MR

I know we've got a few Charlotte area folks on this board. I'm supposed to leave for Charlotte tonight at 7 PM and stay there through Sunday night. From everything I can tell, read, and gather from the weather reports, news stories etc., it seems Charlotte is not in any danger from the storm.

On the other hand, this is supposedly a brutal hurricane. Presumably, with that comes a large degree of unpredictability. I'm just going to visit a good friend, so there's nothing urgent about being there this very weekend. I could always change the flight if I wanted to. But I'm struggling because right now, the weather reports look totally fine (indeed, beautiful) for the Charlotte area. And, as noted, the hurricane is supposedly not going anywhere near it.

I'd hate to pay the change fee for two tickets and push back a much-anticipated weekend only to see a beautiful weekend pass by. But I'd also hate to fly anywhere near a supposedly horrendous storm and get stranded or worse there.

What's the buzz on the ground in the Charlotte area about the storm?

There is currently not so much as a 10% chance of rain in Charlotte this weekend...no storms in the forecast until Tuesday.

Charlotte is way to far west to feel anything from the storm. You'll have no problems. I, on the other hand might be in for an interesting Sunday.

It seems like the edges will skirt the coast, and the center will go into the outer banks and it will be NJ who may get hit most go figure! It's near us right now in FL, and we just have a cloudy day from the outer bands. We may get intermittent rain! The most damage we'll see here is beach erosion! Being on the west side of a hurricane is the best place to be. The outer bands may give you some light winds and rain off and on! It really depends on where the eye decides to hit land though! I know it's selfish, but I'm flying out in the morning for Pittsburgh, and am glad it's stayed off of our coast and hopefully will not affect our flight tomorrow! It could depending on where our plane is coming from I guess!!

Ya, I know the weather reports look good and I know how far Charlotte is from the possible target areas. I'm gonna go unless the weather changes drastically in the next 3 hours. Shouldn't be a problem. Mainly don't want to get stranded Sunday in case shit hits the fan with flights.

Forecast for my area (Central Maryland)

The main threat for this region from Hurricane Irene will begin Saturday evening, continue through the night, and through Sunday during the daytime hours. Its track after landfall appears now to go straight up the coastline of the Delmarva, and then the Jersey Shore, sparing the Central MD region from a direct hit, but impacts will still be felt. Rain will be very heavy as the storm comes through, putting down up to 7 inches of rain in places. Also, we may be seeing tropical storm force winds (39-74 mph) at times with gusts potentially higher.

Behshad wrote:

Don't you jinx our weather!!!

StevePerryHair wrote:

Behshad wrote:

Don't you jinx our weather!!!

hey I am just pointing out how cocky that weather man is !

Behshad wrote:

StevePerryHair wrote:

Behshad wrote:

Don't you jinx our weather!!!

hey I am just pointing out how cocky that weather man is !

Behshad wrote:

Nice, real nice avatar.

This thing is projected to go right over the town my daughter lives in. She's all stocked up on food and water and has a friend coming to stay with her. I hope it moves out to sea before it gets that far north.

Rick wrote:This thing is projected to go right over the town my daughter lives in. She's all stocked up on food and water and has a friend coming to stay with her. I hope it moves out to sea before it gets that far north.

Hopefully it'll still shift a little more east!!! We've lucked out on these last two...but I feel like our days of luck are numbered!!! I needed luck this weekend though!! Hope she's safe Rick!! If she's indoors stocked up with her supplies, I'm sure she'll be fine!!! Hopefully she's on the west side of the eye too!

When they cancel Bingo, that's when you need to start worrying.

StevePerryHair wrote:

Rick wrote:This thing is projected to go right over the town my daughter lives in. She's all stocked up on food and water and has a friend coming to stay with her. I hope it moves out to sea before it gets that far north.

Hopefully it'll still shift a little more east!!! We've lucked out on these last two...but I feel like our days of luck are numbered!!! I needed luck this weekend though!! Hope she's safe Rick!! If she's indoors stocked up with her supplies, I'm sure she'll be fine!!! Hopefully she's on the west side of the eye too!

