What Would You Do Without Power for a Month?

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I couldn't resist staying up to see the latest computer model. It isn't good. 
To make a long story short, this model is showing winds strong enough to cause power failures from Washington D.C., across NYC to Boston to the entire coast of Maine. Do not take the positions literally, it is the breadth of the storm I am trying to illustrate rather than exact locations. 

 If we see winds of this intensity over anything approaching this large of a geographic area, power will be out in at least some areas for weeks. If the rains are as heavy as forecast, trees will topple due to the combination of wind and wet soil. Streets will be impassible in some areas. Nighttime lows after the system passes are forecast to be in the 20s in a number of areas. Without power, credit card readers and ATMs will not work. Go get cash well before the storm arrives.

It is time to be thinking about what you would do, especially if you have an invalid living with you that is dependent on electricity. 

Do not think the cavalry (FEMA, national guard) will come riding in on white horses. The potential size and intensity of this storm will overwhelm emergency resources. The storm will cause billions in damage.

Almost since its beginning, this blog has talked about the nonsense of spending billions on the TSA and next to nothing on hardening the electrical infrastructure. I fear that many people may be about the find out whether they would rather have had the Department of Homeland Security spend money on nude machines at airports or reliable electric service in meteorological and solar storm conditions.

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