According to a local news report, SunRail will be running with limited service tomorrow (Monday) and will be free.
Hurricane Irma and Amtrak
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jis
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SunRail is indeed running today.
I suspect full Amtrak service restoration will follow on Wednesday and Thursday, though we have heard nothing official so far from Amtrak. Their last advisory as of the time of this posting still remains from Sept 15th.
Even their Twitter and Facebook presence appear to be rather silent on the matter.
Digging into amtrak.com and trying to get tickets suggest that 98 will start running on Wednesday (20th) and 92 on Thursday (21st) out of Miami. 97 and 91 both will start running to Miami from JAX on Wednesday (20th). There will be special ORL - MIA 97 on the 19th as mentioned by KnightRail above.
The good news so far is that Maria is not projected to come to Florida at this time. Though we should be very concerned about Puerto Rico, which it is projected to cross at Category 4 strength. If Jose remains effective enough to do a Fujiwara do-si-do with Maria, then Maria will not come on shore in the lower 48, only a weak Jose will. If not then I suppose Maria could visit some part of the lower 48.
I suspect full Amtrak service restoration will follow on Wednesday and Thursday, though we have heard nothing official so far from Amtrak. Their last advisory as of the time of this posting still remains from Sept 15th.
Even their Twitter and Facebook presence appear to be rather silent on the matter.
Digging into amtrak.com and trying to get tickets suggest that 98 will start running on Wednesday (20th) and 92 on Thursday (21st) out of Miami. 97 and 91 both will start running to Miami from JAX on Wednesday (20th). There will be special ORL - MIA 97 on the 19th as mentioned by KnightRail above.
The good news so far is that Maria is not projected to come to Florida at this time. Though we should be very concerned about Puerto Rico, which it is projected to cross at Category 4 strength. If Jose remains effective enough to do a Fujiwara do-si-do with Maria, then Maria will not come on shore in the lower 48, only a weak Jose will. If not then I suppose Maria could visit some part of the lower 48.
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Mystic River Dragon
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I hope Maria goes away. This weekend, I will be traveling down the Northeast Corridor and getting on the Cardinal at Alexandria--I sincerely hope I do not meet Maria coming up as I go down. The 10-day forecast for the weekend has sunny with a northwest breeze, so hope they are right!
On the other hand, putting things in perspective, if I had a missed trip because of the weather, I realize that would be nothing compared to what people directly in the path of these hurricanes have been and will experience.
On the other hand, putting things in perspective, if I had a missed trip because of the weather, I realize that would be nothing compared to what people directly in the path of these hurricanes have been and will experience.
Ryan
Court Jester
According to the twitter, they're back to regular schedules tomorrow (but still free)...
http://sunrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/SunRail-Tuesday-Service.pdf
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From Amtrak.com:
The local news just confirmed what Ryan just said.
west point
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We can only hope the now newest CAT 5 hurricane Maria will not hit Florida after Irma. A suggestion for all you Florida persons. Keep your car gas tanks close to full until no problem with this latest hurricane.
bmjhagen9426
OBS Chief
And don't forget about Hurricane Jose (although that will be more of an issue further up north, but potential for issues).
Jose is already well beyond FL. It will be causing high surf, wind and rain along the mid-Atlantic and northeast. Boston area looks to be where the worst of it will be...until Jose does his loop-de-loop and heads back to the mid-Atlantic.
According to our local news weather person, today we got rain from Jose's "back end."Jose is already well beyond FL. It will be causing high surf, wind and rain along the mid-Atlantic and northeast. Boston area looks to be where the worst of it will be...until Jose does his loop-de-loop and heads back to the mid-Atlantic.
west point
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"IF" Jose ever makes up its mind will NYP - BOS service be affected ?
Ryan
Court Jester
If he decides to go that way... the forecast tracks from Monday are a bit... jumbled.
Jose has have a bit too much tequila, I believe...
