After having one of the best weekends of my life in MLG Columbus, three friends of mine and I have bought tickets to MLG Raleigh, and we have already purchased reservations for the weekend at a hotel. Until recently, all of us were extatic at the opportunity to take a road trip and to see the best of the best duke it out in some crazy insane competition. We planned for about a month to hammer out all the details, call of work Friday, clear schedules for the weekend, etc, and were putting the final touches on what we were going to do specifically that weekend (we wanted to have a sick-nice dinner in Raleigh for $20/$30 a plate) when we heard about Hurricane Irene.
For those who don't know what "weather.com" means or just don't care very much about American weather, Hurricane Irene is a level 3 Hurricane moving north from the Pacific Islands towards the East Coast of America. It's supposed to graze along the East Coast of North Carolina before heading up towards New England, turning into a level 4 Hurricane in the process at some point. The worst part is that it's supposed to land on the North Carolinian coast around Saturday morning. Raleigh is about 120 miles from the Atlantic, and the hurricane has a 210 mile radius. Long story short, there's about a 20% chance that Raleigh will encounter sustained winds of 40+mph assuming the hurricane doesn't change directions, which they've been known to do.
Here are the things that suck about Hurricane Irene and MLG Raleigh now:
Firstly, one of my friends for whom I bought a ticket isn't sure he wants to go now. He feels as that it's too dangerous and that there is too great a risk to warrant a 500 mile road trip to Raleigh. I've been trying to calm him down, and convince him that it probably won't be a big deal, but he hasn't budged yet. He keeps talking about past hurricanes that have just changed direction mid-course-- he argues that if that happens to Irene, it may mean that the brunt force of the hurricane will come into Raleigh.
Secondly, even if the hurricane stays on course, and the worst that happens to Raleigh is sustained winds of 40+mph and heavy rain, I'm not convinced that the 9001internets that MLG brings to their competitions will be enough to sustain all of the battlenet connections and streaming that a competition of this size brings. I'm worried that even if it's safe to go to Raleigh, that it won't be as fun as Columbus was and it will be more like Dallas all over again.
Finally, if my friend is right, and Irene suddenly shifts her course and carries Raleigh in her gentle arms to the depths of Hell, there will be a Convention Center full of people I have learned to love buried within her wrath. If the worst happens, and God knows with my luck it probably will, and Raleigh is consumed under water and wind, it will leave a community in shock, disarray, and misery.
For these reasons I have two requests:
My first request is to the MLG Staff. I ask that you take extra precautions to insure that: a) there is a swift and safe method by which you can evacuate or otherwise secure the convention center should the need arise; b) should the competition go as planned, that the quality of both stream and internet is optimized to perform at the highest possible level to insure both entertainment and fairness to competitors regardless of weather; c) if necessary, MLG and the staff therein can have the wisdom and grace to recognize a time such that, despite your best efforts, the competition simply cannot continue, and postpone or cancel the rest of the competition before it's too late.
My second request is to the competitors and StarCraft Community who will be at Raleigh: If worst comes to worst, please stay safe. I ask all of you, Day9, Husky, JP, Tastosis, Dignitas (SeleCT, NaNiWa,SjoW), ReIGN (KiWiKaKi, SLush), EG (HuK, iNcontroL, IdrA, Machine), Liquid (Tyler, Jinro, TLO, HerO, Ret, HayprO, Sheth), and our Korean guests (TricKsteR, Rain, Bomber, NaDa, DongRaeGu, CoCa) to keep safe. And I pray that this post becomes a testament to the needless worrying that I do.
I will continue to talk to my friend, and continue to try to convince him to join us at MLG, because despite the risk, this weekend is worth it.
I totally thought Irene was some reporter chick or something, funny how you worded that title. Hope that storm doesn't ruin the even for everyone though, bad weather sucks.
Dude, at worst it's going to be an outer band hitting raleigh. There will be be some 30mph wind and probably a few thunderstorms but that's it. Seriously, it's no big deal.
i don't get why people are treating this like some catastrophic event. the biggest issue will be flight delays from areas that are actually affected by the hurricane.
My first request is to the MLG Staff. I ask that you take extra precautions to insure that: a) there is a swift and safe method by which you can evacuate or otherwise secure the convention center should the need arise
On August 25 2011 09:39 mbr2321 wrote: My second request is to the competitors and StarCraft Community who will be at Raleigh: If worst comes to worst, please stay safe. I ask all of you, Day9, Husky, JP, Tastosis, Dignitas (SeleCT, NaNiWa,SjoW), ReIGN (KiWiKaKi, SLush), EG (HuK, iNcontroL, IdrA, Machine), Liquid (Tyler, Jinro, TLO, HerO, Ret, HayprO, Sheth), and our Korean guests (TricKsteR, Rain, Bomber, NaDa, DongRaeGu, CoCa) to keep safe. And I pray that this post becomes a testament to the needless worrying that I do.
But the spectators aren't wished safety in this portion of the well-wishing ;_; I SO SAD
Would it actually turn in-land? I'm being told that, if it changes course, a sea-ward turn is the most likely. Is that true or not? In either case, why?
EDIT: Note, I'm not actually worried, just asking the question: fucking hurricanes, how do they work?
