Hi. The poles are 8ft tall, and he put them 2 feet into the ground with a pole pounder (or whatever it's called).

I hope your parents, and everyone else you care about there in NJ, remain safe. They are making this sound like the apocalypse with words like "dire, unprecedented, serious as a heart attack", because it's a north-heading hurricane, meeting a nor'easter on a full moon.

Sounds like a movie..

I will say that I've never seen anything like this. No other meteorologists I know have ever seen anything like this, either. The computer simulations have spit out things I never thought I'd see them spit out. Record crushing low pressure for wherever this comes ashore (which is probably New Jersey but we're not 100% sure yet). Usually extremely low pressure means very strong winds.

All that being said, I don't think my parents in inland NJ see gusts higher than about 65 mph. Its just hard to do much higher across inland areas unless you've got a thunderstorm or tornado to locally enhance it. Too many trees and hills to disrupt the low level wind flow. Thus, my suspicion that 60 mph is about the best you can do way out in western NY.

I'm glad to hear it won't be necessary to take the poles down. Now I just have to convince dh.

Putting those poles in were a pain, and in the process I got stung by a yellow jacket.

I really respect the Natl. Hurricane Center, they were predicting a Caribbean-born hurricane would develope over a week before anything was visible. But they dropped the ball tonight in the confusion they caused tonight. Earlier, they decided to refrain from posting hurricane watches and warnings up the coast.--They woud just issue 'high wind warnings'. This despite hurricane watches having already been posted for all offshore Atlantic waters up and down the coast and the fact, there was still a fully classified hurricane involved and expected to persist till landfall. This might have been the reason, Mayor Bloomburg, dismissively downplayed the significance of the storm as neither a hurricane nor a tropical storm in a live television broadcast.. The meteorologists looked dumbfounded by Bloomburg's downplaying of the storm but also expressed surprise by the Hurricane Center's decision to not post hurricane watches and warnings further north. Well, I just went back to the site and now all local waters are colored violet for, not a hurricane, but for hurricane FORCE winds. On land, even the beach, it's still only high wind warning! Got that?! Expect all of NJ, LI, and NYC Metro, land included, will all soon be shaded in violet.

This was really poorly handled by the experts.

As one of those experts, I can tell you that the decision to go non-tropical came from among the highest echelons of the service. Not necessarily NHC. The decision has not been overturned, but the outer waters are handled by a different part of the NWS than the near-coast waters, so that is likely the cause of the warning discrepancy.

That having been said, Bloomberg is... well, misinformed. Just glancing at the tide gauge forecasts around NYC shows we are forecasting near record tidal flooding.

I wonder if non-tropical comes from the play with the strong low approaching from the west. Often times, as the low approaches the coast, the energy is transferred to a developing low off the Virginia coast. The cold low pressure then is non-tropical? At any rate, the folks just north of this storm center will get the worst tides. Add the spring tide from the full moon and you get a heck of a storm surge. Here on the east Coast, tides generally move from south to north (high tide comes sooner south of you). This means if the storm comes up just south of Delaware Bay, the surge and higher than normal tide will be funneled up the west side of Jersey and flood western New Jersey and Philadelphia.

A similar storm (Isabel) hit a few years back just south of Chesapeake Bay in North Carolina. The winds pushed the water up the rivers of eastern VA and the Chesapeake Bay. Places around Baltimore flooded much more than they had seen for a long time even though the winds in B-more were not bad. Geography dictated that the surge of water traveled to flood Alexandria, VA, Wash. D.C. and Baltimore even though they were never in the path of the storm.

Here in southern Penn. generators are hard to come by. TV is saying the Lowes and HDepots are out. Gas cans are scarce. This isn't our first hurricane, what did these people do last time? It always amazes me that every time one of these comes along (a bad one every couple of years), people seem unprepared. I spent the day cleaning the waterways. Forecast here is for 6+inches of rain, 40mph winds for 3 or 4 days.

Last year when Irene hit, the path went up the Susquehanna valley. Non-stop rain, water went up so fast in some areas that customers of some fast food joints left the food and ran. Parking lots full of cars underwater. Zoo America in Hershey, PA had to kill their bison when the water trapped them where they couldn't get them to safety. The choices were to either shoot them, let them drown, or open the gates and let them romp through an amusement park full of people. Chaos in a lot of towns around here.

