That it was a storm and caused some damage – as storms are wont to do – seems clear.
But was all the fuss really justified? Emergencies declared, mass evacuations, whole cities shut down!!
Perhaps I am missing something but the reports of wind speeds for New York city that are forecast here are stormy but they do not seem all that remarkable (perhaps upto about 80km/h (50 mph) for an hour or two.
Hourly Forecast 6AM 12 Noon 6PM 12 Midnight Temp. | Dew Point 22 | 21 22 | 20 22 | 15 18 | 12 Wind 73 km/h East 78 km/h North 44 km/h WNW 27 km/h West Humidity 94% 88% 65% 70% Chance of Precip. 100% 100% 100% 10% Cloud Cover 100% 100% 85% 35% Conditions Thunderstorm Thunderstorm Chance of Rain Partly Cloudy Sunrise & Sunset 6:18 AM7:35 PM
New York seems to have faced (or is facing) a severe tropical storm — but this is no hurricane.
The New York Times story goes over the top. Maybe this is the precautionary principle at work but it seems like alarmism to me and the so-called “fury” seems to have been somewhat muted!!
Tags: Alarmism, Hurricane Irene, hurricane Irene loses its fury, New York City, tropical storm
August 29, 2011 at 10:49 pm
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