I have lived in the southeast side of the united states for almost 8 years now. From my personal experiences with hurricanes the players,staff and event will do fine. The only real time to have worry is if the event was taking place like 5-20 miles inland. Since the venue is so far inland and for some reason it did shift more westward the storm would be severely weakened. They might at most get a ton of rain.
Stay safe everyone!!! Don't lose all your hair over this "hurricane"
In Raleigh we aren't expecting anything unless there's a very dramatic change in the course of the hurricane.
It's going to be like 1 inch of rain max and breezy. It's actually supposed to be quite nice weather on Sunday after it passes by.
I'm from Miami and I've been through a ton of Hurricanes including Andrew and I can tell you this isn't anything to be concerned about. Cape Hatteras and other areas on the coast are different, but Raleigh is so far away from it's trajectory currently that there's nothing to worry about unless you have a flight going through it's path sometime near it.
As a person who was born in Florida and lived there for 16years, hurricanes are a joke. We would attached plastic bags to our arms and legs and get on a skateboard and fly down the road, going faster than someone full speed on their bike. That's while their is 80+ winds outside of course not this pussy outerband 30mph stuff.
Hurricanes are only good for school days off, they don't do much more. If they do hit, they are only a problem if you literally live on the beach and can see it from your house. Then you might wanna stay inside and away from any windows. Just go watch LOTR/Matrix marathon.
as a ex resident of the Piedmont region of NC, I can say that chances are things will be fine... Raleigh generally doesn't get hit hard. maybe a few power outages/light flooding at worst. Of course I'm no expert, but in the 7 years I lived there hurricanes were only once a possible issue, and it turned out to be nothing.
Just my personal exp. Last bad hurricane I know to hit the area was Floyd back in the 90s
On August 25 2011 10:03 mburke05 wrote: In Raleigh we aren't expecting anything unless there's a very dramatic change in the course of the hurricane.
It's going to be like 1 inch of rain max and breezy. It's actually supposed to be quite nice weather on Sunday after it passes by.
I'm from Miami and I've been through a ton of Hurricanes including Andrew and I can tell you this isn't anything to be concerned about. Cape Hatteras and other areas on the coast are different, but Raleigh is so far away from it's trajectory currently that there's nothing to worry about unless you have a flight going through it's path sometime near it.
This, it won't be really bad at Raleigh. Worst thing that could happen is streets flooding if the sewer system there is bad or something but raleigh is no Mexico
On August 25 2011 09:55 zyzski wrote: i don't get why people are treating this like some catastrophic event. the biggest issue will be flight delays from areas that are actually affected by the hurricane.
My first request is to the MLG Staff. I ask that you take extra precautions to insure that: a) there is a swift and safe method by which you can evacuate or otherwise secure the convention center should the need arise
are you serious? it's going to rain. that's it.
exactly, everybody should be fine, the venue is indoors, hell, people could probably go for smokes just fine if they wanted to
i hope that everyone is fine and the event can go off without any troubles, and if it cant then it gets rescheduled in a way that is fair to the players
also, to make a blog just go to the top left of your screen on tl.net then there should be a button labeled "blog" (hopefully it's there even if you havent started one yet, should be) click on that and you should get a page called my blog, and there will be a button near the top, right under the advertisement labeled "new blog entry" from there you can just write away the same way that you did for this thread
@zyzski.. have you ever been in a hurricane? Do you understand what 50 MPH winds do to you? I'm not sure you do.. this is a MAJOR threat and it is something to keep in the forefront of your planning for the event.. I'm not saying, "don't go" but I do think you need to be prepared for a hurricane..
I spoke with the woman at the hotel today, she said as of now, it's projected path is outside of Raleigh, all we're going to get is Tropical Storms, which isn't as severe, just really harsh storms. IF she said, and it's an IF, it goes left towards Raleigh, then safety precautions will be taken... but as of now, everything is fine, and the storm is hitting late saturday night. (11pm ETish) and will be done probably early morning on Sunday. All in all no one should die lmao. And MLG should be a great event! Im pumped
I am stationed at Patrick AFB in Cocoa Beach Florida, and part of my position that I hold in the Air Force is to deal with weather.
Ive been off duty all day today and again tomorrow, however before leaving work Tuesday, I was glancing over the situation with Irene and the outcome its going to have with my commander prior to leaving and based on what we received from the C130 Hurricane Hunters was that the storm itself was looking to be 150+ miles away from the Florida coastline and was to make landfall on the border of South and North Carolina at the time. For the North Carolina region the winds should not reach out farther than 125-150 miles inward too the west.
I'm not for sure how far Raleigh is from the coastline but that should give you a decent idea.
This was Tuesday afternoon so much has changed since then. If anyone wants I can run into work before Friday and look into, or I can just wait until Friday when I go in for the day and just put a update out through my iphone onto Teamliquid.net
On August 25 2011 10:37 bri9and wrote: @zyzski.. have you ever been in a hurricane? Do you understand what 50 MPH winds do to you? I'm not sure you do.. this is a MAJOR threat and it is something to keep in the forefront of your planning for the event.. I'm not saying, "don't go" but I do think you need to be prepared for a hurricane..
because its coming
yes, i remember swimming in a parking lot during hurricane floyd, which fucked shit up real bad. however, raleigh is kind of in the middle of NC (and in the green area on that map), so it should be okay.
flight cancellations might cause some problems though.