This one seems to be behaving according to forecasts, and we have good warning. I hope it accelerates after it comes ashore (many do), but sometimes the ones associated with a front hang around. I wonder why the difference.

It seems that within the last decade or so, meteorologists have begun to recognize some storms as SUBTROPICAL systems with characteristics of both tropical hurricanes (warm core and lack of fronts), AND mid latitude cyclones (expansive wind fields lack of classic 'eye'). Have these hybrids become more potent in recent years or always existed? In any event, recent years have been VERY stormy for the East Coast. Be safe everyone in the zone!

11o'clock weather told us to prepare for 60mph winds into Tues. am. Even Lancaster County (Cen. PA, west of Philly) will get 70mph and 8+ inches of rain. High temps for the day in the 40sF. Lots of cold wet rain and gale force winds. Saturated soil and wind = loss of electricity. The generator is noisy, but at the same time, the noise is beautiful.

Milder here, but windy and rainy forecast. Near 70 today, though onlly near 60 or upper 50's for the main event. Seems that latest model runs have shifted north from Delaware and S. Jersey to Central Jersey . I fear this thing will blow up off Cape Hatteras as so any do. I don't know way's worse the wind or the rain. This is going to be bad!!

If all this isn't bad enough, Canada just had a 7.7 earthquake, and now there's a Tsunami warning that's been issued...

Sandy is forecast to move due west into western MD. Mountains will provide some wind protection, but NE winds can funnel down NE-SW valleys here w/little obstruction. Power will prb'ly go out here with many trees w/leaves still on. The ground can absorb a couple inches rain, but after that it'll all run off.

Dzitmoidonc, Harrisburg, PA was right under Irene's gun. Tropical moisture sometimes funnels up the Susquehanna valley -- that part of northern MD has the highest avg rainfall in MD other than the peaks/west slopes of the highest western "mountains".

4-5" rain here will turn my border stream into a raging monster. Hope it doesn't wash away my streamside Bald cypresses (13 of 'em) -- they're tough tho.

I didn't know that about the MD area of the Susquehanna having more precip.
Beng, aren't they calling for 2 ft. of snow for your area? Local forecasts are warning us about traveling west for the next few days. I hope most of your leaves are down.

Taxodium have wide spreading roots, so even if one side is washed, the other will likely be ok.

Yeah, Isabel here is usually called Isabel-Lee. Lee arrived a couple of days before and soaked everything, saturating the ground. Then Isabel. A lot of small towns went under water for about 1/2 day. Driving up to Sunbury towards NCen PA, the main road is right along the river. (Route 11/15). I remember seeing the East Branch Susquehanna having camps, mobile homes, campers and parts of houses floating by. The west branch, coming from Williamsport, PA was much cleaner, by virtue of the fact that Isabel went east. The 2 rivers flowed side by side for a couple miles before merging somewhere below Shamokin Dam. Impressive to see a big river 1/2 brown, 1/2 clear.

Well clear of it here ;-)

Resin

Just how far west is this thing supposed to track once over land? Each iteration I see seems to be putting it farther and farther into Ohio R. valley region.

+oM

So, my plans to fly to Chicago and get out are futile. This storm is looking worse than a normal hurricane, and it is still intensifying over the Gulf Stream at present and rebuilding an eye wall. After a couple of crazy shopping days, streets and roads are getting deserted and people and other animals are laying low. UK, wait, it may eventually reach you across the pond.

Tom-

18z GFS had it moving into NW PENN and then north up into Canada... I'm on the west side of Wisconsin, and i doubt we see anything more then a little NW wind...on the east side (by the lake), probably see higher winds near 30mph...maybe some higher gusts..

Dzitmoidonc, last I heard was wet snow above 3000', especially in the WV mountains. That's a tricky forecast tho -- the elevation could lower, storm-track could change, etc. Right now the temp here is 45F w/light rain -- safe so far.

Fortunately, just in the last few days many leaves locally have dropped, but one has to consider the whole length of the electrical supply lines from the sources. Two main 500 kVA transmission lines cross the highest mountains in southern PA going east & are right in the path areas.

The shore is getting hammered, and landfall is at least 6 hours away. I hope that everyone heeded the evacuation orders. Best of luck to everyone in Sandy's path.

We are going to get the affects of Sandy here in 4 hours. We have our generator on standby. Dh took down the burlap yesterday, but kept the poles up. Went to the store and got all the non-perishable food items needed, and other supplies to get us through a possible extended power outage...

