Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Hogan declares state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Florence

Potomac River at 
flood stage at
Little Falls, 
White's Ferry closed,
National Guard alerted

Will Hurricane Florence hit Maryland hard? We don't know yet, but Gov. Larry Hogan isn't taking any chances. "While we're hoping for the best, we are preparing for the worst," Hogan said at a press conference, where he announced he has declared a state of emergency. The governor said the declaration would allow the state to mobilize the resources and personnel potentially needed in the areas expected to be hardest hit.

Hogan warned of the strong possibility of "historic, catastrophic, and life-threatening flooding," in coastal and low-lying, flood-prone areas. "At my direction, the state is currently taking action to activate all available resources," he told reporters, "including alerting the Maryland National Guard."

Sporting a yellow-trimmed polo shirt, Hogan said he is in constant contact with the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center, to obtain up-to-the-minute briefings on the storm's track. He said the state's Emergency Management Center is "fully-staffed" at this hour, at that emergency shelters around the state are now standing by to receive displaced residents.

Pepco will face its first real test of its "new" system. The utility will have no excuse to be short on personnel, because Hogan explicitly mentioned that he has personally alerted the state's electrical companies to mobilize now.

The governor urged residents to "start now to prepare your families and your homes for potential heavy rains, wind and possible flooding." He recommended citizens "have water, batteries, and flashlights at the ready in case of power outages."

Hogan said he expected to know more about the storm's potential impacts by later today.

Suburban News Network
Storm Center Update

The National Weather Service has put a Dense Fog Advisory into effect until 10:00 AM this morning. A Flood Warning remains in effect until noon Wednesday. The many preceding days of heavy rain have put the area behind the 8-ball before Florence even arrives near the end of the week.

Already, the Potomac River is above flood stage at Little Falls, and high water has closed White's Ferry for now.

Current temperature in Bethesda and Chevy Chase is 69 degrees. It is 68 in Potomac, and 70 in Friendship Heights.

The high today will be 80, with a shower or thunderstorm expected this afternoon. Winds are from the NNE at 5 MPH, gusting to 6 MPH.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL

Anonymous said...

Actually Pepco does have an excuse for not having enough crews -- the crews they normally get from the Carolinas and Virginia will already be busy there since that area will be harder hit.

I just hope their tree-trimming helps keep things running smoothly.

Roald said...

Great report, even updating us on current conditions!
Governor Hogan is on top of this.

Roald said...

Looking forward to it!

Anonymous said...

The conditions are now 7 hours out of date. LOL

Anonymous said...

The Washington Post has an entire staff of meteorologists working for them. Why would anyone turn to some random blogger for hurricane updates?

Anonymous said...

The path of the cone is now heading west over NC and missing Bethesda... YAWN!

Anonymous said...

From @BethesdaRow on 1/26/2015:

Anonymous said...
"Do people really skip over the local TV and WTOP and weather.com and wunderground.com, and say, 'I'm gonna check Dyer's blog for local weather first!'?"

5:58 AM
Blogger Robert Dyer said...
5:58: Considering I'm usually more accurate than the Capital Weather Gang, yes.

6:08 AM
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Considering I'm usually more accurate than the Capital Weather Gang, yes.

WOW. WOW. WOW. WOW.

I thought I had heard it all from you Dyer, but now you are saying that the weather posts on this blog are YOUR OWN PREDICTIONS? AND NOT TAKEN FROM THE GENERAL CONSENSUS OF AREA NEWS METEOROLOGISTS?

You continue to amaze and mesmerize. Congrats man.

7:14 AM

--------------------------

Your claim of forecasting superiority to the Capital Weather Gang still stuns me with its arrogance.
11:51 AM

Anonymous said...

Dyer still insists 2016 was the “coldest summer in over 4 years.” So, no, the Suburban News Network is not where I turn for reliable weather reporting.

Robert Dyer said...

7:05: It was - unlike the Capital Weather Gang, I've lived in Bethesda for decades, and can confirm it was the coldest summer.

11:25: And yet, it's true. I've been right much more often than your Capital Weather Gang. Maybe if they spent less time talking politics, and more time on the forecasting skills, they could catch up to me one day.

11:08: A lot can happen in two days.

10:59: Because the Post is almost always wrong. Such as totally missing the storm event they belatedly named the "derecho" to cover their [briefcase] for blowing the forecast big time.

10:46: Because you're reading it seven hours after it was published, dumbass. Think about it.

6:25: Think about it: that leaves 47 other states' power crews that Pepco can call on. And they had a week's notice to do so. Pepco is on the hot seat for this one. They must perform.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your updates and news, Robert.

Robert Dyer said...

11:15: Thank you for reading!

Anonymous said...

