Posted on 10/26/2012 1:39:58 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
U.S. Navy sends ships to sea ahead of "Frankenstorm" By Phil Stewart | Reuters 41 mins ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy on Friday ordered all ships in the Norfolk, Virginia, area - including the nuclear-powered USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier - out to sea beyond the reach of approaching Hurricane Sandy.
It was just one of the storm precautions being announced by the Pentagon, which said around 61,000 members of the National Guard were ready to respond, if needed.
Sandy, dubbed a "Frankenstorm" by one government forecaster, has begun merging with a polar air mass over the eastern United States, potentially spawning a hybrid super-storm that could wreak havoc along the U.S. East Coast.
On its current projected track, government forecasters said Sandy could make landfall early next week anywhere between Virginia, Maryland or Delaware up through New York or southern New England.
The commander of U.S. Fleet Forces, Admiral Bill Gortney, ordered more than two dozen ships including the Truman to "sortie" out to sea beyond the path of the storm between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.
"Based on the current track of the storm, we made the decision to begin to sortie the fleet," Gortney said in a statement. "The current timeline allows them enough time to transit safely out of the path of the storm."
The Navy said ships in port that are unable to sortie could take precautions like adding additional mooring and storm lines and disconnecting shore power cables.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Not unusual.
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“frankenstorm” is a distraction
This sounds kind of late to be doing this. Where do they think they can move these in the next 48 hours?
It is an artificial distraction, agreed. Not the storm, that happens. It is the hype of it.
They can get clear of it in 48 hours without a problem.
Hope they’re back in time to vote. Virginia is a tight race.
Ships were delayed in leaving port because they had to load extra bales of hay for the horses, on the carriers.,p.
But the supply of bayonets arrived on time.
Excellent point to make.
I doubt Virginia is the home of record for most of the crew. They would have voted absentee.
Well, that's one way to keep thousands of sailors away from the polls on election day.
Did they move the carriers, you know, those ships where planes land on them and all? How about the ships that go under water?
Ships that go underwater ranks right up there with zero’s “Marine Corpse” statement. Shows he knows zero about the Navy and Marine Corps, not that he cares. You never call a submarine a ship in the Navy, it is a BOAT. A definite no no.
I know the NAVY knows that... but I'm not sure if the C-in-C knows that!!!
He might have seen a picture of the Japanese WW2 sub that caried ircraft !
Those ships that go under water some are based in Groton, CT...where some of those ships are built...
It is not necessarily a distraction.
Hurricane Rita. Big parts of our town were without electricity IN TOWN where we were for 7 days. Rural areas between here and other nearby towns were without electricity for 3-4 weeks. There was no gasoline being resupplied . No restaurants and grocery stores for 2-4 days depending on where you were.
I used an inverter on the car to keep the fridge running for a couple of days, and then was lucky enough to be at the top of the list at an auto-parts store for a 3.5kw generator, when a shipment arrived of 40 of them on Sunday. We had enough gas in another car to drive 90 miles to Bryan/College station where we filled up, and bought 4 - five-gallon gas cans and filled them. I gave one of those to a young mother from another town nearby who could only find two 1-gallon cans because they were sold out of the big ones by then.
THIS was 90 Miles inland. And we were way on the west, less intense side to the storm.
So if Sandy’s strong side is as windy as Rita’s weak side, there can be severe wind damage a hundred miles north of landfall and a hundred miles inland.
We do NOT know what Sandy will be like for sure, but I can tell you that betting on storms like this to be no big deal is fine, until one hits that IS a big deal, and if you aren’t ready, then it is already too late.
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