So far the area around my parents has winds gusting up to 53 mph.

Yes,it has already started...Do you think the large tree looks dead to you? We live on the second floor of a brick apartment. I am so worried about it slightly swaying. The picture is taken off my balcony, in which I can touch the branches.

shesabstract, if you are worried about the tree that much, can you go to a relatives house? If you aren't on the top floor it may affect the unlucky people above you and not you. I read your original post. Was it alive this summer/fall? If it's been leafless and dead looking this past spring/summer I would worry. It may sway in the wind on top, but if that thick trunk at the bottom is moving I would be outta there. As far as Sandy goes we are in the bit of wind and rain/sleet/snow category as of last night. My dad said 4 ft of snow but he is deaf in one ear and can't hear out of the other.

Winds now gusting to 61 mph near my parents in Jersey...

Also Shesa....it's not especially dead trees that one needs to be concerned about. Especially when in leaf, live, healthy trees catch much more wind.

+oM

Hope you're all safe and OK!

Resin

The winds are really increasing here, but we won't see the maximum winds until 10-11pm tonight. I hope our power stays on through it all.

Famartin, I hope your parents stay safe, and that their power is, and remains, on.

Moved into the basement. Winds to hurricane force now. NE quadrant this time. Rain was MUCH, MUCH worse so far with Irene, winds more an issue with this one. Surprised there is still power, but I guess te last 3 years' storms have taken out all the dead and weak wood. Lights flickering now...

Torrential rain for about 13 hours straight. There is a ice crust on the ground, a thin crust. We are due to get snow yet.

We didn't lose power, though the lights flickered several times. The winds sounded brutal out there! It's safe to say I won't have to water my trees anymore this season. They're good to go until Spring.

Winds have been blowing for 2 days here - Gale warnings have been issued for the Great Lakes. Probably about 20 MPH, with gusts up to 40 or so. Actually, fairly normal around here.

Harbors in Milwaukee, Kenosha, and other Wisconsin cities have been secured! Now that's a widespread storm system. In fact, while any effects here will pale in comparison to you guys further east, the very west-most fringe of this thing is in fact going to reach us here in E. Wisconsin. Crazy stuff.

Hope those of you in the areas of major impact get through this thing alright.

+oM

I survived Hurricane Sandy!

The center is right on top now, but winds are light. About 4" rain here, but the flooding isn't unusually bad (it moved very fast going west). But the neighbor's huge, old barn is a pile of rubble!

The fact that the power flickered constantly, but never went out is almost as amazing as the storm.

38 degrees here, with snow flurries starting...

I was out to eat yesterday afternoon in the bar area and the TV cast stated that Sandy was going to make landfall in a couple hours. One of the patrons at the bar made a sarcastic remark of "ooooh" and shoke his hands. I felt like punching him in the face!

Winds got pretty strong here last night and I'm 25 miles off the lake. Sustained around 30 and gusting over 40.

Sustained 22mph and gusting to 35mph right now on Tues afternoon.

33 people died from Sandy. Perhaps he should have been standing right there when newborn babies cleaning to life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in NYC had to be taken off life support and carried down NINE flights of stairs because the emergency generators didn't come on when the power went out. Nurses had to squeeze a bag to deliver air to the babies lungs while at the same time carrying them down all those stairs.

That bar patron needs to be punched right in the face; hard!

On another note, I have to give a small shout-out to my young Hornbeams. They stood up to those winds like total pros. They are the very definition of hardwood.

Expect the full story to get worse. Remember, there are still many, many people who are not able to communicate because they have no power, Internet, phone, etc. , even cell phone communication is difficult. Most of my yard is okay but in the rear yard, which is adjacent to public land and is heavily wooded--it looks like the aftermath of a plane crash. Tangled mess of large trees, vines and bamboo. A single, very large, old, weeping willow on public land came crashing down. Just missed a garage but did do major damage on a few magnolias.--One of which was just recovering from the freak snowstorm of last year. Chainsawing going on into the night. Second year in a row with significant hurricane issues and Halloween canceled yet again.

My parents got lucky, winds gusted to at least 68 mph in the area and there are well over 50% power outages (10,000 residences in a town of 35,000 people so you get the picture), but they only suffered minor power interruptions during the height. No trees down on their property either, but a lot of trees down all around. Part of there street is dark and there are damaged power poles nearby.

