Stormy Weather

[Serial_Apologist]

will we get the remnants of Sandy ?

I'm so parochial

No chance of that in this particular instance, because high pressure over the western Atlantic is steering this hurricane northwest, so it will end up over northern Canada.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

..and long may it stay there!

[mangerton]

I finished work shortly after eight this evening. Went to the car park, there was a lovely clear sky, the moon almost full, Jupiter in the east. Reached my car, and was horrified to discover the windows were frozen.

[salymap]

Never say 'never' over the weather. 'Hurricane, what hurrican?' then 30 ft trees sliding down the middle of the road. Shall never forget the sight of our two little episodes from years ago.

[Serial_Apologist]

Never say 'never' over the weather. 'Hurricane, what hurrican?' then 30 ft trees sliding down the middle of the road. Shall never forget the sight of our two little episodes from years ago.

Hurricane Sandy, who is no longer a hurricane but still a deep depression located west of NYC with strong winds and a lot of rain wrapped around its vortex, is now at least well clear of Marthe's part of the world, though from limited reports we may assume her power is off for the time being.

I must say this episode confirms the alarm bells that rang for me when I first alerted boredees to this a week ago - never having seen a hurricane that, instead of weakening as it moved northwards into colder waters, actually intensified, retainining its hurricane characteristics while at the same time extending its area of really intense winds and steep pressure fall far beyond the usual few miles surrounding the "eye", so that it took on the characteristics of the deep temperate depressions that are more and more becoming the norm in the north Atlantic winter half of the year.

On first glance (and I'm really just an amateur regarding the science) the southward diversion of the jet stream attributable to our strange weather patterns and poor summer would seem to be the main culprit, with a cold downward plunge over NE Canada leading to a re-intensification of Sandy, as happens with Atlantic lows, even after they've occluded, as will be seen here with a low developing near Scotland over the next few days which is going to intensify as a consequence of arctic air inflow on its western flank. This is to some extent what happened here in the '87 and '90 storms saly recalls; but, thank heavens, in this instance tropical air is not involved, otherwise we'd know all about it!

[salymap]

Thanks S-A. I've heard via her dad that family in Cos,Cob, CT are sleeping in kitchen at the back as a large tree in the front is a risk factor. Part of the road has been evacuated as 'Slosh factor' is High ???

Hope Anna hears about her relis soon and marthe is okay. Mahlerei asks to be remembered to marthe

[Anna]

saly, I remember the great storm of '87. Shortly after we travelled to see family in Sussex and I'll never forget the sight of all the trees lying felled like matchsticks. I'm sure cousins in Connecticut will be ok, they had some unstable trees felled just before Irene and they have generators. Seems New Jersey took the brunt of it. It's been ok today, just over 11° and windless. Last niight it was full moon but mist descended and it was most spooky conditions when I looked out. <ghostly emoticon>
Edit: And I forgot to say thank you to marthe for her update on the situation.

[salymap]

Anna I saw several places where the trees lay in rows like matchsticks in 87. Winkworth/Wentworth Arboretum was one. And the little churchyard in Surrey where Lewis Carroll is buried wasreally creepy, with enormous holes next to the graves where huge trees had been uprooted by the wind, leaving deep craters.

Have heard more from my cousins in CT, via her father here. 17 more photos formy bulging photo files and
tsken beforethe present weather of course. Liz's husband is on a business trip to Italy so she has three small children to cope with. Just like a man to be missing when he's needed.

[marthe]

Post-storm report from Newport, RI: the sun is shining and the power is back on. We had quite a blow yesterday afternoon and evening but not much rain. Flooding in low-lying coastal areas was due to higher than normal tides and surf. No trees came down but many branches litter the garden. We caught glimpses of the full moon through breaks in the clouds. We lit the house by candlelight and firelight last evening and thought of all those who had lived here over the past 250 or so years that the house has been standing. There's a bit of a holiday feel to things because so many places of work, schools etc. are still closed. I have yet to hear from one sister who lives in Jersey City, NJ, which was much harder hit than points north. Sisters in Westchester, north of NYC are OK. Sister in Manhattan is OK. Now for the clean-up!

