Hurricane Frankenstorm Sandy is currently heading towards the New York City metro area and people are freaking out. It's rare a storm like this heads up this way, so locals tend to overreact.
I wanted to see what if the freakout is warranted, so I just grabbed my camera and headed over to the Jersey City Waterfront. It's gonna be bad.
Near my home, it didn't seem all that bad. It was breezy, there were a couple downed branches... and that was it. But then I got near the Waterfront, which is about half a mile away.
These winds are strong, strong enough that I could barely walk and it was nearly ripping flags off poles. This is what will knock out my power this afternoon. I'm waiting for it to happen.
But on the Waterfront, the real concern is flooding. And it's a very real concern.
The storm surge isn't expected to peak until later today, but as of right now, the Hudson River has breached the Waterfront. It isn't covered, but waves are coming over. The surrounding businesses have put up sandbags, but I really don't think it'll be enough. If the max storm surge is 11 feet, as is expected, then all the low lying areas here are going to have huge issues.
Right now, kids are playing and people are smiling, but the economic impact on the revitalized downtown here could be pretty catastrophic.
The latest maps of the storm show a shift towards a direct hit on Delaware, which means Atlantic City and similar areas may experience the worse of it in the coming hours.
Stay safe out there.