Seven Things You Should Do Today Before Hurricane Sandy Hits – Belmont, MA Patch

Hey all – thought I’d pass along this article from Belmont Patch: Seven Things You Should Do Today Before Hurricane Sandy Hits. Watching the local news and weather channels might make you think that Sandy (my mother’s name, btw) is going to sweep Western Civilization away with it as it moves up the coast. Alas, coverage of inclement weather is about as balanced and right-minded as coverage of the political campaigns…which isn’t saying much.

Patch’s article is common sense and focused:

  • Have batteries on hand
  • Clear your yard of anything that might conceivably take flight
  • Charge your gear (cell phones, etc.)
  • Make sure you have batteries in good supply
  • Clean out your storm drain
  • Check your sump pump (if you have one)
  • I’d add: make sure you have a working radio to monitor for emergency announcements if things get bad.

I’m attaching a good map from Boston.com that breaks out the storm warning by county. Its a bit hard to read, but from what I can tell Belmont/Middlesex County are in either a “high wind watch” or a “high wind warning” area. Of course, locally, each town has its hot spots. Over here in the Winn Brook area, folks should be concerned about…well…Winn Brook and flooding in and around Cross Street. It’s probably a good idea to clear anything valuable off of your basement floor, especially if you have a history of flooding.

Sunday Storm Warnings - Massachusetts

Storm warnings in MA by county

I’d also recommend moving cars and other valuables from under tree limbs that might let go and…finally…stay indoors!

On the sunny side: with luck we’ll get one good blow that will take down all the leaves, and spare us some raking this year. 😉

Good luck. You can look for me schlepping in my yard  later today!