It is now just before midnight, Saturday August 27. Irene is scheduled to pass by in a few hours, with the worst of the storm from 1 am to about 4 am. Right now in Ocean City, we have winds hovering around 25 mph and a very light rain. This has been the general condition since about 8 pm when we recorded a gust of 62 during a heavy downpour. Having a working weather station that we can monitor from indoors really helps separate fact from feeling!
I did step outside to dump the rain gauge, which had registered over 5 inches of rain since the start of the storm. It is warm, mild and relatively calm here, but we are bracing for what is coming. Our house has vaulted ceilings and clerestory windows and heavy rain and wind make quite a racket. We could retreat to our lower floor, but it is full of porch and patio furniture, awnings and outdoor equipment.
We expect the eye to pass by between 4 am and 5 am, while the tide is still low. The wind will shift to the west and push water out of the back bay and away from the beaches. If the track and forecast hold, this news is about as good as it gets with respect to bayside flooding.
We have not lost power at all, and had a slight disruption of cable and internet for a few minutes, just once. At least we don't have to worry about trees coming down across the wires.
It looks like there is some conflict in the latest reports, but it is clear that you have to be a long, long way from Ocean City, NJ to get away from Irene.