AM on November 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

I know the immediate storm danger has passed and life is going back to normal for many people...but the situation in New Jersey seems to be getting worse before it gets better. Fires still burning, hospitals overflowing, power outage predictions for next 7-10 days, sewage contamination, infrastructure like broken bridge pilings, undermined roads, new tributaries and inlets where roads used to be limiting access to some towns, many homes completely lost leaving residents homeless, economic losses still untabulated, gas and food very hard to get...this is going to continue to impact people in an emergent way for many days yet to come, and the state for months, well into next year at least.
posted by Miko at 8:19 AM on November 1, 2012 [4 favorites]

I'm hearing from a colleague with family on Staten Island that some people there are going around posing as FEMA and Con-Ed employees to rob homes. I hope that isn't true, or at least that it isn't widespread.
posted by pemberkins at 8:26 AM on November 1, 2012

Wind, Flames, Our Fathers: The Inside Story OF Breezy Point's Terrible Night

In a community where firefighters are demigods, where a memorial at the end of the point honors more than 30 residents who lost their lives at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, three companies of volunteer firefighters were overwhelmed by flooding and an inferno that destroyed more than 100 houses. Yet they fought the elements all night, saving many people and protecting houses on the perimeter of the burn zone, including the home of a 9/11 widow.

posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:33 AM on November 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Gas supplies are going to be a big issue in NJ now.

NOAA worked overnight with USCG to scan the Hudson River to make sure it would be safe for fuel barges. They can now move again.
posted by lyra4 at 8:34 AM on November 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

Pemberkins: I'm hearing from a colleague with family on Staten Island that some people there are going around posing as FEMA and Con-Ed employees to rob homes. I hope that isn't true, or at least that it isn't widespread.

Thanks for the tip Pemberkins. I hope that's just a rumor, but it wouldn't surprise me, Staten Island is such a vicious place at times.

Now I have to find a way to warn my elderly mom and dad, who're already real shaken up, without making them more upset. They still have no power, and the flooding came to within three houses of theirs. My mom sounds flabbergasted by the damage. Houses went down in the neighborhood and there's a ship on the beach, which is down the block from them (no not the famous John B. Cuddle in Stapleton on Front st. Another ship.).

She thought they were "done for" and that the storm sounded like a roaring train. Thankfully the house held together.
posted by Skygazer at 9:10 AM on November 1, 2012

I thought Cory Booker was all kinds of awesome in the documentary Street Fight, but he's the closest thing to a superhero we're going to see in our lifetimes. And I'm glad he took the time to help with that gentleman's Hot Pockets dilemma.
posted by porn in the woods at 9:25 AM on November 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yesterday I played civ for 12 hours, then slept for 12. If I can't go back to work soon feisty cakes is going to get sick of me.
posted by vrakatar at 9:31 AM on November 1, 2012

I'm hearing from a colleague with family on Staten Island that some people there are going around posing as FEMA and Con-Ed employees to rob homes. I hope that isn't true, or at least that it isn't widespread.

I recall that rumor from Katrina and I'm fairly sure it's urban legend. If people want to rob homes, that's a lot of work (uniforms, acting). But there are tons of utterly unprotected, empty homes - why go to all the trouble? Thieves are lazy, no need to pull "gypsy burglaries" when you can just freely loot.

Still, easy to ask people for ID before you let them into your home.
posted by Miko at 9:37 AM on November 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Post (that renowned bastion of journalism) is reporting on the ConEd poser robberies but it doesn't seem to be corroborated. The police seem to be taking it seriously, though.

Anyway, you use the fake ConEd uniforms to get into abandoned houses/stores without people wondering why someone is trying to get into a house/store without using their keys, rob it and vamoose. People will remember "oh it was an anonymous guy in ConEd gear" and not "it was a guy wearing whatever."
posted by griphus at 9:50 AM on November 1, 2012

And, yeah, I would absolutely not put it past people to be doing this. At all. At the very least, you can use the entrance to case the house to rob it later.
posted by griphus at 9:52 AM on November 1, 2012

ABC news just took their report on the fake-worker robberies down.

Anyway, you use the fake ConEd uniforms to get into abandoned houses/stores without people wondering why someone is trying to get into a house/store without using their keys, rob it and vamoose.

That's not the rumor. The rumor is that they're getting into occupied homes and robbing people at gunpoint. Check out this Twitter chain to watch it multiply.
posted by Miko at 9:53 AM on November 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

If people want to rob homes, that's a lot of work (uniforms, acting). But there are tons of utterly unprotected, empty homes - why go to all the trouble? Thieves are lazy, no need to pull "gypsy burglaries" when you can just freely loot.

If those homes are safe and accessible, that is. And around here, the utility "uniform" is often just a blue jacket and jeans and a badge around your neck; easy enough to fake.

Still, easy to ask people for ID before you let them into your home.

Agreed.

--

Got somewhat of a sobering phone call from a friend who was checking in from Ireland; I'd sent her a couple "I'm okay" emails during the storm, because I figured she'd be hearing, but she was actually out of touch - staying with a brother in Germany whose email was on the fritz, and "the only news we could get on the radio was all in German so we didn't know what ws going on!"

She left me an adorably effusive answering machine message last night after getting home and catching up on 3 days' worth of news and all of my emails and telling me how relieved she was and how awful the news looked and how happy I was okay and... (she does that a lot, has about 10 thoughts in her head all tumbling out all at the same time). But then, at some point, she said something that threw me - "Just think, first you've lived through 9/11 and now this!"

I made myself a cocktail after she pointed that out.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:55 AM on November 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

In response, Con Ed tweeted early this morning: "All Con Edison employees have legit IDs; worried about imposters: call 1-800-75CONED or 911."

Interestingly, the meme also went around this past summer.
posted by Miko at 9:55 AM on November 1, 2012

I think I got "robbery" and "burglary" mixed up. I'll agree that intricate schemes that end with robbing people at gunpoint inside their house is a bit much, but as an easy disguise for looting it makes perfect sense.
posted by griphus at 9:58 AM on November 1, 2012

How Truth and Lies Spread on Twitter

a fraction of the U.S. uses Twitter, but everyone talks to their siblings, their parents, their co-workers, their friends. Text messaging, e-mail, and “dark social” networks spread misinformation just as quickly, and to more people. This is a potential problem with Twitter as a medium for truth and lies: What happens on Twitter doesn’t stay on Twitter. If we’re to continue the favored epidemiology metaphor of the Internet-employed, information that goes viral can become airborne: It leaves the Twitter network, where the journalists and reporters and “influentials” who can quickly propagate corrections can’t reach.

I experienced this firsthand during Hurricane Sandy. After retweeting a message warning about muggers in Williamsburg dressed as Con Ed workers as an experiment, I received two skeptical responses checking the claim within 15 minutes, both from people who work in the media industry and spend a significant amount of time on Twitter. Within an hour, I received a mass text message from friends of mine who aren’t completely plugged into the social Web with the same warning: “I just read a news alert of two seperate reports of people posing as coned workers, knocking on people’s door and robbing them at gunpoint in williamsburg. I just want to pass along the info. Stay safe and maybe don’t answer your door.” Two other friends responded with thanks.

posted by Miko at 9:59 AM on November 1, 2012

It's barely possible. Thing is, both my folklore training and my own 9/11 experience have taught me that the aftermath is a rumor mill and that hysteria takes hold quickly. It's basic safety to verify ID when anyone comes to your door; everyone should always do that. That's good practice.

And gypsy burglaries (with people 'casing' the place to return later, or luring you away so you can be robbed while out) do happen - I had one attempted on me once in Philadelphia. But dollars to doughnuts this one is pure hysteria.
posted by Miko at 10:01 AM on November 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

Empress, when I was riding home across Houston Street yesterday, seeing all the closed storefronts, I had a bit of a flashback to the days after Sept. 11, when you had to show ID to get below 14th Street, and how deserted downtown was. And then I felt glad that I'm not living downtown anymore.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 10:03 AM on November 1, 2012

Am I going to see this on YouTube? Why, yes. Yes you are.
posted by The corpse in the library at 10:08 AM on November 1, 2012 [8 favorites]

Does anyone have a link or info about what Bloomberg's update this morning said?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:28 AM on November 1, 2012

The NYTimes live blog has it in snippets; start here and scroll down. I would say key points include the food & bottled water distribution that begins today at 3 pm, the end of HOV restrictions on roads after Friday, and the lifting of the ban of exterior construction.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:32 AM on November 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Gothamist also has the roundup.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:35 AM on November 1, 2012

Thanks, TPS. A friend of mine said the Mayor said something about downtown buildings needing to be inspected, but the live blog doesn't say that.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:36 AM on November 1, 2012

I was listening for most and didn't hear anything about that; he had mentioned the need for inspections during one of yesterday's briefings.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:38 AM on November 1, 2012

Post-hurricane, New York's internet industry runs on diesel: Gotham startups go to extremes to stay connected during Hurricane Sandy
posted by homunculus at 10:57 AM on November 1, 2012

My friends in Manalapan, NJ just reported a 2.5 hour wait for gas.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:17 AM on November 1, 2012

That seems to be common. My brother is Tweeting pictures of the gas line extending down Bloomfield Ave in Montclair for at least a mile, barely moving.

A few grocery stores have started to open today.

I'm seeing many more of my NJ friends checking in from businesses that have opened up to provide warming/power stations. They've restored power to 110,000 customers in Monmouth County but have 830,000 to go. JCPL has this handy map to figure out which places are still affected, says most will be restored within 7 days but in some cases it could be 2 weeks.

State troopers and National Guard are now positioning themselves in the evacuated towns on the barrier islands so they can supervise and manage when they let residents back in, shortly. It is going to be crazy, though, because based on the satellite images and flyover video, a lot of those people are going to find that their house is gone.
posted by Miko at 11:53 AM on November 1, 2012

got an email from NY Cares looking for volunteers to check on seniors after work and by the time I clicked on the link (about half an hour after the email was sent) it was full already. Go New Yorkers!
posted by shothotbot at 11:57 AM on November 1, 2012 [4 favorites]

Hurricane hunger: What happens when a city’s food network breaks down
posted by homunculus at 12:39 PM on November 1, 2012

Now I am wishing I had filled up the tank on Sunday. [kicks self]
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 12:47 PM on November 1, 2012

Exciting Army Corp of Engineer action today. Got to see a huge crane on a boat deliver some gas powered pumps that are being used to pump out the South Street station. Which was ultra cool - three tug boats, lots of guys swarming around, and then the pumps just flying water out of the tunnel. Even the DOT guys supervising were impressed. And the guys working the crane were pretty awesome.

We also had a visit from the USGS. Two guys surveying the waterline of the flood. Apparently it will be published online a few weeks from now. It was neat to see them walking around doing it - they've done this kind of stuff before and even though we've started cleaning up the debris, they know where it was. Experts.
posted by sciencegeek at 1:02 PM on November 1, 2012 [5 favorites]

though usually mocked, with good reason, gawkr has been a source of a lot of good info these past few days.

even though I'm way out here in the midwest, I know what it's like (fuck you Romney, now I can't use that sentence) to have a storm completely mess shit up and bring everyday life to a halt for a few days. obviously nothing this terrible, but the trade-off is that it's a yearly vs once-in-a-lifetime (or maybe it is yearly now..) event. so for the absolute ferocity of the storm, I am really glad the human casualties seem so low. although the property damage.. i think it will be a very long time before anyone knows how much has been destroyed

I just read this: Sandy’s Aftermath: A Dispatch From the Live Zone

Wednesday, Halloween, as Stephen and I were both working from my apartment, my friend Poogene arrived. His apartment is near Avenue C, which had become like a river during the worst of the flooding. I set him up on a table, where he charged his laptop and phone. Called his mom. I was so glad to be helping. It felt good. It felt better than watching the horrifying images on the TV and feeling helpless and hopeless and wondering what can I do? I tweeted, “I have two cute downtown boys using me for my power right now, and I LOVE it!” I meant it. The good part about having was sharing.

this fucking breaks my heart

six block line for a shuttle
posted by ninjew at 1:03 PM on November 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Via gawkr: Dr. Dave Ores is offering free medical care today until 6 PM.

But he is apparently awesome the rest of the time, too.
posted by maudlin at 1:13 PM on November 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

He is awesome the rest of the time! My boyfriend has used his services before.
posted by ocherdraco at 1:22 PM on November 1, 2012

homunculus: "Post-hurricane, New York's internet industry runs on diesel: Gotham startups go to extremes to stay connected during Hurricane Sandy"

Fails on diesel, more like. When the generator that runs your cooling system craps out, it doesn't matter so much that the one powering the compute load is still working. PEER1 and Zayo customers will be enjoying a high failure rate for a few months. Google gets away with running things hot because of their less-than-traditional network design. Most folks still build things with big servers rather than many many small servers working in parallel. Most do N+1, not N+100.
posted by wierdo at 1:29 PM on November 1, 2012

Oh, man, Dr. Dave! I used to live across the street from his office; he would hang out in the local coffee shop on purpose so people could ask him for free medical advice. I also was in that same coffee shop when he was planning on setting up his practice, and he said he was gonig to paint it in camoflauge to look like a MASH unit - and he was going to go out of his way to use Martha Stewart brand paint so he could take a picture of himself next to the cans and send it to her to freak her out.

An actor I know interviewed him as part of a one-man show oral history project; the actor had some kind of persistent cough, and about 5 minutes into the interview Dr. Dave interrupted himself to ask "how long have you had that?" Gave the guy a quick exam, figured out what it was and wrote him a free prescription for an antibiotic right there. Didn't charge him a thing. Dr. Dave is fantastic.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:46 PM on November 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Rare Moments of Solitude in NYC
posted by homunculus at 1:51 PM on November 1, 2012

Their idea of solitude is different from mine.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:55 PM on November 1, 2012

The streaks of light make it seem like a moment of solitude for Barry Allen.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:03 PM on November 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Uh-oh.

New Nor’easter May Hit East Coast Next Week -- "...NOR’EASTER POSSIBLE FOR MID-ATLANTIC/NEW ENGLAND STATES BY ELECTION DAY INTO NEXT THURSDAY..."
posted by ericb at 3:14 PM on November 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

except for the overhead powerline people who still don't have their power back by then.
posted by elizardbits at 3:40 PM on November 1, 2012

Yeah, this new storm is going to halt the reconnection efforts until it passes. We were lucky after Isaac that we had good weather long enough for all the repairs to be completed, and we had a lot less damage to fix.
posted by localroger at 4:02 PM on November 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hey, It Will Only Cost $7 Billion To Build A Storm Surge Barrier For New York — Whaddya Say?
I do think this is optimistic, even leaving aside the necessity of additional barriers at, say, Throg's Neck and Perth Amboy (and still leaves outer-borough seacoasts vulnerable, maybe even more so if the storm surge has noplace to go), but it seems time to start having this conversation.
posted by dhartung at 4:14 PM on November 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

As usual, the New York times does a bang up job with their interactive graphics. This is the best site I have found to keep up with power outages. If you click on the links, it takes you to the detailed outage map for each utility district where you can zoom in on each neighborhood to find scheduled repairs.
posted by JackFlash at 4:53 PM on November 1, 2012

dhartung: "Hey, It Will Only Cost $7 Billion To Build A Storm Surge Barrier For New York — Whaddya Say?"

So, less than two LucasFilms.
posted by radwolf76 at 5:32 PM on November 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

Before and After Sandy from nj.com - sexy interface, depressing content
posted by Miko at 5:43 PM on November 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

After having been given the gift of no power outage at my apartment (Somerset County, NJ), I have spent much of the past two days at my church after arranging for it to be open for folks to recharge electronics, share food and information, access the internet and be together with light and warmth. Somehow the word has gotten out to folks even though we used Facebook and email and so many are without power. We've had a few tables set up for folks to "work from home", cartoons via Netflix for the kids on the TV, and a food table for the "clean out the freezer" potluck, which has been like the UU version of the loaves and the fishes.

It's been gratifying to see how many people have been able to come and have some comforts. A number of folks got a revised return of power date today, though, and the mood was tougher. There had been a prediction of a week, so service on Nov. 5, but now some folks are hearing the 9th. Being told you have another week of no power is hard when it's already been just 3 days, and they've been tough days. The joys today were when a few people (in roughly the same broad neighborhood) got power back, when someone came in with reports of a gas station line that was only 20 minutes long, and when the main traffic light between church and home was working instead of dark.

At our Vespers service last night, people shared their Sandy related joys and concerns. Joys were small, and mostly of the silver lining variety. Concerns were very personal details about the storm - the loss of so many old trees in a stately old town, for example. I spent the meditation thinking about all my memories of Point Pleasant Beach (and nearby), one town over from where I grew up, and my husband's hometown: winning the big stuffed unicorn after spending the day playing games at Jenkinson's arcade (mostly the quarter pushers and skee ball), Hoffman's ice cream, Joe Leone's, our parents meeting for the first time at a 4th of July concert on the beach, Martells, the ferris wheels at the boardwalk... so many good memories from my childhood and beyond.

I talked to my dad tonight. He's in Florida right now, scheduled to come home to the Jersey Shore on Wednesday. He's supposed to fly into Atlantic City International Airport. The airport is actually open, but as of now, he doesn't have power at home or at work. I told him about the 2-3 hour lines at gas stations, and the impossibility of understanding how it is up here if you haven't been here. I told him to stay put for now.

I wonder if the school I work at will be open Monday. I wonder when my friends will have power restored. I wonder if the beach towns I knew as a child will ever be the same again. I wonder how I will physically cast my ballot on Tuesday. I think about the dozen family members and dozens of friends who were personally affected by the storm, and how long ago last week feels.

Time for bed; we open again tomorrow at 10.
posted by booksherpa at 9:15 PM on November 1, 2012 [19 favorites]

Wow... I just rode home to Jamaica in a taxi from Forest Hills. Staring in Kew Gardens near the courthouse and going all the way along Queens Blvd to Hillside Ave near the Van Wyck there are hundreds of cars in line for gasoline. The three stations at Queens Blvd and Hillside don't actually have any gas, these folks are waiting for a delivery to arrive.
posted by Jahaza at 9:32 PM on November 1, 2012

All the NYU NICU babies survived their transfers are are doing okay, according to reports from several major outlets, many of which have interviews with parents or nurses ... none was a real stand-out as a summary to link to. Individual stories say many of the babies remain stable, though a few have had a step backwards from the transfer stress. That has been worrying me since I first read about it.

If I were a parent who was going through the NICU ordeal to start with ... and then my preemie had to be transferred during a hurricane ... well, I'm pretty sure there's not enough Xanax in the world.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:47 PM on November 1, 2012 [4 favorites]

The NICU thing worried me too, Eyebrows McGee. When I heard about that I was really concerned. I'm glad to hear they're doing ok.

I'm a little worried about the gas shortages with cabs and buses. I hope that the power can be restored and gas supplies can be replenished, because with transit so limited for the foreseeable future, it's going to be a mess for people to get around.
posted by bedhead at 9:55 PM on November 1, 2012

In case of emergency (gear for this one or the next.)
posted by zarq at 10:26 PM on November 1, 2012 [7 favorites]

ConEd: power on in Manhattan by tonight. Yesssssss.

So happy for you!
posted by idest at 5:26 AM on November 2, 2012

Just met some people leaving SFO on the way to the New York Marathon; They claim it's 100% on.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:43 AM on November 2, 2012

It is on, despite the huge controversy and lots and lots of negative feelings. It's not going to be a fun day for those runners.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:47 AM on November 2, 2012

Will New Yorkers raid the water stations and steal all the water bottles?
posted by rmd1023 at 5:59 AM on November 2, 2012

No, but since we're all in danger of running out of gas, taxi drivers might capture the marathoners and harness eight or ten to a car.
posted by eustacescrubb at 6:04 AM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Front page of today's NY Post on the marathon
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:08 AM on November 2, 2012

"Postpone or cancel the NYC marathon" Facebook group that my boyfriend made this morning.
posted by ocherdraco at 6:39 AM on November 2, 2012

ocherdraco, if you look up "Cancel the New York City Marathon", the page already has something like 25,000 people subscribed.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:42 AM on November 2, 2012

Instead of joining a pointless facebook group (the marathon is in two days, nothing can really be done via social networking to stop it at this point), why not make plans to go out and high-five the runners who are taking the time to travel to the race? Not to mention all the locals who will be running, possibly despite having no power at home.

The idea that people are going to be shitty to folks coming into the city -- out of pure spite and abstract frustration at a city policy that has nothing to do with any particular individual -- is really upsetting to me. I know morale is low, but really, we're going there?
posted by Sara C. at 6:46 AM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Instead of joining a pointless facebook group (the marathon is in two days, nothing can really be done via social networking to stop it at this point), why not make plans to go out and high-five the runners who are taking the time to travel to the race? Not to mention all the locals who will be running, possibly despite having no power at home.

Because some of us are going to spend Sunday volunteering in places that actually need help.