On August 25 2011 10:42 FT.aCt)Sony wrote: I am stationed at Patrick AFB in Cocoa Beach Florida, and part of my position that I hold in the Air Force is to deal with weather.
Ive been off duty all day today and again tomorrow, however before leaving work Tuesday, I was glancing over the situation with Irene and the outcome its going to have with my commander prior to leaving and based on what we received from the C130 Hurricane Hunters was that the storm itself was looking to be 150+ miles away from the Florida coastline and was to make landfall on the border of South and North Carolina at the time. For the North Carolina region the winds should not reach out farther than 125-150 miles inward too the west.
I'm not for sure how far Raleigh is from the coastline but that should give you a decent idea.
This was Tuesday afternoon so much has changed since then. If anyone wants I can run into work before Friday and look into, or I can just wait until Friday when I go in for the day and just put a update out through my iphone onto Teamliquid.net
Sup Sony. I'd love an update. Please and thank you. ^_^
I'd be so pissed if I got my butt kicked by some angry clouds before I get to go to Orlando. :p
My first request is to the MLG Staff. I ask that you take extra precautions to insure that: a) there is a swift and safe method by which you can evacuate or otherwise secure the convention center should the need arise
are you serious? it's going to rain. that's it.
Uhm?
It's a good idea to have a plan for it anyway, hurricane or not so...?
Come on Irene I swear don't hit MLG at this moment it means everything Come on Irene Don't mess with the stream or the bent cuz there is no LAN Come on Irene Just keep going east hit maine or any where else
On August 25 2011 10:37 bri9and wrote: @zyzski.. have you ever been in a hurricane? Do you understand what 50 MPH winds do to you? I'm not sure you do.. this is a MAJOR threat and it is something to keep in the forefront of your planning for the event.. I'm not saying, "don't go" but I do think you need to be prepared for a hurricane..
because its coming
yes, i remember swimming in a parking lot during hurricane floyd, which fucked shit up real bad. however, raleigh is kind of in the middle of NC (and in the green area on that map), so it should be okay.
flight cancellations might cause some problems though.
This is what I'd expect as well - calling Irene a major threat to Raleigh at this point in time is over exaggerating. Sure, it makes sense to have a bit of a plan in mind in case things go south, but it's pretty unlikely that will happen.
You really shouldn't be worried about safety during the hurricane. Your in a giant convention center, a relatively safe shelter when dealing with hurricanes. You are 180 miles inland, even if you get a direct hit somehow, a hurricane loses strength drastically as soon as it hits land because it's food source, warm water, is gone. By the time the eye hit's Raleigh it will have lost strength drastically. Otherwise your gona get some rain and wind, nothing more.
On the other hand, worst case scenario, your stuck in the convention center riding out the hurricane, living on Dr.Pepper and Doritos, and hanging out with the coolest SC2 pros. If you don't loose power and the internet is down, you can LAN the 50 Xboxes that MLG has. Sounds like a win win to me. ^ ^
Not sure if its been mentioned but an equally important issue to be aware of is that when hurricanes brush the coast like this, it tends to spawn a lot of tornadoes along the edge of the storm.
For the people who have been through hurricane(s) and not had any major issues, fantastic..you're lucky. A category 4 hurricane has tremendous destructive power and isn't something to be overlooked.
On August 25 2011 10:37 bri9and wrote: @zyzski.. have you ever been in a hurricane? Do you understand what 50 MPH winds do to you? I'm not sure you do.. this is a MAJOR threat and it is something to keep in the forefront of your planning for the event.. I'm not saying, "don't go" but I do think you need to be prepared for a hurricane..
because its coming
50 mph winds are less than what happens when you go on the highway with the windows down, or on a motorcycle.
People might do well to remember that places like convention centers are usually designated as hurricane shelters, and both their standard form, as well as their modern designs can withstand far worse than a category 2 hurricane can produce.
For those who don't know what "weather.com" means or just don't care very much about American weather, Hurricane Irene is a level 3 Hurricane moving north from the Pacific Islands towards the East Coast of America.
Caribbean Islands... this hurricane did not originate in Guam.
Some troll is goin to hack the weather channel and say that Raleigh is going to be bombarded by heavy winds and rains... everyone will evacuate to the Convention Center where the MLG is taking place... of course, they notice the nerds are all but phased. Then they notice what they're all doing here...
They learn the love of E-sports--its laughs, its tears. This such day will go down in history and will become an American past time
On August 25 2011 09:55 zyzski wrote: i don't get why people are treating this like some catastrophic event. the biggest issue will be flight delays from areas that are actually affected by the hurricane.
My first request is to the MLG Staff. I ask that you take extra precautions to insure that: a) there is a swift and safe method by which you can evacuate or otherwise secure the convention center should the need arise
are you serious? it's going to rain. that's it.
I live in Texas and been through several hurricanes lets just say it does more then rain.
Isn't the convention center gonna be one of the best places to be in a hurricane? But yea, as others have said, most likely you'll just get a bunch of rain.
