February 8, 2013

New York: the new home of disaster

It's disheartening to hear the weather forecasters speak of an "historic snowstorm" descending on New York and Connecticut (and Massachusetts). They're using the same terminology they used for "superstorm" Sandy: monster storm, Frankenstorm, storm of the century. Sigh.

There are many homes that are still a wreck from Sandy. People are living without electricity, without heat, without internal walls. This storm is not what they need. They're already getting meals from tents each day, and working as hard as they can to repair their houses as they wait endlessly for FEMA money.

Looking out the window now, there's just a fine, dusty snow falling. I sure hope they're wrong, and the storm takes a turn and heads out to sea. As for my neck of the woods, I'm sure we'll lose power. There are going to be 60 mph winds at the height of the storm. (I don't ever remember seeing wind like that in a snowstorm, BTW.)

Another reason why this storm is so reminiscent of superstorm Sandy is that it will be a full moon when the storm hits, making the tides higher. And with fierce winds blowing onshore, it seems many areas will be flooded yet again. This is not good news.

I wish everyone the best. We'll see how it goes. And again, if I disappear, it just means my area lost power. See you on the other side!

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