Wasn’t sure if that pune was intentional or not. 
New state-by-state update page on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/27/irene.state.by.state/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
Next week, locust! The May/October doomsday prediction was off again!
My brother called and we caught each other up on our respective local news. He’s in Richmond, VA with most of my extended family nearby. I’m in Boston. He reported squalls and sideways rain 20 minutes ago.
Mass transit is shutting down services in areas at noon (I didn’t catch where).
Watching CNN now. Showed a reporter in NC with tall waves in the distance behind him. Looked like a camera trick or a bad angle to me though.
waiting for Irene to come
IYKWIM
Just started raining here, which means my net connection will be spotty (it’s over cellular, so storms tend to mess with it.)
Rain has started in Boston.
I am relatively unconcerned, though have, of course, taken precautions. D.C. should get tons of rain but otherwise be alright. It’s still only raining lightly. However, my idiot sister who lives in Zone A in New York refused to leave until today at 11 a.m. My mother and I couldn’t convince her to go stay with a friend farther in (or, god forbid, outside Manhattan) but once her gym closed and her friends called her all worried she finally chose to go. Thank Crom. Now I can settle back and wait, get as much done as possible before the power goes out, and enjoy myself. Who doesn’t love the romance of a great storm?
WTVR Richmond reporting first fatality in Virginia, a nine year old child in Newport News. Keep yourself, property and cars distant from trees as best as possible. Keeping a hairy eyeball on one in the backyard, I think it may go but its not facing the house.
Storm tracker and you can put your address in to see how in the path you are…
I thought the first fatality was a surfer?
Three fatalities now I think. One poor guy felled by a flying branch in NC.
VDOT, VDEM, Dominion, police, state and local governments, and residents are tweeting useful updates to #VAIrene. Beats the radio if the power goes out. I guess #DCIrene, #MDIrene, etc to follow. 180,000 without power so far. Stay safe!
CNN is reporting 4 fatalities in their update (no mention of a surfer):
[Update 2:37 p.m.] Four people have died as a result of Hurricane Irene, including a boy killed after a tree crashed in Newport News, Virginia, emergency officials said Saturday. Officer Holly McPherson of the Newport News police department said the child went missing after a tree crashed on an apartment complex. Authorities were waiting for cranes to arrive to lift the tree. Three others died earlier in North Carolina, according to officials.
[Update 2:11 p.m.] New York City’s subway lines and bus routes are completing their final runs, according to the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s special.
[Update 1:57 p.m.] Three people have died in North Carolina as a result of Hurricane Irene, an emergency management official said. A motorist lost control of his vehicle and struck a tree in Pitt County. A man feeding livestock in Nash County was struck by a tree limb. And, a man in Onslow County died of a heart attack as he put plywood over his windows in preparation for the storm, said emergency management spokesman Ernie Seneca."
Video of the Potomac at Columbia Beach, VA.
CNN: Nearly a million without power [in NC and VA].
My brother in Richmond, VA lost power.
It’s now fully overcast in Vermont after an unbelievably humid day. Now we wait!
First tornado sightings in South NJ…oh boy… :eek:
It’s been raining since before I woke up around 7, and we’ve had some gusty winds. We’re doing fine though - the car’s nowhere near trees, and we got pizza for dinner.
Somewhat disconcerting, though, is that we noticed in a different part of our apartment building what we think was first earthquake damage, that we now notice because water’s streaming through it. So that’s a bit disconcerting.
I’m glad I moved my plants and took down my windchimes, but our power’s been on all day and there’s no flooding in our area so far. Just keeping on keeping on. Stay safe, my further-north and -east friends!