View Full Version : SANDY
"Sandy Expected to Bring Life-Threatening Storm Surge Flooding to Mid-Atlantic Coast"
So, does that mean there is a down grade on the severity of this storm, is it reduced to coastal winds and flooding? http://www.weather.gov/
I'm calling BS on the hype, Lyndon Johnson :
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/06/24/137400235/lbj-fights-inflation-one-egg-at-a-time
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/news/20121027_pa_sandyTransition.pdf
Ret10Echo
10-29-2012, 05:12
As this is in "Soapbox" I'm looking at this in political terms...
It's the week before an election... This weather event is an opportunity for the sitting Administration to directly interact with the voter base... Of course the impacted regions are locks for the Dims, but the Public Relations could swing wildly one way or the other. Should there be any hiccups in response and the bashing goes off the charts...but EVERY opportunity to blow trumpet fanfares about "look at what your government can do for you" will happen, and happen often.
You can't do that level of PR for a "Rain event"... but ... for the STORM OF THE CENTURY you can get a lot of press.
I imagine the FEMA Administrator is reporting to the White House "on the 10's" as they say.
This chaps me because there are disaster response personnel out there who do this time and time again with no spotlight or much thanks (if any). Often times these personnel are the target of the ire of local government and citizens as they go about their jobs.
No suddenly there is political capital to be gained off of the misery of others...
You should expect to see staged photos of POTUS in shirt sleeves..."working hard to save the Eastern seaboard". The kabuki-theater of leadership continues in Washington.
What we have been hearing locally has had little to do with wind effects. The storm surge in our area is expected to create some serious problems...not to mention the volume of rain in "low lying areas". With the mean elevation of the region at 60 feet (highest point at 450 feet) pretty much the whole place is "low lying".
Time will tell. I wish those directly impacted by the storms the very best. If you failed to prepare, well, good luck. Thank you ahead of time to the responders. To the politicians...crawl back into your hole.
Dozer523
10-29-2012, 06:15
Last time I looked this was a Catagory 1 storm. Not much compared to what the Gulf is accostomed. The real differences are more people and bigger buildings ( with lots of glass). Anyway, probably won't be much of a show once it gets on land -- they lose power fast. Then it's just rain ... And lots of it.
Good luck to all.
National Doppler NOAA - contrary to the local news outlets this image shows the storm has made landfall and is moving inland. If you click on the image it will open the site.
http://radar.weather.gov/ridge/Conus/full.php
October Surprise ala "Nature's Laws and the God of Nature."
Richard :munchin
Old Dog New Trick
10-29-2012, 14:36
Last time I looked this was a Catagory 1 storm. Not much compared to what the Gulf is accostomed. The real differences are more people and bigger buildings ( with lots of glass). Anyway, probably won't be much of a show once it gets on land -- they lose power fast. Then it's just rain ... And lots of it.
Good luck to all.
The president has FEMA operatives stationed at critical node power stations all along the Eastern Seaboard ready to throw the switches and put people in the dark until he comes along and saves the day!
But seriously, everyone affected good luck, batten the hatches, grab a good book and a strong beverage of your choice. Be safe!
Red Flag 1
10-29-2012, 14:46
There is a storm surge to consider. According to NOAA/NHC, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at3+shtml/150352.shtml?3-daynl?large#contents, a storm surge of 3' or so is expected as far up the Hudson River as Albany. This is the graphics page from 1500z today. If you click on the "cone/interactive" you can get a detailed look at the areas right in harms way. Not so sure if it will get that bad, but there will be a considerable "push" of storm driven water into NYC waters. The Hudson's southern flow will be interrupted by the storm surge. It will be a backed up toilet, in a way:).
Political impact? Well, a day of the GOP convention was lost to a similar event. Will Sandy have an impact? Yup, it will.
RF 1
As this is in "Soapbox" I'm looking at this in political terms...
It's the week before an election... This weather event is an opportunity for the sitting Administration to directly interact with the voter base... Of course the impacted regions are locks for the Dims, but the Public Relations could swing wildly one way or the other. Should there be any hiccups in response and the bashing goes off the charts...but EVERY opportunity to blow trumpet fanfares about "look at what your government can do for you" will happen, and happen often.
You can't do that level of PR for a "Rain event"... but ... for the STORM OF THE CENTURY you can get a lot of press.