On August 25 2011 09:45 SidewinderSC2 wrote: Hope everything winds up going well, but I don't think a big, well-structured convention center will take too much abuse from a Cat 3 Hurricane.
i see what you did there :>
hopefully the streams do not suffer from the weather :O i so wanna see every last match of that tournament ^.^
Update per US Air-Force Weather and National Hurricane Center models for the individuals traveling to Raleigh, NC and individuals in the outlying areas:
It's going to hit Hatteras, NC directly as of now.
For Raleigh you will be at a risk from 2pm Friday until Saturday at Noon with a10% chance of wind probability of 40 knots+ and a 4% chance of 50 knot winds+. For rain under an inch and a half.
So MLG Raleigh shouldn't see any major issues. Any flights going into Raleigh-Durham (RDU) shouldn't have any delays.
If the storm happens to change course and begins traveling more westward then there might be an issue. But the storm has consistently been circulating more to the east so expect a the storm to change eastward if anything.
Any other questions or updates needed by anyone just give me a heads up. Just takes a phone call from me on my day off to call my office or the Cape Canaveral WX Station here on base.
On August 25 2011 10:04 Zooper31 wrote: As a person who was born in Florida and lived there for 16years, hurricanes are a joke. We would attached plastic bags to our arms and legs and get on a skateboard and fly down the road, going faster than someone full speed on their bike. That's while their is 80+ winds outside of course not this pussy outerband 30mph stuff.
Hurricanes are only good for school days off, they don't do much more. If they do hit, they are only a problem if you literally live on the beach and can see it from your house. Then you might wanna stay inside and away from any windows. Just go watch LOTR/Matrix marathon.
As a person who lives in Puerto Rico and just got hit by Irene as only a Cat1 Hurricane i can tell you that hurricanes are no joke, they're extremely dangerous even as category 1. I don't know how much Irene will dissipate on the way to raleigh but everyone going BE CAREFUL AND DONT DO STUPID SHIT LIKE THIS GUY.
On August 25 2011 21:14 awu25 wrote: I don't think they can guarantee that the stream will be fine in the midst of a storm. It's just too much to ask and people will inevitably flip out
If they can't handle storm then they maybe need feedback?
It will probably not be that bad, atleast I hope so.
I really don't think this will be a big deal at all. I live on the coast and have sat through plenty of hurricanes. I've been to crowded restaurants during cat 3 storms. It's really not that bad. That being said, the difference between "Holy crap it's windy" and "Holy shit the trees are falling down" is pretty slim. But as long as everybody is careful, it will be fine. Unless theres a direct hit (which it won't be), the worst it's going to be is really wet.
On August 25 2011 10:04 Zooper31 wrote: As a person who was born in Florida and lived there for 16years, hurricanes are a joke. We would attached plastic bags to our arms and legs and get on a skateboard and fly down the road, going faster than someone full speed on their bike. That's while their is 80+ winds outside of course not this pussy outerband 30mph stuff.
Hurricanes are only good for school days off, they don't do much more. If they do hit, they are only a problem if you literally live on the beach and can see it from your house. Then you might wanna stay inside and away from any windows. Just go watch LOTR/Matrix marathon.
As a person who lives in Puerto Rico and just got hit by Irene as only a Cat1 Hurricane i can tell you that hurricanes are no joke, they're extremely dangerous even as category 1. I don't know how much Irene will dissipate on the way to raleigh but everyone going BE CAREFUL AND DONT DO STUPID SHIT LIKE THIS GUY.
I've lived in SW Florida since 94' and I'd say that Zooper was extremely out of line and has obviously never experienced a direct hit. Though I believe that you also have to be severely unprepared or doing something incredibly wrong to be in danger of dying to a hurricane.
Convention centers are often used as Hurricane Shelters, and any homes built within the last 10 years(in my area, at least) or so are constructed out of cinder blocks, rebar, poured cement and complimentary metal storm shutters that could be hung with a butter-knife if need be. Your roof is usually your only real fear during the hurricane itself, as a spawned tornado or any weaknesses in construction CAN tear it off/tear holes and cause severe water damage.
Hurricane Charley in 2004 landed with its center about a mile from my home and absolutely devastated Punta Gorda because of the large number of RVs, and mobile homes, but a lot of the problems actually come after. Hurricanes absolutely wreck infrastructure. It took literally 2 weeks to restore power, roads were closed until crews could clear debris, etc etc.. and you start having people killing themselves with CO2 by running their generator with their garage closed.
A lot of Floridians, myself included, laugh off Hurricanes as if they're nothing and make lite of them.. but at the same time if Irene were plotted for us we wouldn't hesitate to "bunker down" as most people do recognize that they are very serious and that things can exponentially worsen very quickly if something should happen. I've played outside during several, while others I've chewed my nails as the pressure sucked our sliding glass door in and out seeming like it would rip out of its track, listening to your roofing tiles be ripped off chunks at a time, massive trees being uprooted, branches snapping, your neighbors fence ripping out and smashing against your house, fun stuff.