Thanks Lynn. I won't have any fingernails until this event is over. According to the projected storm track, she will be on the west side of it. Is that the safer side of the hurricane? So, you're going to PA this weekend? Is the hurricane going to affect that area?

Rick wrote:

StevePerryHair wrote:

Rick wrote:This thing is projected to go right over the town my daughter lives in. She's all stocked up on food and water and has a friend coming to stay with her. I hope it moves out to sea before it gets that far north.

Hopefully it'll still shift a little more east!!! We've lucked out on these last two...but I feel like our days of luck are numbered!!! I needed luck this weekend though!! Hope she's safe Rick!! If she's indoors stocked up with her supplies, I'm sure she'll be fine!!! Hopefully she's on the west side of the eye too!

Thanks Lynn. I won't have any fingernails until this event is over. According to the projected storm track, she will be on the west side of it. Is that the safer side of the hurricane? So, you're going to PA this weekend? Is the hurricane going to affect that area?

bad habit! Im gonna put some tabasco on your fingers !

Rick wrote:

StevePerryHair wrote:

Rick wrote:This thing is projected to go right over the town my daughter lives in. She's all stocked up on food and water and has a friend coming to stay with her. I hope it moves out to sea before it gets that far north.

Hopefully it'll still shift a little more east!!! We've lucked out on these last two...but I feel like our days of luck are numbered!!! I needed luck this weekend though!! Hope she's safe Rick!! If she's indoors stocked up with her supplies, I'm sure she'll be fine!!! Hopefully she's on the west side of the eye too!

Thanks Lynn. I won't have any fingernails until this event is over. According to the projected storm track, she will be on the west side of it. Is that the safer side of the hurricane? So, you're going to PA this weekend? Is the hurricane going to affect that area?

yes! West is best!! The winds are strongest in the northeast quadrant I believe! We got hit directly by 3 in a few weeks that one year, each so different! The worst is water leaks from the wind driven rain on our cheap FL windows! And power outages!! Do they have a basement? We dont! So during the worst part of the storms, we try to stay in an interior room, away from windows. I don't have one if those either, but a small bathroom! But we boarded up a window in a room, and hung out there! If that blew off, guess we'd squish in a bathroom! My husband HAS to be at work when they hit, so at least we don't have him squishing us!! One storm, he spent 3 days at the fire station, at the city command center. But they fed him well! I'm sure she'll be fine!

StevePerryHair wrote:

Rick wrote:

StevePerryHair wrote:

Rick wrote:This thing is projected to go right over the town my daughter lives in. She's all stocked up on food and water and has a friend coming to stay with her. I hope it moves out to sea before it gets that far north.

Hopefully it'll still shift a little more east!!! We've lucked out on these last two...but I feel like our days of luck are numbered!!! I needed luck this weekend though!! Hope she's safe Rick!! If she's indoors stocked up with her supplies, I'm sure she'll be fine!!! Hopefully she's on the west side of the eye too!

Thanks Lynn. I won't have any fingernails until this event is over. According to the projected storm track, she will be on the west side of it. Is that the safer side of the hurricane? So, you're going to PA this weekend? Is the hurricane going to affect that area?

yes! West is best!! The winds are strongest in the northeast quadrant I believe! We got hit directly by 3 in a few weeks that one year, each so different! The worst is water leaks from the wind driven rain on our cheap FL windows! And power outages!! Do they have a basement? We dont! So during the worst part of the storms, we try to stay in an interior room, away from windows. I don't have one if those either, but a small bathroom! But we boarded up a window in a room, and hung out there! If that blew off, guess we'd squish in a bathroom! My husband HAS to be at work when they hit, so at least we don't have him squishing us!! One storm, he spent 3 days at the fire station, at the city command center. But they fed him well! I'm sure she'll be fine!

No, she's in an apartment. Her hubby has to be on the carrier. I guess they move the fleet off the docks during these things.

Rick wrote:

StevePerryHair wrote:

Rick wrote:

StevePerryHair wrote:

Rick wrote:This thing is projected to go right over the town my daughter lives in. She's all stocked up on food and water and has a friend coming to stay with her. I hope it moves out to sea before it gets that far north.