I imagine the FEMA Administrator is reporting to the White House "on the 10's" as they say.
This chaps me because there are disaster response personnel out there who do this time and time again with no spotlight or much thanks (if any). Often times these personnel are the target of the ire of local government and citizens as they go about their jobs.
No suddenly there is political capital to be gained off of the misery of others...
You should expect to see staged photos of POTUS in shirt sleeves..."working hard to save the Eastern seaboard". The kabuki-theater of leadership continues in Washington.
What we have been hearing locally has had little to do with wind effects. The storm surge in our area is expected to create some serious problems...not to mention the volume of rain in "low lying areas". With the mean elevation of the region at 60 feet (highest point at 450 feet) pretty much the whole place is "low lying".
Time will tell. I wish those directly impacted by the storms the very best. If you failed to prepare, well, good luck. Thank you ahead of time to the responders. To the politicians...crawl back into your hole.
Very well said, Sir! The First Responders will be crucial in keeping the peace and keeping folks safe. Wish those impacted the best, and hope they all follow TR's Be Prepared tips! They are life savers...as I have first hand experience of knowing.;)
Holly
Just the thing to postpone the election in the hope his numbers go back up. :rolleyes:
As far as the storm goes, prayers go out to the ones affected.
Ret10Echo
10-29-2012, 17:51
Winds are at about 55 sustained with gusts to 75. Power is hanging in there fortunately. Early in the event. We'll see how things hold up over the next 48 hours. Folks North and East of us definitely getting hit harder...
Politicos at all levels maximizing their face-time on TV and Radio. Our local mob-boss...ahem....Governor...making the most of past sensitivities with quotes such as "We've had a boot in the backside of BGE to be prepared..." (in reference to the utility provider for the majority of the State...which the State's Utility Commission has been negligent in managing and allowed to railroad the citizens of the State)...
Stay safe all.
I've only experienced one hurricane. I was in the middle of my E&E portion of SERE. I learned later it was called Hugo....
I've only experienced one hurricane. I was in the middle of my E&E portion of SERE. I learned later it was called Hugo....
At least it helped you evade...... OPFOR did not want to beat the bush as normal...... Have to look on the bright side....:eek:
At least it helped you evade...... OPFOR did not want to beat the bush as normal...... Have to look on the bright side....:eek:
True enough - it was the only time I ever used my SCUBA training...
Dozer523
10-29-2012, 22:26
At least it helped you evade...... OPFOR did not want to beat the bush as normal...... Have to look on the bright side....:eek:
I was thinking the same thing. "lucky bastard! The freakin' dogs weren't barking at you from 1/2 mile away..
Badger52
10-30-2012, 12:43
"We've had a boot in the backside of BGE to be prepared..." (in reference to the utility provider for the majority of the State...which the State's Utility Commission has been negligent in managing and allowed to railroad the citizens of the State)...
Stay safe all.Interesting overview of power degradation (http://www.oe.netl.doe.gov/named_event.aspx?ID=67).
Pick your SITREP.
Prayers out.
Stargazer
10-30-2012, 12:49
Devastation is terrible to see. My thoughts and prayers are with those who have been impacted. Will be looking for ways to provide some form of assistance.
vorticity
10-30-2012, 13:10
Can't imagine what being outdoors during Hugo must have been like - the fact that it was better than the alternative draws a pretty sharp distinction between your jobs and mine. :eek:
Pretty good summary (from a friend of a colleague) of the impacts relative to other storms making landfall in the NY/NJ area at this link - so far, loss of life is small relative to the damage caused. Very large extent of damage, though, and I think we'll still see a lot of power issues for another week or so.
http://icyclone.com/now/2012/oct/30-october-2012.html
CombatMuffin
10-30-2012, 13:57
No matter the category of Hurricane, one should always be wary and take the necessary precautions (especially in densely populated urban areas). In my personal experience, its usually human behavior after the storm, and not the storm itself, that one needs to keep high awareness of.
Best of luck to those affected.