On August 25 2011 21:41 theBOOCH wrote: I really don't think this will be a big deal at all. I live on the coast and have sat through plenty of hurricanes. I've been to crowded restaurants during cat 3 storms. It's really not that bad. That being said, the difference between "Holy crap it's windy" and "Holy shit the trees are falling down" is pretty slim. But as long as everybody is careful, it will be fine. Unless theres a direct hit (which it won't be), the worst it's going to be is really wet.
Millions of dollars of property damage, week-long power outages for thousands of people without generators, crushed cars, ripped out trees, flooded buildings developing mold, etc.
Just because 12391301 people don't die doesn't mean Hurricanes are not super dangerous.
The sole idea of playing sc2 while all hell breaks loose(cept the net and electricity of course ) outside, gives me some incredible nerdchills. Just kuz we never get such strong cool winds here :|
I hope everything is going to be allright, and that we are going to be able to enjoy it.
On August 25 2011 21:11 FT.aCt)Sony wrote: Update per US Air-Force Weather and National Hurricane Center models for the individuals traveling to Raleigh, NC and individuals in the outlying areas:
It's going to hit Hatteras, NC directly as of now.
For Raleigh you will be at a risk from 2pm Friday until Saturday at Noon with a10% chance of wind probability of 40 knots+ and a 4% chance of 50 knot winds+. For rain under an inch and a half.
So MLG Raleigh shouldn't see any major issues. Any flights going into Raleigh-Durham (RDU) shouldn't have any delays.
If the storm happens to change course and begins traveling more westward then there might be an issue. But the storm has consistently been circulating more to the east so expect a the storm to change eastward if anything.
Any other questions or updates needed by anyone just give me a heads up. Just takes a phone call from me on my day off to call my office or the Cape Canaveral WX Station here on base.
Quoted because people are seemingly glossing over this post. The Air Force has spectacularly good weather models, anything from them should be taken as the highest authority.
If the current models say that flights won't even be affected, then there's nothing to worry about.
On August 25 2011 21:11 FT.aCt)Sony wrote: Update per US Air-Force Weather and National Hurricane Center models for the individuals traveling to Raleigh, NC and individuals in the outlying areas:
It's going to hit Hatteras, NC directly as of now.
For Raleigh you will be at a risk from 2pm Friday until Saturday at Noon with a10% chance of wind probability of 40 knots+ and a 4% chance of 50 knot winds+. For rain under an inch and a half.
So MLG Raleigh shouldn't see any major issues. Any flights going into Raleigh-Durham (RDU) shouldn't have any delays.
If the storm happens to change course and begins traveling more westward then there might be an issue. But the storm has consistently been circulating more to the east so expect a the storm to change eastward if anything.
Any other questions or updates needed by anyone just give me a heads up. Just takes a phone call from me on my day off to call my office or the Cape Canaveral WX Station here on base.
yea, this really needs more attention. I would take the word of the airforce alot quicker than i would a weatherman.
I don't delve deep into weather since its only one aspect of my position as a Airfield Management supervisor. Just explain the weather models and current weather readings to pilots who don't understand the Dash report they're supposed to receive before flying operations.
Like I said, if anyone wants a further update just let me know. More than happy to take a look at the readings or give a call upward later today or update the thread tomorrow when I go into work.
On August 25 2011 12:38 Cartographer wrote: *to the tune of come on eileen*
Come on Irene I swear don't hit MLG at this moment it means everything Come on Irene Don't mess with the stream or the bent cuz there is no LAN Come on Irene Just keep going east hit maine or any where else
Even though this storm is not THAT close to south florida (where i live) the effects have been pretty strong. I woke up today to a hell of a rain and it still hasnt stopped. I hope that everything goes well in Raleigh D:
On August 25 2011 21:49 Swink wrote: Cat 3? i've been fishing in bigger storms than that. im sure everyone will be fine. no nead to worry
No, you haven't.
Not to mention it isn't foreign at all for a Cat3 to jump to 4 or even 5 and turn inland unexpectedly.
really? how do you know? ive played frisbee in a cat 3, and ive played soccer in a cat 3. Unless you are surrounded by a forest or near a low shoreline, up to cat 3 is hurricane party time. once it goes higher, then yea don't do any of that. Raleigh should be fine.
On August 25 2011 23:12 FT.aCt)Sony wrote: Thanks Wren and pStar.
I don't delve deep into weather since its only one aspect of my position as a Airfield Management supervisor. Just explain the weather models and current weather readings to pilots who don't understand the Dash report they're supposed to receive before flying operations.
Like I said, if anyone wants a further update just let me know. More than happy to take a look at the readings or give a call upward later today or update the thread tomorrow when I go into work.
The occasional update would be awesome, though it wouldn't have to be more often than 12 or 18 hours (barring some new and threatening developments).
Hopefully it fades away :/ Would suck if it hit Raleigh. It would suck for me not being able to watch the stream but even more, maybe less people will show up at the event so MLG earns less money and what if people at MLG would get hurt.
I just graduated with a degree in meteorology (not the broadcasting kind either)
Irene is actually a Cat 4 right now, and is reforming its eyewall, so it's running a little slow. ECMWF and other models are in agreement right now moving the storm slightly N-NW. From the NHC discussion: "SINCE IRENE IS SUCH A LARGE TROPICAL CYCLONE...SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS ARE LIKELY ALONG THE UNITED STATES EAST COAST REGARDLESS OF THE EXACT TRACK IT TAKES."