Don't get me wrong, I am a marathon runner. I am training for a marathon right now. But I'm not about to cheer for anyone who is using city resources that could be better spent this weekend.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:50 AM on November 2, 2012

There are some out-of-town marathoners who were already here when the hurricane hit - I saw them as we walked all over Manhattan on Tuesday and there's no way in hell they landed that morning. I understand the frustration here - I think it's a waste of resources (for example, all the water bottles that could instead go to New Yorkers who don't have clean water), but it's not the marathoners' fault. I'm more than happy to aim my frustration and distaste for the whole affair at the mayor, but I'll be nice to the runners.
posted by bedhead at 6:51 AM on November 2, 2012

I was in Times Square last night and saw a ton of people (many from other countries) who are already here for the marathon. I hope people won't be rude to the runners. I hope to be there cheering, if I can figure out transit.

In other news, the mayor is suggesting registering at nycservice.org if you're looking to volunteer.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:54 AM on November 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

Our transformer is still under a pile of chopped tree waiting for PSE&G to excavate it, let alone fix it. We're gonna be in the dark for a while yet.
posted by Karmakaze at 6:55 AM on November 2, 2012

I think the mayor might have decided the logistics of rescheduling this huge event were worse than those of letting it go.

I can't really think of an option that wouldn't involve massive disruption for lots of people.

You can make the argument "screw the privileged types who can go to the marathon," I guess, but I don't know that that is fair.

It's a mess.

Watching the news coverage, especially the long gas lines/toxic muck cleanup, I guess I really did not appreciate how much this was not over when the storm left. Ya'll have a huge job ahead.

I also couldn't help thinking how much easier it might be if more people had electric cars and merely had to go where the power was instead of having to trek around looking for places that had gas supplies and power too.
posted by emjaybee at 6:56 AM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Bedhead makes my point a lot more eloquently.

I don't think people should take time away from volunteering or doing something useful - or compromise their own safety/disregard their own needs. But if (like me) you live in a neighborhood where the marathon will pass through, why not try to be welcoming rather than a colossal asshole?

I know it's easy for a lot of us in New York to default to colossal asshole behavior. It's one of the things we do best here. And I know people are frustrated, and you can't direct anger at a natural phenomenon. So people are attaching themselves to something relatively beside the point as an outlet for their emotions.

But seriously? At least be human.
posted by Sara C. at 6:59 AM on November 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

The NY Post article has some, uh, slanted info on the use the generators could be put to. They say the generators crank out 800 Kilowatts and that would be "enough to power 400 homes". Which I guess is technically correct but that only allocates 2 kilowatts per household. Enough to power a fridge and a few lights. Or a hair dryer. Or a microwave. Or a toaster. Basically a single 15A circuit in a house. Effectively you'd probably have less because of line losses.

Sara C. writes "The idea that people are going to be shitty to folks coming into the city -- out of pure spite and abstract frustration at a city policy that has nothing to do with any particular individual -- is really upsetting to me. I know morale is low, but really, we're going there?"

Sadly sounds like the stereotype of a New York Cityer.
posted by Mitheral at 7:00 AM on November 2, 2012

Sara C., choosing not to stand outside and cheer is not being a colossal asshole. Sorry. Protesting, booing, throwing things, that's being an asshole.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:00 AM on November 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

But seriously? At least be human.

I don't think anyone is being inhuman here-- just stating an opinion. I certainly won't be taking my feelings out on the runners, but I know plenty of people who need the resources that will be diverted to this event.
posted by idest at 7:03 AM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

The NY Post article has some, uh, slanted info = I AM SHOCKED
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:05 AM on November 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm sitting in an office right now where people are saying some really nasty things (I've also seen nasty things on Facebook). I don't think anyone should be required to go cheer on the marathon, but if the attitudes I'm hearing from actual people I'm sitting in a room with at the moment are anything to go on, there is a lot of irrational hostility, and people seem to feel OK with directing their anger at the runners.
posted by Sara C. at 7:06 AM on November 2, 2012

Mod note: Folks, marathon probably needs its own thread, do not turn this thread into a derail about marathon anecdata & consider making a new post about it.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:20 AM on November 2, 2012

if the attitudes I'm hearing from actual people I'm sitting in a room with at the moment are anything to go on, there is a lot of irrational hostility, and people seem to feel OK with directing their anger at the runners.

There's hostility towards the marathon every year - but that hostility also stays confined in offices and apartments and people grumbling to each other about how the damn marathon is totally messing up their bus route or their walk across town and there are all these damn people standing around and watching and in the way and FUUUUUUUUUCK.....But that rarely translates to people acutally doing something about that anger.

Haters gonna hate, but haters rarely act.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:23 AM on November 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

Will Mayor Bloomberg be briefing today?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:38 AM on November 2, 2012

TPS, 12:30, per his twitter.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:40 AM on November 2, 2012

You know what might be more productive than opposition? Starting a movement to ask the folks in town for the marathon to donate money or time to recovery. Take advantage. "Run 26, give $26" or something.
posted by Miko at 7:53 AM on November 2, 2012 [5 favorites]

You know what might be more productive than opposition? Starting a movement to ask the folks in town for the marathon to donate money or time to recovery. Take advantage. "Run 26, give $26" or something.

I'm rather surprised that the marathon people haven't already done this so as to coopt and prevent opposition. "Running for relief" or whatever, with a nice fat donation to some central recovery fund, would probably go a long way towards soothing what from the outside looks like a pretty ridiculous decision to keep the race on schedule.
posted by Forktine at 7:58 AM on November 2, 2012

In a press release as of November 1, MoRUS shared:

"The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) is using one of its exhibits to provide the community with free cell phone charging. Working with environmental group Times Up, MoRUS has set up Occupy Wall Street bike generators on Avenue C between 9th and 10th Street. For the past two days, volunteer riders have been pedaling as crowds of people gather to charge up their cell phones. For many people, this has been the first time they've been able to contact loved ones after Hurricane Sandy hit earlier this week. Meanwhile, C-Squat, the squat which houses MoRUS, has set up a street-side barbecue. They have been accepting donations and providing the community with free food."

posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 8:04 AM on November 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

I find myself a little disappointed in organized efforts to have city residents volunteer to help each other. The NYCService.org website is a mess, and New York Cares is doing some stuff, but it's only open to volunteers they've already cleared. I get that we're still figuring out what is needed where, and that everyone is doing the best they can, but there must be capacity for volunteering that is being missed due to a lack of central organization. Or maybe I'm wrong about that and the need for unskilled volunteer labor is less than I think?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:07 AM on November 2, 2012

Wow, Pirate-Bartender, etc., this is the first I've heard about that Museum and it's really something. Thanks.
posted by Miko at 8:11 AM on November 2, 2012

TPS, the parks department needs help cleaning up parks and playgrounds, amongst other things. Two links: How to Help and More Ways to Help, from this comment in the check-in thread.

We're going to try to volunteer this weekend.
posted by bedhead at 8:12 AM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think it is both. A large disorganized volunteer effort can easily be worse than a smaller but well-organized volunteer effort. Someone has to corral the unskilled volunteers together, point them at their duties, make sure they're not fucking up, etc., and that takes skilled labor, of which there is a limited amount.
posted by griphus at 8:12 AM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Does the NYCares "clearance" involve a background check? Liability and insurance being what they are, I can understand why a human-service nonprofit working with distressed people and young children has to do this.
posted by Miko at 8:14 AM on November 2, 2012

Also god forbid they give a volunteer a duty they appear to but can't actually handle, the volunteer injures themselves, and the city gets sued. No one ever went broke overestimating anyone's capacity for litigiousness.
posted by griphus at 8:14 AM on November 2, 2012

I did the NYCares volunteer orientation a few years ago; I recall filling out some forms and then the 2-hour orientation session. Can't remember what sort of background checks they said they would do.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:16 AM on November 2, 2012

Do you remember how many previous addresses (if any) they asked for and how long the wait was before they let you work?
posted by griphus at 8:17 AM on November 2, 2012

Alas, I don't. They do projects with children, though, so they must have done some sort of check.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:18 AM on November 2, 2012

griphus, Citymeals on Wheels still needs volunteers last I checked. If you're fit and can climb up stairs, even better, because they need people who can reach elderly folks who are in high-rises with no power.
posted by bedhead at 8:24 AM on November 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

My wife works with Street Project and runs a meals on wheels type program once or twice a month. She is at work, but I will check with her is they need anyone for anything this weekend when she gets home.
posted by Falconetti at 8:30 AM on November 2, 2012

Where I work we do a criminal background check for all volunteers and it takes about 6 weeks (that includes our internal paper shuffling time as well).
posted by Miko at 8:31 AM on November 2, 2012

Does anyone have a link or other info on the status of Manhattan bus service? I can find the current subway service map, but I rely on the bus to get to work - which I'll attempt to do on Monday. Its a 1.5 hour commute using two busses and a subway on a NORMAL day.... I don't know how well this will work out.

Specifically, I could use info on the M79 if anyone knows. Thanks!
posted by blaneyphoto at 8:54 AM on November 2, 2012

I believe ALL Manhattan bus service is back to normal, and subway service will be by Monday as well.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:58 AM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

According to MTA.info, all Manhattan local buses have resumed with delays. The M79 should be running on its normal schedule, but may be slower than usual due to traffic and congestion and whatnot.

Anecdotal: we rode the buses yesterday and they were on schedule.
posted by bedhead at 8:58 AM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Awesome - thank you!!
posted by blaneyphoto at 9:00 AM on November 2, 2012

Yes, the M79 should be running, though cross-town has been murder the last few days. It's possible that the 79 isn't as bad because it's way uptown, but you should definitely allow lots of time for traffic. Or consider walking for the cross-town segment.
posted by Sara C. at 9:01 AM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

The New York Times just posted a long list of volunteer resources and ways to help.
posted by jetlagaddict at 9:12 AM on November 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm rather surprised that the marathon people haven't already done this so as to coopt and prevent opposition.

They have and are.


A few thousand runners annually raise millions of dollars through the ING New York City Marathon’s official charity program. This year, race officials are asking every runner to help storm victims by donating to the ING New York City Marathon Race to Recover Fund.

The New York Road Runners announced Thursday their hope that Sunday’s race can raise $26 million dollars _ $1 million per mile _ to benefit Hurricane Sandy relief efforts including the Mayor’s Fund and the American Red Cross.

NYC Marathon to benefit storm victims
posted by Orb at 9:40 AM on November 2, 2012

Mayor briefing live now!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:01 AM on November 2, 2012

You know what might be more productive than opposition? Starting a movement to ask the folks in town for the marathon to donate money or time to recovery. Take advantage. "Run 26, give $26" or something.

And that they are doing! NYRR asking all participants to donate $26.20.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:10 AM on November 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

a thought about going ahead with the marathon.

This reminds me of something I heard about Winston Churchill during WW2 and how it was always important for him to keep the theaters open, even if resources were stretched thin. Because they were the culture that was being fought for. They were the whole point.

I'm not a runner. I've always been a little suspicious of marathoners (all that unnecessary pain). But I can certainly how going ahead with the marathon (if at all possible) is akin to what Churchill was getting at.
posted by philip-random at 10:38 AM on November 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

Ok, regained electricity (and heat) last night and am having spotty internet but still no cell service. Many of the blocks around me are still out of power, as is the hospital 1/2 block away that's been running on generators since Monday evening. Every night police have been putting my hood on lockdown starting at 7:00. The main concern here is that there's no way to get any information without working phones/internet, and there's no way for people to contact the outside world (or even dial 911) in the event of a life-threatening emergency.
There are huge areas throughout NJ/NY in this same situation or worse- I could still connect to a cell by walking out to the cliff and pointing my phone at midtown. There are many places (among them swaths of Staten Island) who are facing these same problems coupled with having no food or drinkable water. It's all well and good that runners will be asked to donate some money to relief efforts, but the problem is People Are In Life Threatening Conditions Right Now and are not getting any of the medical/police/food/water/power resources that the NYC spectacle is *at this very moment* and into Sunday. I'm not exaggerating when I say that people will likely be dying because they don't have anywhere near the resources that are already being funneled into the marathon. This is not a Donate Some Money to Feel Good situation, this is a dire hands/food/water/medical situation that's unfolding on the ground right now and just throwing some money at it indirectly on Sunday is not going to help save lives.

I am a former national class marathoner. I know how much blood sweat and tears goes into training for these things, and I urge people to not blame the runners, many of whom have NO IDEA how bad the conditions are (and I can see that is true even among those New Yorkers who weren't even *inconvenienced* too badly in this thread). But the NYRR and Bloomberg should be ashamed of themselves and do the right thing, call the race off, postpone it, whatever it takes, and use all of those physical and human resources they've reserved to help the people whose lives may very well depend on them.
posted by stagewhisper at 10:48 AM on November 2, 2012 [5 favorites]

Philip-random, I totally get the point Churchill was making. But this is a 26-mile-long production, and takes up thousands of man-hours and a lot of resources. Wouldn't those volunteers be better used if they were deployed to the Rockaways or Staten Island?

And for the argument about the marathon bringing money into the local economy, how can a closed store or restaurant make money if there's no electricity?
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 10:52 AM on November 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

FYI, if you know a Newark first responder: Cory Booker ‏@CoryBooker
Between 2pm and 5pm 1st responders can go to Dinosaur BBQ on Market Street for free lunch.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:19 AM on November 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

How to help: LES and environs
posted by The Whelk at 11:56 AM on November 2, 2012

Lower Manhattan flooding: The Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent its National Unwatering Team to drain out downtown, and is offering other assistance.

Here’s How Army Engineers Are ‘Unwatering’ NYC’s Tunnels
posted by homunculus at 12:01 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

How Victoria’s Secret Saved the National Guard From Hurricane Sandy
posted by homunculus at 12:02 PM on November 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

Photo and Video from The Powerless Zone in NYC
posted by The Whelk at 12:03 PM on November 2, 2012

Today's Mayor address (which TPS linked to above) has been concluded, the dead air edited out, and is now available to view at that link. Much of it is relevant to the discussion above, including a direct question about whether to postpone the marathon. I encourage everyone to give it a watch.
posted by ceribus peribus at 12:09 PM on November 2, 2012

Heads up - we're compiling links to 'boots on the ground' relief efforts which are looking for donations over on AskMe. Some of those organizations are also looking for immediate supplies and volunteers on top of monetary donations.
posted by muddgirl at 12:15 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

This reminds me of something I heard about Winston Churchill during WW2 and how it was always important for him to keep the theaters open, even if resources were stretched thin. Because they were the culture that was being fought for. They were the whole point.


Yeah, that was a completely made up quote, I'm afraid. If you google it and then try to find an actual source for it in Churchill's writings, you'll come up blank. It doesn't even sound like something he would have said, which most fake Churchill quotes do.
posted by unSane at 12:39 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Made up by Kevin Spacey, of all people.
posted by unSane at 12:40 PM on November 2, 2012

Can anyone confirm that this is legitimate?

That's a St. Augustine (Florida) phone number...
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 1:48 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Does anyone know what the loud explosions that seemed to be coming from Ellis Island around 4 this afternoon were? Strong enough that I could feel them where I was at the Battery.
posted by sciencegeek at 2:07 PM on November 2, 2012

They were just saying on NY1 that those explosions are part of a canine training exercise in NJ and people shouldn't worry.
posted by sweetkid at 2:08 PM on November 2, 2012

Yeah, that was a completely made up quote, I'm afraid. If you google it and then try to find an actual source for it in Churchill's writings, you'll come up blank. It doesn't even sound like something he would have said, which most fake Churchill quotes do.

First of all, it wasn't a quote, so nothing was made up. As to whether Churchill ever said anything remotely like it, all I can say is that Britain did keep the theaters open during WW2. Hell, my dad (a young soldier at the time) actually attended a special workshop on Shakespeare in Stratford ... and this was mere days before D-Day. Top secret, of course, so they were making a point of NOT cancelling all leaves.
posted by philip-random at 2:10 PM on November 2, 2012

via ConEd:

Cooper Square network has been restored. Network: #Canal on south, #Bdway on west, #EastRiver on east and #14th St. on north.
posted by griphus at 2:12 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Seriously? They scared the crap out of me, a whole lot of tourists, the guys from the Army Corps of Engineers, and at least one cop.

Bad idea. Really, really bad idea.
posted by sciencegeek at 2:14 PM on November 2, 2012

Britain did keep the theaters open during WW2.

Indeed. But why do you imagine they would they have closed them?
posted by unSane at 2:16 PM on November 2, 2012

Marathon is cancelled, according to NY1 and all social media
posted by sweetkid at 2:18 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

According to the NYT, power is back between 14th and Canal from Broadway east
posted by rmannion at 2:23 PM on November 2, 2012

mayors office denies marathon cancellation rumours apparently? ny1 website is confusing.
posted by elizardbits at 2:25 PM on November 2, 2012

NYT link on marathon cancellation.
posted by maryr at 2:26 PM on November 2, 2012

elizardbits - CBS just read a statement by the mayor's office confirming the cancellation
posted by rmannion at 2:28 PM on November 2, 2012

via official Twitter:

We have decided to cancel the NYC marathon. The New York Road Runners will have additional information in days ahead for participants.
posted by griphus at 2:28 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mayor's twitter account confirms the marathon is cancelled. Wow. I was just about to meet some friends at Carmine's to help one carbo load for Sunday...
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:28 PM on November 2, 2012

yeah, like i said, ny1 website is confusing.
posted by elizardbits at 2:31 PM on November 2, 2012

we should carbo load just in case tho
posted by The Whelk at 2:42 PM on November 2, 2012 [7 favorites]

Carbo loading for the insane mob to get on a bus home.
posted by Sara C. at 2:44 PM on November 2, 2012

Canceling the NYC Marathon sucks, but it would have sucked more to go on with it. It's just a bad situation.
posted by Sticherbeast at 2:54 PM on November 2, 2012

It's one thing to save the resources/avoid logistical nightmares/insulting the victims by cancelling the marathon, but it's weird to me that people are saying the marathon volunteers should go help with Sandy cleanup. It's a nice thought and of course we should all do as much as we can, but it's weird to assume that someone who was planning to hand out a cup of Gatorade and smile at runners is going to be cool to just go sort supplies or rebuild benches or something. They're volunteers for a reason, we can't just press them into service, even with the weight of guilt.

And of course a lot of those volunteers have already been working on the marathon for days and will not have to undo some of that work.
posted by sweetkid at 2:55 PM on November 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

I saw a group of French runners and their friends&family today who'd come to look at the Statue of Liberty and they were having a great time and goofing around and being silly and I'm sorry for them that they won't get to run, but still glad that it was canceled.
posted by sciencegeek at 2:58 PM on November 2, 2012

It was a good decision to cancel the marathon, but damn, Friday night is late.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:11 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Good decision, finally. People are suffering. They need more resources, not less.
posted by futz at 3:26 PM on November 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's dippy and juvenile, but this picture meme made me cackle like a loon when I first saw it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:00 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Okay, where the heck is Lydia Callis the excellent superior ASL lady?

Did Prima Donna Bloomberg have her canned because she was stealing his spotlight??

That's not right. I'm doing some some serious signing right here in Bloomy's general direction.
posted by Skygazer at 4:21 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Double-decker finger sandvich.
posted by vrakatar at 4:30 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

I finally got ahold of my West Village friend. Her landline came back on, so I called her while I was in (a very long long long) line for early voting. And, possibly, was filmed by a news crew in the process. That's funny somehow.

She's bored and cold and on edge, but mostly okay. Thinks her power will come back on either around midnight tonight or early tomorrow - that's what she'd heard, last.

She was very pissed about the marathon being run (we didn't know it had been canceled, yet). Pissed, and also not surprised, if that makes sense.

"You should do something about that. Didn't the state issue switchblades to everyone in Manhattan in the eighties?"

"Oh yeah! I think my mom keeps them in the junk drawer in the kitchen. I'll go look."
posted by cmyk at 4:44 PM on November 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

IfI bloomberg hadn't. cancelled it it would have been the equivalent of lindsay not plowing the outer bourough.s

Just read that the woman on SI who lost her kids was denied help when she asked for it. Disgusting.
posted by brujita at 5:15 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

brujita, got a link?
posted by futz at 5:25 PM on November 2, 2012

Google Glenda Moore, there are a million stories about her futz.
posted by sweetkid at 5:29 PM on November 2, 2012

I know that but I hadn't seen that she was denied help. I will re-google.
posted by futz at 5:32 PM on November 2, 2012

I didn't mean it in a bad way just the stories all have such different accounts that it's hard to know what really happened. Every article has a different take/different account.
posted by sweetkid at 5:35 PM on November 2, 2012

rI read this on gothamist. Cant link because im on my smartphone and the megathread means that things are going haywire
posted by brujita at 5:39 PM on November 2, 2012

Oh! I thought you meant that she was denied help after her tragedy. Sorry! Absolutely horrific.
posted by futz at 5:41 PM on November 2, 2012

We don't know how old they were, whether they could swim, etc.

The kids? They were two and four. Someone could have at least let her in the house.

In some places this is being framed as a racial thing (the mother is black, kids I am less sure). It's a possibility.

