I'm just waiting for it to come by. I prepared on Tuesday (food, water, batteries, flashlights). I'm a pessimist in heart, so I always prepare for the worst.

Good luck to everyone in its path.

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We had an old gas grill that was knocked over and damaged this past spring in a storm that we hadn't bothered to replace. I had just gotten a new propane tank for it.

I made the hubby go out and get a new one Wed night, since we had the full tank, just in case. He came back with a nicer one that even has a side burner for pots and pans cooking. Wasn't in the budget, but I can skip the toll road for a while.

It's 3:30 PM. We've had a few bands of light rain and some breezes, but nothing harsh yet. The local news says its going to start going down hill probably over the next hour.

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I think we're right on the border of the bad weather. 30 miles west of DC. DC is getting wind gusts 25-45 and heavy rain. We're still only getting a light rain, very little breeze.

Actually, I'm a little concerned about the damage to the top of the Washington Monument from the earthquake. They sealed the cracks for now, but they say the higher you go, the strongers the winds are from the hurricane.

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Hello all,
Willmington,NC got about 7.5 inches of rain. The offical highest wind gust was 66 mph. Lots of water damage. It was nice to find out that only 1/2 of Willmington lost power. So everyone can find power close. Nothing like a hot meal.

Becky I wish you well. I hope your house doesn't flood. The offical measurement is for every 25 stories you go up, you add one catagory to the hurricane. The Washington Monument doesn't need the wind and rain.

I found a cute story on the local Willmington news website. Hopefully this will give everyone a smile.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) - Seventeen babies were born at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington as Hurricane Irene passed. But not 1 of them was named Irene.

Hospital spokeswoman Carolyn Fisher says the hospital usually has about 10 births in 24 hours. The 17 babies were born in the 18 hours between 6 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday.

Fisher also said about 40 children of hospital staff members stayed at the hospital Friday night on sleeping bags and air mattresses.

She says the hospital routinely provides such care for children of staffers who have to work during a storm and need a safe place for their children. During Irene, several doctors played guitar for the kids.

Fisher says the hospital never lost power.

Be Well all.

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I believe we have cloud cover showing up now, here in Ontario. Of course I don't think we will have any of the rain or wind from the storm, only the outer reaches of cloud, but you are correct Becky it is a huge system.

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That's a cute article, Dragon. I believe drastic changes in air pressure can cause women who are close to delivering to go into labor.

We had some gusts during the night and lots of rain, bt I don't think the gusts exceeded 50 mph. Haven't heard how much rain we got yet but I checked on the level of the local creek and its barely risen.

I live on a hill. It would take a Noah's Ark situation to get this high. I've never heard of land slides around here, so I doubt the rain could cause that to happen. Its not that steep of a hill.

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Allen, my father always says an ounce of precaution is worth a pound of regret - meaning it is far better to be prepared for the worst than having to deal with the aftermath.

Hurricanes and other severe weather patterns are not able to be predicted to with 100% certainty - Irene could have easily turned out to be the worst natural disaster NYC and the surrounding areas have faced in decades - as it is, reports are suggesting several people still died as a result.

That you and your family escaped the worst - great! That is truly fantastic! But what could have happened was still very real - and several families are dealing with that now.

Be thankful you were spared, Allen - and never forget that Mother Nature is definitely not a deity to be dismissed. You, and thousands of others, were lucky - this time.

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It did come in a lot weaker than expected. Of course that's easy for me to say watching it safely from the west coast.

The death toll was just updated to 35. However, most appear to be either from falling trees or people being stupid.

I'm sorry, but trying to surf through it (I saw reports of this, but nothing that ties this to any deaths or missing), driving through flooded streets or boating/canoeing, particularly without a life jacket are just really stupid behaviors.

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