North Carolina just put out a state of emergency for everything east of I-95. In Raleigh I wouldn't expect more than some wind and rain. Gusts shouldn't exceed 30MPH, so the *chance* is still there for a power outage. Whether or not you are going to MLG, if you live on the coast and evacuations are called for, just leave. Don't think you know better, because you don't. I live on the Virginia coast, and am glad to be leaving for the weekend. I drove past a truck today on the way to work full of sandbags :/
Also, I'm not trying to steal any other forecasters thunder, this is just my take on the situation.
This is just people being way over dramatic. Raleigh is in the heart of NC, hurricanes get their strength from the ocean water. Thus hurricanes are significantly weaker over land. We are gonna get some rain that's about itttttt
On August 25 2011 09:46 RaLakedaimon wrote: I totally thought Irene was some reporter chick or something, funny how you worded that title. Hope that storm doesn't ruin the even for everyone though, bad weather sucks.
I thought so too. I thought this would've been another "excellent" thread
I don't think you will need to be worried about your saftey. Is there potential for catasrophic damage from Irene? Yes. Along the coast, and certianly along the outer banks, but 150 miles inland the worst you will get is some wind and maybe alot of rain.
Chances of a power failure if the storm brings down some power lines will be the largest threat to MLG this weekend, imo. Im just an armchair weather man though so make sure you listen to the profesionals!
They are moving the event into a Supply Depot, and will just lower it if the hurricane causes any problems. Terran supply depot counters hurricane, nerf
Nice work, sirs!
On a serious note, after losing my job today (thus no work Friday to tire me out) and having not much to do over the weekend, I shall be hoping everything is ok as I will be watching on the streams.
On August 25 2011 21:49 Swink wrote: Cat 3? i've been fishing in bigger storms than that. im sure everyone will be fine. no nead to worry
No, you haven't.
Not to mention it isn't foreign at all for a Cat3 to jump to 4 or even 5 and turn inland unexpectedly.
really? how do you know? ive played frisbee in a cat 3, and ive played soccer in a cat 3. Unless you are surrounded by a forest or near a low shoreline, up to cat 3 is hurricane party time. once it goes higher, then yea don't do any of that. Raleigh should be fine.
It better fucking be.
I'm pretty sure you've only 'played' when a cat 3 was near you as even the best ultimate players couldn't throw a frisbee in 115+ mph winds and a soccer ball would literally become a missile capable of killing someone. There is a major difference between having a hurricane move over your area and being in the narrow range around the eyewall that gets the true wind force the storm is rated at.
I lived in Florida for 35 years and have been through several hurricanes, including cat 2/3's eye's passing over me. Near misses or being well off the center of the eye can be fun but you shouldn't joke around if you're getting a direct hit from even a one. That said, Raleigh is way too far inland to get a hard hit. While the weather models aren't perfect they almost always stay within the forcasted 3 day cone and that puts Raleigh well out of the direct hit range. Flooding and light power outages would be the only real worries but giving the direction and speed of the hurricane I'd guess the chances of a major impact from either one of those is still small.
If it was me, I wouldn't think twice about going unless I had to drive up the east coast to get there. If that's the case you should leave early and be prepared to possibly wait an extra day or two before returning back or plan a more westerly route.
Yesterday the forecast showed the +30mph winds only reaching as far west as Wilson, North Carolina which is about 40 miles east of Raleigh. Today the forecasts are saying Irene will be moving closer inland and Wilson will be hit by +58mph winds and will hit Raleigh with +30mph winds.
I've seen hurricanes do some weird path changes, if you're anywhere in NC or north of NC keep up with the weather updates through this weekend.
On August 26 2011 03:13 LetoAtreides82 wrote: Yesterday the forecast showed the +30mph winds only reaching as far west as Wilson, North Carolina which is about 40 miles east of Raleigh. Today the forecasts are saying Irene will be moving closer inland and Wilson will be hit by +58mph winds and will hit Raleigh with +30mph winds.
I've seen hurricanes do some weird path changes, if you're anywhere in NC or north of NC keep up with the weather updates through this weekend.
30mph winds aren't that bad. They can do damage to trees and such but it's nothing life threatening.
I have a flight from NJ to California on Sunday at 8AM EST. Hopefully I can make it out.
Luckily the event isn't held outdoors, also lucky that I live in Finland where this shit doesn't exist. Stay safe MLG people and all the other people in the are as well!
Well, 2 months of planning and $600 down the shitter. I'm glad Amtrak had the fucking courtesy to call and cancel my train which was supposed to return on Monday less than 24 hours before I was supposed to leave to NC.
One phone call and this has turned into potentially the best weekend ever into shit. Fucking christ.
I don't think anyone is saying that people are going to be in danger in Raleigh, but the competition itself is going to have difficulties. The power could go out, lag will be a problem as neighboring states and cities are struck, and streaming will be affected even if the games themselves are not. Just because Raleigh itself is only going to experience tropical storm force winds doesn't mean you can have a gaming competition with no affects.
