We're all stocked up, generator is on stand-by, and we're ready as we can be I guess. So far, it looks like mid-state Connecticut will get tropical storm-category wind and rain vs. the hurricane force winds further south. I'm hoping the October snow storm last year has sufficiently pruned the local trees so we won't have an extended power outage. Fingers are crossed!

Best wishes to everyone in the storm's path, be safe, be careful! And please check in when this has passed.

Not sure what we will get here in mid-coast Maine, but we are ready. I am very happy to live in a very sturdy home, unlike the first two years I have lived here. I have a new roof, good windows, a Danish woodstove, propane burners that work as long I have propane, lots of water. Also it is not cold at all, in the 60's today. I have to go to work tonight, and more importantly I have to get home tomorrow morning! This being Maine, I have to cross many bodies of water, small and large, and I hope the roads won't be flooded or washed out.

I feel lucky that the storm already passed by SC and we got nothing but a little rain and wind from it. Having weathered several major hurricanes in coastal VA prior to my move here, I know how bad they can be, with power outages of more than 3 weeks, trees falling on houses and cars, and flooded streets.After Isabel hit, our neighborhoods looked like war zones.

Stay safe, everyone!

In my central part of Maryland it is starting to rain a little harder but the heavy rains and winds have not arrived yet. The worst of the storm is forecasted to hit here around 6:00 this evening and last all night. Since the power will likely be out it won't be possible to see what is happening and that concerns me.

As much as I miss my beloved dog and wish he were here with me, I'm somewhat relieved that I don't have to worry about caring for him during this scary storm.

Be careful and safe and let's hope for nothing worse than interesting stories to tell.

Here in Northern Virginia, the situation is similar to what Frances is seeing in Maryland: lots of rain (my backyard is fast turning into a swamp), with the wind just starting. No trains running today and OPM shut us down except for telework, so I'm home to watch the weather.

Frances, I understand about your dog - I'm in the same boat with my parrot, who died just last month after thirty years. I sure miss her, but she had gotten so fragile that caring for her during storms was getting more and more difficult. Last summer's extended power outage was very hard on her.

Cheryl, I'm so sorry about your parrot. After 30 years the loss has to have a huge, sad impact on your life.

I just sloshed my way out to the rain gauge to empty it in preparation for the big rains but we've only had just over 1 3/4 inches so far. That isn't too bad but so much water is standing rather than going into the ground. This ground is definitely not saturated because rain has been a rather rare occurrence here.

This has been the main news item on all out TV/radio channels here in the UK. Our thoughts are with you and your families.

Stay safe, everyone!

I've been glued to reporting from Ocean City, Maryland and Rehoboth, Delaware, two resorts I know well, and wondering if this storm will change the geography of that barrier island. Will my first beach house - a shack 3 blocks from the beach and 1 from a lake survive? My last beach house, on the bay, 6 blocks from the ocean, but with a canal that comes from the ocean to 1 house away will be vulnerable. Odd the affection I have for houses I've known.

In central Pennsylvania we are getting clobbered. Water is rising, wind is howling. Expecting to lose power any minute now. Trying to prepare as best we can.

Books - check
candles - check
popcorn - check
oh yea... and water...

Not looking good... we are smack in the middle and it is supposed to get worse tonight. Fingers crossed that all of the trees stay right where they are planted.

PAM

I'm just south of the Mason Dixon line on the Maryland side, between Baltimore and PA. We just saw a report showing the eye passing right over us later tonight. Trees are falling and thousands are now without power in B-more county and city, according to the BG&E map. I did some baking, cooking, and cleaning yesterday. We have to bundle up and go out with the dog for him to take care of "business;" he hates inclement weather. Our power keeps flickering, and I do anticipate it going out. We filled a bathtub with water since we need it in case the power goes out--we lose well water, too. Like PAM and others said, we are getting clobbered and it is far from over. Keep fingers crossed for us east-coasters.

My goodness, I didn't realize how many RPers are on the east coast. As a Midwesterner, I wish you all the best. Stay in and stay safe!

