By Johna Till Johnson and Vladimir Brezina
Monday 10/29/12, 11:30 AM: Out at sea, Sandy has apparently begun her predicted westward turn toward us. Here in Manhattan, we’ve been hearing the wind all night. Now it’s whistling between the buildings, sending yellow leaves dancing high, even up to us on the 17th floor. The rain is still light: On-again, off-again.
The streets are almost empty—a few cars slide by and stooped figures in rain gear walk dogs. Some have umbrellas, which aren’t getting blown inside out—so the best guess is that the wind is at Beaufort Force 6 (25-30 mph), from the northeast. (On land, we find umbrella state, rather than sea state, to be a better indicator of wind force ;-))
The East River is what’s worrisome: There are whitecaps on the water (another indication of the wind force), and we can see that the water is now overtopping the rocky shoreline of Ward’s Island and flooding into the park above. The tail of Mill Rock is submerged. Here are comparable photos of Mill Rock last year (as it happens, just after Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee came through :-)) and just now, at high tide:
Now, with submerged “tail”…
Last year
Definitely high water, and we haven’t even gotten started yet…
Fortunately, we’re sitting up here warm and dry, have power (so far), and the wonder of webcams allows us to see what is happening farther afield. Here’s what it looks like on Staten Island:
Vladimir Brezina (RIP) 
Johna Till Johnson
Wind Against Current 
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That looks high! Hope it fizzles out and doesn’t last as long as it is expected to. Take care you two.
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Appreciate it. The high tide is heading up right about… now…..
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Scary stuff. Take care!
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Thanks!
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here’s wishing you well in bunkering down @ 17 stories high
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The downside of high buildings is the high wind…
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Stay safe and take care!
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Trying to… :-)
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Be careful and don’t go reckless for photos.
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It’s dark now… but when it gets light?
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The Hudson is rocking and it is ebbing…8pm is going to be rough…
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Yes. We’re getting close to 8 PM and “rough” is about the right word. “Gusts” sounds a bit benign for the wallops of wind we keep hearing. Whew!
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be safe!
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Thanks! We’ll try…
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as soon as I saw Sandy on the weather channel thought of you two. No kayaking for a while eh?!
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Ha! Am ready to take the boats out right now… what’s a little tropical-storm-force wind?
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Oh, dear. I’ve never seen Staten Island look anything like that. Funny how all the development that’s gone on there has helped me forget it IS an island, despite the name. Further well wishes to the coastal peeps.
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Yes, this is pretty unprecedented–Phil cites two storms that might have been worse, but you have to go back to the 1800s…
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It’s pretty windy where I am right now, a little scary too. Stay safe . . . and thank you for liking my post!
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Be safe!!
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Best wishes, stay safe! Susanne
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Thanks!
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Be safe!
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Thanks!!
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Stay safe Vlad and Johna – just heard the Con Edison is shutting power in parts of Manhattan – not sure it affects you. We lost power up in Riverdale earlier, but it is back now. Good Luck!
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That’s the lower parts of Manhattan, that are already flooded, or about to be… We are on pretty high ground—but of course that’s no guarantee of protection against ConEd!
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As my father used to say “batten down the hatches” and stay safe, MJ
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Ha! Now that I actually own hatch-covers, that saying means a lot more to me.. Seems like the worst is dying down, wind-wise, but the water is still flooding…
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Stay safe. Have been thinking of you folks down there.
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Thanks, we’re trying!
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No rain yet but he winds started here about an hour ago and the lights went out for about half an hour during which the dog managed to sneak off with the camera memory card in the USB key. It was when I heard the crunching sound I knew there was trouble afoot… If that is the worst of it for us I will be happy! Stay safe and may it all blow past you….
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Okay, that’s flat-out hilarious!! Give the puppy a cuddle for us, please. Clever puppy…. And as you said, if that’s the worst, it’s A Good Thing…
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Consider him cuddled – he’s eyeing my sandwich now… Glad to see you survived Sandy!
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And you too! :-)
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I’m watching the weather news right now, and it looks really scary up there. Stay safe.
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The scary bits seem to be over now. There’s pretty much zero wind outside (compared to an hour ago). Now what remains is the impact of the surge… we’re taking bets on whether the power will still be on tomorrow morning. I say not, Vlad says it will–we’ll see who’s right.
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I hope Vlad is right. :)
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And I was :-)
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I’ve got my fingers crossed you wake to power, and not too much misery for those in low-lying areas. Here, the cyclone in the Bay of Bengal seems to have done the same thing – misery for thousands, tens of thousands probably, but not devastation. Look forward to your update in the morning :)
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Of course, misery to New Yorkers doesn’t mean the same thing it does to most of those living in the Bay of Bengal… and isn’t there often heavy loss of life there from a typhoon? That’s unlikely in NYC, although there can be a lot of expensive damage. And with Sandy, there was. The storm is pretty much over—now the long cleanup begins…
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One ferocious storm – hope you’ve come out the other end safely
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Thanks! And we have…
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