:eek:There are people surfing as the storms retreat. There must be some awful rip tides out there! I can't figure out what kind of idiots would do this, although my husband did point out that for years, my stoopid brothers used to surf before hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast.

And now a N'oreaster is heading for the east coast? Oh dear. Prayers are with them.

Yesterday, I (along with some sorority sisters!) finally made it out to volunteer for the relief effort. I had originally wanted to do it earlier, but with public transit still tangly and most volunteer organizations a little unorganized it made more sense to do it this weekend.

I grew up in Florida, and I've definitely been through some storms, which, were worse on paper (in terms of Category, windspeed, and all that) than Sandy.

It was the worst I've ever seen, in terms of destruction.

If there's anything you can donate, please do so. Some impacted New Yorkers felt that the Red Cross didn't do enough, and I'm not sure how true that is, but they're always a good start.

Please don't forget about these people, especially after the news trucks go away and there's another big news story.

I've heard that they are in dire need of cleaning supplies. Donated a couple bags of clothes and blankets last week to a truck near Detroit that was going straight to Staten Island--- basically the forgotten people. I know they got more attention after that but all we kept hearing about was the Jersey Shore and the City. I hope they and Hoboken are now getting the help they needed.

Yes, cleaning supplies. I helped clean out flooded houses in SI and the cleaning supplies everywhere, even in Queens where I live, are in short supply. Also, construction equipment like pickaxes and sledgehammers are sold out, and everyone needs them. They seem to be good for regular clothes (winter gear is always needed), and there's just a TON of food everywhere.

Even in NYC, we weren't hearing much about Staten Island--it wasn't until Wednesday after the storm that the full scope of what happened there got out to the rest of the country.

Hoboken is much better--from what I can tell, most of my friends there were able to go back by last weekend, and they have power. There seems to be more infrastructure damage than actual structural damage.

The wind is wreaking havoc in Texas - especially bad in Lubbock, but even here in the Houston area trees and power lines are down.

I hope this winter storm doesn't mess with Hypo's flight home tomorrow. It isn't supposed to snow in NYC and we are only expecting about an inch that shouldn't stick to the roads but air travel is so messed up in some places, it could affect things if crews or planes can't get to where they need to be. Her dorm closes at 9 am so she'll be stuck at the airport. *fingers crossed*

We are supposed to get even MORE snow tomorrow here in Southern Illinois (we already have about 6 inches where I live). Since I live out in the country, I'm not a big fan of snow because it makes it hard for me to get to town. At least now I have a four wheel drive SUV instead of my old sports car! Hopefully the snow doesn't ruin my New Years plans :/

Send it to meeeeeee! This is my first winter in DC after growing up in the Chicago/NWI area and going to school at IU...and I am going through serious snow withdrawals. It snowed here Saturday but didn't stick :(

Aww. I wish I could send it over! I'm sick of it haha.

Bump!

I'm sure lot's of GCers are affected by the storms, so I figured I would post. I woke up in the middle of the night to lightening and thunder and when I checked my phone, I saw a HUGE line of very red looking storms form Michigan to Texas. We've had TONS of rain in Chicago. My high school is closed, my parents got water in the basement and parts of the Kennedy, Edens and Eisenhower (the 3 big highways basically serving the northern half of Chicago) are/were closed. My dad even just sent me a picture of a sink hole in the area that was on the news! Stay safe!

So glad I decided to work from home today.

Before going to bed last night, I noted a small puddle in our "garden apartment". We are now flooded, and trying to figure out how how to get everything possible off of the floor and/or bagged. It's only supposed to get worse, so we're trying to figure out how much to actually mop up.

The Dan Ryan is closed, parts of the Edens and the Kennedy were closed, and like half the lanes on the Bishop Ford are closed for flooding. Not to mention they just opened the flow of the Chicago River into Lake Michigan to try to relieve some of the suburban flooding. Complete opposite of this time last year when it was dry as a bone.

Do we still do this thread? lol

Watching my newsfeed blow up from family and friends back home in Chicago. Sirens were going off at my parents NW side neighborhood home about 20 min ago, as well as sirens going off in the loop! That's pretty rare, I can count on one hand the number of times I heard sirens going off in the city when I lived there.

On top of that, the Hawks may bring home the cup (at home) and the Cubs have a home game (Wrigleyville is a big party area and many people will be filling the streets there if the Blackhawks win).

Chaotic night in Chicago! Stay safe Chi-Town GCers!