Hopefully it'll still shift a little more east!!! We've lucked out on these last two...but I feel like our days of luck are numbered!!! I needed luck this weekend though!! Hope she's safe Rick!! If she's indoors stocked up with her supplies, I'm sure she'll be fine!!! Hopefully she's on the west side of the eye too!

Thanks Lynn. I won't have any fingernails until this event is over. According to the projected storm track, she will be on the west side of it. Is that the safer side of the hurricane? So, you're going to PA this weekend? Is the hurricane going to affect that area?

yes! West is best!! The winds are strongest in the northeast quadrant I believe! We got hit directly by 3 in a few weeks that one year, each so different! The worst is water leaks from the wind driven rain on our cheap FL windows! And power outages!! Do they have a basement? We dont! So during the worst part of the storms, we try to stay in an interior room, away from windows. I don't have one if those either, but a small bathroom! But we boarded up a window in a room, and hung out there! If that blew off, guess we'd squish in a bathroom! My husband HAS to be at work when they hit, so at least we don't have him squishing us!! One storm, he spent 3 days at the fire station, at the city command center. But they fed him well! I'm sure she'll be fine!

No, she's in an apartment. Her hubby has to be on the carrier. I guess they move the fleet off the docks during these things.

yeah, that makes sense!! They don't want any kinds of ships at port during storms! Is she on the bottom floor? Even upstairs, a central room is a good idea when the winds are worst!

StevePerryHair wrote:

Rick wrote:

StevePerryHair wrote:

Rick wrote:

StevePerryHair wrote:

Rick wrote:This thing is projected to go right over the town my daughter lives in. She's all stocked up on food and water and has a friend coming to stay with her. I hope it moves out to sea before it gets that far north.

Hopefully it'll still shift a little more east!!! We've lucked out on these last two...but I feel like our days of luck are numbered!!! I needed luck this weekend though!! Hope she's safe Rick!! If she's indoors stocked up with her supplies, I'm sure she'll be fine!!! Hopefully she's on the west side of the eye too!

Thanks Lynn. I won't have any fingernails until this event is over. According to the projected storm track, she will be on the west side of it. Is that the safer side of the hurricane? So, you're going to PA this weekend? Is the hurricane going to affect that area?

yes! West is best!! The winds are strongest in the northeast quadrant I believe! We got hit directly by 3 in a few weeks that one year, each so different! The worst is water leaks from the wind driven rain on our cheap FL windows! And power outages!! Do they have a basement? We dont! So during the worst part of the storms, we try to stay in an interior room, away from windows. I don't have one if those either, but a small bathroom! But we boarded up a window in a room, and hung out there! If that blew off, guess we'd squish in a bathroom! My husband HAS to be at work when they hit, so at least we don't have him squishing us!! One storm, he spent 3 days at the fire station, at the city command center. But they fed him well! I'm sure she'll be fine!

No, she's in an apartment. Her hubby has to be on the carrier. I guess they move the fleet off the docks during these things.

yeah, that makes sense!! They don't want any kinds of ships at port during storms! Is she on the bottom floor? Even upstairs, a central room is a good idea when the winds are worst!

She's on the second floor of three. I'm sure the building will be fine, I just worry about one of those skyscraper trees falling.

Well, if a tree falls, better she's not on the 3rd story! I'm sure it'll be fine though!! But parents worry, and I would too for my kids!! I have to turn my news off...if they show a reporter touching sea foam from the storm churning one mor time, I'm going to scream! They have nothing important to report, so they say stupid crap!

StevePerryHair wrote:Well, if a tree falls, better she's not on the 3rd story! I'm sure it'll be fine though!! But parents worry, and I would too for my kids!! I have to turn my news off...if they show a reporter touching sea foam from the storm churning one mor time, I'm going to scream! They have nothing important to report, so they say stupid crap!

I never understood that. Let's put a human life at stake so people can see what it looks like for someone to stand out in a hurricane. Anything for ratings.

Ehwmatt wrote:I know we've got a few Charlotte area folks on this board. I'm supposed to leave for Charlotte tonight at 7 PM and stay there through Sunday night. From everything I can tell, read, and gather from the weather reports, news stories etc., it seems Charlotte is not in any danger from the storm.

