Re: 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season: Non-Minnesotans arguing about the weather...
Sure looks like at the Jersey Shore we are going to have some excitement between Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon. And we have a full moon and high tide during that time period. Jenny and I are near the water and after Irene visited last year we are starting to prepare now. There is only so much we can do however since if power is lost for any length of time, that will be the biggest problem.
I have toyed with the idea of a telescoping wind power generator only for use in high winds. Not a windmill but a series of airfoils between twin conveyor belts to drive a generator. There would be something poetic about gathering electricity from the same storm winds that knock out the power lines.
Here in CT we've been getting robocalls from the town and the electric utility telling us what they are doing to prepare (given how woefully
unprepared they were during Irene!
)
While we live on relatively high ground, all the roads in or out go through low-lying areas and we were cut off for a day or two last time until the water subsided. One of the roads was completely destroyed and had to be rebuilt.
The story I'm hearing is that Manhattan might be particularly at risk. The rotation of the storm could have winds from the northeast driving water westward through Long Island Sound, which narrows as you go west, so that the surge would then travel faster and rise higher due to the confinement. Meanwhile, the oncoming storm itself is driving a second storm surge straight at the southern tip. If they both hit around the same time, who knows what might happen?
When Irene hit us last fall, it was a direct hit. It was one of the most exhilirating and most humbling events ever. We are (only?) a few miles away from Long Island Sound, and so the fury had not yet been abated by traveling over land. It also was around 3:30 AM and I'm sure my bleary-eyed state had something to do with my emotional responses. We were without power for about 8 days and felt giddy the whole time because we were safe!
Fortunately, the trains were running and the roads were clear so that both of us could commute to work where there was plenty of power. It was kind of fun to live by candlelight at night, and we had plenty of batteries for the radios.
