Lawd! I have NEVER seen this from the NWS before:

[TreasonousBastard]

79. Well, I'm here on Long Island and the storm has been...

well covered, to say the least.

2-4" of rain expected, which we can handle any day even with the 50-75mph winds which are common with the proper noreasters we get a few times a year, with October being prime time for them.

Crappy old power lines will go out, as usual, and we have no idea who will be hit this time. Connecticut usually gets more blackouts because their power lines a are even older and crappier.

The real problem here, and it's big one, is the surge. At high tide today I took the Shelter Island Ferry and the movable ramp was almost at the limit, with the tide about 3-4' higher than normal. And the real surge hasn't started yet!

High tide at possibly 10 feet above normal will be devastating, and it could happen with Long Island Sound acting as an enormous funnel filling up with storm surge and several tide cycles and only the tiny East River and Harlem Rivers draining it. Barrier beaches like Fire Island have been evacuated because although they are on the ocean side, they'll still get with some surge and could be almost completely underwater. Add the wave action from the wind and it could be bad. Real bad.

Not life-threatening every tree will be down bad, but one hell of a mess. I've been down to Westhampton after just a good heavy rain and the roads were washed out. Add a few more feet of water and the wind and it will be a real mess.

So, no, we're not expecting Katrina, or Gloria, but we are expecting a serious interruption to life here and a lot of flooding. And we'll probably lose at last one idiot to the storm, but most people will just lose some money.