On the other hand, this is supposedly a brutal hurricane. Presumably, with that comes a large degree of unpredictability. I'm just going to visit a good friend, so there's nothing urgent about being there this very weekend. I could always change the flight if I wanted to. But I'm struggling because right now, the weather reports look totally fine (indeed, beautiful) for the Charlotte area. And, as noted, the hurricane is supposedly not going anywhere near it.

I'd hate to pay the change fee for two tickets and push back a much-anticipated weekend only to see a beautiful weekend pass by. But I'd also hate to fly anywhere near a supposedly horrendous storm and get stranded or worse there.

What's the buzz on the ground in the Charlotte area about the storm?

I live in Wilmington. Charlotte should be fine. I am getting kind of scared now, but am staying. Say a prayer for me. I live close to the river and the river feeds into the ocean or maybe it is vice versa...

Don wrote:When they cancel Bingo, that's when you need to start worrying.

I have a fresh keg. Irene is a whore who can blow me (and apparently she will).

Fact Finder wrote:BreakingNews Breaking News

8 injured after being swept off a jetty in Fla.; one serious - WPTV http://bit.ly/r67fHS
12 seconds ago



Now hearing maybe 1 drowning

And WHY were they on a jetty with bad surf conditions???? I've had the news on today, and they are all reporting from the beaches. There are tourists on the beaches watching, and people surfing! People are just too dumb.

Behshad wrote:

StevePerryHair wrote:

Rick wrote:

StevePerryHair wrote:

Rick wrote:This thing is projected to go right over the town my daughter lives in. She's all stocked up on food and water and has a friend coming to stay with her. I hope it moves out to sea before it gets that far north.

Hopefully it'll still shift a little more east!!! We've lucked out on these last two...but I feel like our days of luck are numbered!!! I needed luck this weekend though!! Hope she's safe Rick!! If she's indoors stocked up with her supplies, I'm sure she'll be fine!!! Hopefully she's on the west side of the eye too!

Thanks Lynn. I won't have any fingernails until this event is over. According to the projected storm track, she will be on the west side of it. Is that the safer side of the hurricane? So, you're going to PA this weekend? Is the hurricane going to affect that area?

yes! West is best!! The winds are strongest in the northeast quadrant I believe! We got hit directly by 3 in a few weeks that one year, each so different! The worst is water leaks from the wind driven rain on our cheap FL windows! And power outages!! Do they have a basement? We dont! So during the worst part of the storms, we try to stay in an interior room, away from windows. I don't have one if those either, but a small bathroom! But we boarded up a window in a room, and hung out there! If that blew off, guess we'd squish in a bathroom! My husband HAS to be at work when they hit, so at least we don't have him squishing us!! One storm, he spent 3 days at the fire station, at the city command center. But they fed him well! I'm sure she'll be fine!

Odd, the differences of these crazy things... depending upon location. Here it seems the slam of the north west side of the storms is almost as dangerous as the central and east side of the storm. We've all been taught to run north and south, not west (east would be directly into the gulf, so that's out). I can still recall all the people running from himmicane Allen years ago, up to San Antonio - don't ya know that within an hour of him hitting here, rather large tornadoes popped up in SA.

All in all, the advice given in both of these threads has been good. One thing not mentioned - get some sleep now, well before the storm arrives. You'll want to stay awake and alert during the hunker down time and lack of proper rest/sleep has been known to make for some horrible decision making during the lull. The only other thing I can add (without whipping out my long list of experience with these dang things) is... if you think you might take a direct hit and may need to make a run for it during the lull (eye) - make that plan, write it down and keep it in a ziplock on your person at all times. You would be amazed how your brain tends to freak out when the weather turns for the worse.

Hope all ya'll in and around the projected path just get a lot of rain and noise - stay safe....

Stay safe all you east coasters.

It's almost upon us. I live in St. Mary's County, in Southern Maryland. The county is long and narrow, surrounded by water on 3 sides! I am located about 3 miles inland from the water and our house sits on a hill in the woods. I'm not so much worried about the house flooding, but am worried that the wind will take down one of the large 100+ foot oak trees surrounding the house. We are expected to get tornadoes from the storm as well! Hopefully there will only be minor damage!!