Saturday, August 27, 2011

Strong, Damaging Winds Heading Toward NYC / Long Island...


The above image shows the Northern bands of Hurricane Irene continuing to pummel Philadelphia and much of New Jersey. This activity is also advancing Northward into New York City and Long Island at this time.

Sustained surface winds of 30-40 mph with gusts to 55 mph can be expected to overspread the NYC Metro area as well as much of Long Island between now and Midnight EDT.  Winds will continue to pick-up after Midnight, with sustained winds of 55-65 mph and gusts to 75 mph possible (possibly even stronger out on parts of Long Island) by dawn.  Winds will be even stronger in high rise buildings, by some 20-30% as you go beyond the 20th floor.

A typically bustling Times Square is nearly dead at this hour - a good sign that folks are heeding the warning of the past several days:



Widespread tree and power line damage, with widespread power outages have been reported across southeast Pennsylvania and New Jersey this evening.  This same threat will overspread NYC and Long Island during the next few hours and continue overnight.

Very heavy, potentially flooding rains can also be expected across the region, with 10-12 inch accumulations not uncommon by Sunday morning.

Isolated tornadoes are also possible, and a Tornado Watch continues overnight for the region.

Please see my earlier detailed post for more information on what can be expected, and for how long, across the region tonight.  The post was made earlier this evening, but the forecast has not changed and is still very much on track this evening...


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