From Jeff Masters' WunderBlog - links to storm surge maps, one of them interactive

[highplainsdem]

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1900

The latest set of model runs don't show any major changes to Irene's track or intensity. Irene will bring damaging winds, torrential rains, and an extremely dangerous storm surge to the coast, affecting a huge area of the mid-Atlantic and New England. Take this storm seriously! Expect widespread disruptions to electric power, transportation, and water systems. Be prepared for many days without power, as utility crews will be overwhelmed with the damage. Irene is capable of inundating portions of the coast under 10 - 15 feet of water, to the highest storm surge depths ever recorded. I strongly recommend that all residents of the mid-Atlantic and New England coast familiarize themselves with their storm surge risk. The best source of that information is the National Hurricane Center's Interactive Storm Surge Risk Map, which allows one to pick a particular Category hurricane and zoom in to see the height above ground level a worst-case storm surge may go. If you prefer static images, use wunderground's Storm Surge Inundation Maps. If these tools indicate you may be at risk, consult your local or state emergency management office to determine if you are in a hurricane evacuation zone. Mass evacuations of low-lying areas along the entire coast of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia are at least 50% likely to be ordered by Saturday. The threat to the coasts of New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine is less certain, but evacuations may be ordered in those states, as well. Irene is a very dangerous storm for an area that has no experience with hurricanes, and I strongly urge you to evacuate from the coast if an evacuation is ordered by local officials. My area of greatest concern is the coast from Ocean City, Maryland, to Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is possible that this stretch of coast will receive a direct hit from a slow-moving Category 2 hurricane hitting during the highest tide of the month, bringing a 10 - 15 foot storm surge.

[Parker CA]

1. Those last two sentences are pretty intense. Stay safe East Coasters!

[democrat2thecore]

6. Intensifying as of 1:26am EDT

There's nothing to stop this storm and the jet stream makes this a certain hit on major NE cities. Many different models, but now NONE of them show anything less than an extreme threat to the Atlantic seaboard. In other words, there's no more "if" about it. Take precautions and take all warnings and evacs seriously.

[XemaSab]

2. There's no projection for a Cat 5

slamming into Los Angeles. :(

[Whisp]

3. hitting during the highest tide of the month...

oiy

[highplainsdem]

4. Yes. Worst possible time.

[democrat2thecore]

5. One person from NHC just said:

"This phrase has been so terribly overused that I hate to use it, but I have to: this is shaping up to be 'the perfect storm'. The conditions in the water off the Atlantic seaboard, the torrential rains, the wind field, it's truly looking like a storm of a lifetime."

Remember: a Cat 1 in the upper Atlantic is roughly equivalent, damage wise, to a Cat 3-4 in the Gulf. A Cat 2 - like a Cat 5. Don't pay attention to the traditional hurricane categories.

[highplainsdem]

7. His latest blog has a map and link for the Significant River Flood Outlook:

That WunderBlog post:

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1901

Direct link to the page at NOAA with the river flood outlook map:

http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/nationalfloodoutlook/index.html

[highplainsdem]

8. kick