Hurricane Earl Advisory From HAL

[mamaofami]

Sail, thanks for letting us know that you, the passengers and the Maasdam are safely in the harbor. It's very quiet here near NYC too, although the rain is due here tomorrow.

[mamaofami]

Lisa, you can go to Accuweather.com and get up to the minute reports on the storms. They have several different sites that come up and they are keeping track of Earl right now. Do you have a weather channel on TV? They're doing a great job too.

[geocruiser]

mamaofami,

 

The weather channel is not saying much about NYC. I have my brother in Staten Island (that is where I grew up). What is the local news saying about the inpack there?

 

Maria

[serendipity1499]

Last winter In Florida it went down (Melbourne) below 60 degrees. I remember it being 29 degree in the AM. It was very cold for that state. Alot of the farmers lost their crops and it was devastating to them.

 

Maria

 

You're right Maria, I had forgotten about that..We had a few days of lower temps too, but not as bad as you & some of the other interior cities had..

 

Right now, 4:00 P.M. EDT, the pilot boarded Maasdam and we are just about into Boston Harbor. What is surreal is the seas are like glass and the eleven days DH and I have been aboard have been about the most perfect weather. He is as tanned as though in the Caribbean.

 

Captain.Hotel Manager and crew are doing MAGNIFICENT job taking care of us all.

 

WAY MORE later.

 

Sail, So happy to hear that you are all safe & sound..Hope you will still be safe after the storm passes..Thanks so much for letting us know..

 

Betty

[serendipity1499]

mamaofami,

 

The weather channel is not saying much about NYC. I have my brother in Staten Island (that is where I grew up). What is the local news saying about the inpack there?

 

Maria

 

Maria, we just talked to DH's brother in Rockaway Beach, in Queens..They say the temps have been in the High 90's & reached 100 yestereday for a short time..They are expecting lots of rain & wind, but think the major part of the Hurricane will remain off shore..Not sure about those out on the eastern end of L.I. though..They may see more of the effects of it..

We'll just have to wait & see..

Betty

[mamaofami]

mamaofami,

 

The weather channel is not saying much about NYC. I have my brother in Staten Island (that is where I grew up). What is the local news saying about the inpack there?

 

Maria

 

 

They're expecting the storm to have an impact on Long Island and they did talk about possible evacuations from there yesterday. As far as Staten Island, I haven't heard anything but rain predicted.

 

 

[geocruiser]

mamaofami,

 

Thank you,

 

Stay safe through the storm.

 

Maria

[innlady1]

Oh my, we're hunkering down...the eye of the storm is either going to go just to the west of us over MV...or hopefully to the east of us which would have less impact. Either way, we're in for a doozy.

 

The island stores are out of generators...I was able to snag the last portable radio available on the island this afternoon!

 

We have two dogs...the little one won't even go out...I think she can sense the change in the barometric pressure...I know I can...I NEVER have headaches and have had one all afternoon. I called the main # of the Emergency Shelter set up from noon tomorrow, and they won't take dogs...so we'll have to stay here with them.

 

All the major networks have satellite vans (or whatever they're called) in place here already. And, it's all over the New England Cable News.

 

I'll post til we lose power....

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Sheila, I am saying my prayers for you and hope it is not nearly as bad as they are saying. Hang in there :)

[mamaofami]

Thanks, geocruiser.

[innlady1]

Sheila, I am saying my prayers for you and hope it is not nearly as bad as they are saying. Hang in there :)

 

Thanks, Lisa. It's so weird...the sun is out, it's very hot, humid, and, for us here, everything is very "still." Sadly our L L Bean weather system stopped working and I threw it out instead of returning it for another!

 

Our son in law is going by our house in Hingham to take down the window boxes, put away the Adirondack chairs, bird feeders, pots of plants, so hopefully we'll be OK there. That's just 20 miles south of Boston...also on the water...but I don't think Boston or South of Boston will have anywhere near the damage we have here. It's inevitable...it's just a matter of how much damage.

[geocruiser]

innlady1,

 

Wishing you well and lets hope that the storm doesn't hit you.

 

Maria

[mudscraper]

Praying for your safety Sheila. I want to tell you to get out of there and go inland but I`m sure you`ve weighed all options.

[Max2003]

Looks like Earl is weakening. Good news! Still a bad storm.

