Hurricane Irene - Soon to be an East Coast Reality

If you read my post from last week, many meteorologists including myself were predicting a dangerous hurricane to develop in the Atlantic with a high chance of it making landfall along the east coast of the United States. The computer were showing this more than 10 days in advance. Predictions that far out are often times "shots in the dark". This time, it was right on the money.

If you are vacationing anywhere from the east coast of Florida to Savannah & Hilton Head especially Myrtle Beach/Wilmington, N.C. and the Outer Banks (my vacation spot from when I was a kid), remember that this storm will pack winds of 120+ mph along with a powerful storm surge.

Residents along the SE coast are used to the threat of tropical systems, not areas from Cape Hatteras to New York City.  Yet the threat of a Hurricane making landfall near New York City is real.  Take a look at just a few of the hurricanes that made landfall around New York City.  Notice that most of the tracks look similar to Hurricane Irene. The first one in the list is an old weather map drawn on the day of the NYC hurricane in 1893

Will Irene be similar? Stay tuned.....