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Monday, October 29, 2012

‎"Here I am... rock me like a hurricane!"

Sang no one on the East Coast, ever.

Be sure to follow Hurricane Sandy on Twitter for real-time updates from the centre of the storm herself! Warning: NSFW due to language.


Are you ready? Is GO Transit ready?

"Who are you kidding!? There's no plan in place for tonight!" I can hear you screaming from your keyboards.

I'm reading all kinds of crazy weather predictions for our area.

But I like Environment Canada's warning the best. Gee, can one be any more vague? "This evening". That's pretty ball park. Are we talking 5pm? 9pm?

Can we expect cancelled trains tomorrow morning due to debris and downed trees on tracks or is GO Transit on top of this hot mess? With cranes and clean-up crews on stand-by?

If GO is smart, they will issue their own weather bulletin outlining the steps they plan to take to prepare for this hurricane, but to their credit, they've been very pro-active on Twitter this morning.

WWCN11 CWTO 290851
SEVERE WEATHER BULLETIN
ISSUED BY ENVIRONMENT CANADA
AT 4:51 AM EDT MONDAY 29 OCTOBER 2012.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
WATCHES/WARNINGS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHERN ONTARIO...

WIND WARNING FOR:
=NEW= CITY OF TORONTO
=NEW= WINDSOR - ESSEX - CHATHAM-KENT
=NEW= SARNIA - LAMBTON
=NEW= ELGIN
=NEW= LONDON - MIDDLESEX
=NEW= SIMCOE - DELHI - NORFOLK
=NEW= DUNNVILLE - CALEDONIA - HALDIMAND
=NEW= OXFORD - BRANT
=NEW= NIAGARA
=NEW= CITY OF HAMILTON
=NEW= HALTON - PEEL
=NEW= YORK - DURHAM
=NEW= HURON - PERTH
=NEW= KITCHENER - CAMBRIDGE - REGION OF WATERLOO
=NEW= GUELPH - ERIN - SOUTHERN WELLINGTON COUNTY
=NEW= SAUGEEN SHORES - KINCARDINE - SOUTHERN BRUCE COUNTY
=NEW= BELLEVILLE - QUINTE - NORTHUMBERLAND
=NEW= KINGSTON - PRINCE EDWARD
=NEW= GANANOQUE - MALLORYTOWN
=NEW= BROCKVILLE - PRESCOTT
=NEW= MORRISBURG - LONG SAULT
=NEW= CORNWALL - LANCASTER.

SEVERE WINDS OF 60 GUSTING UP TO 100 KM/H BEGINNING THIS EVENING.

THIS IS A WARNING THAT POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS WINDS ARE EXPECTED IN THESE REGIONS. MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR UPDATED STATEMENTS.

==DISCUSSION==
HURRICANE SANDY IS FORECAST TO TRACK FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN INTO THE NEW JERSEY SHORELINE THIS EVENING AS IT TRANSITIONS INTO A POWERFUL POST-TROPICAL STORM. WINDS WILL INCREASE OUT OF THE NORTH TO NORTHEAST TODAY AT 40 GUSTING TO 60 KM/H IN MOST AREAS. THEY WILL INTENSIFY FURTHER THIS EVENING TO 60 GUSTING AT TIMES TO 90 KM/H ACCOMPANIED BY HEAVIER BANDS OF RAIN AS SANDY BEGINS TO MOVE ACROSS PENNSYLVANIA. WINDS MAY BE EVEN STRONGER IN THE NIAGARA AND SARNIA REGIONS WHERE GUSTS OVER 100 KM/H ARE POSSIBLE. THEY MAY ALSO GUST A LITTLE STRONGER OVER HIGHER TERRAIN. WINDS WILL BEGIN TO EASE BELOW  WARNING CRITERIA ON TUESDAY MORNING.

SPORADIC POWER OUTAGES ARE QUITE LIKELY ACROSS THE WARNED REGIONS DUE   TO FALLING LIMBS AND THE ODD TOPPLED TREE TAKING OUT HYDRO LINES.

REFER TO YOUR LOCAL PUBLIC FORECAST FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

END/OSPC

PS. If my headline and subsequent comment shows up as a meme today on the internet anywhere, I have Howard Bigfird on stand-by.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

We are monitoring the weather and will adjust service accordingly.
Thank you.

C.J. Smith said...

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!

Squiggles said...

It means we should all be ready to work from home tomorrow. Remember, the "leaves on tracks" crap that happened a couple of years ago. That times a million is what will happen if this actually happens. And GO doesn't seem to learn from past experiences/mistakes.

ExGOnowTTC said...

Due to high winds and waves on Lake Ontario, the Go Train SS Edmund Fitzgerald has foundered and sunk. As such service is suspended until further notice. GO Transit apologies for this delay and asks that you enjoy the sounds of a third-rate Gordon Lightfoot Tribute Band.

Dib said...

If the winds are really high, I'm not crazy about travelling over the trestle near Rouge Hill! They really should let us know what their contingency plans are - assuming they have some!

Same with Union Station. Remember the flooding in the summer? Do you think they have sand-bagged or will we experience the same thing tonight or tomorrow?

Squiggles said...

@ Dib, from what the TTC was saying in a news article earlier, they don't expect a repeat. Of course, it was blamed on the construction company. But the Good News is that you can access the GO trains via the VIA (aka street) level.

And the fun has already started! There have been 2 annoucements of delays from a fallen tree. I know it is enough that I am leaving an hour early, just so I can make it home on time and stash some outside stuff before things get really interesting.

Todd said...

Fortunately I have the option of working from home occasionally. I'll be doing that tomorrow and avoid any possible nastiness.