8 AM 28 August 2011
Amazingly, I still have power. I don’t expect that to last, and have plenty of snacks, books, and magazines on hand!
Just went out to feed the horses. They were not in their shed, but sheltering under a large spruce. As I approached, 3 deer behind them saw me, and bounded away. They had been eating the apples that the wind had knocked down! Silver liningists! The turkeys were about, but did not come running, as they usually do, when they saw me. Too many worms coming to the surface, I suppose!
We’ve already had 6 to 8 (maybe more) inches of rain, and my seasonal (spring-fed) stream, which had been totally dry just two weeks ago, is now gushing brown water in a volume I’ve never seen before in the 25 years I’ve been here.
The trees are bending more and more to the wind, and I’m sure this is a prelude. So far, not any worse than some of the nasty wind storms we’ve already had this year, but I know much stronger winds are on the way!
1 PM update
We lost power about 9:30 AM, and it was restored only a few minutes ago.
It is raining steadily, and the wind is still blowing, though I would not say I am worried about downed trees at this point.
The NOAA tracking cone still includes the Berkshires, with top steady winds forecast at 60 MPH. Still, the weather.com radar map shows the severe weather to be now located around Albany (about 30 miles west of me), and the rain now extends only down to the DC area.
It looks like it will end here within the next hour or two, and be done with. If so, the peak was early this morning here. I haven’t ventured outside since feeding the horses this morning, but will take a tour soon. In terms of rainfall, this has been the worst storm in my memory, but in terms of wind, we’ve had worse storms in the past few months. Still, it ain’t over till it’s over!