It's a very dark, disturbing story in any case.
posted by sweetkid at 5:43 PM on November 2, 2012

Watching the benefit concert. Watching them sing "Under the Boardwalk", mine and my husband's song, Jersey Shore kids that we are, brought me to tears.
posted by booksherpa at 5:50 PM on November 2, 2012

Meanwhile, public anger has been directed at the homeowner who allegedly failed to help Moore and her children. The man, who told CNN's Gary Tuchman that his name is Alan but did not want his full name used, disputed Moore's account, saying he saw only a man outside.
"He didn't come to the door... he must have been standing at the bottom of the stairs," said the man. "He took a concrete flower pot... and threw [it] through the door."
The man at the door didn't ask to enter the house, he said, but instead asked him to come outside in order to help.
"What could I do to help him?" he asked. "I had a pair of shorts on with flip-flops."
The man told CNN he sat up for the rest of the night, with his back against the door in the kitchen.
He said he did not know the fate of the children. Told that their bodies had been found, he said the deaths were a tragedy, but implied that the woman was at fault.
"It's unfortunate. She shouldn't have been out though. You know, it's one of those things," he said.
He said there was nothing he could have done. "I'm not a rescue worker ... If I would have been outside, I would have been dead."
The man said he had given his account to police.
Legal experts consulted by CNN said that no crime would have been committed by a failure to render assistance.

Glenda:

She told police they clung together for hours, before Moore managed to make her way to a nearby property, and pleaded to be let inside. But according to her police account, rather than sheltering the desperate strangers, the occupant refused to let them enter.
In desperation, Moore told police she then went to the back of the house, and tried to break in using a flower pot, but was unable to do so. As the storm raged on, her sons were swept away by floodwaters.

Flower pot in both stories. This guy is a liar. Apparently shorts and flip flops* (*read on mitt romney) prevent you from being a moral and ethical person.
posted by futz at 5:52 PM on November 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sandy, day 3, assorted pics of NYC without electricity etc.
posted by nickyskye at 5:56 PM on November 2, 2012

Gas rationing starts tomorrow in 12 NJ counties: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Morris, Monmouth, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren.
posted by booksherpa at 5:56 PM on November 2, 2012

In the first reports I read, the kids got swept away after getting out of the car, and she then went for help finding them. Now the story is that she was able to get them to a house and was denied shelter. The homeowner is denying it.

That is the story that I heard on npr. I don't know what to think right now. Sad sad story either way.
posted by futz at 5:56 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think part of what's confusing the story is that the mother is unable to talk about it, which is completely understandable, so we're getting things sort of secondhand from her sister and other sources.

One one place where I read about this, people in comments were speculating on and on because Glenda is black and her sons were redheaded and blond respectively. So maybe people she asked for help didn't think she was really their mother and that scared them. Which - what? Oh and also wondering why there weren't pics of the kids online. I mean really why does that matter?
posted by sweetkid at 6:01 PM on November 2, 2012

In the first reports I read, the kids got swept away after getting out of the car, and she then went for help finding them. Now the story is that she was able to get them to a house and was denied shelter. The homeowner is denying it.
posted by snickerdoodle at 8:49 PM

That story is simply too tragic to conceive of, the chaos and horror of what took place there is really difficult to wrap my head around...

I grew up on Staten Island, and as a general rule the racism there is appalling, and the casual violence, both emotional and physical, really tests one's faith in people.

I could all too easily see this being a matter of fear, ignorance, racism all coming together to cause the unnecessary death of these kids, and if there's a whiff of that there's going to be terrible repercussions and confrontations between blacks and whites.

Arguments, fights and probably worse...and I mean protests, marches, and even rioting...

It's a powderkeg of racial uneasiness and this could be the spark.
posted by Skygazer at 6:01 PM on November 2, 2012

just popping my head to say my kids & i are ok here in StuyvesantTown (East Village). we just got our power restored. the avenue C & D edges of the East Village remain in the dark.
posted by liza at 6:10 PM on November 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

I don't really see how though, Skygazer, unless the kids were black, which it sounds like they weren't. Moore's husband is white and she is black, and the kids are described as redhaired and blond.

I have heard a lot about Staten Island racism though. I know people from there who aren't racist but they have stories.
posted by sweetkid at 6:12 PM on November 2, 2012

If there is a big bad dangerous storm, and a person shows up at your door, wet and scared and needing help, you bring them inside, get them some warm towels, and figure out what to do that will prevent anyone else from getting in danger. This is not rocket science. This is Being Humane 101.

Jesus fucking christ. Part of me is horrified by this story.. and another part of me is even more horrified by the fact that, on some level, I expect people to be this awful.
posted by cmyk at 6:13 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Her husband was white-I saw the wedding picture online somewhere.

(on preview what sweetkid said.)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:13 PM on November 2, 2012

I don't really see how though, Skygazer, unless the kids were black, which it sounds like they weren't.

But she didn't bring the kids to the door. If that story is true, the homeowner who denied her help was doing so without seeing her sons.
posted by oinopaponton at 6:15 PM on November 2, 2012

I think its a little weird that so much anger is directed at the homeowner for not providing aid and so little at the mother for bringing her kids out in the storm in the first place. Surely the former is contributory but the latter is causative.
posted by Justinian at 6:25 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

let's drop this. I do not feel any good can come from dissecting this mothers story.
posted by futz at 6:25 PM on November 2, 2012 [4 favorites]

She just lost her children.
posted by futz at 6:30 PM on November 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

Which is terrible but doesn't mean someone else should be pilloried.
posted by Justinian at 6:32 PM on November 2, 2012

I don't really see how though, Skygazer, unless the kids were black, which it sounds like they weren't. Moore's husband is white and she is black, and the kids are described as redhaired and blond.

Her husband wasn't with her. Her boys were washed right out of her hands by the force of the water.

Sorry it's hard to conceive of and sickening, but as I said, unless the place has changed much since I lived there, and I honestly don't think it has that much, Staten Island is a very special hotbed of intolerance and fear, and I can totally see this just being one of those unbelievable occurrences where a chain of bad events that is set in motion, to horrific effect.

But, until and if the mother speaks out, there's not much sense in speculating any further. This sounds like it's already making people very uneasy.
posted by Skygazer at 6:33 PM on November 2, 2012

Yeah, this is literally "He said, she said" at this point. Unless something substantial comes up, it's not going to be productive.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:37 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

We don't know what happened and it's a story that's particularly difficult for many of us to read. Can we please drop it?
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:51 PM on November 2, 2012

Mod note: Official mod agreement with the sentiment that this story is probably unproductive to debate with the information available.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 6:51 PM on November 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

The friend of a friend of a friend happened to be on Pitt Street in the Lower East Side at the exact moment the lights came back on. There was much rejoicing.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:24 PM on November 2, 2012 [14 favorites]

That footage is awesome.
posted by Skygazer at 7:51 PM on November 2, 2012

Checking in here from Manhattan Chinatown; we finally got our power back around 5pm this evening. My wife realized it as she was walking back through Union Square and realized the big clock stuck at 8:40pm was now showing 9pm.

A long few days, losing power wasn't that bad but the worst had to be not having running water. Using the toilet meant walking up to midtown (where it was basically like nothing had happened). Walking the blacked out streets was truly eerie especially Chinatown south of Canal where the streets are narrow and there were no cars generating light. I work in the financial district/Battery Park City and walk to and from work daily but I didn't see any armed guards or muggings/lootings. Things seemed fairly orderly for the most part, just dark and abandoned - it felt so weird leaving the relatively well lit financial district and trekking into the dead zone. Reminded me of Stalker (the Tarkovsky movie). Amazingly a few restaurants in Chinatown/EV/Nolita were still running in the power out period. Also I walked over to Brooklyn to shower at a friend's place and that half lit bridge thing reminded me so much of the bridge between China and North Korea.

It feels like we had it pretty bad but reading through the news it seems a lot of people had it much worse.
posted by pravit at 8:37 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Here's a picture I took walking up Elizabeth St. yesterday around 6:30PM. The only lights, in order from left to right, are 1) the 5th Precinct, 2) an oncoming bicyclist, and 3) the Chrysler building.
posted by pravit at 9:04 PM on November 2, 2012 [7 favorites]

There are 47,000 runners registered for the 2012 ING NYC Marathon. In the wake of the devastating hurricane Sandy, many runners will not be able or will be unwilling to get to NYC for the run. Rather than canceling their reservation, we’d like to urge those runners to donate their rooms to NYC residents who have been displaced from their homes. If you’re a runner willing to donate your room all we need from you is your hotel reservation information and we will call the hotels directly to facilitate transferring the reservation. If you’re a New Yorker looking for a place to stay please submit your information and we will grant you a room on a first come first served basis. Media, please help spread the word. Contact us with any questions. And remember, this is literally a race against the clock to ensure that these reservations don’t go to waste, so please act with a sense of urgency!

-Race 2 Recover
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 10:15 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fox & Friends: Why Doesn’t NBC’s Hurricane Sandy Telethon Have More People Who Sneer At People Who Need Help?
posted by homunculus at 10:44 PM on November 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

futz writes "Good decision, finally. People are suffering. They need more resources, not less."

It's interesting to me where these lines are drawn. There are always people suffering after all. I mean pre-Sandy how many homeless people were there in NYC? A 1000? 10,000? 100,000? How many kids going to school hungry? How many people walking around unvaccinated because they couldn't afford the doctor visit/co-pay/deductible? Yet there was little outrage that the city would spend public resources that could have been helping those people on security and closing streets.
posted by Mitheral at 10:59 PM on November 2, 2012 [6 favorites]

booksherpa writes "Gas rationing starts tomorrow in 12 NJ counties: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Morris, Monmouth, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren."

What is the purpose of this "rationing"? By that I mean it's not a limit on quantities purchased by any particular house hold or person merely a restriction on what day you can buy gas. So the guy with 3 tanks in his jacked up pickup isn't, legally, restricted from buying more gas than the guy in a sub compact with a 35 litre tank. And it only applies to cars; people are still allowed to fill containers to their hearts content. Finally there is a 50% chance that a two car house hold will be able to fill up one of their cars every day. (Heck a dishonest household that happens to have both even and odd plates could fill up either on either day)

The only thing I can think of is to reduce the number of people in line by half.
posted by Mitheral at 12:19 AM on November 3, 2012

The only thing I can think of is to reduce the number of people in line by half.
Speaking as someone who's living above the traffic jam, gridlock, honking, and raw tempers that lead up to a gas station, that is no small thing. Consider it a crowd control measure.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 12:25 AM on November 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

The only thing I can think of is to reduce the number of people in line by half.

Yep, that's exactly it. Load balancing and reduction of wait times. My husband waited in a gas line for a little under an hour and considered himself lucky. Church folk who have managed to find 20 minute lines text and post to Facebook to alert friends. Decisions about travel anywhere are being made based on gas in the tank. There are gas lines at every open station, many of them 2 hour lines. People need gas to charge generators, and are using their cars to charge things. Demand has shot up.
posted by booksherpa at 2:24 AM on November 3, 2012

Power and cable back on in the central Village as of 4:30 AM today.
posted by nicwolff at 5:47 AM on November 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

The gas restriction is definitely for controlling lines. I wound up having to re-route on an errand on Thursday because a road was impassable thanks to a gas line. My household is still running on an emergency generator and getting enough gas for it has been a daily quest. I miss heat.
posted by Karmakaze at 6:38 AM on November 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

12 Greenmarkets accepting donations today till 1 pm.
posted by neroli at 8:16 AM on November 3, 2012

When we had gas rationing in the 70's, I think it was for controlling lines.
posted by rmd1023 at 8:50 AM on November 3, 2012

Two thought-provoking Sandy-related segments on Up With Chris Hayes this morning:

Hayes talks about what's at stake with climate change:

It’s very rare when the subways in this city don’t run, but there is something simultaneously awful and exhilarating about those moments when normalcy is suspended. New Yorkers will still tell you about the solidarity and fellowship they shared with their neighbors on their stoops on the lightless nights of the 2003 blackout, or the comfort and aid they found in each other as they fled through the streets, on foot, covered in dust, away from the falling towers. Obviously the loss of life and intensity of trauma caused by Sandy is nowhere near the scale of 9/11, but it’s fair to say the city hasn’t been this devastated since that September day. And as many unsung civil servants and first responders and utility workers labor tirelessly to get the city running again — I’m reminded that one of the raw truths of 9/11 is that the first thing a competent government must do is protect its citizens. It can’t protect them from everything, nor should it try, but we all recognized, I think, amidst the horror of 9/11 that we want our government first and foremost to keep us safe.

The state cannot eliminate senseless death, but it is its duty to reduce its likelihood. It’s a conservative insight, really, the idea that government’s job before all else is to keep its citizens secure, to protect them. Everything else comes after. Lefty that I am, I’m reminded in this moment that it contains an undeniable core truth.

And yet here we sit with a political system that can barely bring itself to acknowledge or discuss the tangible danger climate change poses to us, never mind undertake the massive, sustained effort necessary to combat and adapt to it.

Political Scientist Klaus Jacob then joined the panel to talk about his eerily prescient post-Irene prediction of the damage that would be done by a storm of Sandy's size.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:00 AM on November 3, 2012

NOLA to New York: Katrina survivors talk to New York
posted by homunculus at 10:26 AM on November 3, 2012 [3 favorites]

It's interesting to me where these lines are drawn. There are always people suffering after all. I mean pre-Sandy how many homeless people were there in NYC? A 1000? 10,000? 100,000? How many kids going to school hungry? How many people walking around unvaccinated because they couldn't afford the doctor visit/co-pay/deductible? Yet there was little outrage that the city would spend public resources that could have been helping those people on security and closing streets.

I do think there's a difference between chronic and acute suffering. In the long run, building a keeping a vibrant and economically healthy city with a strong tourism and tax base contributes to those working to help chronic suffering, while short term money/resources inflows might not make much of a long-lasting difference to people suffering from chronic problems. The reverse is true here, short term money/resources influx will actually have a strong impact on these acute conditions, and the one-time cancellation of this event can have a much larger long term impact on the city.
posted by Salamandrous at 11:18 AM on November 3, 2012 [4 favorites]

If you have a friend downtown in need: Food & Water Distribution areas- East 10th Street btw Ave C&D, Catherine Street btw Cherry & Monroe; Pitt St and East Houston; Pitt & Stanton Street; West 27th St btw 9th & 10 ave. Brooklyn Kitchen is out at Breezy Point 7 set ups are everywhere. List can be found on newyork.cbslocal.com : "Locations for Food & Water Distribution announced in in NYC and LI"

Breaking news: Gov Cuomo of NY has announced military refueling trucks at the direction of President Obama will be deployed throughout NYC & Long Island and vehicles will be able to fill up directly from the truck for free. There will be a 10 gallon limit per vehicle.
Share this with your fellow New Yorkers!

Locations they will be at:

In Staten Island: 321 Manor Road
In Long Island: 63 Babylon Turnpike Freeport, NY
In Brooklyn: 1579 Bedford Ave.
In Bronx: 10 West 195th St.
In Queens,: 93-05 160th St in Jamaica

Also: Free showers, workouts, museums and more Sandy relief
posted by nickyskye at 11:56 AM on November 3, 2012 [6 favorites]

The Lower East Side gets its lights back. Such joy and celebration!!!!
posted by nickyskye at 12:13 PM on November 3, 2012 [4 favorites]

Wow, I looked at five or six of those NOLA-NYC tumblrs and they were really inspiring but then something got in my eye and it got kind of hard to read the text.
posted by localroger at 12:34 PM on November 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

I had the same trouble reading the text of those NOLA-NYC tumblrs as you did, localroger. Damn dust particles.
posted by sweetkid at 12:42 PM on November 3, 2012

short term money/resources inflows might not make much of a long-lasting difference to people suffering from chronic problems.

And yet it seems to me that there are long-term projects all over the place that could turn "short term" investment into long term gain. And also that solving the problems of those suffering chronically or acutely is one of the things that contributes most directly to making a city liveable and prosperous for all. Of course we need to live and work in order to have a society at all, but it would be disingenuous to claim that we in all wealthy cities don't often prioritise pleasure for the prosperous over practicality for the deprived.
posted by howfar at 1:18 PM on November 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's stupid that people can send dust to peoples' eyes over the computer but can't send hot showers, gasoline, liquor, pie, etc.
posted by rtha at 1:20 PM on November 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

My mom on Staten Island said the National guard people came to the house yesterday offering food, water, blankets, clothes, medicine etc. And the clean up is fully underway.

The thing they really need though is electricity, so their heating is back up, but they're making do, by boiling water in the kitchen, which is where she and my dad spend 90% of their time anyway as long as they can cook the pasta, and boil some soup things will be alright.

Also, they love shopping at CostCo so the cellar is already pretty filled with a ridiculous amount of food they store down there, and thankfully the flooding stopped just short of their house.

[Mind you, both of them lived through the depression and WWII in Sicily so they've seen much much worse. But still she's shocked at the amount of damage. And I think a little WWII PTSD came back to her the night Sandy roared through...]
posted by Skygazer at 1:45 PM on November 3, 2012 [3 favorites]

Regarding Lydia Callis and ASL: Why Do Sign Language Interpreters Look So Animated?
posted by ericb at 3:37 PM on November 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

Greenwich, CT is still 40% without power. CL&P has trucks in place, but are literally sitting around waiting to be told what to do. Apparently they cut back on staff a few years back, and while they can bring in crews to man the trucks in times like this, they don't have the management staffing to actually coordinate those crews in the region.
posted by mrzarquon at 3:41 PM on November 3, 2012

Just read that the beach towns on the NJ barrier islands have now been told by the natural gas service that the gas line system is so compromised that people will not be able to return to their homes (if their homes are even still there) for 6-8 months.

This is tragic but...it may be that in a couple months' time it's time to start talking about some property buyback programs and turning these places into public parklands with no major infrastructure, and dunes. Lots of dunes.
posted by Miko at 3:43 PM on November 3, 2012 [11 favorites]

> This is tragic but...it may be that in a couple months' time it's time to start talking about some property buyback programs and turning these places into public parklands with no major infrastructure, and dunes. Lots of dunes.

I think that would be the best possible outcome, really. Trying to maintain the space for residential neighborhoods is a losing proposal anyway, since the dunes and sands are always shifting. The place was never meant to sustain a permanent settlement, making it into a giant national park would be the best outcome really. The government is probably spending more money on trying to keep the dunes in place for the residents than what it would cost to buy back the houses now and just remove them entirely. Cost saving measures, even the GOP could get behind that! Maybe if we created it as part of the DMZ in the war against tidal surges that would require the station naval units (tidal barriers) for manhattan as well.
posted by mrzarquon at 3:56 PM on November 3, 2012

Amazing aerial photo of downtown Manhattan during the outage
posted by rmannion at 5:31 PM on November 3, 2012 [5 favorites]

Cost saving measures, even the GOP could get behind that!

You would think, but actually the GOP is a big part of the reason it hasn't happened already 30, 20, 10 years ago. There is just too much money to be made in beachfront development in what's essentially one of the world's largest resort areas closest to a dense and affluent urban population in the swath between Philly and NYC. That's a lot of backs to scratch, and they get scratched, and up the new condos and restaurants go.
posted by Miko at 8:18 PM on November 3, 2012

Could These Giant Plugs Have Prevented NYC Subways from Flooding During Hurricane Sandy?
posted by homunculus at 9:25 PM on November 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

homunculus: "Could These Giant Plugs Have Prevented NYC Subways from Flooding During Hurricane Sandy?"

Wouldn't plugging up the tunnels:

1) cause some other weak point to fail in a spectacular fashion, like a tunnel's wall giving way, causing a cave-in?

2) cause flooding in even more higher-lying areas than it already did? The tunnels acted like a big reservoir, i.e. Chicago's Deep Tunnel Project, preventing all that water from flooding even more homes and businesses.

But maybe a series of plugs could be deployed in strategic places, restricting flooding to less important areas of the system.

But it appears to me, from my armchair observation deck halfway across the country, that nothing short of God's own thumb could have held back the scale of flooding seen this week.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 6:28 AM on November 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

I belong to a kayak club in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The flooding in that part of Brooklyn was strong enough to lift our boat shed up off the sidewalk and float it 20 yards down the street; we had a crane lift it back into the proper place, and then there was a general "cleanup" rally there yesterday; I went down to help them dig everything out, hose off the salvageable stuff and pitch the unsalvageable, and then pack it all back again.

Red Hook is about 3 miles and a half-hour bike ride from my house. It's also close to the waterline.

On my way there I passed through sections of the neighborhood that still didn't have power, and riding down Red Hook's main street I passed block after block of buildings with chest-high piles of trash out front - piles of waterlogged paper, drywall, lumber, and even furniture. I passed by one house just as two people were hoisting an entire sofa on top of their own pile, on top of the two love seats already there.

There was one building two blocks from the pier where our boat shed was, where the relief and volunteer efforts were housed; people were clustered in front of it, either to drop off or pick up goods. There was a line out the door. A woman at a card table a few feet down the sidewalk was handing out coffee. The wine shop across the street had a power strip out on the sidewalk so people could charge phones up.

