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Why Hurricane Sandy Means Stormy Monday

Hurricane Sandy track as of 11p Sun Oct 28.
Source: Weather Underground

Nyack, Oct 29 (updated 10:15a)  — Here are ten things you should know about Hurricane Sandy, aka, the true “October Surprise” of this election season. Bob Dylan may have said “you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows” but T-Bone Walker’s lyrics to “They Call it Stormy Monday” are spot on for what Sandy has in store for us this week.

  1. Nyack Schools will be closed on Mon Oct 29 because of Hurricane Sandy.
  2. For only the second time in the history of the NYC Subway system, the trains stopped running on Sunday night. “Service on the NYC Subway, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad is now suspended,” said MTA.info on Sunday evening. The MTA Hurricane Plan calls for suspending service hours before the approach of winds of 39 mph and higher. That also means there won’t be any Metro North service in Tarrytown until further notice.
  3. “The National Weather Service is predicting forty-eight hours of severe weather for Nyack and the surrounding areas starting Monday mid-day,” per the Village of Nyack.
    • The village is making free sandbags available to Nyack residents which can be picked up at the DPW at 63 Catherine Street between Midland and 9W. (as of 4:45p on Sun, they had run out of sandbags. Check Nyack-NY.gov for more info)
    • Free parking is available in all Nyack Village lots during the weather emergency until Wednesday morning. Parking enforcement will be suspended village-wide for the duration of the storm with the exception of our alternate side of the street rules to allow for safe passage of Emergency Vehicles
    • A higher than normal tide is expected and the river will be dangerously rough. Those whose homes are located very close to the high tide line should prepare for tides that may prohibit leaving their home for the duration of the storm.
    • Nyack Village Hall will remain open and an operator will be available for phone calls . In the case of a power outage, Village Hall calls will be rerouted to a manned Village of Nyack Cell Phone. The phone number for Nyack Village Hall is 845-358-0548; the Nyack Village Hall Hotline can be reached at 845-358-5626.
    • There will be no trash pickup in Nyack until further notice
  4. Orangetown Public Works has sandbags for residents of  Orangetown (845-359-5100)
  5. Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef has declared a local state of emergency as of 6p Sunday due to Hurricane Sandy. Tappan Zee Express (TZx) and TRIPS bus service has been cancelled until further notice. TOR buses will operating a normal weekday schedule for route #59 and 91-95 however service will be suspended on Loops #1-3.
  6. If you lose power — and want to know when it will be restored — got to Orange & Rockland’s ORU.com website for updates or call 1-877-434-4100. You can submit a power outage report either online or on the phone. O&R “…expects large-scale damage and repair work to its equipment to be extensive. Based on the historic nature of this event, O&R expects that service interruptions could last 7 -10 days, with a possibility of longer durations for some areas.”
  7.  Clarkstown has declared a State of Emergency to provide Supervisor Alex Gromack additional powers to effectively respond to the emergency. An Emergency Operation Center (EOC) is now open at the Clarkstown Police Department. The EOC will remain open throughout the duration of the emergency. All Town Offices are open on Mon 10/29 except Justice Court which will be closed Mon-Tues. All Clarkstown recreation programs, including senior club meetings, are cancelled for Mon-Tues. Mini-trans service will cease today at 2:30pm.  If there are prolonged power outages Clarkstown will open reception centers at Congers Community Center, Street Community Center, Pascack Community Center or Palisades Mall Community Room.
  8. She’s No Lady, whatever you want to call her: In 2011, Irene started as a hurricane and slowed to a tropical storm by the time it hit the Lower Hudson Valley. This year, Hurricane Sandy devolved into a Tropical Storm but then picked up strength as it mixed with interior weather systems. The National Weather Services points out the storm system will soon be renamed ‘€œPost-tropical Cyclone Sandy’€ when she loses her tropical cyclone status. The primary difference between a tropical cyclone and a wintertime cyclone is its energy source. Tropical cyclones extract heat from the ocean; Wintertime cyclones get most of their energy from temperature contrasts in the atmosphere, usually  distributed over larger areas.
  9. Why did Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg shut down the trains and subways? WeatherUnderground predicts a “4-5 feet storm surge on top of tide with a 40% chance of exceeding 7 feet” in Manhattan.
  10. The Monday forecast for Nyack includes a 100% chance of rain, a high of 57 degrees with North-Northest winds blowing from 30-45 mph gusting up to 65 mph. Rainfall is only predicted to be .8 inches for Monday.

If you are singing the blues about Sandy — somone’s beat you to it. And has done a much better job of it, too. The lyrics to T-Bone Walker’s Call It Stormy Monday are downright prescient about the National Weather Service Sandy forecast: “They call it stormy Monday, but Tuesday’s just as bad….Wednesday’s worse, and Thursday’s also sad.”

Video: T-Bone Walker – Call It Stormy Monday via YouTube.com


Nyack People & Places, a weekly series that features photos and profiles of citizens and scenes near Nyack, NY, is sponsored by Sun River Health.


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