You knew this was coming. From Bill McKibben : Irene’s got a middle name, and it’s Global Warming. As she  roars up the Eastern Seaboard , everyone is doing what they should—boarding windows, preparing rescue plans, stocking up on batteries. But a lot of people are also wondering: what’s a “tropical” storm doing heading for the snow belt? Only one Category 3 Storm has hit Long Island since the 1800s; that was the great unnamed storm of 1938, which sent 15-foot storm waters surging through what are now multimillion-dollar seaside homes. While hurricanes in the Northeast have been rare lately, they were much more common when global temperatures were cooler . Via Wikipedia, here is a list of hurricanes that have struck New York City and caused significant damage: September 23, 1875 August 19, 1788 October 9, 1804 September 16, 1816 September 3, 1821 October 13, 1846 October 6, 1849 October 28, 1872 Now, here is a graph of world temperatures back to 1846 which is ...

I have been working on Irene since 7:30 this morning, so I'm turning in for the night. It has been a very long day. The hurricane will be a major  storm in North Carolina, so I hope coastal residents are boarding up and getting out. My colleagues at AccuWeather continue to work through the night to keep you informed and safe. I'll tackle things again first thing in the morning, but I wish to leave you with a thought... A few minutes ago, I received a Tweet from a woman who told me she is "freaking out" about Irene (she lives in the area it is forecast to affect). I am also hearing from people getting ready to evacuate as well as those staying home. If this is your first hurricane, you might be feeling slightly silly in case the whole thing is a "false alarm" but you think evacuation is the right thing. Or, you're in the path of the storm but not in an evacuation area so you purchase essentials (see posting below) so you can hunker down. Or, you a...

You've already seen some of my suggestions . Get cash, now. ATM's will not work and credit card readers may not work, either. Fill your gas tank! A great checklist is here . Home preparedness . Evacuation supplies  here . Note the first-aid, auto, etc. Finally, I have the following pertinent apps on my iPhone:  Disaster!, First Aid, and Emergency Radio. The latter can be used if you are on the road and commercial radio is not available.

From HotAir :

I'd like to walk you through tonight's forecast for Irene.  The damage potential is huge. Even if the "best case" occurs, I believe the damage may be north of $10 billion. For North Carolina's coast a hurricane warning is in effect. It looks likely that the eye of the storm at Category 3, or possibly 4, will come ashore in the Tar Heel State. Massive damage will occur if the storm is Cat 4. Please rush hurricane preparations to completion and follow local evacuation orders. NWS 8pm EDT Forecast Farther north, things are coming into focus but are not as clear cut. Here is the westernmost computer model. Winds of more than 120 mph will move in North Carolina with hurricane-force winds along the coast as far north as northern New Jersey and inland to Richmond-DC-Hagerstown. Colors = wind speeds with reds hurricane force and whites above 100 mph.  Here is one of the models indicating a more easterly track. North Carolina will still experience hurri...

Just issued by the National Hurricane Center. Forecast wind speed over North Carolina? 110mph. Forecast wind speed over New Jersey? 85 mph. Complete details later this evening.

Can NYC sustain a direct hit from Hurricane Irene? Weather expert and author Mike Smith believes the city is woefully unprepared-and the danger is imminent. In WARNINGS , the facinating story of all things weather from Category 5 hurricanes to F-5 tornadoes, nationally-recgonized meteorologist and author Mike Smith predicted that, if a hurricane were to hit NYC, the city would be ill prepared to handle the emergency. Today, there is a very high probability that his prediction will be put to the test. In his chapter on Hurricane Katrina, Mike Smith decried the lack of preparedness and warned that the government could not adequately respond to the situation. He asserted that we could be equally unprepared in the event of a hurricane emergency in another large coastal city-specifically New York. In an excerpt from WARNINGS: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather , Mike wrote: But here is the sobering bottom line: Katrina turned out not to be the worst case. She weakened bef...