It's reached us here in Central NY. They've requested that everyone stay home; they don't want any unecessary travel on the roads. From the comfort and warmth of my living room I can hear the wind howling and we're not getting it as badly as those who live just to the south, west and east of us. Keep safe, all of you who are in Sandy's path.

My prayers and good wishes to all you, too. In most of Kentucky we are warned of high winds through tomorrow, and the mountain area alongside West Virginia may get hit with heavy rain and/or snow.

My daughter and son-in-law had gone to Gulf Shores, Alabama, last Thursday and came home Saturday night after the temperature dropped about 25 degrees and it began to rain. This is certainly some storm.

It started raining early this morning here in the Niagara region (Ontario), but the rain is now much worse. The wind has picked up too, which I find far more worrying. Our trees suffered through a prolonged drought this summer, followed by a wet autumn. Strong wind can uproot trees which look perfectly healthy.

I did not go into to work today, but instead stocked up on groceries, pet food (for 3 cats), and some other supplies. My flashlight is charging, and have candles/matches on my kitchen counter in case of a power failure.

I was guilty of not taking the storm too seriously at first, but that changed this morning. People at the pet store were stocking up, and you could sense everyone's general anxiety.

Hope everyone stays safe and sound, especially Siobhan who has to go out into the storm tonight.

We are also getting a lot of storm news on our TV programs in Western Australia with skype interviews with Aussies in the US as well as with journalists from many networks.
We know only too well the damage storms can cause. Here in Perth we had a freak tornado a while ago which caused a good deal of damage. I had to have my lovely bottle brush tree cut down to almost the trunk after all the branches were broken from the wind and rain. It is recovering but the original shape has gone forever.
Stay safe....

BBC News has been full of The Storm. Fingers crossed for you all - keep safe.

Checking in this morning. Lost some branches but nothing major. My little house is warm and dry. Roof is still on, shingles all still attached. Streams and rivers in the area are still rising but the rain has tapered off and the wind, while still blowing, is not howling like it did last night. I think we can breathe again. For those of you still in the thick of things, wishing you the best.

Keep us posted.
PAM

Working in London for a US bank, with most of our computer systems on the East Coast, it's all a bit exciting at the moment. We're supporting the systems remotely as most of the US staff are not going into the offices...

The pictures of New York looking practically deserted (but with the lights still on!) were quite surreal.

Stay safe everyone.

The southern tier of New York had little more than a moderate windstorm last night.
It began around 10 pm and was over by daybreak.
All is calm and lifted now.
The rain was minimal as well.
No loss of power.

We were spared the brunt of it.

Well Martin, things in NYC got much worse, as transformers burst and the city and boroughs did lose power. Not only the flooded streets and subways, but one borough was fighting major fires which destroyed homes.Some posters on our forums are still in the dark. Who knows when Wall St will re-open?

We're safe and sound in central Connecticut. We had lots of rain and wind overnight, but we didn't even lose power. I'm counting my blessings today! Friends and family report that southern CT and NY are a mess and power is out in many places.

Sending good wishes to everyone in the path of the storm, I hope all is well!

We seem to have dodged the bullet here in Northern Virginia, no trees down that I can see from our windows, just our bird feeder pole knocked over (which was probably the raccoon trying the climb the pole in the saturated ground! *S*). It's still cloudy out, but the wind and the rain seem to have died down. Time to start the clean-up!

We, too, seem to be in fine shape. Trees are still standing, power is still on. Lots of folks in our metro area are without power and the eastern shore resorts got hammered, so I feel fortunate. Did anyone else see the pictures of water rushing into the NYC subway tunnels? Scary stuff.

It looks like the worst is over. A catch basin just up the street has overflowed, so there is a lot of water running down the street. It is ankle deep in front of my driveway. It annoys me very much that cars will not slow down, despite the whole road being covered with water.

Sadly there was at least one hurricane-related fatality in Ontario. In Toronto, a woman was crushed by a large store sign which had been knocked over by the wind.