 

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1602

[Copper10-8]

To all the coastal residents from North Carolina to the Canadian Maritimes, take care and be safe! Be careful and God Bless!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Oh my, we're hunkering down...the eye of the storm is either going to go just to the west of us over MV...or hopefully to the east of us which would have less impact. Either way, we're in for a doozy.

 

The island stores are out of generators...I was able to snag the last portable radio available on the island this afternoon!

 

We have two dogs...the little one won't even go out...I think she can sense the change in the barometric pressure...I know I can...I NEVER have headaches and have had one all afternoon. I called the main # of the Emergency Shelter set up from noon tomorrow, and they won't take dogs...so we'll have to stay here with them.

 

All the major networks have satellite vans (or whatever they're called) in place here already. And, it's all over the New England Cable News.

 

I'll post til we lose power....

 

Sheila, you have most especially been on my mind today. Please keep in touch if you can and let us know how you are when you can. I realize you will likely lose power, but we'll be thinking of you. The good news is it will be a fast moving storm once it reaches you and now it looks like a Cat 1 which is a bit better than they said before.

 

Still, looks like the hurricane force will hit you from what they were saying mere moments ago. I so hope you will be safe and well.

 

The calm before the storm can be almost eery, silent, quite amazing. And the dogs can definitey sense the change in pressure quite a bit in advance.

[innlady1]

Thanks, Heather....I'm keeping my cell phone charged. Email me with your phone # and I'll keep you posted. Thank goodness for cell phones. You're right...animals can sense these changes before we can.

 

We can't leave the island...DH is insisting on staying here...our son in law has battened down the hatches in Hingham so we should be OK there. We have two Bulgarian college students who live and work for us...so we can't leave them. And, we have guests who are supposed to check in tomorrow and Saturday for weddings...so unless everyone cancels...we really can't leave.

 

We'll move to higher ground if we have to....

[maltese mickey]

Thanks, Heather....I'm keeping my cell phone charged. Email me with your phone # and I'll keep you posted. Thank goodness for cell phones. You're right...animals can sense these changes before we can.

 

We can't leave the island...DH is insisting on staying here...our son in law has battened down the hatches in Hingham so we should be OK there. We have two Bulgarian college students who live and work for us...so we can't leave them. And, we have guests who are supposed to check in tomorrow and Saturday for weddings...so unless everyone cancels...we really can't leave.

 

We'll move to higher ground if we have to....

Golly, and my biggest "concern" is what to take on our cruise!! Hoping for the least impact for you and everyone else!!

[geocruiser]

Thanks, Heather....I'm keeping my cell phone charged. Email me with your phone # and I'll keep you posted. Thank goodness for cell phones. You're right...animals can sense these changes before we can.

 

We can't leave the island...DH is insisting on staying here...our son in law has battened down the hatches in Hingham so we should be OK there. We have two Bulgarian college students who live and work for us...so we can't leave them. And, we have guests who are supposed to check in tomorrow and Saturday for weddings...so unless everyone cancels...we really can't leave.

 

We'll move to higher ground if we have to....

 

Please stay safe. My prayers are with you and yours.

 

Maria

[HeatherInFlorida]

You've got mail, Sheila!:) I sent it to both the addresses I have for you because one of them might be wrong.

 

The other good news is it's supposed to be a beautiful weekend once the storm has passed by early Saturday morning! So if you aren't hit badly, it should be a good weekend for you and your guests. Let's hope ...

[Oceanwench]

Just an FYI ... after Hurricane Wilma in 2005, our cellphones did not work. Some people had better luck than others, depending on who their service provider was.

I remember my daughter drove a few miles away and stopped in a parking lot and was able to pick up a signal.

 

Good luck and be safe, all who are in the storm's path.

 

Sheila, we will be worrying and waiting to hear from you. My sister is in Chatham and decided to stay and ride out the storm.

[innlady1]

Thanks everyone...I appreciate the thoughts. To make matters worse, one of our daughters just called and put her five (almost 6-year-old) on the phone who was hysterical...a little friend had told her a hurricane was headed for Nantucket and she was very, very worried about her Mimi, Boppa, and our two furpals. Nothing I said seemed to help...I'm not sure how she even knew what a hurricane is. It was so sad...:(

[IRL_Joanie]

Thanks, Heather....I'm keeping my cell phone charged. Email me with your phone # and I'll keep you posted. Thank goodness for cell phones. You're right...animals can sense these changes before we can.

