Hurricane Irene Threatens Northeastern United States



NOAA Satellite Picture of Hurricane Irene



Hurricane Irene strengthened to Category 3 before slamming into the Bahamas earlier today. With winds of 135 mph currently, the storm is expected to bring widespread damage in its path, as it bypasses the east coast of Florida and makes landfall on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The hurricane is slow-moving and envelopes a wider path than most hurricanes.  Forecasters have compared its span to that of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans, Louisiana in 2005.

Coastal areas along Irene's projected path have been warned to prepare with some evacuations already underway. Visitors to North Carolina's Outer Banks, Ocean City, Maryland, and Cape May, New Jersey, were ordered to evacuate. On Fire Island, a barrier island in Suffolk County, New York, ferries have already begun voluntary evacuations that could soon become mandatory.  North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut have declared states of emergency, on the basis of the latest forecast.  New York City hasn't had a direct hit from a hurricane since 1903,  but if did suffer damange during the "Long Island Express" hurricane in 1938 that also ripped through New England.  New Yorkers must brush up on hurricane preparedness quickly.

Having experienced Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 hurricane, in 1992, I can attest to the fact that people should evacuate immediately, if ordered to do so.  I had been away for the weekend and hadn't listened to TV or radio during that time.  I couldn't understand why so few cars were driving south on I-75, until I reached my home and turned on the TV.  By then, it was too late to leave, so I spent the night on the floor, wondering if the giant live oak tree with limbs directly over my roof would crash through and impale me to the floor.  Nothing untoward happened, but I have never experienced that kind of lingering terror before, and I hope I never will again.