So, just like everyone else, I assume, I spent the weekend watching the National Hurricane Center projections of the likely path for Sandy, and speculating with friends and family on how much this storm would impact Vermont.
One thing’s for certain - Vermont is ready for the worst. Gov. Peter Shumlin has declared a state of emergency, the power companies have crews on standby and rescue personnel and the National Guard are on alert.
Many schools and other services have been closed in the Rutland area today ahead of the storm, which is expected to begin to pick up by late morning today. The biggest threat is wind, which has the potential to gust to 70 or 80 miles per hour.
The Sandy article in today’s paper, by Eric Blaisdell:
WATERBURY — Gov. Peter Shumlin on Sunday declared a state of emergency in Vermont in preparation for Hurricane Sandy, but he said this storm will be different than Irene.
Shumlin held a press conference Sunday afternoon at the Emergency Operations Center at the State Office Complex in Waterbury. The problem with this storm, which is expected to hit the state Monday afternoon, will not be flooding from rain.
“Wind is our enemy in this storm, not massive flooding,” Shumlin said, adding winds are expected to be 60 to 80 mph for as long as 12 hours. There will be some rain, but Sandy is only expected to drop 2 to 4 inches on the state.
He said two regions which are expected to get hit hardest by the coming winds are the Northeast Kingdom from St. Johnsbury north to the Canadian border and the Rutland area. Shumlin compared Sandy to a major storm in 2007 that toppled thousands of trees, except that Sandy will impact a bigger area.
Shumlin said Sandy will no longer be a hurricane when it arrives in Vermont, but will be a strong Nor’easter as the storm combines with a weather front coming from the west. Continue reading →
