Friday, August 26, 2011

Hurricane Irene & News Regarding Skyakes

For New Yorkers, the hot topic of the day is Hurricane Irene. Since New York isn't prone to hurricanes and natural disasters, any natural disaster instantly becomes headline news. Since this hurricane is the hot topic, I would be a fool to not talk about it!

What is Hurricane Irene though? I wake up this morning and according to my weather gadget on my desktop, we can expect "small transparent-blue dots" align together into mysterious formations on Sunday.

Darn you mysterious shapes!

If you check on Weather.com, you'll find "Heavy Rain/Wind" on Sunday. Well, doesn't sound too bad to me. I guess I'll close the windows, and snuggle up with some warm milk right?

After glancing up a few inches, I noticed the "Hurricane Irene's Assault on the East Coast Starts Today". Usually, the word assault isn't a good word the describe the east coast. Also, the words "Hurricane" isn't very promising either.

"Well that isn't usually there everyday."

After taking a look at Hurricane Irene's future forecast, I noticed that the hurricane will simply drift off towards the ocean. Oh wait, it's going to impact New York City directly. Bummer. According to certain graphs, the hurricane will impact New York at about Category 1 Hurricane speeds. Category 1 speeds include ground speeds of 26 miles per hour, and gusts reaching 85 miles per hour. If you drove that fast on the streets, you'll get a hefty speeding ticket.

Since hurricanes aren't a everyday occurrence, many people don't know how to prepare and react towards the hurricane. Luckily, the government have information available on their website and on 311.

Unless you're Nicholas Cage

The government has set zones in which categorize the areas most in danger. A mandatory evacuation has been set for coastal regions and "Zone A". While they aren't going to run around with biohazard suits, and force people out of their homes with water hoses, they are going to drive around with big trucks with speakers telling people to evacuate the area. If you're not sure if you are in Zone A or not sure where the evacuation centers are, feel free to check here.

Movie not related. Yet.

Other people not in the zoned areas are still in risk. They have suggested creating a "go-pack" including water bottles, non-perishable foods, important documents, credit cards, debit cards, 50-100 dollars in small bills, a flashlight, medications, first aid kits, and house/car keys. We can expect down electricity for a few days or weeks, which might give us some time to muse life.

Obviously, Monty Python knows where it's at.

The hurricane is expected to slowly approach around 8 AM on Sunday and end around the same time on Monday. With all the controversy about the damage in about a single day's time, we can expect to be hit pretty hard. What I can say that it is going to be strange having a hurricane during the day, it'll be like 24 hours "night".

Relating to this blog, I might not post tomorrow, considering if the electricity goes out and if I have time between boarding up my windows and crying myself asleep. Regardless of such, I'll see you around.

Unless it becomes post-apocalyptic earth.