Is this hurricane about to hit New York?

CinnamonGirl wrote:

Joe wrote: Wow, a 1000 views on this thread too, amazing. Great job CG!

This Vermont thing is really upsetting.

Who would have thought that Vermont would get hit so hard? Most of us expect to see coastal areas trashed, not a land locked state. The power of flowing water never ceases to amaze me. In fact natural processes are awesome in their power of not only destruction but transport of material. It will take an army of machines to restore washed out roads for example.

Mother Nature (like most females ) is not predictable. All we can do is prepare the best we can, and respond to whatever she throws at us.

'Waffle House Index'

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... %3Darticle

WELDON, N.C.—When a hurricane makes landfall, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency relies on a couple of metrics to assess its destructive power.

First, there is the well-known Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale. Then there is what he calls the "Waffle House Index."

Green means the restaurant is serving a full menu, a signal that damage in an area is limited and the lights are on. Yellow means a limited menu, indicating power from a generator, at best, and low food supplies. Red means the restaurant is closed, a sign of severe damage in the area or unsafe conditions.

The mobile command center, above, went to Havelock, N.C., during Irene.

"If you get there and the Waffle House is closed?" FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate has said. "That's really bad. That's where you go to work."