It's awesome to hear that the hurricane was not nearly as bad as feared. Though 11 deaths have been reported, most of those I've heard have come from fallen trees onto houses. Sad, but a storm like this could easily have been much worse.

Ditto! Thankfully it was somewhat dispelled before it reached NYC. Still, so very sad about those 11 deaths. Nature is truly awful/awe-ful (as in, it makes one full of awe).

Agreed, but even if it was dispelled to a Tropical Storm it hit hard! Capital Region Area was flooded, VT got hit really bad as did CT. This is because we had already had a wet August... so Irene just saturated the ground. My dad took me a day early to college, and I'm glad he did because our house soon was cut off due to flooding and road closures. Lots of roads roads and bridges were destroyed. I know of at least two people who were killed in the area (didn't know them personally, but it is sad ) Houses were destroyed... Fortunately though it did downgrade, I would hate to see it worse than it was! (And I believe the 9/11 memorial evaded the floods) But my old school's parking lot was flooded as was the parking lot across the street. They just redid a section of route 2 this summer, that was completely destroyed... The town of Windham was destroyed... I'm from the flood zone so it really breaks my heart. We almost never get flooding that bad either... I believe the death count has risen as well...

Here's a video of some of the damage from our governor's flyover:

http://capitalregion.ynn.com/content/vi ... /?ap=1&MP4

Fortunately here on the Ontario lakeshore we only experienced some wind and rain, my home town was not nearly as fortunate... and I'm sure lots of people lack flood insurance.

*waves back to Jo*

These past two days though have been wonderful, I hear the waters going down in most areas

The worst part is I think a lot of people just expected some rain wind and a few high creeks, but whole towns were destroyed. (Though at least NYC wasn't hit as bad as it could have been since it's coastal) I don't know what Albany looks like- I don't want to know I've heard a story of people fleeing from NYC to the Catskills, because they thought they'd be safe, but instead they found themselves cut off by flood waters and without any means of food or water except for the half a week's worth they had...

Edit more stuff from my area:

http://capitalregion.ynn.com/content/hurricane_irene/

EDIT! The death toll is now at 43.

Source: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/30/hu ... =allsearch

Whoa, wolf! Thanks for this update, and for sharing some hard details to make us more aware. It is worse than we assumed. How sad the death toll climbed to that extent. Praying for those affected so severely.

Yeah unfortunately with these things it all depends on where you live and the circumstances... I remember seeing on the news it had already been our wettest August on record (Pre-Irene) ... So the storm kinda brought things to the next level of wet where I'm from. Some rivers haven't even crested yet. Including the one in this news story: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/31/irene. ... ?hpt=hp_t1

More Pics: http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2011/08/ ... ?hpt=hp_t1

Edit! I posted this FB album from our local news station on the prayer request thread:

... 194&type=1

I now see they've added pitcures from my hometown I am grateful that my family and house are safe, but it's still hard seeing so much damage and knowing that people have lost their homes and their lives. Also according to Google they might get thunderstorms this weekend

We could use some of that rain. Yesterday we hit officially at the El Paso Airport our 48th 100+ degree day of this year. It was 103 and broke the record for the day. The all time record is 56. Today is supposed to be 101. I can see this summer breaking the 'hottest summer' record. And this does not include all but two days so far this summer than I can recall that were 'only' 95-99 degrees. Since mid-May only for two days did we actually have the high in the low-90's. And that was due to a 'monsoon' coming through town.

Theoretically we are supposed to be in the mid-90's towards the weekend with chances for rain Sunday and Monday. I can't wait for October and the temps to finally start dropping.

I wish you could have some of it too Fencer! (but no damage) Governor Cuomo said that in NY state the cost of the damage from the storm is expected to hit 1 billion dollars!

http://www.wten.com/global/story.asp?s=15369239

Meanwhile it is hot here in Oswego (though the fact that I'm wearing fuzzy pants and a long sleeved shirt isn't helping.) According to Google it's 74F outside here... (I kinda wish we had some of the rain too, but not the damage.)

It's been astounding watching the post-Irene damage coverage on the news channels. So much rain and flooding...

Despite our wet summer, it's been mostly dry the past month or so. The past few days have been cooler than average (our average high is now 77F/25C), but tomorrow will be another quick blast of heat, with possible record highs coming (the predicted high is 95F/35C), with tonight and tomorrow night being quite warm. This heat will pass quickly (moving on to johobbit's part of the world for Friday), and it looks like we may salvage most of the Labour Day weekend.

And with August drawing to a close, the countdown to the start of the possible snow season here stands at...14 days.

Snow... I want snow! Seriously I don't think I'm built for temperatures above 65F (ok maybe 68)

Ditto here, wolflover! Maybe even 55F.

