Irene's Weblog

Those bastards at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have decided I can’t be a hurricane anymore because I caused too much damage last year. How dare they? And, they’re replacing me with Irma? Irma? Really? My name is so much better than Irma. Bastards!

The name Irene is being retired from the catalog of Atlantic storm names because of the billions of dollars in damage and nearly 50 deaths that resulted from Hurricane Irene last year.

Hurricane Irene came ashore in August, 2011 as a Category 1 storm and was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved up the East Coast, flooding already swollen rivers, damaging homes, roads and businesses and forcing the evacuation of some two million people.

Nearly 50 people were killed in the Caribbean and in ten US states. Days after the storm, experts said damage wrought by Hurricane Irene for everything from washed-out roads to canceled flights would top $12 billion.

Nearly 50 people were killed. How do “nearly killed” people count? You’re supposed to only count the actual dead people, not the ones that made it. And only 50? Come on. That’s not destructive enough to be forced into retirement.

According to the National Hurricane Center, it is usually Category 5 storm names that are retired “social and economic impacts can also be factored into the decision.”

Oh, so I’m being retired because of political correctness then? Nice. Sometimes I hate this country.

Here are some photos taken during Hurricane Irene that I thought were either informative or amusing.

This guy and his dog, Beatrix, prepared themselves for the storm.

This redditor’s wife knows how to be prepared for a hurricane and what’s important.

People in Times Square used the concrete to make a natural Slip n Slide.

ABC News had this amusing photo late last night.

FOX News, meanwhile, was busy calling for the abolition of the National Weather Service. How can people take these morons seriously? Their entire budget costs each taxpayer $3 per year. Get a fucking clue people. I have no patience for FOX News and the lunatics who watch it. The anti-intellectualism in this country is astounding.

Earth Full Disk – Aug. 27 17:45 UTC – 1:45 Eastern.

Scouting New York has an amusing post of what New Yorkers in New York City are buying to prepare for the hurricane.

Here’s another photo from NASA that describes the wind speed of Irene. You can check out their page and see updates throughout the storm.

Here are some photos from my hometown, Middletown, New York.

Fulton Avenue.

There’s a photo gallery on the Times Herald Record’s website.

Although you can see Rosen Glass (best place in town to go btw) in the photo, what you can’t see is that this is a 5-way intersection and the fire department is off to the right of this photograph. When I was a kid, I delivered newspapers in this part of town.

Many of the black dirt farmers are concerned about their fields as well. If you’ve never had potatoes or onions that were grown in black dirt, you don’t know what you’re missing. They are so much better than elsewhere.

So, I’m a great big hurricane at the moment.  We’ll see how things go, but, for now, it looks like Hurricane Irene is going to be huge.

Also, check out exactly how huge Hurricane Irene is.  Astronaut Ron Garan tweeted the picture below from the International Space Station.