 

We can't leave the island...DH is insisting on staying here...our son in law has battened down the hatches in Hingham so we should be OK there. We have two Bulgarian college students who live and work for us...so we can't leave them. And, we have guests who are supposed to check in tomorrow and Saturday for weddings...so unless everyone cancels...we really can't leave.

 

We'll move to higher ground if we have to....

I left you a voice mail late this afternoon Sheila. Keeping all body parts crossed for your safety!!

 

Joanie

[DizzyDallasDi]

If you ever saw the devastation which Charley did many years ago, you would not think that storms could be romantic..We live on a canal & at that time did not have storm shutters..At the last minute the forcasters said it was headed our way & we had only a few hours to try to protect our home..We were plenty worried that our house would be gone..The eye actually went thru Punta Gorda, 30 miles north of us & that town was decimated..It looked like a bomb had hit or it was a game of "pick up sticks".. Thousands of homes were destroyed & people lived in FEMA trailers for several years, before they could rebuild as Insurance companies so much time to pay their claims..We were fortunate as only lost electricity for 9 days & had a few brancches down, but several across the canal lost their roof's.. :eek:

 

Our niece lives in Galvaston & works in the Hospital..You should hear the stories she tells of trying to get her Mother-in-law to a safe place when another Hurricane hit that area..Her Mother-in-laws apartment in the lower half of their house was destroyed..The elderly lady was so frightened that she refused to go back to Galvaston to live & instead is living with her daughter here in Florida..That's not a bit romantic..

 

Another poster said that those of us who live in Florida were not sympathetic to them when they were digging out of 10 feet of snow & we were complaining that it was 60 degrees here in Fla. this past winter..They thought that 10 feet of snow was comparable to a Cat 3 or 4 hurricane, & why should they care about those of us in the Hurricane belt...;)

 

That's like comparing apples to oranges..First of all we were complaining of the 60 degree weather, because it was devastating the Tourism business here in Florida...Many workers were being laid off & losing their homes.

 

Many times I've dug out of 8-10 feet of snow when we lived & worked up north..DH & I had to go to work, as our y jobs were considered essential & we didn't have snow days.. I've been stranded at the airport..Once drove 3 hours to get to my office in Lake Success only to be stranded in our office, for an entire weekend, because the snow plows did not get there to dig us out..The younger workers hiked down & back up the hill to get food for the older workers..

 

However, having 8-10 feet of snow is nothing compared to a Cat. 3 or 4 Hurricane, & I've lived through both..I can remember when one Hurricane (Gloria ?) hit us in Long Beach, on L.I....We were told to evacuate, but it was too late..Instead spent the time putting things which were important to us up in the attic & trying to raise our furniture off the ground floor..Our house, on a slab had no basement..The water came up 15 feet over the bulkhead & stopped within one foot of our back door..We had our life jackets ready..Believe me I would rather have had 10 feet of snow than to be flooded out, or have our roof torn off..

 

We can only hope & pray that all who are in the paths of these Hurricanes remain safe..Our thoughts are with you..

 

Betty

 

To Betty and all of those before her who wrote to "set me straight" about the lack of romantic aspects of a storm. I want to let you all know that I am not unfamiliar with storms as I have lived most of my life in tornado alley. I know what the wind and rain sound like when a tornado hits but I'm sure a hurricane is different because it lasts much longer. I also know first hand what it is to be a victim of such devastation...heart wrenching and very hard work.

 

I understand that I'm weird in that I don't get scared in storms. I find them fascinating and love watching them form and really get going. I might have been a storm chaser in another life. ;)

 

I'm not an insensitive moron because I find them exciting and romantic. I guess I'm turned on by a "different drummer" than others. Sorry I upset so many with my remarks.

[serendipity1499]

Thanks, Heather....I'm keeping my cell phone charged. Email me with your phone # and I'll keep you posted. Thank goodness for cell phones. You're right...animals can sense these changes before we can.

 

We can't leave the island...DH is insisting on staying here...our son in law has battened down the hatches in Hingham so we should be OK there. We have two Bulgarian college students who live and work for us...so we can't leave them. And, we have guests who are supposed to check in tomorrow and Saturday for weddings...so unless everyone cancels...we really can't leave.

 

We'll move to higher ground if we have to....

 

I too wish you well & will say a prayer for you, family, friends, fur babies, & guests...Hope you all will be safe..

And will pray that everyone in all the storm paths will stay safe..

Betty