What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Hurricane

There’s a lot of talk ramping up to next week’s anticipated landfall of Sandy, the hurricane/tropical storm currently lowering off Florida’s east coast. The NOAA is predicting 6-8 inches of rain over the next five days (really Sunday through Tuesday, as there isn’t rain in the forecast today or tomorrow). As the weekend approaches, the forecast will become more precise and we’ll learn if what meteorologists have dubbed “Frankenstorm” will come to pass. That is, if will Sandy converge with a winter storm front approaching from the northwest.

Don’t panic. But be prepared. Parts of Park Slope around 4th Avenue are in Hurricane Evacuation Zone C, which would be impacted by a category 3 or 4 hurricane – the closest evacuation center is John Jay. Even if the storm’s not that bad, as we know, with a lot of rain in a short period of time, 4th Ave and its subway lines are prone to flooding, so watch out for that.

Plan ahead. Know where flashlights are in case of blackout. Lines might be long at supermarkets, so factor that in if you are going shopping today or Saturday. Have food on hand in case you don’t feel like braving the rain next week.

The storms may pass without affecting the NY region – Sandy could blow out to sea (though this looks unlikely). Or we could be in for a lot of rain. On the plus side, snow looks very unlikely for the NYC area.

Wind prediction map via NOAA