On August 25 2011 21:49 Swink wrote: Cat 3? i've been fishing in bigger storms than that. im sure everyone will be fine. no nead to worry
No, you haven't.
Not to mention it isn't foreign at all for a Cat3 to jump to 4 or even 5 and turn inland unexpectedly.
really? how do you know? ive played frisbee in a cat 3, and ive played soccer in a cat 3. Unless you are surrounded by a forest or near a low shoreline, up to cat 3 is hurricane party time. once it goes higher, then yea don't do any of that. Raleigh should be fine.
It better fucking be.
I'm pretty sure you've only 'played' when a cat 3 was near you as even the best ultimate players couldn't throw a frisbee in 115+ mph winds and a soccer ball would literally become a missile capable of killing someone. There is a major difference between having a hurricane move over your area and being in the narrow range around the eyewall that gets the true wind force the storm is rated at.
I lived in Florida for 35 years and have been through several hurricanes, including cat 2/3's eye's passing over me. Near misses or being well off the center of the eye can be fun but you shouldn't joke around if you're getting a direct hit from even a one. That said, Raleigh is way too far inland to get a hard hit. While the weather models aren't perfect they almost always stay within the forcasted 3 day cone and that puts Raleigh well out of the direct hit range. Flooding and light power outages would be the only real worries but giving the direction and speed of the hurricane I'd guess the chances of a major impact from either one of those is still small.
If it was me, I wouldn't think twice about going unless I had to drive up the east coast to get there. If that's the case you should leave early and be prepared to possibly wait an extra day or two before returning back or plan a more westerly route.
I live in Gulf shores, would go to a friends house near mobile for hurricanes, and you are wrong about what I "played" in(not sure why it's in quotations?). Youre right about one thing, we would play frisbee as a "joke" game and see how hard it was to catch. We would play soccer to see from how far away we could score.
It's kinda silly, people hear hurricane and think to terrible terrible tragedy. When really hurricanes are of no real threat other than some semi-high winds and rainfall that far into the coast in a city that isnt below sea level.
I can't wait for the event....hell I wish I could go. A hurricane would do me great, Im out in the fucking desert over here.
On August 25 2011 10:37 bri9and wrote: @zyzski.. have you ever been in a hurricane? Do you understand what 50 MPH winds do to you? I'm not sure you do.. this is a MAJOR threat and it is something to keep in the forefront of your planning for the event.. I'm not saying, "don't go" but I do think you need to be prepared for a hurricane..
because its coming
It isn't a major threat to a city that far inland.
You could spend the storm outside the venue and literally be fine.
Oh, goody. They had the courtesy to call me with an automated message saying my train TO Raleigh is also cancelled 2 hours after they told me the departing one from Raleigh was cancelled. Glad they could be so prompt.
Glad I didn't go, say, Thursday. I would have been stranded in NC.
But y'know what? Fuck it. Fuck Amtrak. Never again will I travel with them. I WILL ber at Providence. Mark my words. I don't care if I have to walk to and from.
People need to not freak out. 40 mph winds are not that bad at all. Plus, you're going to be inside for basically the entire day. And one of the hotels as an underground connection to the convention center, so you may not even have to go outside. If Raleigh was closer to the ocean and if the storm was stronger I could see not coming, but guys… it's MLG! We gotta make it the best one yet!!! c: c: c:
On August 26 2011 05:18 Syrupjuice wrote: People need to not freak out. 40 mph winds are not that bad at all. Plus, you're going to be inside for basically the entire day. And one of the hotels as an underground connection to the convention center, so you may not even have to go outside. If Raleigh was closer to the ocean and if the storm was stronger I could see not coming, but guys… it's MLG! We gotta make it the best one yet!!! c: c: c:
It's a category 3 storm, it has winds of 112+ MPH. Just to classify it as a Hurricane it needs to be 74 MPH I believe.
On August 26 2011 04:53 TwilightStar wrote: People must be thinking Raleigh is by the coast or something... no, it's in the piedmont ~_~
Rain is the most that will happen, unless you guys are severely afraid of that.
Doesn't matter if it's an inch or rain or 6 feet of flooding if returning flights/trains back just cancelled at the very last minute regardless.
If you're on a tight schedule you might want to give this mlg a pass. The storm itself will probably be mild, but you should be prepared to stick around as arranging a flight home through all the delays and cancellations is pretty much guaranteed to be a nightmare.
On August 26 2011 05:18 Syrupjuice wrote: People need to not freak out. 40 mph winds are not that bad at all. Plus, you're going to be inside for basically the entire day. And one of the hotels as an underground connection to the convention center, so you may not even have to go outside. If Raleigh was closer to the ocean and if the storm was stronger I could see not coming, but guys… it's MLG! We gotta make it the best one yet!!! c: c: c:
It's a category 3 storm, it has winds of 112+ MPH. Just to classify it as a Hurricane it needs to be 74 MPH I believe.
That's probably at the eye though, that's not what will be 'hitting' Raleigh at all. I think 30-40 mph is a very decent estimate of what you'll get.
I'm aware that Hurricanes are a whole different beast from european weather, but I think you're completely overreacting. 40 mph translates to maybe 8 on the beaufort scale, I've sailed on the north sea during such conditions.(Which was admittedly borderline unreasonable.) Nothing to worry about.