One of our club members - a fabulously daredevil guy who pretty much thinks he's bigger than nature - said that he still didn't have power, but was only complaining about the cold showers he was taking ("it's my mother's fault that I feel like I have to have a shower every day!"), but was digging the camping out in his apartment, digging out all his cold-weather camping gear. Another member of our club wasn't there - she was with her family, elsewhere in the neighborhood, where she was now on the second day of cleaning out her waterlogged basement. A couple of us went to go give her our leftover cleaning stuff.

On my way back to my own neighborhood, I passed a line of cars waiting to fuel up at a gas station on Atlantic Avenue. The line stretched three blocks.

When I got home, I plugged in the new wireless router I'd had to get to replace the one that shorted out sometime during the storm. I sat back, thinking about all the damage in Red Hook, and how that $44 wireless router was the one and only thing I'd had to get for my own "recovery."

I am FUCKING LUCKY.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:45 AM on November 4, 2012 [12 favorites]

Meet The Climate Change Denier Who Became The Voice Of Hurricane Sandy On Wikipedia.
posted by the_artificer at 7:53 AM on November 4, 2012 [4 favorites]

I swear I first read that as "giant pugs" and the image I now have in my head is amusing me.
posted by rtha at 8:18 AM on November 4, 2012 [8 favorites]

We are still hosting Hoboken friends - some of the city has gotten power again but they are still out. We stopped off at their apartment yesterday to check on the cat, who was fine and fairly oblivious to the chaos around him. While my friend played with her cat I took a long walk. Most of Washington St was a forest of generators as stores tried to open up. I bought many cups of coffee from the various bodegas to offer at least a bit of support. I walked all the way up to the Hudson Tea buildings; the north Hoboken ferry terminal had a huge line at it. That ferry stop is currently the only way in the area to get into NYC this weekend if you don't want to drive (and given the total lack of gas around here, most folks won't want to).

The National Guard was out patrolling streets in Humvees and various stations are set up handing out blankets, MREs, bottled water, and allowing people to charge their phones. Cell service is extremely spotty; my friend's apartment has no 3G and you can't hold a call there. Marines have been working on the ferry terminal at the Hoboken train station, attempting to bring ferry service back to that location. We saw numerous military and civilian helicopters passing by overhead surveying the area.

On the way home we walked past Grove St Bicycles to pick up some supplies. Given all the transportation issues here, they were doing a fairly brisk cash-only business. They'd flooded but the main shop floor didn't show much evidence of that anymore.
posted by lyra4 at 8:30 AM on November 4, 2012

I'm seeing a few people tweeting this:

ATTENTION: If you need work, FEMA needs clean up crews for South Jersey. It's $1000 for 7 days, hotel and food included. Call 904-797-5998.

Can anyone confirm that this is legitimate?

Snopes says hoax.
posted by MissySedai at 8:34 AM on November 4, 2012

I did see on footage from NJ that LaborReady is doing a lot of cleanup hiring for private client. Does not usually come with hotel though.
posted by Miko at 12:53 PM on November 4, 2012

Is Occupy Wall Street Outperforming the Red Cross in Hurricane Relief?
posted by homunculus at 1:17 PM on November 4, 2012

> Is Occupy Wall Street Outperforming the Red Cross in Hurricane Relief?

I hadn't thought about it until reading that sentence (and the linked article), but of course they would be better able to respond to this emergency than the Red Cross. They are a bottom up non-organization that has been dealing with people walking in off the street offering to help and asking what to do for months. They already know how to deal with feeding large groups of homeless people without power or major facilities available.

I am sure there are facilities and services that Red Cross can provide that Occupy cannot, but if they can provide 80% of what an area needs right now, faster than Red Cross can, then it frees up resources and personnel for that special case 20% they cannot.
posted by mrzarquon at 1:28 PM on November 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

Team Nostalgia Chick goes to the Rockaways with Occupy Sandy - it's a pretty good eyewitness account of what's getting done and what Occupy can't really do (mainly infrastructure - heating, power, and water.)
posted by restless_nomad at 1:33 PM on November 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

The 666 Burger food truck was out in Far Rockaway giving away food and water yesterday leading one old Italian man to say "I never thought I'd say it but thank god for hipsters."
posted by The Whelk at 1:33 PM on November 4, 2012 [16 favorites]

I've been following what the Occupy folks have put together for their Occupy Sandy stuff. They have some quick-response stuff that is handy in addition to the direct aid and "making do with less" stuff. I think an effective and flexible relief response requires stuff like FEMA, the Red Cross and something that is more neighbor-to-neighbor like the work the Occupiers have been doing. It's great to see a variety of different organized response teams coming to this from all areas. I made my donation to the Occupy movement which went directly to purchasing supplies for the Occupy teams working dredging out homes and basements, purchased and delivered by a volunteer who was bringing them from upstate. I hope all the groups can continue to work together in this diversified way to effect maximum relief to people dealing with terrible circumstances.
posted by jessamyn at 1:35 PM on November 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

What Is Going On In The Rockaways
posted by The Whelk at 1:43 PM on November 4, 2012

Poll site changes in NY state due to the hurricane, in case anybody needs to check if their poll site has changed.
posted by pemberkins at 2:05 PM on November 4, 2012

So. Many people in my congregation still don't have power. The local school districts are still closed tomorrow (and Tuesday, in many cases), although my school is reopening tomorrow, so I'm scrambling for people to cover the impromptu church shelter. I voted in person at the county clerk yesterday via "mail-in" ballot because I wasn't confident in how easy it would be to vote Tuesday. My mom regained power but lost it again 2.5 days later, just after food shopping for perishables. We're about to get smacked around by another (albeit weaker) storm that will hit a weakened Jersey Shore hard, which is the last thing they need right now. The more photos and videos I see from the Jersey Shore, where I grew up, the sadder I get. And I have it FAR FAR easier, in every way, than almost everyone in the region. I didn't lose power, my home is undamaged, my family and friends are safe.

Still...

I don't like the new normal. Can we have the old normal back, please?
posted by booksherpa at 2:46 PM on November 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

There’s a Nor’easter Coming For New York
posted by homunculus at 3:15 PM on November 4, 2012

I don't like the new normal. Can we have the old normal back, please?

One of the things that was a big deal around the time Irene socked Vermont was this idea of getting used to the new normal. In addition to roads being out and people needing to rebuild houses and lives, there was the instability and adjustment phase where not only were you dealing with loss, but at the same time you had to work hard, harder than you'd ever worked, just to stay in basically the same place, to stay fed and clothed and warm.

And, for the people in social services, a lot of the folks they helped who were generally doing okay-not-great to begin with, began to destabilize (there's a word here I am missing that means more or less the same thing in a specific mental health context) meaning that on top of the additional food/shelter/water concerns, you had upticks in domestic violence, property crimes, addictive behaviors, med/therapy non-compliance, etc.

Where I lived there were a lot of people who had never had much money suddenly getting big checks from FEMA for rebuilding which was great, but also meant that people without a lot of money skills needed assistance to avoid getting preyed on by scam artists, or who just spent it in non-productive ways and then still didn't have a house at the end of it.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has a Disaster Behavioral Health Information Series with a specific subsection on Hurricane Sandy including a bibliography and a 24 hour disaster crisis hotline for "U.S. residents who are experiencing psychological distress as a result of a natural or human-caused disaster." If you know someone who could use the help, or if you could use it, they're at 1-800-985-5990 or SMS (text "TalkWithUs" to 66746)
posted by jessamyn at 3:20 PM on November 4, 2012 [6 favorites]

One of our local grocery stores was asking yesterday if we wanted to donate a dollar to the Red Cross as we went through the line.


So can you guys tell me who is doing good work up there that deserves a donation and/or will put it to good use? When we had our tornadoes a year and a half ago there were all kinds of good groups doing great work down here. I haven't heard much good re the Red Cross when it comes to YOUR disaster.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 3:48 PM on November 4, 2012

Because it takes a little while to stage disaster relief, especially in a situation where local people affected by the disaster are in their homes and lack things like land lines and transport to distribution points*.

I know we're very impatient in New York, and it's something I'm working on myself, but this stuff takes time.

A week (which it HAS NOT BEEN, guys) is nothing compared to other disaster relief efforts.

There is going to be a lot of disruption and discomfort. It is going to take time to put things back together. I have friends who've lost their homes and/or most of their belongings. I have coworkers who don't have heat or power. It really sucks. And, alternately, it's pretty amazing how fast the city has responded**, and how quickly infrastructure has been restored in central places that didn't face too much damage.

(BTW, my brother, who is a Marine, is headed to Staten Island right now along with his unit to help in the recovery efforts. He reports that they are bringing chainsaws and are really excited to help. I hope their spirit is infectious.)

if nothing else, I suddenly understand the laid-back, "laissez le bon temps rouler" attitude in South Louisiana, which gets a hurricane a year, on average. The OMG I WANT EVERYTHING YESTERDAY attitude is a huge setback for New York right now.

*Seriously, a HUGE part of the problem with the relief on Sandy is that people here aren't used to storms. I've never thought about locals' readiness to receive aid, but I actually think that's a not-insignificant issue right now.

**Another thing that occurs to me is that a major reason that people are getting impatient is that local government/infrastructure authorities largely have their shit together, whereas nonprofits are still scrambling. This is worth thinking about, in terms of the whole "dismantle government and let charity take care of people in need" argument. Politically speaking. Also holy shit OCCUPY is amazing, aren't they?
posted by Sara C. at 4:00 PM on November 4, 2012

Here's another collection of Hurricane Sandy Recovery Resources.
posted by homunculus at 4:23 PM on November 4, 2012

Via the above link: The winds of Ocean Breeze lament Staten Island's dead
posted by homunculus at 4:25 PM on November 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Red Cross appears to be doing some work in my parents' town (Rumson, NJ, which is also housing many of the Sea Bright evacuees) - I've been obsessively searching Twitter for news in between talking to them, and I've seen some tweets and pictures about Red Cross help.

I don't know exactly what/how much the Red Cross is doing there, though, as my parents haven't been at home for a few days - they're bouncing around from hotel to hotel in other parts of the state while they wait to get power back at home.
posted by Stacey at 5:36 PM on November 4, 2012

The OMG I WANT EVERYTHING YESTERDAY attitude is a huge setback for New York right now.

Thank you for saying this. Complaining that your power's not back on after one day, or even three, after you've been hit directly by a hurricane, reeks of entitlement and strains the sympathy of people from hurricane-prone areas. A hurricane isn't suddenly more important, and disaster recovery isn't magically faster, just because it's New York.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 5:36 PM on November 4, 2012

I guess I'm not getting how someone having an entitled attitude would be an actual setback for disaster relief.

I think it's more a matter of emotional stability while you're waiting FOR relief, which can have a big impact on your resilience. To wit:

Say it takes five days for people to start getting relief. On the one hand, you have the guy who says "Five days? Are you KIDDING ME? Do you know what my life has been like waiting for this?" And then on the other, you have the guy who says "five days? That's....not even a week, that's not bad. Cool!"

It's gonna take five days no matter what, but the guy who's impatient also has the burden of massive stress brought on by bitching about it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:09 PM on November 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

within a reasonable amount of time

Exactly. It's all contained within that phrase. "Within a reasonable amount of time."

In Haiti, "a reasonable amount of time" might be like five years.

In New York, that same "reasonable amount of time" is like twenty minutes.
posted by Sara C. at 6:14 PM on November 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

Rope Rider, to give you a sense of the timeframe for this stuff, I went through my texts with my brother over the last few days.

He's in the Marines, stationed in North Carolina. So government -- and a part of the government that is funded beyond the wildest imaginings of any nonprofit group -- and not terribly far away. He's stationed close enough that he can come up for a long weekend visit.

He texted me Halloween night saying that there was a chance that they would be called up to do humanitarian aid in New York (literally his text was "HOLY SHIT are you OK? We are being called up to do humanitarian aid in NYC??? WTF is going on???", so from "no idea that there is a problem" to We Are Coming).

Thursday night I got word that it was definite, that Marines were headed to NYC to help out.

Yesterday I heard from him that he was on a boat and could see the NYC skyline.

Today he told me they are headed for Staten Island tomorrow.

So that is several days between thinking about mobilizing a military unit, mobilizing said military unit, and getting them into place.

And, again, this is the military. This is a group so well-funded that Mitt Romney wants to give them more than they're even asking for.

Imagine that you're the Red Cross. Imagine what your resources really are. Imagine how well you're funded. Imagine what aid efforts will mean, in a practical sense. How you will get help to thousands of Staten Islanders who need very basic needs met. And, again, layer that over things like a fuel shortage, a total lack of public transit, budgetary limitations, depending on donations that didn't exist a week ago, etc.
posted by Sara C. at 6:34 PM on November 4, 2012 [3 favorites]

Imagine that you're the Red Cross. Imagine what your resources really are. Imagine how well you're funded. Imagine what aid efforts will mean, in a practical sense.

OK!

How you will get help to thousands of Staten Islanders who need very basic needs met

Um, drive them there. Then set up a base camp that is accessible to the mobile majority while surveying for the more at risk groups who need house calls?

How'd I do?
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:52 PM on November 4, 2012

How will you drive them there? It's an island, and all the bridges are in areas that are also hard hit by the storm (Coastal NJ and south Brooklyn). And there's a fuel shortage. Even on a good day it take an hour to drive to Staten Island from Manhattan.

Also, where are these people coming from? If they're locals, are they suffering the effects of the storm, too? How are they getting to staging points to get to Staten Island?

It took me three hours to walk to work in Midtown from Brooklyn on Wednesday. For most of this week, we were carpooling people into the office by planning routes and figuring out "you pick Jane up on X street which is close to Y bridge into the city". And we're a film production with a fleet of rental cars we already had. And we're only coordinating the commutes of 20 people.

If these people are not local, how are they getting to New York? How long will it take to arrive? Are closed airports an issue? Where are they going to stay? How long will it take for them to arrive, get settled, and get to a staging point to be sent into the field? Keep in mind that there are not a lot of hotels on Staten Island and that there are thousands of displaced people who could use the few rooms that exist.

Logistics is hard, y'all. I don't think it's fair to be angry at the Red Cross that this isn't already sewn up.

mobile majority

Haha, LOL. Have you ever been to Staten Island? Even with the MTA running at 100%, it takes FOR FUCKING EVER to get to SI on public transit. Hours. Literally actual hours. You need a car. And a car is not really all that fast. And keep in mind that this week public transit and cars only nominally exist, and like half the city is not working at all or working from home. Mobile minority, maybe. And even then, that minority is only able to get to Midtown. Not Staten Island.

(The fact that it's lower Manhattan that lost power for most of the week and not upper Manhattan is not insignificant, here.)
posted by Sara C. at 7:02 PM on November 4, 2012 [3 favorites]

Um, drive them there. Then set up a base camp that is accessible to the mobile majority while surveying for the more at risk groups who need house calls?

Have you ever done this? Do you have any idea how long it takes to mobilize resources and move them, especially when flights are cancelled, shipping is delayed, local power is out, gas is hard to get? Have you ever been responsible for managing this huge effort of resources and human beings and transportation and communication?

No?

Then really, please do not pretend you know what you're talking about.

If you have ever successfully done any of this, feel free to enlighten us, but otherwise I personally find this kind of armchair bitching really distasteful and disrespectful to the actual people busting their asses to get help out.
posted by emjaybee at 7:04 PM on November 4, 2012 [6 favorites]

So can you guys tell me who is doing good work up there that deserves a donation and/or will put it to good use? \

The Red Cross is doing some great work . They are sheltering displaced people in Deptford, Highlands,West Long Branch, and that's just what I know of. This may not be their golden moment but there are plenty of good local RC volunteers doing good things and they have tremendous resources once they get them moving. That being said I think they get plenty of donations.

I've been promoting Lunch Break which is doing storm service and is a fantastic organization out of Red Bank. They have a very organized operation and know who the neediest are and have efficient ways to get them help. They will also be one of the most likely organizations to continue providing aid to people who are displaced long after the headlines are off the front page.

Similar is Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

I have a friend who grew up in Union Beach and he's been working tirelessly on the ground every day since the storm....there's not a lot left, and the town is a stronghold of working-class/working poor families who are devastated. He recommended St. Vincent DePaul Society of the local church, Holy Family.

For anyone on the ground, here's a list of places that need stuff, food , pet supplies, and random kinds of help.
posted by Miko at 7:13 PM on November 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

if nothing else, I suddenly understand the laid-back, "laissez le bon temps rouler" attitude in South Louisiana, which gets a hurricane a year, on average. The OMG I WANT EVERYTHING YESTERDAY attitude is a huge setback for New York right now.

Difficult comparison; my brother lived in NO for years, and there were definitely people who got as up in arms about inconvenience as any New Yorker. But there is also a lot of learned helplessness in the general populace that comes from decades (centuries?) of general divestment and neglect, so it's a special case. Also, most hurricanes are just bad windstorms with mild flooding, not dissimilar to Northeasters here - they didn't have a big one until they had a big one, much like NY/NJ.I see your point but it's tough to compare. On the seventh cold night without power when your life is in chaos and there's no visible light at the end of the tunnel, people all deal with it a little differently. I hate the generally bratty response, though, especially when SO many people are working SO hard to help out and keep their shit together.

I've been thinking about something I am hearing here and there up here at a distance - this idea "gee are we going to stop letting people live in these floodprone areas or what." I know there's a reasonable conversation about that to have when it comes to beachfront houses on barrier islands. But I also think that few people realize that all this devastation is not on the beachfront. Long Island, Manhattan, Staten Island, and the JErsey Shore all lie on the coastal plain. Nowhere along that are elevations high, barring a few hills. Many of the people whose houses have been destroyed live well inland. This was an unusual storm, yes a sign of climate change and yes likely to get more frequent, but this is not something you can just blame on people for living in the wrong place. I grew up there; my mom has lived on the Shore pretty much all her life, and this is utterly unprecedented for this area, the destruction from wind and flooding and storm surge reaching so far inland. So it's not all that easy to just say "don't live there." Anyone on any American coastal plain, or obviously even inland with enough sudden rainfall, could see this.
posted by Miko at 7:22 PM on November 4, 2012

To give a little perspective we had a hurricane come through Fayetteville (at least an hour and a half inland) about two decades ago. My parents live in the northern part of the county in a somewhat rural area. It took them a week to get their power back. (They have since bought a generator.) They don't live on an island. They don't live in a very crowded city. The only block to access would be some downed trees in the area.

And to top it off, for us, usually the storms hit at a much warmer time of year, and the day after a hurricane is usually really pretty. You didn't even get that from what I can surmise.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 7:27 PM on November 4, 2012

Also beware, sadly, I've already seen tons of local "relief fraud" in NJ. I wouldn't give to anybody sketchy; I'd normally consider that DePaul link sketchy if I didn't know the people at least a little. I'm not usually a big fan of faith based charity but if you know NJ at all, you know that churches (temples, etc) are some of the most active, functional and generous organizations in the state and they're very familiar with their communities and good places to gather resources, so I think they are taking on a rather important role in this recovery and I would not stint to give to them...what matters is they are helping. If you don't prefer that, volunteer fire depts. and women's auxiliaries in the communities are other good targets as they also seem to be serving as meal centers, donation sorters, coordination points etc.
posted by Miko at 7:28 PM on November 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

What Miko said in spades. And for heaven's sake for those that own their own properties be very careful who you hire to do repairs!
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 7:29 PM on November 4, 2012

Also, most hurricanes are just bad windstorms with mild flooding, not dissimilar to Northeasters here - they didn't have a big one until they had a big one, much like NY/NJ

No.
posted by Sara C. at 7:47 PM on November 4, 2012

Oh and I didn't mean to imply that I thought Occupy Sandy is sketchy, I don't. Occupy seems to have always been good at handling money and they seem effective based on what I'm reading.
posted by Miko at 7:48 PM on November 4, 2012

No.

Would you like to elaborate? I don't think these are strong comparisons. The culture is entirely different, but it's not because of hurricanes. They get a ton of tropical storms. Most aren't worse. HIstorically there have been many terrible storms. Historically that's true along the midAtlantic too. They get a tropical storm dumping a shit-ton of rain every couple years, a direct hit every couple of decades, but none were as devastating as Katrina until Katrina. My borther lived there through Mitch, Ivan, Charley. It was Ivan that actually convinced him and his wife to look for another place to live. But not because the weather was rough; because the infrastructure was clearly so poor. It took them 10 hours to get to I-10 and out of the swamp. They realized that with a big surge they'd have all been toast, that the city couldn't handle it. It's not the storms themselves, it's the landscape and infrastructure, that made some of those storms deadly.

But New Orleanians still don't like lights out any better than New Yorkers. And they especially don't like their AC out.

List of New Jersey Hurricanes

Hurricanes in Louisiana History
posted by Miko at 7:57 PM on November 4, 2012

Keep in mind that Sandy was actually very light for a "hurricane" type storm.

My family evacuated from 3-4 hurricanes during my childhood and stuck it out for several equally strong ones (Category 3-ish at least) over the last decade. All of those hurricanes were actual hurricanes. Sandy was the Yankee equivalent of a tropical storm.