I made a bad call on the intensity of Sandy, but thanks to TR and the invaluable "Be Prepared" thread, we did ok, out of power for days, but we were well prepared with solar powered lighting, food, water, batteries, Sterno (cooking & heat) etc., etc. everything that thread is about came into play in some form, or another. There is great security in knowing you can protect and care for your family. A knock on the door late at night with someone looking for directions, lost due the many road closures sending people all over state, gives you a moment of pause, but the friend or foe judgment call is another example of how important it is to be secure, and trust the information and prior training the site speaks to. I am deeply grateful to TR and everyone who took the time to suggest what essentials are needed in everything from your go bag, to how best to clean and preserve water. Thank you for helping us put our house in order long before the event occurred!!!
Lambertville is still without power. We have shared and helped where we could every day without jeopardizing our supply; we were careful in doing so, did not want to become the go to people.
A generator attracts a lot of attention. Also, it is only as good as its fuel source is available.
Interesting observation, we are so spoiled with our ability to instantly reach out and communicate, but with limited access to electricity to charge phones, or recharge batteries - solar power charges are worth their weight...Facebook is also very important commo source to locate family etc... Phones die quick, at one point I was trying to remember dah dit, I made myself a promise to get on that ASAP.
The Reaper
11-04-2012, 11:05
D:
Glad to be of assistance.
I found a great deal on some rollable 5w. solar panels. They can be daisy chained and work great for AA battery chargers.
Eventually, we would like to have a couple of the larger roof mounted panels installed and ready to charge a deep cycle battery bank should we need them.
The generator fuel isue is easily fixed if you have an LP model or an LP conversion and a large LP source available. And the bucks to refill it. No need to run it 24/7, IMHO. Just an hour or two in the morning and another couple of hours at night. Use the runs to keep cold things cold, catch some entertainment, and to recharge the batteries.
All the best.
TR
Badger52
11-04-2012, 11:17
Interesting observation, we are so spoiled with our ability to instantly reach out and communicate, but with limited access to electricity to charge phones, or recharge batteries - solar power charges are worth their weight...Facebook is also very important commo source to locate family etc... Glad you applied what you could & came out the other side.
As TR has mentioned before, a rudimentary HF radio setup and the basic knowledge (which should come from at least the General licensing procedure) can be used. This isn't a ham thread, but I had several reports from folks using WINMOR over their HF to get information out to family that ends up traversing standard email relays but outside the affected area. If you can run your laptop and a basic HF setup on emerg power you're in business when local connections (wireless & otherwise) are down. Allows comm with those who may need to hear from you but may have no comm skills. Basically the free version of what sailors have been using for a long time. Your radio, to an HF gateway, which then dumps your traffic onto commercial internet connection for routing to family, etc. You can then let them further populate FB etc. There is an initial learning curve, but it works slick.
I second Penn's post. :lifter I am in the Rockaways, which took a very hard hit. Having watched the storm since it was over the Carribean, much of the invaluable preparation/survival advice imparted on this BB came to mind. Water was frozen, food and drinking water were stockpiled, along with firewood, propane and gasoline. My wife initially questioned my generator purchase, but has since changed her mind after she was able to take a hot shower after we lost power(hot water heater has an electronic ignition and my sewage drains to the sump pit, so I can't even flush without power :mad: ). Still without commercial power(and heat), but otherwise thankful that we came out unscathed, others in my area weren't so lucky, I assisted several friends with pumping 4+ ft. of water out of their respective basements(having a generator and spare submersible pump can make you popular quite quickly :rolleyes: ). Lessons learned: natural gas generator with transfer switch, stockpile more gasoline, and consider installing a fireplace.
My (frustrated with LIPA) .02
The Reaper
11-05-2012, 19:53
I second Penn's post. :lifter I am in the Rockaways, which took a very hard hit. Having watched the storm since it was over the Carribean, much of the invaluable preparation/survival advice imparted on this BB came to mind. Water was frozen, food and drinking water were stockpiled, along with firewood, propane and gasoline. My wife initially questioned my generator purchase, but has since changed her mind after she was able to take a hot shower after we lost power(hot water heater has an electronic ignition and my sewage drains to the sump pit, so I can't even flush without power :mad: ). Still without commercial power(and heat), but otherwise thankful that we came out unscathed, others in my area weren't so lucky, I assisted several friends with pumping 4+ ft. of water out of their respective basements(having a generator and spare submersible pump can make you popular quite quickly :rolleyes: ). Lessons learned: natural gas generator with transfer switch, stockpile more gasoline, and consider installing a fireplace.