Dyer @ 10:43 PM Dyer Time/1:43 AM EDT - But you didn't have any coverage of the Derecho until 10 hours later.

Also, "Derecho" refers to a very specific type of weather phenomenon. It's not just some term the Post hastily invented on the morning of June 30, 2012.

Anonymous said...

"Capital Weather Gang. Maybe if they spent less time talking politics..."

I just scanned their articles from the last two weeks. I couldn't see anything that could be remotely described as "politics".

Anonymous said...

@ 7:12, 7:41 AM - I'm guessing that Dyer considers any mention of Global Warming in a weather forecast or report to be "politics".

Anonymous said...

Yep, BtB once again is thinking that Flo will destroy Bethesda and I mentioned yesterday its heading west and won't impact the swamp. BtB is wrong again!

Robert Dyer said...

9:02: I never said it would destroy Bethesda. Anyone who read the article knows this. However, anyone who is claiming to know what will happen even two days in advance is an idiot who needs Meteorology 101.

7:12: You obviously are not a regular reader of Capital Weather Gang. Mr. Samenow in particular has repeatedly made political statements, articles and attacks. No one will confuse him with Stu Ostro anytime soon.

6:00: Oh, boy. The term "derecho" was never used by the Capital Weather Gang, or any other DC-area weather person, prior to them failing to predict a powerful storm that walloped the region. The military term is CYA.

Anonymous said...

"The term 'derecho' was never used by the Capital Weather Gang, or any other DC-area weather person, prior to them failing to predict a powerful storm [June 29, 2012 Derecho] that walloped the region. The military term is CYA."

"Derecho comes from the Spanish word in adjective form for 'straight' (or 'direct'), in contrast with a tornado which is a 'twisted' wind. The word was first used in the American Meteorological Journal in 1888 by Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs in a paper describing the phenomenon and based on a significant derecho event that crossed Iowa on 31 July 1877."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_derecho_events

Keep doubling down on Stupid, Dyer.

Baloney Concrete said...

6:00: The term "derecho" was never used by the Capital Weather Gang, or any other DC-area weather person, prior to them failing to predict a powerful storm that walloped the region.

LIAR, DYER, PANTS ON FIRE!!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/03/special/style/sp_style_shutt020303.htm?noredirect=on

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/2008/06/june_4_2008_severe_weather_out_1.html

Did the Suburban News Network Storm Center predict the derecho? Having lived here 40 years I'd think you easily should have spotted it coming, no?

Robert Dyer said...

2:49: Gustavus Henrichs was not a "DC-area weather person." Keep doubling down on stupid, and pick up Hans Riemer's dry cleaning while you're at it, hobo.

4:33: No one predicted the derecho. That's why they pulled the term out of obscurity to explain why they failed to forecast it properly. Kind of like pulling the ICC, Little Falls Place or Purple Line out of an old master plan, and making it fit your contemporary greedy scheme.

A compulsive liar calling me a liar - hysterical. Mike Wise called - he wants his Spanglish ",no?" back.

Anonymous said...

"No one predicted the derecho. That's why they pulled the term out of obscurity to explain why they failed to forecast it properly. Kind of like pulling the ICC, Little Falls Place or Purple Line out of an old master plan, and making it fit your contemporary greedy scheme."

What an incoherent pile of insane horseshit.

Robert Dyer said...

9:07: Very coherent and quite damning if you are intellectual enough to follow it. With your IQ falling far below your belt size, you aren't exactly the target audience for William F. Buckley-level criticism, and I'm not surprised it went over your head.

Anonymous said...

This is complete free association - a stream of random concepts with zero relation to one another - the conversation of a schizophrenic.

Robert Dyer said...

10:52: Well, then, delete your comment. Argle bargle.

Anna said...

Actually, I had reported a much smaller derecho on Memorial Day weekend. It hit a small area, but you could track it’s path. I should know, that one hit my house. My house repairs were finished the day before the BIG derecho hit. thankfully with no issues for us

Anonymous said...

"I’ve lived in Bethesda since 1963"

Looks like your residency in Bethesda is nearly a decade longer than Dyer's!

Anna said...

9/23/1963 to be precise.

Currently, I’m In N.C., waiting on Florence. Rain bands already in Wilmington

Anonymous said...

"waiting on Florence."

Caught you there, Ms. Ex-Pat New Yorker.

Anna said...

?? “Waiting on” is universal. You can’t catch someone in a lie when they’re not lying. Don’t be silly.

Anonymous said...

I didn't say you were lying, since you didn't say where you lived before 1963. :)

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know if Bob The Builder will be on periscope tonight at Little Falls with the big storm coming?

Anna said...

Oops, you’re so right. My apologies!!! BTW, Ohio.

Anonymous said...

Have wind gusts exceeded 6 MPH yet?