The idea that "oh, this was a REAL storm, which is why it's SUPER A BIG DEAL, compared to those little nothing storms of all other years" is ill-informed, to put it very tactfully.

It takes as much storm as it takes to overwhelm a city, and I don't want to start a pissing contest. But really and truly, there is a reason that the culture of parts of the US that are prone to this sort of thing is more laid back. And certain aspects of New York Metro culture are really huge setbacks for relief.

I'm not trying to say that Group A is cool with a lack of power while Group B are a bunch of histrionic assholes, or whatever. Obviously everybody gets pissed when their needs aren't being met. But the Gulf South has mechanisms for dealing with this stuff that the Tri-State Area doesn't have, and people there are more prosaic about storms than people in the northeast are.

To be honest, it baffles me on a daily basis how obsessed with weather Yankees are. Let alone something like a storm. You have a three day cold front here and people are going ape-shit. So, yeah. The local culture is not really conducive to hurricanes.

Yet another reason to start talking about climate change.
posted by Sara C. at 8:01 PM on November 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

What is the Red Cross doing? Where are they doing it? I have been looking and looking for information and I haven't found much.

Here's an article (that was just published in the last hour or so) about what the Red Cross has been up to in the aftermath of Sandy.

It ends with:

"Traditionally, the Red Cross comes in and gets stronger in the second and third weeks."

posted by ceribus peribus at 8:03 PM on November 4, 2012

Keep in mind that Sandy was actually very light for a "hurricane" type storm.

Yeah, I know! You reminded us that it wasn't going to be "that epic of a storm," I think.

My family evacuated from 3-4 hurricanes during my childhood and stuck it out for several equally strong ones (Category 3-ish at least) over the last decade. All of those hurricanes were actual hurricanes. Sandy was the Yankee equivalent of a tropical storm.

Me too, on both the Texas coast and NJ. But no, this was not the Yankee equivalent of a tropical storm. In my entire life in NJ, in my mom's born 1950, or my grandmother's born 1913, the storm surge has never, ever, once come that high.

The idea that "oh, this was a REAL storm, which is why it's SUPER A BIG DEAL, compared to those little nothing storms of all other years" is ill-informed, to put it very tactfully

That's not tactful at all. I've lived longer than you, I'm lived in this geographical area of Central NJ but also have spent a lot of time on the Gulf Coast, so I'm going to go ahead and say I'm actually well informed. I'm from coastal Texas, family there, family in New Orleans for more than a decade, then a dozen years on the Jersey Shore...I'm not sure if this is a "y'all Yankees" moment for you, but if so, you can retire it for this Native Texan who knows what she's talking about.

I'm not trying to say that Group A is cool with a lack of power while Group B are a bunch of histrionic assholes, or whatever.

That's what you did say, and I critiqued that. There are myriad other reasons why regional groups behave differently, and the frequency or strength of storms is not going to be foremost among them. IT's not a pissing contest. Go wander down in Monmouth County or Staten Island and tell them how piddly their storm was and how wimpy they are for complaining about it.

Honestly. It's not a pissing match.
posted by Miko at 8:07 PM on November 4, 2012 [11 favorites]

Go wander down in Monmouth County or Staten Island and tell them how piddly their storm was and how wimpy they are for complaining about it.


This isn't fair. It is HORRIBLE here in the NYC area, horrible. We all know it, no one needs reminding about how bad it is in Staten Island and I don't think anyone has said that Staten Islanders are wrong to complain. Even those of us who got off very lucky, it's all we can think about and there is nowhere you can escape the effects.
posted by sweetkid at 8:31 PM on November 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Traditionally, the Red Cross comes in and gets stronger in the second and third weeks."

That's an important point. The Red Cross in the US are not first responders. They do not have huge generators, field hospitals, helicopters, heavy machinery, or the equipment for search and rescue. (Those things all come from a mix of the military, local government, and private contractors.) They are largely dependent on the same infrastructure everyone else is -- if there are no roads and no fuel available, they can't get there.

The US Red Cross does a small set of things (eg mass shelters), and does them reasonably well, with some big caveats. One caveat is that it is totally dependent on volunteer labor, which is both tricky to organize and hard to control. Another is that because it does only a few things, it is dependent on other organizations to do their part (eg mobile kitchens run by the Southern Baptists and others). And most of all, it's dependent on the military, government agencies, and private contractors to clear roads, establish that there are no downed power lines, and bring in all the logistical support, like fuel supplies, that it takes to keep things moving.

There's a big scale problem, too -- it's one thing to run a few shelters after a tornado or forest fire. It's another to try and mobilize across a huge geographical area and coordinate with a gazillion emergency management agencies and ten gazillion local, state, federal, and non-profit agencies and groups.

The Red Cross has had some serious organizational problems and has struggled to meet its federally mandated role in disaster relief. I wouldn't be surprised if after this storm or the next big disaster if we finally see a clear move towards shifting some of that role to the military or FEMA, to an actual federal agency with better communications infrastructure, more and more professional staff, and a clearer mandate.
posted by Forktine at 8:34 PM on November 4, 2012 [8 favorites]

I normally wouldn't do this, but this thread has been sitting at 3999 comments for two and a half hours now and it's beginning to bug me. So, comment #4000.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 11:00 PM on November 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have nothing but sympathy and support for everybody impacted. It was a terrible storm and it's a worse aftermath. I just don't believe in minimizing it and especially not competing about it.

Doing what I can, which until now has mainly been helping family and friends with no power and little info figure out how to be safe and meet basic needs. ON to mor\e.
posted by Miko at 5:34 AM on November 5, 2012

Another grassroots giving option from a NJ friend:

My very good friend, Christian Kilpatrick Buckman, has set up a relief effort at the Red Bank YMCA. (This in spite of the fact that her family have been displaced from their own home.) For those people, like me, who are unable to be there in person to help, you can send items via diaper.com and soap.com. They have next day delivery, and can get the items to the Y tomorrow if you order today.

The address is The Community YMCA, 166 Maple Avenue, Red Bank, NJ 07701

Items will be distributed to those in need this week every day from 10 am - 5 pm.

Items that they need include: cleaning supplies, hygiene products, batteries, diapers, baby formula, boxed milk.

posted by Miko at 5:45 AM on November 5, 2012

One more disaster relief comment:

Quite quickly after a disaster, the client base shifts from everyone to what you might call the chronically needy. In the first few days or even couple of weeks, everyone is the same, lost and scared and needing dinner and a safe place to sleep. But within days, middle class and upper middle class families can start accessing their support networks -- their house is going to be insured and with a reputable company; their siblings and cousins have big houses with spare bedrooms; their paycheck keeps getting deposited even though they haven't been able to get to work for two weeks; and worst case they can go to a hotel and put it on their credit card.

What's left are the people who were poor before the disaster, who have no insurance and no savings, whose government check hasn't been picked up or maybe they work hourly and stopped getting paid a week before the storm, and/or who desperately need to get back on their meds but the public clinic is closed. That's mostly a reflection of the crappy safety net we have in general, but it's also a tricky dilemma for the agencies providing relief because they are trying to address short term needs, not long-term issues, and those get harder and harder to separate the further from the upper middle class you get.

It gets at the acute/chronic need issues someone delineated above, and gets at how disasters tend to disproportionately affect the poor, while our responses to disasters virtually never looks at those underlying factors. And it's definitely a factor in the ways the Red Cross and other organizations have struggled and sometimes failed to meet even the acute needs, in part because of the way those are intertwined with chronic needs.
posted by Forktine at 6:19 AM on November 5, 2012 [15 favorites]

Volunteers Overwhelm City Relief Centers (NYT) Includes an interesting perspective from a hedge fund manager
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:39 AM on November 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Today's Democracy Now episode addresses the "no way to get there" Red Cross statements. spoiler: You can get there. Lots of us did.
posted by stagewhisper at 6:45 AM on November 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

"“At this point these centers have more than they can really realistically distribute,” the mayor said. “If we need more, we can certainly put out another call for help, but what would be the most helpful is donations to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York, and then we’ll be able to use that money to help people get back on their feet.”

This is BULLSHIT. The problem is that there's still a lack of willing and motivated feet on the ground to distribute the goods, not that there are too many goods, *especially* in the Rockaways. We need supplies, but more than that we need the supplies we have distributed to the people who are in dire need of them.
posted by stagewhisper at 6:49 AM on November 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Also- the distributions are dangerous and time sensitive since it's not at all safe to be out on the streets or carrying supplies up 27 flights of stairs in the projects after 4:00. So, first we really need lots of able-bodied people willing to distribute the items mutual aid centers items every within a very compressed time period in order to distribute donated goods to make room for more to come in. It's not a matter of there being more than enough to fill the needs that exist, it's a matter of there not being enough people willing and able to reach the very isolated populations that still don't have those goods.
posted by stagewhisper at 6:56 AM on November 5, 2012

From the Facebook page of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities:

The New Jersey Association of Museums is looking to help museums struggling after the storm.

If you'd like to be included on a volunteer list to help museums in need in the aftermath of Sandy, please email [e-mail] and put "Volunteer" in the subject line. Please include your contact information and any special skills you may offer to the recovery process.

If you'd like to report your museum as a museum-in-need, please email [e-mail] and put "Hurricane Sandy" in the subject line. Please include your contact information and a description of your anticipated needs.

They are also helping spread the word about The National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey in Sea Girt (NGMMNJ):

We are, however, in immediate need of the following:

- (1) generator
- (2) standing light sets
- (4) space heaters
- (4) dehumidifiers
- (50') of clothes line
- (250) clothes line clips
- (50) packs of paper towels
- Absorbent paper and other preservation material

Any assistance members of the New Jersey history community can extend will be greatly appreciated. Please contact 1LT Vincent Solomeno, Command Historian of the New Jersey National Guard, if you can assist in this mission. 1LT Solomeno may be reached at [e-mail].

posted by jetlagaddict at 7:14 AM on November 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

NJ to allow displaced voters to cast non-secret ballots
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:20 AM on November 5, 2012

The people who were killed by hurricane Sandy (certain to be expanded as more areas cut off from information are able to be counted)
posted by stagewhisper at 8:44 AM on November 5, 2012 [6 favorites]

*especially* in the Rockaways.

manpower to haul damaged furniture and such out of houses and basements very much needed, heavy gloves and wellingtons for clearing out submerged areas also
posted by The Whelk at 8:49 AM on November 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks for posting that list, stagewhisper. I've been looking for something like that.
posted by ocherdraco at 8:59 AM on November 5, 2012

Engineers’ Warnings in 2009 Detailed Storm Surge Threat to the Region
posted by homunculus at 10:37 AM on November 5, 2012

AccuWeather.com meteorologists continue to monitor the potential for a wintry mess and a wind-driven rain for residents of the mid-Atlantic and New England Tuesday night into Wednesday.
--
Forecasters are tracking a storm developing off the Southeast coastthat is expected to make a turn northward and intensify Tuesday before hitting the Northeast and mid-Atlantic region by Wednesday and continuing into Thursday.
--
While the exact track of the storm still has considerable uncertainty, the models are pretty unified on the timing and strength of this storm. A 12-hour period of strong winds of 40 - 45 mph will likely affect portions of the coast from Maryland to Massachusetts. A more westerly track, as currently predicted by our top model, the European ECMWF model, would likely result in the storm's strongest winds affecting the New Jersey coast. A storm surge of 2 - 4 feet would likely hit the New Jersey coast, and a storm surge of 3 - 5 feet would likely impact the western end of Long Island Sound.
posted by griphus at 11:51 AM on November 5, 2012

Sandy was no weakling: "Last week's Hurricane Sandy was stronger than Hurricanes Katrina, Andrew or Hugo. Univ of Miami's Brian Mc Noldy, using Integrated Kinetic Energy (IKE) index calculations which total the energy wind a storm's winds release while also taking into account the size of the area over which these winds blow, reports Sandy hit with 2+ times the energy of the Hiroshima atom bomb." -Tom Skilling

Washington Post: As part of a long article: " Why does IKE matter? It has been demonstrated time and time again that the storm surge generated by a hurricane is not very well correlated with the storm’s intensity or peak winds, but rather the storm’s size - which the IKE metric captures. The area over which strong winds blow across the ocean is strongly related to the resulting storm surge potential."
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 12:22 PM on November 5, 2012 [4 favorites]

> So can you guys tell me who is doing good work up there that deserves a donation and/or will put it to good use?

I went with New York Cares, who get four stars on Charity Navigator. I used to donate to their coat drives when I lived there, and friends who still live there recommended them.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:53 PM on November 5, 2012

I am not looking forward to the incoming cold. We at least figured how to get the heat hooked into the generator (gas heat, but an electric regulator) so we won't need to flee the house. Still, I still had to detour around downed trees and wires to get to work this morning, and everything is all still weird. I'm not entirely sure how voting will work tomorrow. Everything I check says my polling place is the same as always, but I know they're down because I drive by that school and they still have a tree across their power lines.
posted by Karmakaze at 1:02 PM on November 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks, jetlagaddict - shared that call for museum help with my network. After both Katrina Ike/Rita there was a lot of contribution from the field to hard hit museums that needed immediate damage control and conservation.

It's so cold tonight.
posted by Miko at 1:26 PM on November 5, 2012

it is beyond ridiculous to compare the thousands and thousands of people who've lost everything to Sandy in NY and NJ to the ongoing problem of homelessness. that argument boils down to a form of equivocation plain and simple. you absolutely cannot compare the two. there are built in resources for the homeless, all of whom have arrived in their situations through a variety of causes played out over years and years. from people slipping through the safety net, or those who just don't have the self-esteem to really value themselves as whole and deserving people to those who are just plain crazy. while surely none of them would have chosen homelessness it wasn't foisted upon them over night through one catastrophic event. homelessness is serious and sad but as i said, there are preexisting resources, however effective one might imagine them to be.

for those who want to help. OCCUPY Sandy is a great place to start. they have up to date info and really seem to be the only people on the ground in the Rockaways at least. in hindsight maybe the marathon wouldn't have diverted any city resources because those don't really seem to be being utilized in any visible way. there is no governmental presence out there besides cops directing traffic on Cross Bay Blvd. in choosing a place where our help would be best used, friends and i ended up at 96th and Rockaway Beach Blvd where the kids at Rockaway Taco and Veggie Island had set up a distribution center. we were just going to drop off our van load of supplies and then go help with clean up but once we got there it turned out that we were more useful helping sort and organize supplies. the people who run those two businesses deserve a mountain of respect for the work they are continuing to do for that community. both businesses share a building on the corner. Veggie Island has set up as the main distribution pickup point in the area while Rockaway Taco has become the place for people to go to ask for what they need. we ended up in a house around the corner that is serving as the storage over flow. kids who were volunteering served as runners going between the distribution hub to buildings up and down the island and also serving as communication links with other drop off/distribution point further east and west. they were really focused on getting what was needed to where it was needed most. every person i saw helping out there was intent on getting things done and working quickly. i have never been more proud of my city than seeing the cars and vans roll in with donated supplies or with the kids who are out there helping day and night and living in the same conditions as those who have been affected by the storm.

heart wrenching and scary are two words that come to mind of the situation out there, and i just saw a small part. we had to drive through a couple of miles of what i thought was real destruction before we got to the hardest hit area. effects of the storm surge were visible as debris lodged about 4 feet high on fences at around 160th ave. and as we drove further east we started to see debris piled by the road as people began gutting their water logged houses. the further we went the piles of debris grew higher and higher. looking down the narrow side streets was the worst. whole neighborhoods were out; each family emptying their homes of ruin. once we finally crossed into Rocakway Beach the real force of the force of the storm surge became that much more dramatic. i've never seen anything like this firsthand. TV does not do it justice and i've yet to see a news crew on the ground filming the true scope and scale of what's happened. only a New Yorker could appreciate what something like Sandy does in a place as population dense as NYC. i personally saw hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars worth of damage in the narrow corridor though which we traveled. it is desperate out there and that's just one of the communities that was hit. no joke, shit is grim. war zone would be applicable if there were any cops or Nat'l Guard present. thousands and thousands of people are without basic services like power, heat and water. shit is gonna get real when people start getting sick or dying. really, it is that bad.
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 1:42 PM on November 5, 2012 [6 favorites]

Oh, Just Brooklyn Survivalists Charging Cell Phones With Camp Stoves As The National Guard Rolls By
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 5:29 PM on November 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

If this were another country I'd be donating to Doctors Without Borders.

Doctors Without Borders is has been working in some of the hardest hit areas, although they have not put out a call for earmarked funds yet.
posted by kimdog at 6:14 PM on November 5, 2012

Yup, they're specifically not asking for NYC-tagged donations, although I doubt they'd send your check back: "Approximately $35,000 that had been raised by New York City marathon runners to support MSF medical programs is being used for the Hurricane Sandy relief operation."
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:12 PM on November 5, 2012

We are finally approaching a smidgen of normalcy here today. My friends have power again! They walked home and we deflated the air mattress. I ordered from my favorite Chinese place that had been severely flooded. Food took 90 minutes to arrive but was delicious, so well worth the wait. I filled my car up after driving for the first time in a week and only waited 30 minutes for gas.

I am kind of going to miss having friends crashing here, we had some fabulous dinners here over the past week where we just sat around and talked all evening. What a gift.
posted by lyra4 at 7:32 PM on November 5, 2012

while surely none of them would have chosen homelessness it wasn't foisted upon them over night through one catastrophic event

While agree with you that homelessness is a larger system failure with complex causes, I also think that the sort of event Sandy represents can be one of the straws that makes the difference between maintaining permanent shelter and losing it. Living paycheck to paycheck and getting by works OK until the place you work is closed for ten days, you earn no money and receive no compensation, and thus can't make rent. I'm always aware of the less visibly homeless - the people crashing with relatives and in weekly motels, often with families, or squatting in not-really-apartments, or living in housing with no heat or power - and for them, this could very easily be a financial disaster that puts them that much more at risk of just living in the car or at least stands as an obstacle to gathering sufficient resources to move into permanent housing.

Add to this the overall housing loss, much of it in not very affluent areas to begin with, and formerly cheap neighborhoods will see rents suddenly escalating as pressure on remaining housing grows. Sandy may not make anyone part of the long-term homeless overnight - at least not in ways we can identify now - but it significantly increases the risk of homelessness for many people who are on the rather wide continuum of housing insecurity. And it places those already homeless at greater risk of continued lack of housing security, as competition for resources increases, systems are not functioning as normal, and aid is diverted to emergent short-term care. Health risks, too, accompany all of this, and illness is a major factor in lack of housing security.

So no, the issues aren't unrelated, though the relationship is not simple.
posted by Miko at 8:13 PM on November 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

Miko. i think you might have missed my point or maybe it wasn't clear to whom that comment was directed. i was countering those who have brought up the already-homeless when arguments against the marathon zeroed in on its potential to divert resources from the relief effort on Staten Island; as if anyone who argued against the marathon for sapping resources didn't care about the people in the city who are already homeless. my point on that count was that there are already resources in place for the already-homeless and that the police and medical personal diverted for the marathon are not the appropriate resources to deal with the already-homeless but they would be useful for relief efforts. funding for the homeless moves through different channels than money for relief efforts. equivocation is a form of logical fallacy that serves to deflate an argument by substituting terms or mixing arguments through deflection or the conflating of terms.

i think it's pretty clear from my post that i just saw a bunch of recently homeless people face to face. i know how cold it is out there. i know to some degree the need that exists because i saw a small fraction of it firsthand and can imagine my own self in similar circumstances. the area where we were is made up of a mix of beach bungalows, working class families and lower-income housing projects. some will rebuild, hopefully, through insurance money or gov't relief grants. those from the projects will probably be resettled for a while or even permanently (ala Katrina). my biggest fear now though after considering your post and this response, is that the housing projects could easily be condemned by the city and the way cleared for property developers (whom our Mayor seems to love above all else) to move in on what was once a poor persons Riviera. an already damaged community could be gutted in favor of luxury condos that generate a lot more in tax revenue than Section 8 housing does.
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 9:58 PM on November 5, 2012

IT sounds like I did misunderstand the context of your comment, sorry for that. I do still think there's lots of reason to be concerned about housing security. And also that resources that exist for the already-homeless (especially food and medical assistance) are now being stretched to their limits because of the sudden spike in additional need.

And yes, taking sort of a separate angle, the opportunity for developers to take those old tract-housing bungalow areas in lower-income waterfront towns and turn them into high-end condo neighborhoods, rather than rebuild as affordable housing, is going to be obvious to everyone whose palms can be scratched.

I am sure many people will use damage settlements to rebuild and resettle, but I suspect that much of the shiny new housing will be located inland. Also, if your home has been destroyed and you can rebuild on your waterfront plot, or sell that plot to a developer for double or more times what your house was worth, you probably will, which is good for that person's pocket but would change the face of the Shore and Gateway regions and the nature of those lower- and middle-income towns forever.

That makes me sad, because many of those neighborhoods have families who have been there for 3, 4, 5 generations, sometimes more.
posted by Miko at 6:37 AM on November 6, 2012

Actually, Miko, there are a couple people who are calling for buying out the property owners in the Rockaways and other barrier-island places....and then NOT developing, but rather letting the land go back to being barrier islands.