My (frustrated with LIPA) .02
Natural gas supplies are subject to the same disruption as other utilities, and will fail after a few days without power when the pump failure causes the lines to lose pressure.
LP is on site and is not subject to outside problems, till you run out. It is more expensive, and you can only get about 70% of the fuel from a full (80%) tank. Underground tanks are the way to go.
If not stored underground, gasoline is best stored in vehicle tanks. Untreated gas has a 3-6 month shelf life, BTW, so you have to rotate stocks. Treated gas is good for 1-2 years, though at that point, I probably would not put it in an expensive car. Add Sta-Bil or the like to your supplies as a fuel preservative. Some homeowners policies limit the amount of gasoline you can store in/around your home. It is usually 20 gallons or less.
Fire places are good, as long as you have wood. If you don't, and you want it to be available for several days on end, LP is the way to go.
No, I am not Hank Hill, BTW.
TR
ZonieDiver
11-05-2012, 20:08
No, I am not Hank Hill, BTW.
Now that's a program I'd watch. TR as "Hank Hill"! Arlen, TX would never be the same, I tell you what.:D
Natural gas supplies are subject to the same disruption as other utilities, and will fail after a few days without power when the pump failure causes the lines to lose pressure.
LP is on site and is not subject to outside problems, till you run out. It is more expensive, and you can only get about 70% of the fuel from a full (80%) tank. Underground tanks are the way to go.
If not stored underground, gasoline is best stored in vehicle tanks. Untreated gas has a 3-6 month shelf life, BTW, so you have to rotate stocks. Treated gas is good for 1-2 years, though at that point, I probably would not put it in an expensive car. Add Sta-Bil or the like to your supplies as a fuel preservative. Some homeowners policies limit the amount of gasoline you can store in/around your home. It is usually 20 gallons or less.
Fire places are good, as long as you have wood. If you don't, and you want it to be available for several days on end, LP is the way to go.
No, I am not Hank Hill, BTW.
TR
QP TR,
Thank you for the invaluable advice. The good news is that we finally got power back on Sunday, we have been in and out, alternating staying by relatives and home as well as assisting with the recovery effort.
I have been a Sta-bil user for some time now, and I usually cycle through my gasoline cache roughly every six months, usually at the beginning of the summer and winter, though, I only keep about 5 gallons on hand at any given time. I looked into my homeowners policy limit, which is as you accurately pointed out 20 gallons, I may start keeping the limit on hand. As far as NG is concerned, pump power is definitely a concern, though I have it on good information that National Grid's pumps did not lose commercial power during Sandy. In the end, I went with a tri-fuel(gas, NG, LP) conversion kit for my portable Generac, which should cover me in almost any event. As for firewood, I am fortunate enough to have a neighbor that keeps a 3-4(I am not kidding) month supply on hand, and is more than willing to share, so I am still considering the fireplace, though I got the heat working off of the generator in the end.
All in all, we made it out in better shape than most, some prepared, many unfortunately did not. The Rockaways are still a mess, and will take some considerable time to rebuild, unfortunately, city/state/fed are only making it worse, not better, and failed to implement storm water management recommendations in the first place. Looting was/is rampant, it's not like the Rockaways are a good area to begin with, and little emperor Bloomberg refuses to let the National Guard do what they do best(and no, thats not giving out bottled water).
Primary lesson learned is that NYC is not and probably will never be prepared for another storm like this, so it is time for my family to find elsewhere to call home; currently looking into Texas.
My jaded .02
The Reaper
11-13-2012, 21:01
Several areas lost NG because of leaks elsewhere in the area requiring a shutdown. Your own LP tank, no issue. Great idea with the tri-fuel conversion kit, as long as you have adequate NG piping to allow the flow a generator requires. Normally, it requires more column inches of pressure than the routine appliances do.
Still not sure how your heat worked, if it was LP or NG, all you needed was electricity to the burner and fan. If it was electric heat, it is very inefficient to use gasoline to make electricity to them reconvert it to heat via heat strips. Much more efficient to get a few cans of kerosene and a kerosene heater for emergencies. My brother runs his regularly for heat and has used it to heat soup and other food on. I watched a Korean fry fish on top of one. Plus the kerosene will work well in lanterns. Kero also is much more stable than gas and will last longer. I am using Diesel Sta-Bil and it seems to be working well. I would estimate several years of shelf life, if preserved and stored properly. Comes down to it, and an electric fuel pump with a long hose could score you plenty of heating oil, which is very similar to kerosene. With the owner's permission, if it is not your tank, of course.
