Hurricane conjures up nightmares of Irene in ’11

Staff/wire report

DUCK, N.C.

A year after being walloped by Hurricane Irene, residents rushed to put away boats, harvest crops and sandbag boardwalks Friday as the Eastern Seaboard braced for a megastorm that experts said would cause greater havoc.

Hurricane Sandy, moving north from the Caribbean, was expected to make landfall Monday night near the Delaware coast, then hit two winter weather systems as it moves inland, creating a hybrid monster storm that could bring nearly a foot of rain, high winds and up to 2 feet of snow.

Brian Edwards, a meteorologist with Accuweather in State College, Pa., said Northeast Ohio will see rain throughout the weekend, but weather from Hurricane Sandy won’t be felt in Youngstown until Monday.

“The area will see showers on Saturday and Sunday, but it won’t be associated with Sandy,” he said. “Rainfall and winds from the hurricane will kick in and intensify on Monday night.”

Edwards said areas east of Youngstown will see more rain than areas west, while higher-elevation areas in southeastern Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia may see some snowfall. He said that even in the best-case scenario, Youngstown will still see some nasty weather.

“You will receive some rainfall, that’s for sure,” said Edwards. “The worst will come Monday night into Tuesday with heavy rain of 2 to 3 inches.”

Officials in North Carolina did not mince words, telling people to be prepared for several days without electricity. Jersey Shore beach towns began issuing voluntary evacuations and protecting boardwalks. Atlantic Beach casinos made contingency plans to close, and officials advised residents of flood-prone areas to stay with family or be ready to leave. Airlines said to expect cancellations and waived change fees for passengers who want to reschedule.

“Be forewarned,” said Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. “Assume that you will be in the midst of flooding conditions, the likes of which you may not have seen at any of the major storms that have occurred over the last 30 years.”

Many storm-seasoned residents had not begun to panic. Along North Carolina’s fragile Outer Banks, no evacuations had been ordered and ferries hadn’t yet been closed. Plenty of stores remained open and houses still featured Halloween decorations outside, as rain started to roll in.

“I’ll never evacuate again,” said Lori Hilby, manager of a natural foods market in Duck, N.C., who left her home before Hurricane Irene struck last August. “... Whenever I evacuate, I always end up somewhere and they lose power and my house is fine. So I’m always wishing I was home.”

Farther north, residents were making more cautious preparations. Patrick and Heather Peters pulled into their driveway in Bloomsburg, Pa., with a kerosene heater, 12 gallons of water, paper plates, batteries, flashlights and the last lantern on Wal-Mart’s shelf. They’ve also rented a U-Haul in case the forecast gets worse over the weekend.

“I’m not screwing around this time,” said Heather Peters, whose town was devastated last year by flooding following Hurricane Irene.

Across the street, Douglas Jumper, whose first floor took on nearly 5 feet of water during Irene, was tying down his patio furniture on Friday and moving items in his wood shop to higher ground.

“I’m tired. I am tired,” Jumper, who turns 58 on Saturday, said through tears. “We don’t need this again.”

At a Home Depot in Freeport, on Long Island in New York, Bob Notheis bought sawhorses to put his furniture on inside his home.

“I’m just worried about how bad it’s going to be with the tidal surge,” he said. “Irene was kind of rough on me and I’m just trying to prepare.”

The storm threatened to hit two weeks before Election Day, while several states were heavily involved in campaigning, canvassing and get-out-the-vote efforts. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and Vice President Joe Biden both canceled weekend campaign events in coastal Virginia Beach, Va., though their events in other parts of the states were going on as planned. In Rhode Island, politicians asked supporters to take down yard signs for fear they might turn into projectiles in the storm.

After Irene left millions without power, utilities were taking no chances and were lining up extra crews and tree-trimmers. Wind threatened to topple power lines, and trees that still have leaves could be weighed down by snow and fall over if the weight becomes too much.

In upstate New York, Richard Ball was plucking carrots, potatoes, beets and other crops from the ground as quickly as possible. Ball was still shaky from Irene, which scoured away soil, ruined crops and killed livestock last year.

Farmers were moving tractors and other equipment to high ground, and some families pondered moving furniture to upper stories in their homes.

“The fear we have a similar recipe to Irene has really intensified anxieties in town,” Ball said Friday.

Sandy has killed at least 40 people in the Caribbean, and just left the Bahamas.