And I mean, yeah, I would definitely prefer that it were affordable housing that were rebuilt there over condos - but I'm also wondering whether there should be any development at all.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:10 AM on November 6, 2012

If there's any chance this could happen again it would seem like a bad idea to build houses there for people who can least afford to lose them.
posted by bleep at 7:38 AM on November 6, 2012

Conrad_Casserole the reason it's not clear whom you're talking to is that no one made the argument you dispute. It is perfectly reasonable to observe that societal and state resources are frequently directed toward fulfilling wants rather than fulfilling needs, and that our collective response to this is typically inconsistent.
posted by howfar at 7:46 AM on November 6, 2012

Actually, Miko, there are a couple people who are calling for buying out the property owners in the Rockaways and other barrier-island places....and then NOT developing, but rather letting the land go back to being barrier islands.

I've been calling for that for NJ too and do support that. I would definitely prefer it structured as a state buyout, not a gift to developers, and that the land remain public/natural and used as marshland/dune protection and park.

But ideally, it would also offer the people the chance to repair their homes and maintain their communities if they so choose, as a legitimate option. Because I value community connections and the local cultures that have developed in many of these locations for decades or centuries, and would like to honor people's right to stay on the land they own. But it would be an excellent time to enact a reasonable state buyout for public land package and develop stricter moratoria on further Shore development.

Unfortunately, at least in NJ I really doubt either public land acquisition or affordable redevelopment will actually happen in most areas. These are big swaths of waterfront property and they will be developed. Yes, a real investor might lose millions in damage in a future storm, but it can be recouped in disaster aid, and in the meantime there's money to be made today. Most likely there will be the usual kind of public/private partnership land deal worked out, where condo builders get to establish new beachhead (literally) in return for building public boardwalks and pocket parks and boat launch access near the new facilities. It's the way of the Shore, and no matter how warmhearted Christie seems right now, he's going to want to work with developers under the cry "rebuild," and those who ask "rebuild what? for whom?" may not be heard too loudly over the song of jobs, jobs, new revenue, tax base, jobs, profits, jobs.

NJ Agonizes Whether or Not to Rebuild Shore
posted by Miko at 7:52 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Growing up in Rockaway Beach, I kinda always assumed places like Broad Channel and Breezy Point would end up underwater. I'm actually kinda surprised they survived this long in the face of the elements.

I live in California now, so it doesn't directly affect me. But yeah, it's time to let the Rockaway peninsula go feral and stop living there.

I read BOO-COO dystopian cyberpunk and near-future sci-fi starting in the 80s. And rising sea-levels leading to flooded coastal cities was a constant theme. In Walter Jon Williams Hardwired, a drowned coastal city is called a "Venice". But the thing I kinda always knew would happen has happened: My parents basement flooded when the Ocean met the Bay, Breezy & Broad Channel drowned, and we had two 100-year-storms in two years.

Cory Doctorow wrote that Science Fiction doesn't predict the future, but it gives us a vocabulary to talk about it.

American Venices. Feral Cities. Monster storms becoming a seasonal occurance. Megacorporations owning everything w/ private mercenary armies. The agricultural breadbasket drying up and dustbowling.

I'm reminded of Issue 1, pg 1 of Timothy Truman's comic series "Scout":

"The bombs never fell. They didn't have to.

Russia's pact with Japan, Africa, and South America kept her fat and cozy. To America, half the world became closed. Her few remaining friends bled the frightened giant dry, while her spoiled children ate well.

"As ever, America pretended it wasn't happening. She wanted more and found the cupboards bare.

"America hadn't planned on this. Her fields were barren, her topsoil eroded, her orchards picked, her oil tapped out. She had nowhere to go, no dinner invitations to answer, no friends in sight.

"The easy-way-out-helium-flash never came. She became a very small country. The world turned without her. In the dustbowls of her heartland, she sat alone — hungry, mad, forgotten...

"Then one called Scout rode out of the mountains.

"America was empty. But he'd lived on less..."

-From In The Camp of the Barbarians, by R. Winter. Texas Independent Press, 1999

Wonder what it's gonna be like when next year's superstorm rolls in. People who want to rebuild there remind me of Denethor in Lord of the Rings;

“I would have things as they were in all the days of my life . . . and in the days of my longfathers before me."

That's great, but the ocean don't care. The Ocean don't give a shit about community. The Ocean just gave the East Coast and the Caribbean a right kicking, and the smart money is more boots are lined up.

Talk about rebuilding the Rockaways is madness.

I expect when the Big One™ hits Cali, gun-toting mercenaries will be deployed to keep access to the Port of Oakland while the rest of us are left here to starve and fight off the crackheads. But at least we don't have earthquake season.

I hate feeling like I'm living the prologue to a Peter Watts novel. But I harbor a certain amount of disdain for people who argue that we aren't.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 8:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I agree that we're just seeing the first waves of what will eventually make the coast a place where permanent habitation is untenable. But I recognize the reality that people will make money while the sun shines. They just will. I do wish I could imagine that the state and federal governments acted with the restraint and foresight it would take to let all these towns gradually un-develop into beach, dune, and wetland, but the political and economic climate right now is going to make that impossible, let alone the general American bullheaded character that isn't especially good at thinking down to the 7th generation.
posted by Miko at 8:14 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Maybe bad protocol, but I want to re-post these replies to my initial concerns about the aftermath of Sandy (and I do so, because I would admit my error if I had been irresponsibly spreading 'chicken little' hysteria; that was never my intention):

I wrote on 10/28 :
" ... it may take weeks, months, years for recovery."


Umm I doubt (and hope) that NYC will be unvisitable for weeks months years etc. We haven't heard too much beyond things will suck till Halloween.

Unless Sandy is hiding some bombers carrying atomic bombs I've no idea how it is going to take NYC years to recover. Unless they put like one guy on cleanup detail for the whole city.
[5 favorites +] [!]
posted by Surfurrus at 8:51 AM on November 6, 2012

Maybe bad protocol

Yeah, a little. Parts of NYC are visitable and open for business and other parts are not. You were both right and wrong and the story is, as always, significantly more complex than a few comments on MetaFilter.
posted by jessamyn at 8:55 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yeah, it's pretty clear that NYC will not be unvisitable for weeks, months, and years.
posted by Justinian at 9:30 AM on November 6, 2012

(Although it is true that was a comment responding to you that mentioned "unvisitable" and not your original comment, which only said it could take years to recover rather than to become visitable.)
posted by Justinian at 9:32 AM on November 6, 2012

Yeah, I wrote the unvisitable part, ( Umm I doubt (and hope) that NYC will be unvisitable for weeks months years etc. We haven't heard too much beyond things will suck till Halloween)because Surfurrus was worrying about his/her daughter visiting and seemed to imply it was a bad idea.

Yes, we're far from recovery but plenty of people have been coming in and out without incident since late last week, so visiting, trips, vacations are mostly fine.

Mostly I wrote that because I knew unless a majority of the city was leveled, city workers would be doing their damnedest to make sure as much as possible city centers, business districts, tourist areas, restaurants, etc, would be up and running ASAP because that's how New York is.

And yeah this:
Parts of NYC are visitable and open for business and other parts are not. You were both right and wrong and the story is, as always, significantly more complex than a few comments on MetaFilter.

posted by sweetkid at 9:41 AM on November 6, 2012

Well, as one data point, I was supposed to be spending last weekend in NYC, staying in Murray Hill and going to Sleep No More and various other things. My hotel called me on that Wednesday to cancel reservations "for the foreseeable future," and the show was cancelled. Yes, you can visit other parts of the city, but the city's tourism was clearly heavily impacted. We had already been debating whether our presence would just add to the chaos anyway. We changed our plans.

Storm damage is odd like that. Some areas are just devastated; 20 minutes away everything is fine.
posted by Miko at 9:42 AM on November 6, 2012

We had already been debating whether our presence would just add to the chaos anyway. We changed our plans.

Yes, my concerns about NYC being 'unvisitable' were not just about personal safety/comfort issues. At this moment FEMA is moving people into hotels because their homes are uninhabitable. There has been some controversy about available rooms. I would not enjoy a vacation that results in depriving others of shelter.

I know people can visitNYC now, and will, but I hope they consider making it a 'volunteering' vacation, at the least. I still say there will be *years* of recovery work ahead.
posted by Surfurrus at 12:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Yes, of course there will regrettably be years of recovery for many areas, but the situation for many people in many areas is improving rapidly.

I don't think people should be making volunteer vacations, at least not right this moment, as we have a lot of volunteers who live here and people are being turned away from opportunities.

I agree that right now is not an awesome time to plan a trip to the city, but it's totally misleading to imply that it would be months or years before it is reasonable for people to come to the city for theater, restaurants, etc.
posted by sweetkid at 12:54 PM on November 6, 2012

I don't think people should be making volunteer vacations, at least not right this moment, as we have a lot of volunteers who live here and people are being turned away from opportunities.

THIS IS BULLSHIT. Why are you spreading this misinformation? We have people in NYC starving and freezing to death and cut off from any clean water source and you are spreading the lie that we have too many volunteers? WTF
posted by stagewhisper at 1:36 PM on November 6, 2012

sweetkid, if you know of people who want to help but have been turned away at various spots, I can tell you that based on a friend's FB, Staten Island needs a lot of help. Her wall has been a continuous stream of requests for people to go help [elderly couple] who have no heat and a basement full of soggy, rotting belongings. Like that.
posted by rtha at 1:40 PM on November 6, 2012

Occupy Sandy’s Street Medics Go Door-to-Door in Coney Island
posted by homunculus at 1:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's not a lie, and please don't accuse me of lying.
posted by sweetkid at 1:44 PM on November 6, 2012

The statement that we don't need any more volunteers is absolutely, without a doubt, unequivocally a lie. I'd like to know where you got that info from because it's absolutely false.
Here's a constantly updated stream of critical or time-sensitive calls for supplies, support and volunteers:
@NYCSandyNeeds
posted by stagewhisper at 1:48 PM on November 6, 2012

Hey now. You believe the statement to be false, which is absolutely reasonable disagreement. There's no reason for you or anyone else to think it is a lie. I know this really can't be easy for anyone, but I know we can stay sensible.
posted by howfar at 1:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I didn't say we don't need any more volunteers at all, I said I don't think the best thing is for people to be taking vacations to New York to volunteer. I know a LOT of people who have had trouble finding places to volunteer, I'm talking mostly in the short term, and so we have been sending supplies, and money, and working on longer term volunteer efforts.

Not everyone is physically equipped to do some of the more physical and dangerous work there is to do and that's specifically what I was talking about, I didn't say no one needed volunteers ever.

I am not lying about anything, please stop saying I am lying.
posted by sweetkid at 1:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Hey now. You believe the statement to be false, which is absolutely reasonable disagreement. There's no reason for you or anyone else to think it is a lie. I know this really can't be easy for anyone, but I know we can stay sensible.

Unless I have been hallucinating how I've spent my last few days, this is not a matter of opinion.
posted by stagewhisper at 1:55 PM on November 6, 2012

I think the disconnect is that it may depend on what the volunteers are attempting to do, where they're trying to sign up to help, and who with. I have heard accounts of people trying to volunteer with the more "official" organizations like the Red Cross and the like, the "Big Name National" organizations, and the list being full up. Similarly I've also heard of people trying to drop off random stuff like towels and clothes at different dropoff points, and being turned away because "thanks, but we've already got a gabillion toasters and no way to get them to the people who actually need them".

But the grass-roots organizers are eagerly accepting people who want to help; they're the ones that are doing the most to coordinate the on-the-ground heavy lifting. Most of these efforts are actually located in the neighborhoods most affected, so it's harder for the well-meaning-but-not-especially-motivated person to get out there - but it's much more directed work, because the people there know "okay, the thing we need most is for someone with a big minivan to run these towels out to the day care/a crew of people with chainsaws to take down that huge tree/someone with a sump pump to clean out Mrs. Kasternagle's basement finally".

So - the people who say volunteers are being turned away aren't nuts, but neither are the people who say we're desperate for volunteers, and if you really want to help best be willing to actually travel to the location first and do what THEY say they need you to do.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

If I have the wrong information, that's fine, maybe some of the volunteer groups that have been overwhelmed have not directed their resources properly, but absolutely I know people who have been turned away. Many people.

I understand being angry about that, but accusing people of lying - and DELIBERATELY lying just to hurt people already victimized by the storm - no, that's really not OK.
posted by sweetkid at 2:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Yeah, also what Empress said.
posted by sweetkid at 2:06 PM on November 6, 2012

Conrad-Casserole I was one of the people who found cancelling the Marathon on resource diversion reasons problematic. I'd posit that if you are sitting on a street corner homeless watching municipal workers and cops paid with municipal funds providing security and resources for that event then it doesn't much matter if the reason you are homeless is because you are mentally ill or because your house got flooded by hurricane Sandy. You might perceive a better for you way to spend that money.

I am not arguing that the Marathon should have went on and I'm not arguing that the Marathon should have been cancelled in previous years. I merely find it observationally interesting where the hold/no hold line gets drawn.

See also for example the invariable response buy some people to any space exploration story lamenting the wasting of resources that could be going to feed the hungry.
posted by Mitheral at 6:45 PM on November 6, 2012

Hurricane Sandy’s Fibonacci Golden Spiral
posted by homunculus at 8:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

My company is working with our advertisers (vacation rentals) to provide temporary housing relief. More information here.
posted by ejoey at 9:41 PM on November 6, 2012

From a friend this morning:

This is an URGENT URGENT URGENT plea to flood NYCHA & 311 with angry calls!!!!

According to NYCHA's website, 365 NYCHA buildings experienced power outages during the hurricane. It's extremely unclear how many of these are still without power & where all the buildings with ongoing outages are located. I called 311 & NYCHA on Sunday 11/4 to ask for a list of addresses so volunteers can go door-to-door to check in with residents. I was told that the addresses couldn't be released to the public because that would be "encouraging people to do unauthorized work inside NYCHA buildings." WTF??????

THIS IS A MATTER OF LIFE OR DEATH, PEOPLE. I'M NOT EXAGGERATING.

In Coney Island, where I've been volunteering for the past three days, we've encountered people missing dialysis treatments & chemo appointments, people with open wounds, & people running out of prescription medications, food, & water, among other horrific situations. Are there people trapped in their apartments in other parts of the city that volunteers haven't gotten to yet? If so, do they all have what they need to survive? Is anyone checking in to make sure???

PLEASE INVITE ALL YOUR FRIENDS TO THIS EVENT & CALL NYCHA RIGHT NOW TO DEMAND THAT THEY RELEASE A LIST OF NYCHA BUILDINGS THAT STILL DON'T HAVE POWER. TELL THEM TO STOP BEING HEARTLESS BUREAUCRATS & START BEING HUMAN BEINGS. TELL THEM TO STOP MURDERING POOR PEOPLE WITH THEIR INSANE, HEARTLESS, DEADLY BUREAUCRACY. SPEAK ANGRILY & PASSIONATELY. SUMMON ALL YOUR RAGE. CALL EVERY NUMBER BELOW A HUNDRED TIMES. USE ALL YOUR INSTITUTIONAL MUSCLE IF YOU HAVE ANY. FIND THEIR OFFICES & GO YELL AT THEM IN PERSON. GET THE MEDIA ON THIS. NOW NOW NOW!!! PEOPLE ARE DYING!!! AND ALSO COME TO CONEY ISLAND ASAP PLEASE, WE NEED VOLUNTEERS. THANK YOU.

Numbers to call:

311
NYCHA hotline: [phone]
NYCHA Borough Management Offices:
- Brooklyn: 718-649-6400
- Manhattan: 212-427-8542
- Bronx: 718-409-8626
- Queens: 718-657-8300
- Staten Island: 718-447-1179
posted by stagewhisper at 7:12 AM on November 7, 2012

I'm sure NYCHA and NYC will be much better poised to handle this crisis once their trunks are jammed with angry calls.
posted by Mitheral at 7:22 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Or maybe they aren't releasing a list of buildings without power to anyone who calls up and asks so as to avoid an uncoordinated response. IE: First gramma on the list gets 600 check ins in the first day from "helpful" volunteer organizations and the guy a 1/3rd of the way down gets no visits.
posted by Mitheral at 7:27 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah Mithereal, those are both really good points. HOLY SHIT.

You have no idea what you are talking about or what the situation is like.


I'm actually going up the chain of command on the phone right now and hopefully making some progress since I can't be in the buildings today
posted by stagewhisper at 7:30 AM on November 7, 2012

part of the reason for having a list is so we can cross off which buildings have already been visited, y'know. Also, the idea that there are so many people out there helping with this effort that someone's poor grandma gets like 600 visits is so ludicrous that I'm actually starting to laugh through my tears
posted by stagewhisper at 7:33 AM on November 7, 2012

Stagewhisper, I understand the urgency and I appreciate your concern, plus I agree the city could get on the stick, but I understand what Mitheral is trying to say. Yes, the city should release that list - but if they release it to EVERYONE who asks, there could indeed be confusion. As you say, part of the reason for having a list is so we can cross off which buldings have already been visited - but if we give that list to a lot of different groups, then Occupy Sandy won't necessarily know if Coney Island Rescue operating out of Sid's Taco has already crossed it off.

I appreciate your concerns,and appreciate it IS a cause for concern, but I also understand the city's side that simply giving the list to everyone isn't the right thing to do either. Perhaps persuading the city to appoint the volunteers as visitors instead, maybe coe up with some kind of temporary deputization, is a better chance of success.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:25 AM on November 7, 2012

Here are lists of projects without electricity, heat, or hot water. From NYCHA's website.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/residents/hurricane-NYCHA-developments-restoring-services.shtml

I imagine CAAAV, GOLES, and Legal Aid are on this too. The members of the City Council's Committee on Public Housing probably could also help you out.

The way you're reacting here to people who have had different experiences from you is really awful. I hope you'll take a step back and realize that accusing people of lying and implying that others don't care about dying New Yorkers is counterproductive.
posted by Mavri at 9:11 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

TELL THEM TO STOP MURDERING POOR PEOPLE WITH THEIR INSANE, HEARTLESS, DEADLY BUREAUCRACY. SPEAK ANGRILY & PASSIONATELY. SUMMON ALL YOUR RAGE. CALL EVERY NUMBER BELOW A HUNDRED TIMES. USE ALL YOUR INSTITUTIONAL MUSCLE IF YOU HAVE ANY. FIND THEIR OFFICES & GO YELL AT THEM IN PERSON.

This seems totally overstated, and like not a good use of Metafilter. Accusing people who are doing their jobs, and almost by definition doing more to help the city recover than most individual private citizens, of murder because you do not agree with their policies is divisive and counter-productive. It makes it seem like the only way to help is your way, and all other ways are not only not helpful, but are actually harmful. This is simply not true.
posted by OmieWise at 9:15 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

TELL THEM TO STOP MURDERING POOR PEOPLE WITH THEIR INSANE, HEARTLESS, DEADLY BUREAUCRACY. SPEAK ANGRILY & PASSIONATELY. SUMMON ALL YOUR RAGE. CALL EVERY NUMBER BELOW A HUNDRED TIMES. USE ALL YOUR INSTITUTIONAL MUSCLE IF YOU HAVE ANY. FIND THEIR OFFICES & GO YELL AT THEM IN PERSON.

Also, yelling at front line people is like being nasty to a waitress or receptionist. It's pointlessly abusing someone who has absolutely no power. It's also, in my experience as a legal services attorney who's been advocating for poor New Yorkers for years, extremely counterproductive. The people you yell at will not want to help you.
posted by Mavri at 9:54 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

howfar. oops. i was tabbing between this thread and the Marathon thread and could very well have posted in the wrong one.
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 10:56 AM on November 7, 2012

I can absolutely understand why a housing authority would not give out the address of a building without property to a stranger on the phone. The caller might be a sincere person looking only to help, but might equally be a professional thief, a potential kidnapper, a person with a restraining order, a drug dealer, a hired thug, or just someone looking to cause mayhem for other people in general or in specific. A big building full of people with no power and low communications capacity is kind of an easy target for people with ill intent. I wouldn't be at all eager to advertise their exact locations to strangers, even though within those neighborhoods it's probably evident which buildings they are.

This is one of the very reasons that agencies and governments prefer working with registered and established groups.
posted by Miko at 11:12 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

for those who are arguing about the veracity of the need for volunteers i might add that official charities and organizations might be turning volunteers away but the grass roots people who are doing important triage work aren't. my only personal experience has been in the Rockaways mostly because that's where people that i know are organizing relief efforts. in that area at least there is real need for people to help in all capacities. my FB feed has become an emergency response board because so many people that i know are now so involved with relief efforts. it's amazing and inspiring. folks that i only know from bars and concerts have stepped it up in a big way.

the City, FEMA and Red Cross are doing very little in some pretty sizable areas that were the hardest hit. it may just be coincidence that these are mostly low income areas but who knows. the elderly are the real concern and the clock is ticking. it's snowing outside as i type this and it's going to get much colder soon.


you don't need permission to go out and help. as a matter of fact, the official channels seem to have really dropped the ball out there. if the city were smart they would coordinate with the people on the ground who have been going door to door for the last 6 days and yet, i'm actually surprised the city hasn't set up road blocks yet to keep non-residents out. if our shameless Mayor could somehow be shamed into taking the federal aid that he's turned away that would really be something.

if anyone is looking to volunteer and doesn't know how i can easily point you in a few right directions.
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 11:16 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

That's definitely something important to say, Conrad-Casserole.

