by Patrick Appel
From Jeff Master's latest:
Latest radar-estimated rainfall amounts in North Carolina already exceed ten inches in some locations. Cedar Island, NC has reported 7.21" as of 11am EDT, and a 100 mile-wide swath of 8+ inches of rain will likely fall from Eastern North Carolina northwards along the coast, through New York City, and into Vermont and New Hampshire during the next two days. Destructive river flooding will be a significant danger from New Jersey northwards to Southeast New York, where soils are saturated and run-off will be the greatest.
A bit from Mike Smith's update this morning:
There is one peculiarity of the storm worth mentioning. While maximum sustained surface winds as of 9am were 90 mph (with higher gusts), sustained winds were 115 mph aloft. This does not matter in eastern North Carolina. It may matter quite a bit if the center of the storm goes over Manhattan in terms of damage to skyscrapers (i.e., objects like antennas blown off roofs and causing more damage as they fall) even if the storm weakens before arriving.
Adam Pasick gives advice to those in NYC:
As during the transit strike, cabs will take group fares and livery cabs will be allowed to make street pickups. And, in case you're evacuating Fido, taxis and all buses are required to take pets as passengers. Still, the chances of successfully finding a ride when you need one are probably not good. And in case you were wondering, the MTA won't be giving you a discount on those unlimited Metrocards that you won't be able to use. Bridges out of the city will suspend tolls, though, so you'll save $13.50 as you flee to Staten Island with all of your worldly possessions.
A reader writes in with an ingenius tip for evacuees:
I second my fellow New Orleanian's recommendation about putting food in contractor bags in the fridge and freezer. But in addition, if an evacuation is required, one should freeze a nice, clear, full, pint-sized glass of water into solid ice and put a penny on the top of the ice in the freezer. Given that power outages can vary from block to block for varying lengths of time, and that power can be restored before one can return home, it is very possible to arrive after an evacuation to a fridge and freezer working normally. However, if you find the penny at the bottom of an almost-full glass of solid ice, you can toss your bags of food in the trash without even opening them. The penny at the bottom of the glass of ice means that power was out long enough for the ice to melt all the way through. Long enough so that the stuff in the bags is surely re-frozen and re-chilled spoiled food.
And one more piece of advice from a reader:
The other major tip I would add (as a resident of the Florida panhandle now living in DC), beside the bathtub thing, is to urge people to take out money now from ATMs. Those won't work when power goes out.
TPM is live-blogging the hurricane. For earlier thoughts on the storm go here, here, here, and here.
(Photo: In this handout satellite image provided by NASA, Hurricane Irene churns of the east coast of the United States, August 27, 201, in the Atlantic Ocean. Irene, now a Category 2 storm, has started to lash the eastern coast of the U.S. with wind gust up to 125 miles per hour. By NASA via Getty Images)
The Dish 