Looks like Frankenstorm is going to live up to it's name

[dragonheart]

I have been seeing pictures this morning of the wind and water damage to the eastern seaboard and the storm hasn't even arrived in force yet.

It is unbelievable the devastation this storm is predicted to bring.

Even some of the inland states will feel the fallout:

Eastern Kentucky is expected to get 24" of snow in the next few days when Sandy meets the arctic blast coming down out of Canada.  I don't think we will see anything but colder weather in my part of the state; keeping fingers crossed that is the case.

To all my friends in the path of the storm, hunker down and stay safe - check in with us every now and again via posting or email to let us know that you guys are okay.

Comments

[whiteink]

The sound of the rain on the office roof is starting to just freak me out ... it's something about the constant sound of it beating down unrelentlying is nerve racking. And the storm hasn't even gotten here yet!

[jeweledvixen]

I hope you do only get colder weather and not the two feet of snow. We are expected to get tropical storm-force winds tonight and tomorrow, along with some where between 3-6 inches of rain over the next 3 or 4 days. I'm not worried about the rain, but I'm worried about the power going out. If it does, I lose my oxygen. I have about 8 hours of back-up, but after that, I would probably have to go to the firehouse or somewhere like that to plug my oxygen in.

I've programmed emergency numbers into my phone (TracFone) so I can call if the power goes out and I lose my land line. If that happens, I won't be able to check in, but I should be ok, just sitting in the dark. ;)

[dragonheart]

I hate driving when it is beating down rain (especially at night). It makes me nervous. Be careful on the way home.

My office is on the corner of the building and the wind is making an eerie howling noise - we are getting gusts up to 45 mph - and we are far from the storm. Bigger and stronger gusts expected tonight.

ETA: Any chance your office will close tomorrow during the worst of it?

[whiteink]

Possibly. If it's super bad or the power's out. We have a plan in place and a phone tree set up for such events that we updated today to be sure it was all set to go.

[dragonheart]

That makes me nervous about your oxygen - let's hope if you do lose power that it doesn't last more than 8 hours. Is the firehouse close so that if you do need to get there, it will be easy for them to get to you?

[proseac]

On the way home from work today, I stocked up on bottled water and non-perishable food such as canned veggies, canned meat, trail mix, nibbly veggies like carrots and peppers, etc. I have my flashlight and extra batteries, lots of candles and blankets in case I lose the heat. I also took $200 out of the bank (I never usually carry cash, but I learned my lesson after the big power outage in 2001, or was it 2002? Can't remember...) and I filled up the gas tank because the pumps don't work without power either.

I'm currently charging up my laptop and cell phone, so I can still be connected to the outside world in the event of an outage, even if only for a few hours. I have a spare battery for the laptop, so when this one's fully charged I'll switch them out and charge the other one too.

Southern Ontario will be hit the hardest of anywhere in Canada, and they are saying wind gusts could get up to 100 km/hr. It's already pretty wild out there, and I brought my garden tools inside, for fear of having a spade go flying through my back window! (Usually they just lean against the back wall, since I don't have a shed).

However, with all the prep I've done, I predict that means I won't need any of it. Still, better safe than sorry.

[proseac]

Oh wow sweetie, I sure hope it doesn't come to that!

As for sitting in the dark...do you have candles? I know it's tricky with the four-footed ones hopping about, but if you only light them in the room you're in, you should be ok, right? Or are you not able to use them because of the oxygen?

[jeweledvixen]

Yes, the firehouse is only about 1/2 mile from my house, so I could make it there easily if I need to.

[jeweledvixen]

Yes, I have my flashlights ready and my candles out. Yeah, I can use the candles with my oxygen. Oxygen doesn't explode, it just adds fuel to a fire and makes it burn faster and hotter. It would only be a danger to me if I had the candle right up by my face. I once had a patient who had emphysema and was on oxygen. He wasn't willing to give up cigarettes, so one night, he actually set his face on fire from smoking while wearing his oxygen. He lived to tell about it and never did that again.

[dragonheart]

That is good to hear. How did you fare last night? Check in when you can!

[dragonheart]

How did your night go? Everything okay in your part of the world?

I was watching the news this morning and it was heartbreaking - 16 people dead and millions without power and untold dollars in damage. This was a devastating storm and I couldn't sleep last night from worrying about friends in it's path.

I hope everyone checks in soon!

[proseac]

Everything's fine here. I never even lost power.

Just checked Facebook, and confirmed that the university is open today, as I predicted. They have backup generators, so usually they are open even in the midst of power outages.

I haven't checked the news this morning, but I heard on the radio we had one fatality in Toronto - a sign blew over and hit a woman in the head. That's the only Canadian death I've heard about, but it sounds like the US coast got hit very hard. We may expect more of this type of thing in future years, thanks to global warming. :(