It's very much true that established charities often can't handle last-minute volunteers. They are not set up for it. That's usually because they have some kind of background check, other screening, or even just systems training process that they can't implement quickly, or at the same time as they're doing disaster service. They also have communications networks and rolls of pre-organized and trained volunteers whom they call on when they're needed, and so they have basically filled their positions. This is one of the reasons they typically are the ones working closest with city governments and first responders; they are organized, reliable, have disaster plans, speak a common language, have rehearsed for these situations, have vetted and trained their volunteers to be around children and vulnerable people, already know the local government/responder players and resources, and don't need to create an infrastructure on the fly. But it's also the reason you can't knock on their door the day something happens and get put right to work.

After 9/11 I did a few things with the Red Cross and found myself at a couple of events where I was clearly superfluous, and the location was overmanned. That happens when every one of your member volunteers is falling all over themselves to help but you can only set up and sustain a few particular locations/activities. What they surely did not need at that time was more volunteers. It just becomes a question of what to do with too many people and only so much work at hand.

So grassroots volunteering is a really good answer to all this. Like Conrad, I do know of many people in my hometown area in NJ who are just jumping in to help. One friend has been going into his childhood town every day to bring donations, help people clear the detritus from their property and tear apart their houses, and run soccer games and stuff for the kids who have no school, nothing to do and are tense and sad. A lot of local firehouses and churches are turning into impromptu volunteer centers. So yes, if you can't find a registered charity to volunteer with because, essentially, the bus is already full, just drive around and find somewhere to help. You really don't have to go far to find people who need help. Ask on Facebook, drop into a church that looks busy, go to a coffee shop and ask people there if they know where you can help.
posted by Miko at 11:25 AM on November 7, 2012

I want to clarify a few things.

First, I did not write the letter I posted.

Second, the letter I posted is from someone who is in the trenches working within all of those groups and these groups have accessed the current channels. There is a huge backroom network between all of the Occupy Sandy hubs so the information is shared and distributed between all of those hubs as well as the organizations you mention, EC.

This letter, upon re-reading does seem way too us against them, but the person who sent the letter has, along with many of the groups you listed, EC, has been trying to go through all of the channels possible to allow people to be accounted for. This is not a renegade volunteer flipping out. The aligned groups have hit a brick wall and I'm certain the letter was written in desperation and I apologize for posting it. It truly is a desperate situation here though and I've seen how the groups have been working together trying to overcome barriers that have kept people from being able to reach the unaccounted for.

I deep familiarity with the issues on the ground right now, and where the weak points are. Calling those phone numbers, although it may not change anything, is not going to disrupt services or bring down the housing authority phone centers. It is not going to stop people from getting the help they need. The numbers I am reaching are to report issues with power or maintenance problems in the buildings. They are not emergency numbers.
posted by stagewhisper at 11:36 AM on November 7, 2012

There is a huge backroom network between all of the Occupy Sandy hubs so the information is shared and distributed between all of those hubs as well as the organizations you mention, EC.

And all of the other organizations that you don't know about? How about them?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:39 AM on November 7, 2012

I'm not sure what are you asking?

Occupy Sandy and other organizations are trying to team up with as many other groups as possible. More keep being added so information and resources can be shared. The goal is organizing aid and relief so that the distribution and list of needs is efficiently addressed.

Again to clarify- the call is to release the addresses to the point people in the organization of the broad coalition of Occupy Sandy and its affiliated grassroots organizations on the ground like CAAV, Youth Taskforce and a whole bunch of other loosely affiliated hubs. The call is not to release that information to just anyone who calls up and asks for it. Getting at least one decently large team of on the ground canvassers a list they can work from is better than nobody getting that information at all and subsequently none of those people in need being located.
posted by stagewhisper at 11:48 AM on November 7, 2012

Okay, then.

That was not clear in your previous posts, that there WAS one single group that was coordinating the check-on-the-homes efforts. If it was similarly unclear to the city, that may be part of your problem right there.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:00 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

but if we give that list to a lot of different groups, then Occupy Sandy won't necessarily know if Coney Island Rescue operating out of Sid's Taco has already crossed it off.

The main way this is dealt with right now in the event another volunteer group shows up at a building that's already checked is that there are prominently posted forms and signs on the entrances of building that have already been visited that list the organization that's canvassed, a general list of issues, and any special notes. I also believe there's a headcount listed for each floor but I'm not certain. When I was canvassing on Sunday we did not have access to electricity and there was no way to print forms, so we filled out sheets by hand on site and then added them to a spreadsheet at the central hub.
posted by stagewhisper at 12:02 PM on November 7, 2012

The numbers I am reaching are to report issues with power or maintenance problems in the buildings. They are not emergency numbers.

Then it sounds like those numbers aren't going to get you in touch with the people you need to talk with or get information from. I also worry that people calling with a legitimate power issue or maintenance problem are going to have trouble getting through if a barrage of protest calls takes place.

The call is not to release that information to just anyone who calls up and asks for it.M

But to the NYCHA, you guys are "just anyone." They have no prior relationship with your organization. How would they know you're legitimate just by hearing your voice on the phone? How do they know by releasing a list that you're not sharing it so widely you'd be compromising their safety protocols?

Getting at least one decently large team of on the ground canvassers a list they can work from is better than nobody getting that information at all and subsequently none of those people in need being located.

I agree, but I think you might all put your heads to work just figuring out a different way to get this info. I understand you are doing a 100% good thing, but this is one of those cases where structural barriers exist and this approach is not what would breach them at all. It's not a viable approach. People on the other end of the line are not going to have any pull with the decisionmakers in the city housing authority. It'll become an unproductive sideshow, which Occupy Anything doesn't need any more of, and certainly isn't helping a single person get warmer.

I'd suggest finding another means of getting this done -- y'all are smart, you can do that. Crowdsource it on Twitter or Facebook, use the yellow pages, divide the boroughs into sectors and send volunteer scouting teams out there to gather info on the ground and report it back to the central network.
posted by Miko at 1:35 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Also, couldn't this NYCHA online search tool help you?

Like, say, this property directory?
posted by Miko at 1:47 PM on November 7, 2012

I'd suggest finding another means of getting this done -- y'all are smart, you can do that. Crowdsource it on Twitter or Facebook, use the yellow pages, divide the boroughs into sectors and send volunteer scouting teams out there to gather info on the ground and report it back to the central network.

Appreciate the brainstorming because I know it comes from a place of goodwill. We've already been doing all of these things from the start, though. It's not just me, it's hundreds of people and it's very networked.
posted by stagewhisper at 2:20 PM on November 7, 2012

Appreciate the brainstorming because I know it comes from a place of goodwill. We've already been doing all of these things from the start, though. It's not just me, it's hundreds of people and it's very networked.

I appreciate the obvious effort and the care you're putting in, as well as, presumably, the time. But I think the reason you're getting some basic suggestions here is because that rant you posted (that I recognized was not something you wrote yourself, but were simply endorsing) reads less like something written by someone who is part of a considered and considerate group of people working to problem-solve together as they confront huge challenges, and more like the unhinged threats of an anti-government crank. Look, I've done some activism in my time, and I've worked through a couple of disastrous situations, and I know that one of the things that can keep you going is adrenaline, and a kind of conviction that without you (the collective activist group you and the individual you) all would collapse. Those are useful feelings because of how motivating they can be. But they can also shade into irrationality, and worse, counter-productiveness. As I said before, those feelings can lead you to mistake your way for the only way.

I think those issues may be compounded here because things like "Occupy Sandy" appears to be trying to apply an activist model to disaster recovery, and it's not really clear that the two go together all that well. Disaster recovery is a long and grinding road, frequently requires some healthy centralization, and needs due consideration of unintended consequences and the potential downsides of particular courses of action. Which is not to say that it does not also benefit from dedicated and energetic volunteers and a certain level of self-actualization. But, I guarantee that NYC has a robust disaster plan in place, especially post 9/11 and post-Katrina. I'm certain that that plan extends to the housing authority. I'm sure that there are people working on this problem, and who have been working on this plan, quite hard. It strikes me that the rant you posted, and your subsequent comments, all of which, I'd like to stress, are clearly coming from a place of caring, make no mention of trying to coordinate with the housing authority, or of making it clear that "Occupy Sandy" wants to partner with them in an effort to check-in on residents. Overall, I'm left with the impression of much energy, some good works, and the danger of internecine fighting over who is "doing it right." I realize that these impressions may be incorrect, but they are what I'm left with since I'm not on site, so that's why I mention them here. You might consider it for what it's worth.
posted by OmieWise at 4:16 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Yeah, I'm all for holding government accountable. Accusing them of being murderers because they won't release a list of names you want is not that.
posted by OmieWise at 4:21 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Conrad-Casserole writes "yet, i'm actually surprised the city hasn't set up road blocks yet to keep non-residents out"

If there isn't any serious looting that is counter productive as it also prevents non registered organizations from entering the area.
posted by Mitheral at 5:17 PM on November 7, 2012

Some stories about the public housing situation stagewhisper refers to.

A living hell in NYCHA houses: Agency ignores blackout victims trapped since Hurricane Sandy

Thousands of public housing tenants struggle to survive without heat, water, and power - a full week after Hurricane Sandy

Mayor's Office with a daily update on city recovery efforts

NYCHA Facilities Provided with Generators
Approximately 323 NYCHA buildings housing 65,700 people have had their electricity restored. Currently, there are 79 buildings in 11 developments in Brooklyn (Coney Island and Red Hook) and the Far Rockaway housing approximately 13,500 people where electricity is still out. Working with the City, State and Federal governments, NYCHA is installing 15 additional generators to restore power to these locations by the end of the week.

Heat and hot water has been restored to 263 NYCHA buildings housing approximately 54,000 people. Currently there are 123 buildings throughout 18 developments affecting around 23,000 residents without heat. NYCHA has set up warming center in Red Hook and are working with the city to establish additional warming centers and provide blankets to residents who have not had heat or hot water restored.

It's certainly frustrating that the city isn't already enlisting the Occupy (or any) group's help with meeting the needs of folks in the buildings without power. I do think with just 18 developments, it would not be too difficult to find the 123 buildings in need through other means and the group is probably already on it.

It would be really cool if disaster planning for NYC could include some mechanism for enlisting volunteers and coordinating with the city better. I have no idea what the structural obstacles to that really are, though I'm sure they most certainly include liability and that's a biggie, but it would be a good thing to investigate when the dust settles - what would make it easier for a ready source of help to connect with a city need.
posted by Miko at 7:01 PM on November 7, 2012

Miko: It would be really cool if disaster planning for NYC could include some mechanism for enlisting volunteers and coordinating with the city better.

We used to use Civil Defense people for this. I understand why we gave up on CD in general, but it seems like having an organization of trained organizers that could be ballooned with volunteers when necessary makes a lot of sense and could be done for very little money. CERT hasn't proved to be a substitute.
posted by ob1quixote at 7:19 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

But, I guarantee that NYC has a robust disaster plan in place, especially post 9/11 and post-Katrina. I'm certain that that plan extends to the housing authority. I'm sure that there are people working on this problem, and who have been working on this plan, quite hard.

the problem is, if that plan was developed it's either not being put into effect or it's terribly flawed. there's truly not much gov't presence in some of the hardest hit places. FEMA didn't even go out to Staten Island today because of the nor'easter that's hitting the city with snow right now!? i don't know what the City or FEMA or Red Cross are waiting for, or maybe i'm just expecting to do something they're not mandated to do. the truth is that for the most part any and all relief being provided is by regular people, and that includes transporting, organizing and distributing huge numbers of supplies including food, clothing, medical supplies, diapers, blankets, tools etc. all in the middle of a gas shortage.
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 7:27 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

That is a great thought, ob1quixote. I'm not sure I understand why CD was phased out; it looks like it still exists nominally, but has been subsumed into FEMA/Homeland Security - it's certainly not something yery visible, to the extent it still exists.

Then there's this, which is creepily something other.
posted by Miko at 7:31 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

if that plan was developed it's either not being put into effect or it's terribly flawed.

If you read the Mayor's reports it looks like the flaw is that it's just not fast enough to restore power to all these buildings simultaneously. The capacity doesn't exist to do that.

maybe i'm just expecting to do something they're not mandated to do.

I think this is part of it. It seems like NYCHA has a responsibility to maintain power and heat in its buildings. And what it's doing with the resources it currently has at its command is restoring power and heat to its buildings, as fast as it can be done. But what's not in their area of responsibility (I'm guessing here) are things like providing food and extra blankets and clothing to people in the buildings where power hasn't been restored yet, communicating individually with each resident where power hasn't been restored yet, and helping people with mobility issues get in and out of the building to needed services. Things like that probably aren't in their purview.

And that's the reason that I think there is such an important role for a pre-organized network of charitable groups. IT's not that NYCHA is being negligent; they're doing what they're supposed to be doing. But since they can't do everything that residents are in need of, by having ready resources at hand who specialize in things like food aid, access issues, donation distribution, etc they can be assured that others are working on those fronts to meet the needs they can't. It's a patchwork. I think that's how most organizations work in disasters -divide and conquer.

There's some breakdown that meant that NYCHA was not willing or able to avail themselves officially of the services of Occupy Sandy. It might be for good and insurmountable reasons, it might not. It might be fixable, and in the next revision of NYCHA's and the city's disaster planning, it would be absolutely fantastic if people with understanding of the breakdown got involved to address it and build systems that might allow for city agencies to quickly take advantage of offers of help by decentralized grassroots and pop-up groups. But that's the kind of thing that has to happen in "peacetime," as it were; everyone in this midst of this right now is too focused, too stressed, too beseiged to do good systems thinking.

I noticed that there is a list of developments without power and without heat and hot water on a recovery info page on the NYCHA site. It seems to have been posted Tuesday.
posted by Miko at 7:41 PM on November 7, 2012

As It Happens - Wed. Nov 7 has an interview with the priest of St. Jacobi in Brooklyn -- the site of the Occupy Sandy emergency center. He gives a good description of how it is working and what the area is facing:

"The roads are icy now ... dangerous ... no traffic lights. ... Red Cross just isn't showing up - that's what I'm hearing from people ... [the government agencies] are not moving people out of the homes that are destroyed ... I just had a meeting with Occupy ...

[ How much longer will you be doing this? ] -- We have a sense unless the government and other private agencies can really step in quickly, we'll be going for another 6-8 weeks ...

(The Wednesday Edition - Part 2 ... podcast)
posted by Surfurrus at 12:25 AM on November 8, 2012

A hopeful update on the New York Aquarium (SLNYTimes), including a new photo of the Baby Walrus.
posted by jetlagaddict at 5:05 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Conrad-Casserole: " FEMA didn't even go out to Staten Island today because of the nor'easter that's hitting the city with snow right now!? i don't know what the City or FEMA or Red Cross are waiting for, or maybe i'm just expecting to do something they're not mandated to do. the truth is that for the most part any and all relief being provided is by regular people, and that includes transporting, organizing and distributing huge numbers of supplies including food, clothing, medical supplies, diapers, blankets, tools etc. all in the middle of a gas shortage."

I left work in Manhattan yesterday at 3pm by bus. It should have taken an hour to get to my kids' school in Queens to pick them up. I arrived at 5:30. The snow hit the area very hard and very rapidly. The bus I was on (I heard this from other commuters who took different lines as well, including my wife) kept pulling into bus stops and getting stuck in the snow and slush, and having to rock back and forth in order to pull free. My driver literally had to shovel out the bus' front tires twice so we could keep going.

Picked up my kids. Drove home at 10mph, because when I hit 15mph, I skidded partway into an intersection trying to stop at a red light. Visibility on the road was nil -- it was snowing very hard (a wet snow) and there was thick snow/slush everywhere. There were accidents everywhere. There was a pileup a mile from my house between two police cars and an ambulance. I stopped once to clean off the side windows and mirrors properly. It felt like one of the longest trips of my life, going a distance of just 5 miles.

Got home to find out that a friend had been driving on a road near my house and a tree had literally fallen onto her car. She was unhurt.

This morning, there were tree limbs down everywhere. A few telephone poles and streetlights knocked over in accidents. A few more traffic lights out. And the weight of the snow was bending the branches on trees quite a bit.

Can't speak for FEMA or Staten Island. But driving conditions in Queens were dangerous as hell last night.
posted by zarq at 7:31 AM on November 8, 2012

Meanwhile in Ontario it is 10c and sunny.

Seriously I'd be happy to trade with y'all.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:35 AM on November 8, 2012

I get responses like, ‘We’re trying.’”

I understand how incredibly frustating that is. And yet, I have no reason to disbelieve that.

The need exceeds the aid capacity; that's what makes it a disaster. If cities or states or neighborhoods had the resources to maintain full capacity for immediate recovery, swooping in just as storms moved out, disasters would not be a problem for anyone. But imagine the costliness and unwieldiness and inefficiency and needless bureaucracy that would result from maintaining that full capacity all the time. It's not feasible.

That's why NYCHA is overwhelmed. They're set up to build and maintain and manage public housing. But they're not set up for disaster mitigation in 2/3 of their houses at once. That isn't their core business. They clearly have disaster plans and in all honesty, it seems to me they're being reasonably effective at enacting them. But the fog of disaster is going to be a factor. The fact that a ConEd guy is waiting for a guy from NYCHA isn't surprising. They may even be well coordinated, and yet last-minute emergencies, transportation problems, communication problems could still cause delays like these. They aren't going to be able to send a crew to every building simultaneously. Like everyone, they are doing the best they can.

This points to the need for a patchwork of organizations interconnecting to meet need and coordinate recovery. Because NYCHA specializes in buildings, not food aid or donation distribution, they are doing what they need to do - fixing buildings. They are working on their prime directive, really. Meanwhile, people in those houses are in need of other kinds of emergency aid. So NYCHA needs to work with and rely on the support of other organizations who are more adept at that. I can't fault NYCHA for not delivering food; they don't know much about how to deliver food, and they're obviously fully occupied with restoring power and preventing dangerous conditions in a ton of buildings. That's understandably their first priority.

It's a fair critique that maybe there is a breakdown here. I don't know what in their disaster plan spells out the response when food aid, for instance, is needed. They may have partner organizations normally tasked with doing this who have been drawn off to other sites of need in this disaster, given that there are so many. They may be unable to get the resources they need. They may have made mistakes in underestimating the potential scale or impact of a disaster. They may have insufficient relationships with aid organizations. I think that the time to break all that down will be when the lights are back on and order is restored. It should be reviewed and it should be corrected for. It would be awesome if Occupy Sandy, one of the organizations most close to and familiar with the immediate aftermath in the NYCHA houses, was an active partner in those reviews and found ways to work with NYCHA and other city agencies to activate grassroots and pop-up aid when it occurs. How can NYCHA build a more responsive, resilient structure for situations like this? That is a great conversation to have.

I know it seems like I'm harping on Occupy Sandy, but that's not really what I'm doing. I'm just recognizing some organizational truths that are playing out on the ground right now. Ironically, if Occupy had to satisfy the same metrics we demand of NYCHA, they'd be failing too: uneven application, lack of access to needed resources, difficulties in communication, lack of external clarity about who to contact and where to initiate a process, lack of specialist expertise, lack of strong contact points in other organizations, incomplete coordination with other agencies, NGOs, and volunteers. It's not easy stuff, not ever, not in the least.

Another factor is that volunteers in this and other areas are encountering chronic need. The most vulnerable are the worst impacted. But the systems required to address chronic need are not the same as those required to address emergent need, meaning that some hardships of a more chronic nature generally can't take first priority in an emergency, which is heartbreaking but pragmatic from a help-the-most point of view. I suppose that for some volunteers (and media) who may be encountering various kinds of chronic need for the first time, there is the possibility of being overwhelmed by the issues of standard of living and access to resources and care, but it's important to distinguish chronic from emergent needs and apply the appropriate aid to the appropriate problem.

There will be a lot to learn after this disaster. Because all said and done, this still wasn't the worst-case scenario for a storm of this kind. One of things it will be most interesting to learn from is this issue of how to integrate emerging forms of grassroots effort. It's a different proposition from working with United Way or the Red Cross, and it's not one cities have had a lot of experience with. It's also hard to predict its future. So how to integrate efforts of that kind is an interesting discussion to have.