Like several posters above, I feel incredibly fortunate to have come through the storm with no problems -- lots of wind and rain but the trees are standing, the house is in one piece, and the basement is dry. The power and cable service barely flickered. My thoughts and best wishes go out to all of those who were not so lucky.

Glad to hear that most of you dodged the bullet!

Who didn't? Will/can we hear from them? How are you?

Well, I should not complain because so many others have it so much worse. I am well and safe, along with the others in my community. Been without power since 5 PM Monday night. Old security system in my house is malfunctioning due to power outages and is making me crazy, beeping at all hours and very difficult to turn off. A very large tree fell and narrowly missed my house. Gave me quite a turn to see it lying there right next to the foundation! We have a generator, but it doesn't run all of the time. My road is closed due to a telephone pole that is snapped in half and is hanging there with wires all over. I have spent both nights at work at the hospital where we have a very leaky ceiling. Unrelated to the storm, but very worrisome and stressful is that my car has something wrong with it, a rear strut or shock and is not driveable. I discovered this when I went out to go to work! Would you believe my landlord drove me to work and is also picking me up in the morning? What a hero!

Good things: I have water, both hot and cold, the toilet works just fine. It is not cold - in the 60's. I can cook on the propane burners. I have an intact roof over my head, sturdy walls around me, and a dry floor. My main entertainment is and always has been a plain old portable radio with batteries. Sometimes it is good to have old-school habits.

Bad things - the closed road makes it hard to get my car towed to the shop. I live some distance from town, so being carless is quite challenging. I just had a quite expensive car repair last week! This new problem is unrelated but very upsetting to my stress level and my bank account.

But I am terribly, terribly thankful that things weren't worse. What if that tree had fallen on my house? I would be homeless! Yes, I am thankful. And the power company said that possibly the power would be restored today (Wednesday).

I am thinking of those who are having a much harder time of it than I am and hoping good things will happen to them.

Anyone who lived along coastal areas is probably dealing with extensive flooding and in many cases devastated neighborhoods.
The news from NJ and NYC borroughs is horrible.

Siobhan, thanks for posting that. So glad you're OK, in spite of the difficulties. Here's hoping your power is restored today.

Good news! The power is back, the road is unblocked! I am preparing to go exchange my broken car for a rental car (unfortunately very $$$, but I am grateful it is available and I can, after all, afford it.) Weather is quite lovely today, blue skies, warm temps. Downright balmy.

A huge shout-out to my landlord, who has been wonderfully helpful and kind and went so far beyond the call of landlord-ship that it is unbelievable. He picked me up at work this morning and brought me home! At 7 AM! A 40-mile roundtrip! He had the water heater hot for when I got home to take a shower! If you are so included, send good thoughts to the universe for him.

Siobhan - glad all is ok in your world now. Nice landlord!

My 15-year old nephew (who lives in Norf London) happens to be on a school trip to NYC this week - arrived on Monday. I asked my bro (nephew's father) just why the school didn't cancel seeing as there was going to be... you know... a hurricane. Apparently the school didn't want to disappoint the kids (and I bet there's something like insurance in there as well). Besides, and I quote, "it was just going to be a bit of rain"...

The kid's already had to move hotels once. I have heard no power, no cell, no subway, few shops, no traffic lights, no public transportation and no lights on the streets. Hopefully it's better now. The nephew will a lot of adventures to share, I think...

Blessings on your landlord, Siobhan!

Just catching up on this thread. First, I didn't realize there are so many Pennsylvanians or close by on this forum. I live just outside of Philadelphia. I got off very lucky during the storm. My street is notorious for losing power, but we were out for only 3.5 hours. Others around here are still not back on line, and it is getting cold.

We had a lot of trees down around here, several on houses. I only had branches and sticks around. So glad I keep my house in good shape, so I had no leaks or wind/rain damage. I stowed away anything that might blow away. Today was the first day back for our schools.

The New Jersey shore took a terrible beating. I feel so sorry for anyone with shore property. It also looks like Staten Island got terribly damaged and parts of NYC are still without power.

Here is a house around the corner from me: