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  • August 29, 2011 | 1:24 PM ET

    Irene is gone...but not forgotten.

    Good morning everyone. 

    I see the blog was active this weekend, and I guess I’m not surprised that a lot of folks used this forum to complain about the “over-hyped” coverage of Irene.    Because it is my job to  advise the public about weather that could affect their daily lives or livelihoods, I take these complaits a little personally.   65 million people were in the path of this hurricane,  and it was our job to do the best we could to report where the storm was headed and the very real dangers that “could” happen. 

    So the storm didn’t take out the Statue of Liberty, but it did cut power to millions, kill over two dozen people, flood millions of homes, bring down hundred year old trees onto roofs, and cut off roadways.  We still don’t know the scope of the damage as new video and pictures begins to come in.   I think it’s a little early to write this storm off.  I’m sure the folks in New Jersey, Vermont, and Massachusetts might have a valid argument on how Irene made a very real impact on their lives.  One they won’t forget anytime soon.

    If one person decided to pack up their family and get out of harms way because of our forecasting and warnings, then in my opinio, the “hype” was worth it.   

    I was home this weekend taking care of the people I care about the most.  We were in the direct path of Irene Saturday night and Sunday morning, so my husband and I spent many hours making sure we were prepared.   We had our generator ready, we filled the bathtubs, bought ice, canned foods, had everything charged up, our battery operated radios.  We made plans to take shelter in our basement with the boys if the storm got really bad.  And, I was scared.  Truly scared.  I guess I was falling for my own “hype”.  As it turned out, our house was spared.  But, others around our neighborhood weren’t so lucky.  We saw countless homes with trees and power lines down, flooded roads and emergancy vehicles storming the streets. 

    Here’s a couple of photos that were taken by our neighbors Tom and Mike:

     

    My first thought when the daylight broke was “Boy, am I lucky.”  My family is safe, and we still have a roof over our heads.

    There are many, many people who aren’t so lucky this morning. 

    Let’s go over the storm totals.  I think the pictures and the numbers tell the story pretty nicely:

    As for today, we take a breath.   The northeast is very quiet as people try to clean up.  We could see some strong to severe storms across the Interior West, and the heat is still baking parts of the west, the southern and central plains.  Houston tied its altime hottest record over the weekend of 109 degrees!  Yikes!

    And the tropics are kicking again – we have tropical depression 12 that will become tropical storm Katia shortly.  And as you can see by the forecast track, becoming a hurricane later this week.

    We’ll have to watch that one in the days to come.

    Hope all you regular bloggers are safe and dry!  Hug the ones you love!

    jd

    Janice Dean
    Meteorologist

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September 5, 2011 at 10:45 am

Lance Hilpert

Fox is still calling Irene a hurricane. It never was. When it made landfall in NC its gusts peaked at 60 knots, not the 65 knot sustained winds required for hurricane classification. When it got to NY its winds gusted only to 40 knots, barely tropical storm strength. Fox Weather should be embarassed. I am.

September 5, 2011 at 7:29 am

DoninRichmond

Very classy Janice, a green fire hydrant in Long Island. There is an unusual contest going on here in Richmond. There are "7,000 boots on the ground" working on geting electric back to everyone here in Richmond. They don't expect to finish till this weekend. Whoever is the last person to be connected up will win the contest and receive many gifts.

September 1, 2011 at 11:01 am

DoloresfromOK

Good Morning,all.Don I am glad you have a sense of humor,as my bother says,when some days were really bad,he told jokes and stories about his time in WW2.Kept his mind of the treatments.Miami,OK is NW of me,maybe a 2 hour drive.Maybe Janicecould take pity on us forgtten weather wary folks out here and do some stories about us.And I know Texas is hurting as much as OK,my daughter and her family live there.Love Rick Perry.Wateredmy plants and it was already 90 at 9 am and windy. Have a good day D

September 1, 2011 at 10:29 am
(1 Reply)

Gwen (continued)

...Don and Rolex are 2 of our favorite people. He wasn't complaining...just letting his blogging family know what was up with him. That said, I know this Summer has been devastating on TX/OK. I have a dear friend from Levelland, TX, now living in Bastrop, TX. She has kept me filled in on the situation there. It's been a bad year for these areas, and we will all feel the effects as commodity prices rise. Little attention has been paid there, and frustratrion is understandable. TTFN! GW :)

September 1, 2011 at 10:16 am

Gwen (in Mississippi)

Hey guys! I see the discussion was lively while I was hard at work yesterday. Dolores (and others), I do understand your frustration. MS was just devastated by Katrina, but you rarely hear MS mentioned when Katrina is referenced. It's always New Orleans. Not to take anything away from NO, because they suffered. But they were not the only ones who suffered. So I get it. However, we're a family here, and we are greatly concerned for each other. That's why we were concerned about Don...

September 1, 2011 at 10:09 am

markm

I realize that there is always much to discuss, but how is it that we havenot seen a single story about Irene's impact on Connecticut? It is astounding. Even the graphics list NJ,NY, R.I., Mass and Vt, but there is this gaping hole in the reporting where Conn. ought to be. I have family in Deep River, Saybrook, Mystic and New London, and not one lousy word.

September 1, 2011 at 9:30 am

pjman

Good morning all. Dolores we understand sometimes we lose it on the blog . We are family and will say things that family will understand. I understand about the fires and 100 temps. I am in TX and we have several fires and this is the hottest year on record in TX My heart goes out to all that are having weather issues, The main thing is that we are safe and have family no matter if it is on the blog or in life that is there for us in good or bad situations. Hope all are well and safe. PJ

September 1, 2011 at 8:56 am

Margie Gacki

Hey Don, you're bad! Hey Dolores, I thought I answered you whenever you asked about Don, but I guess you didn't see it. He was diagnosed with bladder cancer last year & has been battling complications & other issues ever since. That's why we were concerned about him when we didn't hear from him after the hurricane. Hey to everyone else out there. I hope everyone has a great day. I hope there's rain in the forecast for those who need it & I hope the temperatures cool down. Take care, all. Margie

September 1, 2011 at 8:54 am

DoninRichmond

A dream come true. Women fighting over me. ONLY KIDDING. Dolores, the only reason I said what I did is the blogging family was questioning where I was. We not only speak here but also on the phone and they also follow Rolex on Twitter. Not only didn't I have phone service, the cell didn't work either. Just commenting as to why they hadn't seen or received a call from me. If I ever live my dream and come to Miami OK to have a Newell Motorhome built, I'll look you up.

September 1, 2011 at 4:30 am

DoloresfromOK

Did'nt finish,I think I was so frustrated over no one paying attention to our weather,that I lost it. The month of July was hottest on record ,not only for OK,but in the whole country.And we have 100 plus in Aug and massive fires,distroying homes,and bisnesses,and someone losing cable seemed so not important.Since I've not seen anything about Don's health,I'm guessing things are goiny well. I sincerly hope so. Temps in the low 80's after Fri and maybe cooler temps will calm me down.Thanks,D

September 1, 2011 at 12:40 am

DoloresfromOK

I was only addressing Don in particular,not in genaral.When I first came to this blog,I asked what the situation was with Don, no one responded,so I figured it out for myself. I know what is like to have someone suffer from cancer! My Dad passed away from prosate cancer,and after many momths of treatments,my brother survied colon cancer.Has been cancer free for 5yrs,and he is 87 Yes,we have another fire here and 30 homes were distroyed. Thanks to u bloggers who noticed.Did not mean to offend.

September 1, 2011 at 12:22 am

pjman

Hello all boy there has been a lively discussion on the blog lately. Hope all are well and safe with all the weather issues. They say a cold front coming to TX it should be 99 on Sat. I'll take that over the 109 last week. Glad all have checked in and are safe. Hope all have a good night. PJ

August 31, 2011 at 9:45 pm

Margie Gacki

Hey folks, I think we need to relax a little here on the blog. Sometimes when we just make a statement, someone takes it the wrong way and gets upset. I think that's what happened with Don's comment. I got mad the other day when I made a wasted trip & found out the place was closed when their web site said they were open. Then I got home & watched the hurricane coverage & realized that my “problem” was nothing compared to the hurricane. We’re a family on this blog & we should all feel free to share our experiences whether they are minor frustrations or something major. But know that if we do share a “minor” frustration, we also realize that there are worse things that are going on in the world and we do care about those things. So let’s support one another through the big things and the little things. Margie

August 31, 2011 at 6:42 pm
(1 Reply)

DoloresfromOK

DoninRichmond,so glad you got your services back,while lots of people effected by Irene and fires have NO HOMES FOR CABLE ,INTERNET AND PHONE> Sorry, sounds like you are whining just a little.Other people are way worse off the you. Sorry, if I offend,but not having cable and etc,does'nt seem important when people have lost homes and loved ones!!!!! Still 100 plus degrees here. If you want me to leave the blog,I will,this blog is about more then one or two people.Thanks for letting me vent.D

August 31, 2011 at 3:33 pm
(2 Replies)

DoninRichmond

At 8:02 pm last night we lost cable, internet and phone again. Just came back on. Comcast is one bad company.

August 31, 2011 at 2:46 pm

Shelley

DeloresfromOK has a point. There are problems all across the USA that need addressed. My brother's house (and others) in NW MO has been surrounded by water for 9 weeks now. My father, brother-in-law & hundreds of other people have to live away from their families because a 20 minute commute to work now takes 2 1/2 hours one way due to flooding. Once the flood waters recede, they still won't be able to get there because roads have been washed out. Farms are destroyed & no one seems to care.

August 31, 2011 at 1:39 pm

DoloresfromOK

I agree with Bob,it is a shame the flag of our country is neglected. I'm not being political,just stating my thoughts,as Bob was doing. We should be able to that,without being critizied.I saw nothing political about his comment. Oklahoma is still in drought and I don't see Fox news covering our problems,or even bringing it up.Yesterday and last night,afire distroyed 5000 acres,7 homes people evacuated,and power out to 7000 homes. Did anyone see this story on Fox News or any other network? D

August 31, 2011 at 1:18 pm
(1 Reply)

Margie Gacki

Hi Mfc, I'm glad you're safe. Doing anything these days without power is a challenge, so I can't imagine how difficult it is to milk cows without electricity. I'm sure you have a lot of equipment that needs electricity so I hope you get your power back soon. I hope you didn't have too much damage on your farm. It's a mess all over the place. Hey to everyone else out there. I hope everyone has a great day. It's a sunny morning in Cumberland. Take care, all. Margie

August 31, 2011 at 9:25 am

mfc

No power here in ne pennsylvania...lots of trees down! Milking cows and running a dairy farm on a small generator is a challenge, but we are thankful for Fox's timely coverage and our for our safety! Feeling truly blessed!

August 31, 2011 at 8:50 am

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  • Cold fronts, snowstorms, hurricanes, and sunshine. Fox News Channel meteorologist Janice Dean blogs about it all here. You can also follow Janice on Twitter.

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