We have looters down here, too, just not as many repeating ones.
All the best.
TR
As for firewood, I am fortunate enough to have a neighbor that keeps a 3-4(I am not kidding) month supply on hand, and is more than willing to share,
Just curious, is this a positive or negative statement?
ETA: To be clear, I mean your parenthetical comment.
Pat
Several areas lost NG because of leaks elsewhere in the area requiring a shutdown. Your own LP tank, no issue.
Still not sure how your heat worked, if it was LP or NG, all you needed was electricity to the burner and fan. If it was electric heat, it is very inefficient to use gasoline to make electricity to them reconvert it to heat via heat strips. Much more efficient to get a few cans of kerosene and a kerosene heater for emergencies. My brother runs his regularly for heat and has used it to heat soup and other food on. I watched a Korean fry fish on top of one. Plus the kerosene will work well in lanterns. Kero also is much more stable than gas and will last longer. I am using Diesel Sta-Bil and it seems to be working well. I would estimate several years of shelf life, if preserved and stored properly. Comes down to it, and an electric fuel pump with a long hose could score you plenty of heating oil, which is very similar to kerosene. With the owner's permission, if it is not your tank, of course.
All the best.
TR
Indeed, Breezy Point was practically incinerated because they failed to shut off the gas in time. Thankfully, there was no NG system damage in my area, and the gas kept flowing. And yes, I discovered that filament space heaters are incredibly inefficient.
My heating unit is NG fired, forced hot air, 3/4HP blower and a small 5amp vent fan/pump(no chimney), so around 1600 watts in total, about 2800(the vent fan starts first) starting. My neighbor has some old kerosene hurricane lamps and a kero heater which he was using alongside the fireplace, I will definitely look into that. I also keep 1-2 LP tanks for the grill, which has a side burner, and some WetFire or triox in my BOB with a fold-able stove, which gives me cooking/heating backup, and last but not least, some chafing fuel, which we used to heat and re-heat food.
v/r
BOfH
Just curious, is this a positive or negative statement?
ETA: T be clear, I mean your parenthetical comment.
Pat
Very positive :) Could not have asked for better neighbors(on one side at least, the other is a whole 'nother story :rolleyes: ). Aside from a fireplace, he also has a wood fired oven(long story short, unleavened bread(Matzah) for Passover), so he keeps a rather large supply of firewood on hand. I should also note that he helped me track down the tri-fuel kit for my generator.
Very positive :)
My question is, do you think 3-4 months supply is too much or too little?
Pat
The Reaper
11-13-2012, 21:39
You find out who your friends really are during hard times.
Don't let your guard down yet. I suspect that the looters, having found some easy pickings, are not done.
TR
My question is, do you think 3-4 months supply is too much or too little?
Pat
Pat,
Personally, a little much in my opinion, however, he has the property size to maintain it. A decent portion of it was not due to intentional stockpiling, it was partly due to a two large trees on his property that fell onto his neighbor's property during Irene. Once he cut them up I guess he never bothered to dispose of the wood. I took some, which I split and dried in my garage, the rest he either uses or gives to people in the neighborhood. There are numerous Silver Maples and Mulberry's in my area, with many falling prey to the Asian Long Horned Beatle(including one on my property), so at the moment, there isn't a lack of decent firewood.
...Don't let your guard down yet. I suspect that the looters, having found some easy pickings, are not done.
TR
Yes sir. No truer words have been spoken. Once the initial set of "looters" begin to die down, the secondary wave really begins to move in -- the "fraudulent contractors".
I worked contractor fraud cases from our last four major hurricanes for up to four years after the initial storm hit in 2005. They do a lot of damage in a short amount of time.
They are equal opportunity thieves but they do tend to pray on the "easy targets".
Pat,
Personally, a little much in my opinion, however, he has the property size to maintain it. A decent portion of it was not due to intentional stockpiling, it was partly due to a two large trees on his property that fell onto his neighbor's property during Irene. Once he cut them up I guess he never bothered to dispose of the wood. I took some, which I split and dried in my garage, the rest he either uses or gives to people in the neighborhood. There are numerous Silver Maples and Mulberry's in my area, with many falling prey to the Asian Long Horned Beatle(including one on my property), so at the moment, there isn't a lack of decent firewood.
