Should I cancel housewarming party? (good, white, sound)

[South Jersey Styx]

I think there will be some "freaking out" around the eastern part of the DC area and esp around the Del -Mar-VA and as news reports reveal the storm's path. Water, toilet paper, bread--the usual will be bought out.

Those of us further west will deal with winds and rains at the most.

Still, there are serious issues to think about. Hurricans also spawn tornadoes and our area has definitely dealt with some tornadoes.

I do plan to lay down the patio furniture and bring in anything that can fly away.

[peanutrach]

From what I heard on the weather this morning we shouldn't get too much rain/wind in the DC metro area but it is better to be safe than sorry. We plan on moving the patio furniture off our deck b/c during the high winds the other week the table flew off one of my neighbor's decks and broke their neighbor's window. Pretty scary for them since they were staring out the window at the exact moment when that table flew up and broke their window! (Note - we live in a townhouse)

Other than that, we made sure we had enough candles/flashlights in the event that the power goes out. Instead of having the full-blown housewarming party this weekend we decided to have a neigborhood hurricane party since our neighbors won't have to drive, etc. We plan on having the housewarming party the weekend after Labor Day.

Hope everyone stays safe!

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by peanutrach

nstead of having the full-blown housewarming party this weekend we decided to have a neigborhood hurricane party since our neighbors won't have to drive, etc. We plan on having the housewarming party the weekend after Labor Day.

I like your thinking!

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by Teebyrd86

Before making blank statements you need to realize that this is a serious weather event for our area too and this is the time be prepared.

Actually, Steel City did not originate the "freak out" statement; he was responding to a comment by ChristineV. He has lived in this area so he knows how people respond to weather warnings.

I think one reason people do "freak out" around here is that the reporting is oftentimes conflicting, and therefore, unreliable. Sometimes we hear about snowstorms and windstorms that turn out to be nothing. Last winter, there wasn't much warning for that crippling snowstorm (when snow fell 2" an hr and people were abandoning their cars). And just recently, there was no warning regarding the earthquake. Oh yeah, some folks told me their dogs were barking incessantly the day before and that morning and I heard the animals at the National Zoo were all riled up before the quake.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by peanutrach

we decided to have a neigborhood hurricane party

LOL we're doing that too! Since it looks like everyone's going to be home, we decided to have a party in my neighbor's basement. Hey, it's the last weekend of summer so that means it's party time!

[jillabean]

Originally Posted by South Jersey Styx

I think one reason people do "freak out" around here is that the reporting is oftentimes conflicting, and therefore, unreliable. Sometimes we hear about snowstorms and windstorms that turn out to be nothing. ...

Ugh, tell me about it (the unreliability). In this post I've read that we won't get much rain or wind and that it will barely touch us. I thought, "yeah! my weekend plans are safe." Then I go read other news online and it's still saying as of this morning we are going to get hit hard. They just announced they are closing the bay bridge this evening. Which is it--are we going to be in the path of the storm or just get some showers? Seems like it's one extreme or the other.

My main concern with the storm is power. During Isabell, I lost power for 3 days and had my damage to my roof and chimney (which ended up not being not too expensive to fix). Losing power was actually more costly than getting the roof and chimney repaired because we lost all the stuff in my fridge. It was also inconvenient because we could only eat food that didn't need to be cooked, could only take freezing cold showers (had electric for hot water), and were a little bored. Then, some sewage down the street backed up and everything stank.

By the way, I think the reason shelves ran thin during the snow earlier this year was because of two things. 1) People stocked up as people will do and 2) Deliveries weren't getting to the stores to restock because some roads were impassible. During Isabell, the stores didn't seem to run low on stuff (trucks were still coming in and making deliveries). The only thing you I couldn't buy was perishables since the grocery store lost power too and lost refrigeration when their generators were out of gas.

[jillabean]

Originally Posted by peanutrach

Instead of having the full-blown housewarming party this weekend we decided to have a neigborhood hurricane party since our neighbors won't have to drive, etc. We plan on having the housewarming party the weekend after Labor Day.

Hope everyone stays safe!

Make sure someone has/brings "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners! I know, it's technically not "Irene" but it sounds like it in the song

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by jillabean

My main concern with the storm is power. During Isabell, I lost power for 3 days and had my damage to my roof and chimney (which ended up not being not too expensive to fix). Losing power was actually more costly than getting the roof and chimney repaired because we lost all the stuff in my fridge. It was also inconvenient because we could only eat food that didn't need to be cooked, could only take freezing cold showers (had electric for hot water), and were a little bored. Then, some sewage down the street backed up and everything stank.

Pew! Yuk!

Power outages are my main concern too. And even worse in the winter when we need heat. I think my boiler doesn't need electricity to boot up but I am checking on this. Furthermore, I am converting a fireplace back to wood-burning so that in the event of an outage, we will have one room where we can close up and stay warm, cook, and sleep in.

[FCNova]

I don't think it's overreacting to not want to go out to a party Saturday evening, considering there will be a tropical storm in the area. Even if it's just heavy rain/wind, is that something you can blame people for not wanting to be driving around in? The people cancelling now are probably trying to be courteous by giving you notice, instead of waiting until the last minute to see what happens and then not showing up.

[FCNova]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

^ This.

I still remember living in Reston in February 2010 during the back-to-back blizzards. The shelves at the nearby Harris-Teeter were emptied of not only the usual suspects (bread, milk, eggs) but also soft drinks, chips, and even alcohol was in short supply! They didn't have my road passable for those without four-wheel-drive vehicles for a few days; however, most of us lived within walking distance of essential needs anyways.

People in NoVA must really be freaking out right now over Irene when in all actuality you'll just be barely scraped. Who do I feel sorry for? Those who reside in low-lying areas of NJ and Greater NYC. I don't think people realize that if all goes wrong in the storm's track that the storm SURGE (not the rain, not the wind, not the potential of tornadoes) will do the most destruction, as Manhattan itself is only a few feet above sea level in many areas. My friend in the low-lying NJ suburbs of NYC has already put me on standby mode to take her in here in Pittsburgh until the storm passes due to her concerns about flooding.

Well that's good, because I doubt anyone in Nova really wants you to feel sorry for them anyways just because we may be hit by a tropical storm.