That said, I want to make it clear I support all kinds of personal-level and grassroots voluntary effort. I'm most in touch with the situation on the Jersey Shore, but there, it's absolutely neighbors, houses of worship, fire departments, and other groups doing the most. It's really important. Just wanting to advocate that if you're interested in being a better disaster responder, it's really good to work toward an understanding of principles of disaster coordination and ways of interfacing with the public agencies you'll need to partner with to get things done, and/or working around them when need demands.
posted by Miko at 9:11 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

maybe i'm just expecting to do something they're not mandated to do

This, too. I've been reading a bit about what FEMA actually does do. Most Americans have probably heard of FEMA and seem to imagine the kind of aid they would provide. But I've been reading about FEMA this morning - they do a certain limited set of things and I'm not sure door-to-door aid is always one of them. Mainly, what they do is bring in exertise and coordinate resource allocation to the affected area, working with governments. They assist existing organizations in delivering aid, but they don't always take over for those organizations. I just looked up my hometown in a Recovery Center locator,, and they're supporting four shelters within the 25-mile radius surrounding it.

FEMA personnel have been deployed to support response operations, including search and rescue, situational awareness, communications and logistical support in states affected by the storm. Community relations teams are on the ground in the hardest hit areas going door-to-door to inform disaster survivors about available services and resources and to gather situational awareness. FEMA continues to coordinate with the federal family to deploy and mobilize hundreds of staff from various federal agencies to support community relations and operational activities. Housing inspectors are on the ground, meeting with disaster survivors to identify damages to homes, to further expedite assistance to individuals.Then of course they do the financial aid and long-term housing support. Here's their blog with recent updates.

In general though the point about expectations is good. If we're measuring the efficacy of an organization's actions, we have to measure it against their stated scope of intent, not against our imagination or wishes about what they could have or should have done. Now that FEMA is famous (thanks, Brownie!) I think that people have developed a strong sense of what they should be doing that doesn't align perfectly with their mission, strategies, and capabilities. It doesn't mean that stuff shouldn't be done, just that we haven't set FEMA up to do it in just that way, and it might mean we're expecting certain kinds of help from the wrong quarters.

posted by Miko at 9:59 AM on November 8, 2012

Sure, there are lots of things that bicycles can’t do, or that motor vehicles can do better, if they’re available. Some Bicycle Habitat customers drove heavier donations, like bottled water and canned food, out to the Rockaways to supplement the bicycle effort.

But as I pedaled along the streets of the peninsula, my panniers filled with hand warmers and tampons and energy bars, I was struck again by the power of the bicycle. It is a machine that is uniquely able to leverage and amplify human effort. And this is precisely what we have seen all over the city in the days since the storm hit: The humble work of individual people, harnessed to simple mechanisms, can gain strength exponentially. And move a city forward.

The Power of Bicycles in Disaster Relief
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 11:07 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Gas rationing comes to Long Island
posted by desjardins at 1:39 PM on November 8, 2012

This is what the current gas station map of the area looks like. I now have 1/4 of a tank and am trying to figure out if I should go to Fort Lee late tonight to try to fill up. Lines in Queens have been horrific. And if I get all the way out there and don't have enough gas to get back, I'll be seriously screwed.
posted by zarq at 1:48 PM on November 8, 2012

The New Revolution: The Grassroots Efforts of Hurricane Sandy Relief (Photos)
posted by homunculus at 3:07 PM on November 8, 2012

Another thing: (I know, I'm obssessing a little, but it's interesting): the inevitable "revolution" thing. I feel like this is a little bit like the Bowling Alone controversy. In that discussion, the author had argued that civic organizations and investment were dying. In reality, some old organizations were going out of being, but what he missed was that meanwhile new internet-fueled organizations and relationships were starting up - so there was probably no net loss of connection, but the nature of interpersonal connection became less geographical.

IN a similar but opposite way, I think that grassroots and pop-up response to disaster has always existed, but without the internet and perhaps the structures established with its help, like Occupy, they worked through on-the-ground social networks like schools, churches, fraternal organizations, Scouts, and so on.

In other words I don't think there's anything new under the sun about neighbor helping neighbor, or regular person helping regular person - we've always done it and I hope always will, though there there is a lot of interesting nuance in the shapes that takes at different times in history, and the expressions that it takes vary quite a bit with changing style, vocabulary, rhetoric and self-perceptions, but it is, thank goodness, an American thing, and probably a human thing, and hopefully we'll keep it up and do more of it.
posted by Miko at 4:03 PM on November 8, 2012

Oh, and the cool thing is that through there probably was a real nadir in local civiv engagement over the 90s and oughts, as we develop better geo-aware devices and tools and more flexible social media, the geographic level of organization is being integrated back in, making something like a real-time coordinated disaster service response in a specific locality possible, in addition to meetups and the like.

Which is pretty awesome, and I think the new institutions that are being structured, even if some of them are somewhat anti-institution, are a great indication that the spirit that drives people to associate for causes is perennial.
posted by Miko at 4:20 PM on November 8, 2012

That 'New Revolution' link reminds me of the * Cuban emergency response system
and I agree with Miko -- I think when we knew our neighbors we used a system like this intuitively. The new technologies have certainly helped us better respond to disasters like Sandy, and even create new community connections. BUT now ... we still have a way to go to PLAN for disasters.

* Hurricane awareness is taught in schools and there are practice drills for the public before each hurricane season... Each residential block has a person assigned to take a census on who is being evacuated to which shelter, with special attention paid to the elderly and pregnant women, and as efforts are organized locally, compliance is increased.
posted by Surfurrus at 6:15 PM on November 8, 2012

I think when we knew our neighbors we used a system like this intuitively.

It sounds like part of the problem here might be the concentration of disabled and elderly people who can't necessarily help themselves, let alone their neighbors. In the past, these populations would have been more spread out within the community and probably more able-bodied neighbors would have known who they were and been in a better position to help them.
posted by desjardins at 6:33 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

Yeah this is sometimes the one downside of concentration of social services, that in a real crisis you have many very needy populations with maybe not-great coping skills to begin with all in one place. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it could be a very good thing, it just seems to need more social service contingencies built into it than it seems to have. More to the point it just highlights how much our public social safety net relies on people's own support networks to fill in the gaps.

I'm reminded a bit, along the know-your-neighbors discussion, about how Hurricane Irene went here. Different situation, certainly (not cold, almost no loss of life, but massive power outages and infrastructure/road outages) but there were a few major interesting points.

1. There was really differential response from the various affected towns right off the bat (my town closed town hall and the library because there was no power, other towns opened their doors because that was where you HAD to go) leading to different trajectories. The state had some "fix the roads" and "fix the power" responses but a lot of the other stuff was handled town by town.

2. we have a much smaller population and so even the high density places that were affected could be dealt with on a neighbor helping neighbor basis like desjardins outlines. The ratio of affected people to unaffected people was always manageable.

3. people have space and extra "just in case of emergency" stuff here. There were, for example, people needing medicine in towns that was delivered to them by ATV and horseback because that's what people had. You can't keep a "just in case" ATV or horse in a lot of the affected places in NY/NJ.

4. a lot of people used social networking to make sure their property and relatives were okay. I make the point often that just having access to these tools even if you're not really that into using them, can be a lifeline in cases like this. One of the shames of NYCHA is that it's public housing, could come with things like internet connections and etc, and doesn't. I like Miko's version of the people being networked and safer and less alone, but (hobby horse alert) this is only true if people know about the existence of these networks, to say nothing of how to use them.
posted by jessamyn at 7:02 PM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

That is a good point, jessamyn, and probably it's time to integrate internet/social media training and predictable go-to places and actions into standard disaster planning.

During the storm and first few days I was serving as this odd sort of outpost for my family and friends who were all without power. Some had smartphones, but even with those, they really were at a loss for information, and had no way to know how vast the destruction was. So I was trying to help them find out what was going on, and where they could get what they needed or do something to help, using my perfectly fine internet a few hours north. It was wild.

During that time I posted something on Facebook about how clear it seemed that there needed to be better systems to aggregate and share information in this kind of situation, in a clear, mappable, searchable sort of way. Because what was happening to people was that the local news sites were not doing anything helpful (a separate rant), and the few places that were - upstarts like Facebook's Jersey Shore Hurricane News, which seriously I am ready to nominate for a Pulitzer - were not easily searchable, so you had to use your poor little battery charge to scroll through tons of linear data to find out what you wanted. It isn't really great. A friend of mine posted this resource Ushahidi which is "designed to crowdsource information using multiple channels" like Facebook, Twitter, etc. Sounds good. It seems like we need sometihng like that for situations like this.

And, to jessamyn's point, not just "have" it, but have people who know how to find it, use it, bookmark it, and think to go to it when they need it. It's all human-level work.

And maybe building that stuff is also a people-level solution.
posted by Miko at 7:24 PM on November 8, 2012

Before I finished reading your comment I was thinking of Ushahidi, which really came into its own in the 2010 Haiti earthquake. I follow a lot of geography folks on Twitter and I haven't heard as much crowdmapping chatter as I would have expected. I don't know what's up with that. Focused on the election, I guess, as everyone I know has posted their own red/blue map.
posted by desjardins at 7:39 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

About gas.... Costco in New Rochelle (1 Industrial Lane, New Rochelle, NY, 10805 / 914-235-2233) has regular and premium gas, they get 5-6 tankers a day, so they apparently don't run out. They have a ton of pumps, and Westchester is not affected by the rationing rules put in place by Bloomberg (NYC) and Christie (NJ). Best of all, the line moves FAST. It took me 30 minutes from the time I got on line to finish filling my tank.

They do not accept cash. Only amex or a debit card. Normally, you need to be a Costco member to buy gas there, but during this crisis an attendant will put their membership card in the machine if you ask, so you can pump without one.
posted by zarq at 8:34 PM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

Parental units on, Staten Island (Great Kills) got their power back today. (It's been 12 days since the storm.)

Still no Time Warner Cable TV/Phone etc., though..
posted by Skygazer at 2:28 PM on November 9, 2012

Another Sandy Victim That Could Use Your Help: The New York Civil Liberties Union
posted by homunculus at 2:43 PM on November 9, 2012

So after posting multiple times abovethread about the Statue of Liberty and how she was faring through the storm, I feel obligated that to report that for the first time since Oct 29, she is lit! It was very nice to come home and say hello to her.

Also, traffic in jersey city is at total traffic apocalypse levels. OMG. This is possibly the finest argument I have ever seen for public transit... the tiny little streets are completely gridlocked. Columbus is not moving. Total insanity and horns honking all over.

(Also my parental units, in far rural jersey, still have no power. craziness.)
posted by lyra4 at 3:38 PM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

Friends in Rumson got power back yesterday, cousin in Shrewsbury got it today. Still a fair number of people out, though less orange and red on the map with each day.
posted by Miko at 3:47 PM on November 9, 2012

North/Central NJ: At my church, which had power and we opened up for people to get warm and charge things and get online, congregants started a "Biggest Loser" pool - $5 to enter, last person to get power wins. I think there were 21 families in it, plus 4 of us who had power and contributed. I think we're down to 5 or 6 families still in it. 2 families who were convinced they'd win got their power back late this afternoon. Still shocked we're headed into day 13 for some people.
posted by booksherpa at 7:09 PM on November 9, 2012 [7 favorites]

Today's New York Times gives a pretty good overview of what the Occupy Sandy operation consists of.
Where Fema fell Short Occupy Sandy Was There
posted by stagewhisper at 6:46 AM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ideas on protecting New York from future storms float to surface
posted by homunculus at 1:14 PM on November 10, 2012

I had a chance to visit my mom at the Jersey Shore this weekend. Driving around Point Pleasant Beach, a town well remembered from my childhood, and my husband's hometown, was surreal. We currently live in an area of NJ hit hard by Floyd and Irene, and this was like that, only worse. The piles in front of the homes were bigger, more homes seemed to be affected, and in many cases the homeowners were there cleaning. It was impossible, still, to enter Bay Head - National Guard troops had blocked the roads into town and were doing ID checks. My dad just got home yesterday from Florida, where he'd been since before the storm. Listening to him on the phone as he drove around seeing places in person for the first time was just a constant stream of interruptions of "Oh God! Oh my God!" My sister and I drove around Spring Lake, where the boardwalk was completely decimated. I didn't see a board left on the supports. The Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk seems to have fared somewhat better, but they have a wider beach and a large boardwalk, plus tons of buildings on the boardwalk - far more protection for the boardwalk itself. It will be a while before the shore comes back. I have no idea what this summer will hold for the tourist-driven economy of the Jersey Shore.

Also, some pictures.
posted by booksherpa at 8:52 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

That Kohr's photo brings it home, booksherpa. When I get back down for Christmas I'll probably be doing that drive too, that's around where I grew up.

It was especially sad seeing Point Pleasant thrashed - photos from Martell's Tiki Bar. I know it sounds stupid, but in trying times over the years, I have often been sustained by the vision of bliss that is sitting barefoot around a table at Martell's in a slowly drying bathing suit and cover-up, enjoying a drink with fruit in it as gentle breezes waft the grass umbrellas above us. A very early memory of Point Pleasant was going there on the train from Long Branch with my Kindergarten class. My mom was a chaperone, the train cars still had velvet seats, we made sand castles and we got a frozen custard. Something about that was really special and vivid.

I've been wondering about summer tourism too. Of course the towns will do anything they can to bring the businesses back in time. But no matter what's done, some of the physical capacity of the Shore will be reduced. Sandy Hook, for instance, was hit so badly that they have warned they might not even open next summer. Which puts a big dent in beach access, because on peak days they had over a million people on the beach there. Where will a million people go next summer? Many won't be able to go further South, because transportation links don't help them as well. Point will draw a lot because of the easy access from the train. Others will try to drive, which will probably make summer weekend gridlock even worse. But will others just avoid the Jersey Shore because of all this and go elsewhere? Where would they go? I will be interested to read projections and to see what happens. In any case, since there's less Shore, I expect what there is it to be more crowded, as a starting point.
posted by Miko at 8:13 AM on November 12, 2012

Crossing the Line
posted by homunculus at 4:52 PM on November 12, 2012

Huh, cool story, homunculus. I looked up the project mentioned. Mosher's blog, as mentioned in the article. And pictures of Mosher in the process of creating it the high water line.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 5:24 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

USGS mapped the high waterline in the days following the storm. They were in the park where I work for a couple of days. Interesting to talk to them - a couple of guys with surveyor equipment from Troy, NY. I believe they'll be posting their data in the next week or so.
posted by sciencegeek at 6:32 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Miko, or anyone else keeping tabs on the Rumson area - I was there for a few hours today. Basically, fucktons of trees down everywhere but they're no longer blocking most roads, they're chopped up a bit and piled on the sides. So driving is sort of a slalem and my mom is worried about what happens when they inevitably don't get it all hauled away before snow and ice piles up. But the power lines are mostly up and functional - we did pass two stretches of a block or so each where they were still down, and two roads still completely blocked off, so who knows what was going on there. But things seemed mostly pretty functional and my family and a few other locals I bumped into were in good spirits.

Most of the area schools had re-opened today, except for the ones right on the shore (like MAST, where a friend of mine teaches), which are still pretty thoroughly fucked.

We couldn't get gas in Rumson, the station was completely out, so we had to fuel up on the Turnpike to get me to the airport. But otherwise it was not too unlike a regular visit to the parental units
posted by Stacey at 7:40 PM on November 12, 2012

I understand MAST has to basically seek a new (semi-?) permanent home since Sandy Hook is closed for some unknown and lengthy amount of time.

The town I am really feeling for is Union Beach.
posted by Miko at 8:22 PM on November 12, 2012

That Kohr's photo brings it home, booksherpa.

Don't let it worry you overmuch. I realized from the angle, it looks like the boardwalk is covered in a large dune. Not so. That shot was taken from the beach, back up towards the boardwalk. The big pile of sand is a bulldozed sand dune, basically, and is on the beach in front of the boardwalk. I think it was created in between Sandy and the nor'easter. The boardwalk itself didn't seem too bad, but we didn't get to see a lot of it.
posted by booksherpa at 8:24 PM on November 12, 2012

Per my friend, the MAST teachers have been told the school probably won't be usable again until next September. They've been relocated to a previously-closed school building with no supplies, technology, etc. And given $50 from petty cash to get their classrooms up and running, make copies at Kinko's, etc. Not that the teachers whose curricula relied on being on the shore have any idea what to do with the rest of the year anyway.
posted by Stacey at 3:20 AM on November 13, 2012

Don't let it worry you overmuch. I realized from the angle, it looks like the boardwalk is covered in a large dune. Not so. That shot was taken from the beach, back up towards the boardwalk

Oh no, I figured, but it was the Kohr's sign looking bright and blue as ever...

That's crazy about MAST, that faculty must be spinning. Especially where field study is so much the point of the curriculum. I took Oceanography out there at the Brookdale lab and we were outside almost every class, and saw the MAST students out every day too. This is going to be a challenge for them. My sympathies.
posted by Miko at 5:46 AM on November 13, 2012

Sandy, Two Weeks Later
posted by homunculus at 12:36 PM on November 14, 2012

I spoke to someone today whose extended family lives in Gerritsen Beach - an area of Brooklyn that was designated as evacuation zone B, but which should have been in zone A. They were not evacuated, but the town was overwhelmed by the storm surge, many houses destroyed or badly flooded, etc. One of her relatives was trapped in his basement for hours by the sudden rush of water, which burst the basement windows and flooded the basement in seconds. Another described a wall of water 5' high coming down her street. There were houses with the first floor full of water.

Only now are utilities beginning to be restored to the area, and still each house must be separately inspected before its electricity can be turned on. As with all the other hard-hit areas, people have gone though their ruined houses and pulled out the drywall, insulation, furniture, etc - leaving mountains of mouldering trash that the city trucks can't come pick up yet.

They are home to the city's last volunteer fire department, and their fire department was running rescue operations that night and managed to avert all but one or two deaths. She said they are still in need of volunteer help and donations to the local institutions (eg the fire department, whose firehouse was flooded and looted).

They have a website: GerritsenBeach.net that lists their needs and where people can volunteer or donate.
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:13 PM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks again to those who responded previously to my inquiry about the m79 bus. Just as a followup, my commute (of under ten miles from NJ to the upper east side) is averaging 2hrs+ in and 3-4 hrs home at this point. Prior to the storm it was 1.5 each way. No big deal for me, since I know SO many have it SO much worse, but I just thought I chime in with those details in case someone might find it useful.

I encourage everyone to avoid Port Authority Bus Terminal at anything close to peak hours... its been a mess. If you're a regular rider, please be understanding with those who aren't. If you aren't, please understand regular riders know what they're doing. All in all, just chill out - it stinks, but its only a commute. Nobody is thrilled about this but we've all got to deal with it.
posted by blaneyphoto at 10:09 PM on November 16, 2012

Guerilla Relief

Heading east into Rockaway Beach, we glance nervously at the NYPD and National Guardsmen stationed at dead traffic lights, and at the men siphoning gas from abandoned cars strewn everywhere. On 87th, we cleave the guts of flooded homes and park beside a long procession of people queuing up for rations outside the Rockaway Surf Club, where founder of Waves For Water, Jon Rose, and a group of local surfers, anxiously wait.

“Glad to see you made it,” Rose says, behind him the grimy brick walls of the club, accented with a surfing-inspired calavera mural. “We were wondering how a trip into New York City with a thousand-pound gas bomb would go over with Homeland Security.”

posted by the man of twists and turns at 5:28 AM on November 17, 2012

Into the vault: the operation to rescue Manhattan's drowned internet
posted by homunculus at 12:20 PM on November 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sandy's Secret Survivors - Old, Disabled and Invisible in the Rockaways
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:14 PM on November 17, 2012

One of the things I was afraid of: despite the call for smarter rebuilding, expediency and need are going to force decisions.

While there has been debate at state and municipal levels about what the city ought to do to bolster its infrastructure against the perils of rising sea levels, the bureaucratic chaos in beach communities precludes any meaningful consideration of how to rebuild for those most affected.

It would be smart, in some ways, to restructure shoreline communities. But if your insurance isn't going to cover some or all of your loss, and all you own is that land where your house used to be. in the absence of a buyout a lot of people will probably borrow to rebuild.
posted by Miko at 7:34 AM on November 18, 2012

NYPD: Significant Sandy Flooding Has Destroyed Evidence
posted by homunculus at 11:18 AM on November 21, 2012

Hurricane Sandy Victims and Volunteers Making Do for Thanksgiving
posted by homunculus at 11:19 AM on November 21, 2012

Hurricane Sandy on Bikes in NYC
posted by aniola at 6:20 PM on November 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

That the authority was behaving so ungenerously toward someone so ill — someone whose troubles were then compounded by Hurricane Sandy, which trapped him in his apartment and left him unable to get to chemotherapy — would have surprised few of those gathered in the room, people prone to believe that the authority, even under ordinary circumstances, operates at a level of compassion somewhere between Howard Roark’s and J. Edgar Hoover’s.


In today's New York Times: A Rising Clamor for Compassion from the NY Public Housing Authority.
posted by stagewhisper at 9:21 AM on November 25, 2012

Is This The End?

NYTimes interactive: What Could Disappear
posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:57 AM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Some insurance companies to Sandy victims: You are covered for hurricanes, not floods. Of course! The concurrent flood was merely a strange circumstance, and in no way connected to the hurricane's rains or storm surge!

Residents of the Gulf Coast will be familiar with this dodge.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:32 AM on November 26, 2012