In fact, in some ways it is nicer, because I don't have the noisy buses going by out my window every ten minutes.

We had some incredible thunder and lighning at around 11:00pm last night and for a few minutes I questioned the wisdom of not getting out of here while I had the chance. I woke up a few times last night to check on the storm and it really did not look any different than some of the rainstorms we have had in the past.
Feeling relieved that it turned out to be a non-event for us but also a little let down.

From what I have read so far, it seems the flooding is bad more towards the interior than along the coastline, where it was expected to get ugly.

The man had brought some food and beverages, but was alarmed that there had been no contact by local authorities. And his cell phone was losing its charge....

The TV station called the local authorities and asked them to assist these trapped people.

Out of the storm surge and into the inland flood. Poor guy.

Here in northern NJ suboonia, I was beginning to replace some things on the front porch as the sun came out, let the cat outside, and figured we'd made it through OK. Then a huge gust of wind really stirred up the trees, but did not continue to blow strongly.

I was on the street talking to a neighbor, discussing how glad we were the electricity was not affected, when we got another huge gust of wind, heard a loud cracking noise, and, before our eyes, a huge branch from a very tall, mature tree came crashing down in another neighbor's yard. It hit a garden shed, but missed the house.

My neighbor and I looked at each other, and almost simultaneously said, "Maybe we should go back indoors...." The poor boy cat was hiding under the furniture cover I'd put over the outdoor table and chairs, but came out in a flash (he doesn't move all that fast as he's very ill, but he did this time) to get back inside.

That was about 2PM -- and the winds haven't let up since then -- steady strong winds with big gusts. Electricity has flickered many times, but staying on.

It's the tail end of the storm, but, dang, it is more than I'd imagined it would be. Especially as the reports were that the northern half was unusually stronger than souther half. The storm did pretty much disintegrate, but, wow it sure still has a kick.

Maybe the earlier predictions the storm would be here until 6PM were spot on.

Right now a woman is calling in to WNYC to say there's very little reporting about the ongoing ill effects of the storm on upstate NY. Massive flooding in the lower Hudson Valley, apparently.

May those in the reach of this thing be safe.

BTW, my insurance agent told me there was an extra deductible for hurricane related losses (I think it was $1000) on top of the regular deductible. I forgot to ask if that applied to tropical storm damages. This could mean some interesting discussions between insurers and the insured about just when Irene went from hurricane to tropical storm....

Vicious winds.  Lots of uprooted trees, snapped branches, twigs, leaves. Not much in the way of 'big' widespread damage but certainly don't want to minimize the damage. Flooding in many areas as many rivers (Schuylkill, Perkiomen, Brandywine, Delaware, etc.) crest well above flood stage. Many power outages. Ours was out for 12 hours from 1a until 1p this afternoon.

Winds have caused damage and widespread power outage well into central PA to Harrisburg area.

Scariest part was 10:00p-midnight last night as multiple tornado warnings were issued in the local area. About 10:45p, I thought one was about to arrive. We took refuge in the stairwell (no basement, lots of windows on main floors). Sky was weird color, wind was brutal, streetlights went out.

Bloomie had everyone all aflutter.

Now, everyone can thank him for shutting down the transportation system and making it impossible to get around.

Still.

It is not for naught.

It was a little exercise for the politicians who like to dress up as generals. They got everyone to jump. Leave their homes. Buy bottled water. ("potable" water:))

So now, we've had practice jumping when they say "jump".
It's good for us.
Let's get used to it. Election season is upon us and we need to know who's boss.

And the media. Superb.
Anchormen and anchorwomen standing in the rain with their slickers on, shouting in the microphones, telling us first hand that it is raining.

And Obama was just great. Zipping back to Washington. "Cutting short his vacation", so that he could read us the weather reports.

I have never been so proud of America.

Years Later

Pampered over-privileged scribe finally discovers that it's kinda bad when people don't have any jobs or money. Better late then never I guess.

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