Hurricane Irene Readiness Information

Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency information on Hurricane Irene


Hurricane Irene, a Category 3 storm currently located in the Bahamas is expected to impact Massachusetts as early as this weekend. As of 11:00AM today, the National Hurricane Center's projected track shows Irene passing by the Outer Banks on Saturday, making landfall on Long Island Sunday evening, and passing through Massachusetts Sunday night and Monday morning as a Category 1 or 2 storms, with the possibility of a weak Category 3. Irene is still several days out, however, and the projected track could potentially be off by as much as 200 miles and the projected timing by 6 to 8 hours.

Weather Forecast:

Precipitation: Some isolated thunderstorms are possible tomorrow afternoon and evening. Rains associated with Irene may begin as early as Saturday afternoon, with the bulk of precipitation coming Saturday night through Sunday night. A total of 5 to 10 inches of rain are possible in Massachusetts. There is a significant risk of stream and river flooding, but it is too early at this time to identify which basins are most at risk.

Winds: The most damaging winds will be located to the right of Irene's track. Winds in Massachusetts are forecast to be Category 1 (74-95mph) or Category 2 (95-110mph) but Category 3 (110-130mph) winds are not out of the question. Exact timing of the arrival of damaging winds is highly dependent on Irene's forward speed; Sunday through Sunday night are most likely, but an increase in Irene's speed could bring significant winds as early as Saturday night.

Coastal Flooding: The magnitude of coastal flooding will depend on the exact track, speed, and intensity of Irene, as well as its timing with respect to high tide. The most severe flooding will occur along south-facing coasts, but some flooding is also possible on east-facing coasts if Irene arrives near high tide.

Marine/Beaches: The risk of rip currents will increase starting tomorrow and is expected to remain high through the beginning of next week. Depending on Irene's forward speed, seas may begin building Saturday night and could reach 20-30 feet by Sunday, with the highest seas being to the right of Irene's track.

Online Resources:

For additional information and resources, visit:

Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency at www.mass.gov/mema

Federal Emergency Management Agency at www.fema.gov

National Hurricane Center Website at www.nhc.noaa.gov

National Weather Service – Taunton at www.weather.gov/boston

National Weather Service – Albany, NY at www.weather.gov/albany

Mass211 at www.mass211.org

An Ounce of Prevention .....

A seasoned landlord shared his experiences at the last move out.
His tenant had been in the property long enough to have two more children, and now was moving into a bigger property.
And this landlord could see what was coming next.
“Long-term tenants always seem to do a bad job when they move out,” he explains.
In fact, the longer someone has been a tenant, the harder it is to remember what the place looked like before they moved in, or what the lease says about the move out.
This case was no exception. “I was at the property a couple days before the move doing some repairs,” he continues. “I don’t think this tenant understood that cleaning was her responsibility.”
Of course, every tenant wants their deposit back. The move out can quickly lead to a landlord tenant dispute.
Here, our landlord asked the tenant if she would like to do a walk thru a little early–a “pre-walk thru” if you will, so the landlord could counsel her on what would need to happen in order to get the deposit back. “I really didn’t want to be the one cleaning this up,” he says.
Propping a baby on her lap, the tenant took copious notes, and then got to work.
In the end the unit was clean as a whistle, and the tenant will be getting her deposit back– a true win-win.