Hurricane Irene Disappoints Alarmists and Catastrophists

As reported here:

From North Carolina to Pennsylvania, Hurricane Irene appeared to have fallen short of the doomsday predictions. But with rivers still rising, and roads impassable because of high water and fallen trees, it could be days before the full extent of the damage is known.

More than 4.5 million homes and businesses along the East Coast lost power, and at least nine deaths were blamed on the storm. But as day broke Sunday, light damage was reported in many places, with little more than downed trees and power lines.


At 0900 the National Hurricane center had Irene hit New York City as a tropical storm, not a hurricane, with wind speed at 65 mph:

At 1037 Stormpulse.com still had Irene as a hurricane at 75 mph:

Obama Ends Vacation Early, Appeared Keen to Appear In Charge of Downgraded Hurricane

To no useful purpose, except to trivialize the office of the presidency even more:

Obama chaired a meeting at the National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) set up at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) headquarters in Washington, which is marshaling federal and local hurricane-relief efforts. ...

Obama returned home one night early on Friday from his island vacation on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts and appeared keen to be visibly in charge as the response to Hurricane Irene unfolds.

The full story is here.

Perhaps he felt a storm downgraded to a Category One hurricane was a good match-up with himself, the president who presided over the AAA downgrade to AA+.

It's reminiscent of his unsuccessful sports picks.