Jose has have a bit too much tequila, I believe...
jis
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Even while Irma seemingly changed course many times, none of the new courses were ever outside the original cone of uncertainty. Being far outside the cone of uncertainty gives some confidence about it being highly unlikely. But there is always a chance that things could change seriously. This is true for everyone on the eastern seaboard at this time, not just Florida. So everyone should keep their gas tanks full, in a manner of speaking [emoji57]
The bit about gas tanks is a sarcastic remark in case this was not clear [emoji6]
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Don Newcomb
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Anyone who lives in "hurricane alley" should know to not let the tank go below 3/4 whenever a storm is threatening and also keep about 20 gal of gas in cans, just in case. There's something about an actual hurricane warning that magically sucks all the gasoline out of fuel storage tanks.
Don Newcomb
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I saw one TV meteorologist who made it clear that hurricanes never change course. The hurricane knows exactly where it's going. The only problem is that it hasn't told anyone where that is, so we're left to guess. The hurricane's course doesn't change, only our guesses about it's course change. :wacko:
I suppose it would be equally valid to say that a hurricane doesn't actually have a course and neither it nor we know exactly where it's going, so it's still guesswork. I like the former.
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Devil's Advocate
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So are we supposed to just stay home and refuse to go to work because we have to keep our tanks full? Are we're supposed to hoard flammable liquids in our houses and apartments? Or fight with other drivers (and risk a gunshot or two) over the last few drops of petrol? I don't live in "hurricane alley" but 90% of our gas stations ran dry anyway and my car was running on fumes for weeks, just like millions of other people. Rather than wasting time focusing on symptoms with impractical advice maybe we should attack the root cause by implementing mandatory rationing. That would help ensure everyone has enough to take care of business without allowing emotion driven hoarders to decimate the supply.
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jis
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Agree with DA. Fortunately the people who actually live in hurricane prone areas are not stupid enough to follow random worthless advice on AU [emoji57]
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Nobody said anything about staying home and not driving at all. Rather, I believe the idea is to fill up - when convenient - when the tank drops to 3/4 or so rather than waiting until the low fuel light comes on. Fueling up earlier than usual is not the same thing as hoarding.
The level of advance preparation, policies, and infrastructure necessary to implement an effective and fair system of mandatory rationing could just as easily (and more efficiently) be applied to procedures to rapidly increase the available supply. The usual problem is spot shortages, not a nationwide lack of fuel.
I hope not many people would be so foolish as to store fuel in an apartment, but many people have a few cans for the lawnmower stored (shed., garage, etc.) anyway. if it makes you feel better, there is no harm in keeping those topped up sooner too.
Mystic River Dragon
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In western NJ, Jose right now is bringing us scattered light showers (with the sun out at the same time) and a refreshing breeze.
I wish every hurricane was this well-behaved.
I am really scared about the possibility of Maria coming up here, though, and cancelling trains.
I wish every hurricane was this well-behaved.
I am really scared about the possibility of Maria coming up here, though, and cancelling trains.
jis
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Surprisingly, extreme outer bands of Jose are bringing us showers off and on in Eastern Florida too. It has a cloud field with a diameter of over 1000 miles now.
In general I tend to ignore hurricanes until the last three days when the actual path and the cone start solidifying, unless I am pat dab in the middle of the 5 day cone, in which case I start worrying about preparing five days in advance in the way of putting together a specific plan -e.g. prepare to evacuate or prepare to hunker down and such. And if evacuate, to where, when and such.
So far nothing has caused me to consider evacuation in the five day or three day advanced plan. It has so far just been prepare to hunker down and act on it.
As far as Maria goes, it is still too far out to be concerned about, since I am nowhere near the five day cone, and the five day projected wind field.
As for gas, I have not used a single cc of the gas that I filled before Irma, so I am good for 650 miles with a fully charged car, which it always is storm or no storm. As soon as it gets into the garage, it gets charged. That should get me well out of Florida and well into the next state if not past it too. I don't think a need will arise unless we are facing a Cat4 or 5 landfall in the immediate vicinity, or expecting winds above 130mph.
The planned trip to Miami for the FECRS Annual Convention on Thursday afternoon is still on. It runs through Sunday. Nothing much is expected from Maria in that time-frame around here.