PS: saly, please send my best wishes to Mahlerei!

[Serial_Apologist]

Anyone remember the storm of January 1990? People desperately clawing their way along a fence to prevent themselves being blown into the road; the entrance sign into a local park bent at 45 degrees; street lights at various precarious angles; the terrifying sound alone of that wind. One really felt the superior power of nature over the humbled humanoid. A row of mature lime trees in another park was felled. One had its roots not completely disinterred; the main trunk became a sort of sculpture for kids to clamber over, and the remaining stump re-sprouted a profusion of fresh stems from the base. That power of renewal was a powerful symptom of hope and endurance at a very dispiriting time in my life.

[Serial_Apologist]

Post-storm report from Newport, RI: the sun is shining and the power is back on. We had quite a blow yesterday afternoon and evening but not much rain. Flooding in low-lying coastal areas was due to higher than normal tides and surf. No trees came down but many branches litter the garden. We caught glimpses of the full moon through breaks in the clouds. We lit the house by candlelight and firelight last evening and thought of all those who had lived here over the past 250 or so years that the house has been standing. There's a bit of a holiday feel to things because so many places of work, schools etc. are still closed. I have yet to hear from one sister who lives in Jersey City, NJ, which was much harder hit than points north. Sisters in Westchester, north of NYC are OK. Sister in Manhattan is OK. Now for the clean-up!

PS: saly, please send my best wishes to Mahlerei!

Good to hear from you and that all's OK, marthe!

[salymap]

Anyone remember the storm of January 1990? People desperately clawing their way along a fence to prevent themselves being blown into the road; the entrance sign into a local park bent at 45 degrees; street lights at various precarious angles; the terrifying sound alone of that wind. One really felt the superior power of nature over the humbled humanoid. A row of mature lime trees in another park was felled. One had its roots not completely disinterred; the main trunk became a sort of sculpture for kids to clamber over, and the remaining stump re-sprouted a profusion of fresh stems from the base. That power of renewal was a powerful symptom of hope and endurance at a very dispiriting time in my life.

S-A My memories of the two bad storms get mixed up afterso long, but I know in the second one my little garden shed took off like a kite and flew down the garden. Insurers cemented in back into place but I had to pay a lot for replacemenmt fencing of about 150 feet, because of a technicality

[amateur51]

Post-storm report from Newport, RI: the sun is shining and the power is back on. We had quite a blow yesterday afternoon and evening but not much rain. Flooding in low-lying coastal areas was due to higher than normal tides and surf. No trees came down but many branches litter the garden. We caught glimpses of the full moon through breaks in the clouds. We lit the house by candlelight and firelight last evening and thought of all those who had lived here over the past 250 or so years that the house has been standing. There's a bit of a holiday feel to things because so many places of work, schools etc. are still closed. I have yet to hear from one sister who lives in Jersey City, NJ, which was much harder hit than points north. Sisters in Westchester, north of NYC are OK. Sister in Manhattan is OK. Now for the clean-up!

PS: saly, please send my best wishes to Mahlerei!

Very good to get this report marthe - and great to know that you & yours are ok too

[scottycelt]

I have a sister in Maine and the storm was pretty weak by the time it arrived there, so thankfully she is okay as well

Of course, as she herself pointed out, the same storm killed 52 in Haiti and an equally destructive typhoon has just struck parts of Asia which has seemingly gone quite unnoticed by much of the Western media., in contrast to the almost wall-to-wall coverage given to NY.

http://news.sky.com/story/1004769/typhoon-son-tinh-hits-vietnam-and-south-china

[mercia]

almost wall-to-wall coverage given to NY.

yes, that is rather noticeable
I've just been reminding myself of the statistics of last year's Japanese tsunami
19,000 dead or missing, 130,000 buildings destroyed, a further 900,000 damaged