Irene - Preparation and waiting

Irene cometh, so says the news and the Sudbury disaster management team per the automated phone call we've just received.  So it's clearly official now, not that Irene really needs anyone to make it official.

I've seen a number of hurricanes up close and personnel over the years.  On one occasion I actually decided to see the storm from the NC Outer Banks.  That particular storm cut the island I was on in half destroying a road and all the buildings adjacent to it.  It also piled up a sand dune about 12 feet high in front of the motel I was staying at and running about 6 miles along the beach.  Hurricanes are clearly not something to mess with.  Seeing one up close as I did is just as clearly dumb.

Fortunately it seems that Irene is weakening as it glances the coast.  The current track has the storm center passing within 30 miles of Sudbury so we expect to get considerable wind and rain.  I've taken in all the outside furniture and anything that seems like might be inclined to visit OZ in a strong wind.  I also brought in the container garden so the plants won't get stripped (we're just getting tomatoes).  Here's what the den looks like just now:



Now that preparations are made I expect the storm to weaken and miss us completely.  Then again, the current weather forecast says we'll get hit.