Sorry. Given your situation, I shouldn't have been playing 20 questions. ;)
I would consider it too little. Three to four months can be just a season without sharing. Even in Hermosa Beach, CA, on a small footprint lot, we kept at least a years worth, just in case. If you get a fireplace, stock up!
Take care!
Pat
You find out who your friends really are during hard times.
Don't let your guard down yet. I suspect that the looters, having found some easy pickings, are not done.
TR
QP TR,
They found it alright, the local Best Buy, Marshalls and Sprint Store were practically cleaned out. By the time they were ready to turn to the private residences, the lights mostly came back on(actually, some of the projects had generators hooked up by NYCHA early on) , and people started coming back. That said, I am still watching my back more often than not.
I should note that many of the local organizations really came through on the security side etc., such as the local Jewish volunteer ambulance corp Hatzalah (http://www.hatzalahrl.org) as well as the local community patrol and other regional organizations, as opposed to state and federal organizations.
My .02
Sorry. Given your situation, I shouldn't have been playing 20 questions. ;)
I would consider it too little. Three to four months can be just a season without sharing. Even in Hermosa Beach, CA, on a small footprint lot, we kept at least a years worth, just in case. If you get a fireplace, stock up!
Take care!
Pat
Pat,
Thanks for the advice! I could be underestimating, he has several large piles, with around 10x10 footprint and 6-8ft in height; log sizes vary. The problem is that my area went from rural, rich beach houses/bungalows in the 60's to a dense but still somewhat suburban, (failed) integration experiment that was/is oh so popular with the progressives in NYC(and elsewhere). So, by and large, lot sizes have shrunk considerably, and with that, commodity storage space.
My .02
The Reaper
11-13-2012, 22:08
I would say that a reasonable suply would be to take the amount of wood burned per day, times the number of heating days per year, and add in 25-50% extra for an exceptionally cold winter, neighbors, etc.
Obviously, a cord or a face cord is the standard unit of measurement for firewood.
Bear in mind that you want seasoned fire wood, so there needs to be enough left over to carry through if it takes more than a year to dry and season in your environment.
If you have enough wood, it might be worthwhile to rent a power splitter, if they have those at the rental shops.
TR
Yes sir. No truer words have been spoken. Once the initial set of "looters" begin to die down, the secondary wave really begins to move in -- the "fraudulent contractors".
I worked contractor fraud cases from our last four major hurricanes for up to four years after the initial storm hit in 2005. They do a lot of damage in a short amount of time.
They are equal opportunity thieves but they do tend to pray on the "easy targets".
Sheepdog,
That is a great point, which has unfortunately received little attention from the local MSM and state/fed. communications(at least that I have seen). The good news is that there are veterans organizations (http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/11/11/veterans-assist-in-rockaways-relief-effort-on-veterans-day/) and active-duty Marines (http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2012/11/marine-marines-overcome-hurdles-to-aid-cleanup-after-superstorm) assisting with the cleanup and repair, which will hopefully help people from falling into the faux-contractor trap.
v/r
BOfH
I would say that a reasonable suply would be to take the amount of wood burned per day, times the number of heating days per year, and add in 25-50% extra for an exceptionally cold winter, neighbors, etc.
Obviously, a cord or a face cord is the standard unit of measurement for firewood.
Bear in mind that you want seasoned fire wood, so there needs to be enough left over to carry through if it takes more than a year to dry and season in your environment.
If you have enough wood, it might be worthwhile to rent a power splitter, if they have those at the rental shops.
TR
QP TR,
Thanks again for the advice, it is much appreciated! My neighbor has a manual hydraulic splitter, which has served well from time to time, though nothing beats the axe/hammer and spike IMO. He tries to keep the wood covered and dry, but it is usually un-split and outdoors, which increases seasoning times. I keep about a weeks worth, split, in the garage.
If history is an indicator, it is the end of season hurricanes and mid-summer "supercell" storms that do the most damage in the NYC area. Irene was early enough that the heating season hadn't started, however with Sandy we weren't as lucky. In the 6 years that I have been in this area, winter Nor'easters have not taken the power out, but there is always a first time for everything, and they are predicting an exceptionally stormy winter. Time will tell...
My .02