I understand it was a toasty 106 in Kansas today. The heat index here exceeded 100F - a veritable sauna on the first day of September! Can't wait till Monday morning, when it'll be in the 40s here. (And a cool 36F/2C in my camping location )

Oh my, wolf, that's so tough. I'm thankful your family is safe, how hard when tragedy like that hits so close to home! Usually Ontario is great about broadcasting US news, but somehow the coverage of this hurricane/tropical storm wasn't as focused as it usually is. (Good gracious, 1 billion dollars damage for NY alone?!)

I can't wait for October and the temps to finally start dropping.

I can't wait for this for your area too, Fencer, because reading your posts alone makes me so very hot.

Right on, stargazer, that heat is hitting us strongly tomorrow, with rainstorms coming on the weekend, cooling things down wonderfully. In fact, by Monday, it will have dropped around 30° to the high teens Celsius/mid-60sF, but feeling like 40° less, because of the excessive heat index tomorrow. And early next week at night, oh glory be, it will be nearly single digits (Celsius ) at 11C/52F. Now, that's living! I've been waiting for this since late June/early July, and am almost dancing with anticipation.

Snow... I want snow! Seriously I don't think I'm built for temperatures above 65F (ok maybe 68)

Ditto here, wolflover! Maybe even 55F.

Yep, I'm with you both, and probably more on the lower end that 'gazer mentioned.

Oh my, wolf, that's so tough. I'm thankful your family is safe, how hard when tragedy like that hits so close to home! Usually Ontario is great about broadcasting US news, but somehow the coverage of this hurricane/tropical storm wasn't as focused as it usually is. (Good gracious, 1 billion dollars damage for NY alone?!)

Yeah I noticed that here too I think it's because it was mostly rural communities that were affected, and the fact that in NYC it wasn't as bad as predicted. The downgrading may have also played a role. People just seemed to assume there was no damage, but unfortunately there was.

Snow... I want snow! Seriously I don't think I'm built for temperatures above 65F (ok maybe 68)

Ditto here, wolflover! Maybe even 55F.

Yep, I'm with you both, and probably more on the lower end that 'gazer mentioned.

Oh yes I agree on 55! Though I would be wearing a sweater

Well it appears we have another 100 degree weekend approaching. It's only supposed to be right at 100, not above. It's 99 tomorrow and Sunday and 100 for Saturday. Fortunately we will NOT break the all time hottest summer. That was 1994, with 62 days of super-100 degrees. I was here one week in June that year. It was 115 degrees every day and the low temperatures were in the mid-80's. So it wasn't just 100+ in the afternoon. It was 100+ from 8:00am-past midnight. That was absolutely, ultra miserable.

But there is good news. small chances for rain Sunday and Monday and a gradual cool-down towards 93 on Thursday. When I say lower-mid 90's is a 'cold-spell' I mean it. I still remember back in late June I called 100 degrees a 'cool front' because it had been 105 for a month straight. Almost there....almost there....

I think it's because it was mostly rural communities that were affected, and the fact that in NYC it wasn't as bad as predicted. The downgrading may have also played a role. People just seemed to assume there was no damage, but unfortunately there was.

Agreed, and which is why we so appreciate your updates for us, wolf. Thank you, again!

*feels for Fencer in that blistering heat*

Slight weather update from southern Ontario: hot, hot today, with clouds moving in shortly, to bring rain tonight and pretty much all weekend—thundershowers too (which I especially enjoy). Sunday night's temperature is going to plummet 55°F from what it feels like today, bringing us to the mid-40sF in the outlying areas from the city. This is single digits in Celsius, around 8C: oh, how my heart leaps hearing that. Can hardly wait to wake up extra early Monday morning and celebrate that freshness with a long walk!

Slight weather update from southern Ontario: hot, hot today, with clouds moving in shortly, to bring rain tonight and pretty much all weekend—thundershowers too (which I especially enjoy).

It's hot on the other side of the Lake too, except the clouds just left the NY side of the Ontario Lakeshore... (maybe I can do some stargazing tonight ) It's worse when your dorm is so old that it doesn't have an air conditioner

From Google:
78 degrees F
Partly Cloudy- not exactly where I am
Wind: S at 10 mph
Humidity: 76%

Edit another video: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/201 ... =allsearch

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/01/v ... =allsearch

Edit: so much for not cloudy... (*inserts puddleglum smilie here-> )

After the heat this past week, it was very pleasant today in the mid 70s. I am so ready for fall!

SnowAngel

I wish it would snow!

...That being said there were Tornado and Flash Flood warnings in other parts of the state (not that we need it ). A Tornado actually touched down in Amsterdam on I-90... A statement from the governor:

"It appears a tornado touched down in the Amsterdam area Sunday evening. At this time, there have been no reports of any serious injuries, but there are reports of damage to numerous structures. I have dispatched the State Police as well as state urban search and rescue personnel, who were in the area for Hurricane Irene assignments, to lead the state's response and to assess the damage. Power crews are also on the scene to restore electricity to any customers who may have been affected."

Source: http://www.wten.com/global/story.asp?s=15394483

I have no idea how big it was...

It rained here, but it's still way too hot. It rained back home too, but they're no worse for the wear yet.