Should the main storm actually hit Raleigh, so what? Go inside man. You're 120 miles inland, there will be no flooding. I think your friend probably just changed his mind regarding the 500 miles of driving but won't admit it
Storm shouldn't have much of an effect on the tournament itself. It will end up like Florida, where it's just windy and rainy.
Assuming the relay-race is still happening however, I think EG has a better shot this time. They just need to have their large members run downwind and their short skinny members run upwind. They got this one in the bag.
On August 26 2011 05:27 Geosensation wrote: wasn't there a storm at Columbus? didn't stop eSports then. wont stop it now.
Haha, it just rained pretty hard for a while, but there wasn't much wind. Sure, the walk back to the hotel sucked, but it was much less severe that a hurricane would be.
So currently it looks like it will miss you all in NC. Have a good time at the event, I plan on watching it from my house in RI maybe I will get some of that good ole Irene in a tropical storm version.
On August 26 2011 04:53 TwilightStar wrote: People must be thinking Raleigh is by the coast or something... no, it's in the piedmont ~_~
Rain is the most that will happen, unless you guys are severely afraid of that.
Doesn't matter if it's an inch or rain or 6 feet of flooding if returning flights/trains back just cancelled at the very last minute regardless.
If you're on a tight schedule you might want to give this mlg a pass. The storm itself will probably be mild, but you should be prepared to stick around as arranging a flight home through all the delays and cancellations is pretty much guaranteed to be a nightmare.
I don't really have a choice in the matter. Amtrak decided to cancel everything on me at the last minute, even though this hurricane has been a known issue for much longer than a day.
Just pissed that they couldn't start the process of cancelling shit days ago instead of pulling this last minute shit. If I had gone down 1 day earlier I'd be stranded.
On August 26 2011 05:35 r33k wrote: Then why are they cancelling all the flights QQ
Because even though it's just going to be thunderstorms in the area you don't want to fly into thunderstorms.
also, although raleigh is inland, flights from the east are going to go through the storm. storm may not be bad at the convention center, but they arent going to take any risks over the ocean.
A category 3 hurricane generally isn't terribly serious if you're able to stay indoors. It will probably down some trees and knock out power though, if it's a direct hit.
edit: seeing as Raleigh is like 150 miles inland, it probably wouldn't even be that bad, even in a worst case scenario.
On August 26 2011 05:18 Syrupjuice wrote: People need to not freak out. 40 mph winds are not that bad at all. Plus, you're going to be inside for basically the entire day. And one of the hotels as an underground connection to the convention center, so you may not even have to go outside. If Raleigh was closer to the ocean and if the storm was stronger I could see not coming, but guys… it's MLG! We gotta make it the best one yet!!! c: c: c:
It's a category 3 storm, it has winds of 112+ MPH. Just to classify it as a Hurricane it needs to be 74 MPH I believe.
Just because a storm is cat 3 doesn't mean the whole storm has sustained winds of 112+ MPH. The super strong winds are only near the eye wall, which will be nowhere near Raleigh...
Evacuation orders were issued along the coast of North Carolina today in Dare, Currituck and Cateret counties. There are 180,000 people just in Dare County and another 150,000 people were told to get out of Ocean City, Md.
"This is a very, very serious situation," said Dorothy Toolan, public information officer for Dare County, N.C. "We have not seen anything like this in the lifetimes of most our residents...Once the storm hits it will be very difficult to respond to distress calls."
Like several other people in this thread, I'm Floridian, and while its worth being serious about, I don't think it requires a cancellation at all. Your friend is right about one thing though, I've learned not to trust hurricane predictions at all, but right now it's probably going as close to Raleigh as it's going to get, if anything Irene will move further away. Worst case scenario you get stuck inside for a few hours in the worst of it, but I'm sure management will have preparations like back-up generators and emergency supplies anyway.
Tell you friend they only show the worst clips they can find on the news, and it's really not all that bad if you have some level of preparation.
On August 26 2011 10:24 ELA wrote: Evacuation orders were issued along the coast of North Carolina today in Dare, Currituck and Cateret counties. There are 180,000 people just in Dare County and another 150,000 people were told to get out of Ocean City, Md.
"This is a very, very serious situation," said Dorothy Toolan, public information officer for Dare County, N.C. "We have not seen anything like this in the lifetimes of most our residents...Once the storm hits it will be very difficult to respond to distress calls."
From ABC News
Fuck off Irene, seriously!
Those are just the island counties of North Carolina. Morehead City, which is where Irene is expected to make it's first landfall, is almost a good 150 miles (240 kilometers for you heathen metric users) southeast from Raleigh.
But seriously, stay the fuck away from I-95 if you are driving down. That is going to be a nightmare with all the tourists trying to get the hell out of dodge.
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.huffpost.com/gen/336399/HURRICANE-IRENE-PATH-NOAA-2.jpg)
Hope that storm doesn't ruin the even for everyone though, bad weather sucks. 
![[image loading]](http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p287/zane14785/weather.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://image.weather.com/images/maps/tropical/map_tropprjpath09_ltst_5nhato_enus_600x405.jpg)
