THE SANDY SAGA- Part 5 (Maybe I Should Start Making These Titles Different)

~ ~ Monday, October 29, 2012 ~ ~

10:00pm – Still here. The winds recently have not been as bad, and the power hasn’t flickered for a while, but you never know. Latest obs down the street are winds at 19mph and gusts at 28mph. (It should be noted that winds a few miles down the road at the airport are reported as being higher… 33mph sustained with 49mph gusts.) It is still raining quite a bit, but it’s difficult to tell how hard from here because it’s still windy, and I can only see what’s illuminated by the lights throughout the neighborhood. Nearly 5” of rain have fallen here today. If I had to guess, I’d say that the most intense rain is probably over. But… wind could still be an issue. If Sandy hadn’t sped up just off of the coast though, I’m sure this storm would have been much worse. I think we will all be shocked by just how much damage this storm has caused in New York and New Jersey. Even here… thousands are without power as I type (at this time, there are nearly 200,000 customers without power in eastern Maryland, and there are several thousand more in DC and its neighboring cities. Keep in mind that one utility customer is generally 3 or 4 people). I have no idea what damage, if any, has occurred in my locality. My neighborhood has not gotten the brunt of this system, so I can’t see anything amiss as I look out my front windows. The neighbor’s wind chimes are still chiming. Still! Though I am presently sitting relatively at ease (it might be the Biscotti Effect), winds are forecast to remain high and possibly even increase as we go into the late evening/very early morning hours. I've got another storm day tomorrow.

What’s funny/interesting is the fact that I just went over and opened a shade, and now the wind seems louder. Like somehow blocking out the view of the outside made the storm stop in here. Which is a ridiculous notion, really… that’s impossible. But maybe because I couldn’t see the droplets falling on the window or the screen rippling, I didn’t think to pay attention as much to the sound of the wind. And the light starts to flicker again…