We got 8+ inches of rain here in central Penn, some wind, but when you consider what the coast got, we have no complaints. Power loss for 5 hours, it came back on at the height of the storm. Weird.
Trees are virtually naked now. About 1.5 million w/o electric here in PA, a lot of it will be restored by tomorrow around here. Still raining gently, temperature range today was 41F in the am, 42F this afternoon. (About 5C).

Visited my block.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:459223}}

Dzitmoidonc says:

Power loss for 5 hours, it came back on at the height of the storm. Weird.
*****

Circuit breakers will keep "testing" lines that are shorted. If a branch lays on a line & shorts it out, but then some hrs later gets blown or falls off, the short can clear & the breaker will restore the power.

You're right, nobody was out in that trying to make repairs -- obviously too dangerous.

I have not been on this forum much the last few days as I have been mesmerized by this storm from very beginning. It first appeared in the GFS model, then the Euro Model picked up up, at which time the GFS dropped it, and took Sandy out to see. That was where things remained for about a week, at which point both weather models came into agreement, and the picture was always some version of horrendous after that. I have every compassion for all of you that have lots trees, had wild areas distroyed, trees striped to trunks, etc. We had similar effects during our Jan 2009 ice storm, and everything is STILL recovering. Sandy turned out to be even worse than forecast, and that is saying something. But long term, it will be good for the forest, as it will weed out the weaker trees, and it will give more room for the remaining to expand, and it will allow new colonization, and in more mature forest, understory trees that have been waiting their turn will burst forth to fill the void over the coming year. Dogwoods will get more light, and flower more prolifically, same with serviceberry, and many other species especially wildflowers. Maybe the native pollinators can catch a break, and you will be rewarded with butterflies. The opening of the canopy will also help to control dogwood anthracnose, by drying the foliage so that the fungus can't take hold, giving much needed relief to those species in the NE.

Point of all this being that while this is a horrible event, so good will actually come from it, and all of you can set yourself in the right mindset to see these things to make it all more tolerable. Have a prepared mind to appreciate those positives.

Arktrees

I am fascinated by the hybrid nature of the storm that combined the WORST features of a tropical hurricane and a mid latitude cyclone (known as 'Nor'easters' from N.C. to New England).

Sandy had tropical features, including...

Absence of fronts (warm...cold, etc)
Intensity (winds gusting to over 100mph)
A warm core
A very large, eye-like feature

It also had mid latitude features (Enormous size).. What hurricanes have scales up to 1000 miles with tropical winds hundreds of miles from the eye?!

For those that might be interested in the meteorology of Sandy, check the link below.

Arktrees

Here is a link that might be useful: Why did Sandy go where it did?

It had hurricane characteristics when it was out over the ocean, but rapidly lost them as it was coming inland. You could see an eye on radar as the center entered radar range during the afternoon, but that eye disintegrated as it approached the coast. Fronts also developed with it, as seen in these surface analysis maps from the National Weather Service's Hydrometeorological Prediction Center:

Later, the analysis looked like this:

Finally, like this at 8PM Monday evening:

My power went out Monday afternoon and was out for almost 12 hours. This is the longest it has been out in the 10 years I've lived here. We have a municipal light company, and they are very good about maintaining trees and service. I didn't lose power at all during T.S. Irene and the freak October snowstorm last year, and the tree damage was particularly bad during that snowstorm.

Nevertheless there are large branches and trees down here and there. Found out yesterday why the power went out - this tree came down on the wires about 1/2 mile down the road.

Yeah, that'd do it.^ Reminds me, I need to call my sister in Worcester and see how she's faring.

+oM

We were without power for 10 days, which was not a lot of fun. Took us 8 days to find a generator to run the furnace.

It seemed to me, driving around the wilds of Essex County NJ that almost all of the trees that came up by the roots were street trees, squeezed in between the sidewalk and the curb/street; the trees in yards tended to break in half, like the one that took out our power line (both, obviously, doing an enormous amount of damage to life and property).

The winds were unbelievable - I have lived in NJ all 57 years of my life and seen many hurricanes of various sizes, and I had never experienced wind like that. I was very grateful that many of the trees had already lost a good part of their leaves, or it would have been worse. In a way, the snowstorm last fall probably saved a lot of houses, because the weaker branches were already gone before Sandy showed up. Quite an experience.