I live in the Peoples Republic of New York, near Danbury, CT about 30 miles from the Long Island Sound. My problem is not with taking precautions and staying on top of the situation. My problem is with a media that overstates and exaggerates the situation to build drama and hype in the name of ratings. Maybe Irene is the real deal this time; or maybe the media is overstating the threat to keep people watching.
In a similar situation, I can recall a number of occasions that the media has pumped a snowstorm into the potential blizzard of a lifetime even as the storm is moving out to sea and away from the forecast area and the weather is 50 degrees and raining. Because the media was more interested in viewership ratings than accuracy and complete honesty in the weather forecast, schools and businesses closed; employees didn't show up for work; meetings, events, and appointments were canceled; commerce slowed to a crawl; and emergency crews were put on overtime. This all happened hours before the first snowfall was forecast to hit the ground. The hit to the local economy had to be enormous.
My point is that if the lastest data and models show the storm shifting to the east of Providence and Boston, then don't keep reporting potential doom and gloom in places like the New York City area, New Jersey, and Philly, knowing that the chances of that happening are quickly diminishing.
ok. So evil capitalistic advertising and viewer retention motives aside, what is your hurricane plan if Hurricane Irene proves a more westerly path than your current desired track east of Boston?
Perhaps you are on the wrong thread.
This thread is for those of us who may actually be impacted by a hurricane to gather information and make plans accordingly.
You seem more interested in the reporting of said storm.
Have you actually been in a hurricane of any magnitude sir?
I have been in more hurricanes than you have have years under your belt, and I have been grateful for the information contained in these threads.
I am from the People’s Republic of New York, Brooklyn to be exact, however I happen to now live in God’s country right on the coast in Virginia - what you claim as ratings grabbing exaggerations is actually necessary information to people where I live.
To be perfectly honest, those of us in the Carolinas and on Delmarva really don’t give a rip about NY, NJ and Conn. Many of us down here left those areas because of attitude problems associated with living there.
Your point is pointless - first, the models have shifted the forecast track back to the west, and second, that is EXACTLY why they call it the cone of uncertainty - something you'd know if followed hurricanes on a regular basis like a lot of folks on this thread do.
Just a slight jog further to the west and this is a major event for NYC. Not only that, but it is a logistical nightmare - because that puts the entire length of Long Island into play for the dirty side of the storm, and evacuating the entire island is a logistical impossibility.
Yeah, the media over-hypes storms, but so what? We know that already. But sometimes the hype ends up being justified, and this could well be one of those times. We just don't know yet.