Current five day wind field projections of Maria are:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT15/refresh/AL152017_earliest_reasonable_toa_34+png/145352_earliest_reasonable_toa_34.png
In general I tend to ignore hurricanes until the last three days when the actual path and the cone start solidifying, unless I am pat dab in the middle of the 5 day cone, in which case I start worrying about preparing five days in advance in the way of putting together a specific plan -e.g. prepare to evacuate or prepare to hunker down and such. And if evacuate, to where, when and such.
So far nothing has caused me to consider evacuation in the five day or three day advanced plan. It has so far just been prepare to hunker down and act on it.
As far as Maria goes, it is still too far out to be concerned about, since I am nowhere near the five day cone, and the five day projected wind field.
As for gas, I have not used a single cc of the gas that I filled before Irma, so I am good for 650 miles with a fully charged car, which it always is storm or no storm. As soon as it gets into the garage, it gets charged. That should get me well out of Florida and well into the next state if not past it too. I don't think a need will arise unless we are facing a Cat4 or 5 landfall in the immediate vicinity, or expecting winds above 130mph.
The planned trip to Miami for the FECRS Annual Convention on Thursday afternoon is still on. It runs through Sunday. Nothing much is expected from Maria in that time-frame around here.
Current five day wind field projections of Maria are:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT15/refresh/AL152017_earliest_reasonable_toa_34+png/145352_earliest_reasonable_toa_34.png
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The gas can debate reminds me of some advice I had heard/seen online regarding the solar eclipse; specifically suggesting to bring a can of gas with you everywhere as there would likely be gas shortages. I had thought about doing so until my wife said that it sounded like a bad idea, which led to further research confirming her gut reaction (especially with a hatchback, having a gas can in the back could cause...issues, especially if there was a crash or something similar.) Wound up just making sure that I was diligent about filling it up once I reached a half-tank, which is my standard practice anyways. Worked out fine, and frankly there were no gas shortages that I came across; sure, gas stations were busy but no shortages or lines to get gas. I can usually get 150 - 200 miles on a half tank, which I'm usually wanting to stop for a stretch break by then anyways (or gets about a week's worth of commuting for my wife and I.)
All this to say that, while it probably doesn't hurt to make sure to have your tank full, I'd be suspect about trying to go too far in stockpiling gas, especially if there's already a shortage of gas in the area. So far, knock on wood, I've never had an issue with filling up around a half-tank, and I've yet to actually run out of gas. Here's hoping that streak continues!
All this to say that, while it probably doesn't hurt to make sure to have your tank full, I'd be suspect about trying to go too far in stockpiling gas, especially if there's already a shortage of gas in the area. So far, knock on wood, I've never had an issue with filling up around a half-tank, and I've yet to actually run out of gas. Here's hoping that streak continues!
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jis
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After Sandy there were some serious gas availability or lack thereof issues in NJ, including even odd license plate based rationing. But it was always possible to drive out to Pennsylvania and fill up to your heart's content.
At least in the area around me both during Matthew and Irma, there was no long term gas shortage beyond an hour here and an hour there at specific gas stations as they got resupplied. Scott turned out to be a much better manager of such emergencies than Christie was in NJ, at least as far as I can see from my vantage point, having lived through Sandy, Matthew and Irma.
In Brevard county the number of customers without power is now down to 230, from a high of over 280,000 8 days back. And those are mostly customers who have other significant issues like being flooded out or manufactured home destroyed by tornado or such.
At least in the area around me both during Matthew and Irma, there was no long term gas shortage beyond an hour here and an hour there at specific gas stations as they got resupplied. Scott turned out to be a much better manager of such emergencies than Christie was in NJ, at least as far as I can see from my vantage point, having lived through Sandy, Matthew and Irma.
In Brevard county the number of customers without power is now down to 230, from a high of over 280,000 8 days back. And those are mostly customers who have other significant issues like being flooded out or manufactured home destroyed by tornado or such.
I was just outdoors not too far from the tracks between WPK and ORL and I think I heard 97!! What a great sound - something I have missed for a while.
97 was supposed to start from Orlando today. Looks like someone has forgotten to initialize it in the tracking system.
jb
jb
I made the assumption that I heard it coming from Sanford, but I could have been mistaken. Maybe it was a "loud" SunRail train. I wanted it to be 97.
