North Stafford, Va. — They said the hurricane was over hyped, that it didn’t live up to its excitement, so they decided to get out the house.
Mainstreet Grill and Bar on Va. 610 in North Stafford was one of the few places busy Saturday night as Hurricane Irene rolled through the Potomac Communities.
Stafford, Va. — When the power went out Saturday night at his home, Michael Campbell knew he had to go somewhere.
He lives on a back road in Stafford County in a wooded area with large trees. Add Hurricane Irene with wind gusts reaching up to 51 mph and soaking rains saturating the ground making the trees more likely to fall, Campbell decided to come to an emergency shelter at Brooke Point High School.
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Emergency shelters have not been set up in Prince William County, but officials have space available if the need arises, said Prince William County spokesman Jason Grant.
Woodbridge Senior and Freedom High schools in Woodbridge will be used as shelters if things get hairy, as will Battlefield High School and Bull Run Middle School in western Prince William.
Lake Ridge, Va. — On the checkout counter at the ABC store in Lake Ridge, printed on a piece of receipt paper was a recipe a lot of people asked for on Friday.
Light rum, dark rum, a tablespoon of passion fruit syrup and a tablespoon of lime juice. That makes a Hurricane, a drink that many customers who came into this ABC store asked the staff how to make, and will probably enjoy this weekend.
While it’s seen longer lines at Christmastime, Sam’s Club in Woodbridge was still bustling with shoppers looking to stock up before the arrival of Hurricane Irene.
On order and going fast was bottled water stacked on pallets in the rear of the store. Cereal and other non-perishable foodstuffs were flying off the shelves. So were large bundles of toilet paper –– known as a staple of a winter storm now an item they must have for the approaching storm from the tropics.
In addition to the declaration, a special phone line has been set up for residents who have non-emergency questions about the storm and its impacts on the area. Residents can call 540-659-5362 to reach operators on the special line.
President Obama said it, the West Coast Social Network is currently saying it, even my husband, a native New Englander has said it: We’re kind of pansies about weather in our area, and lately we’ve been hit with a bunch of it.
Growing up in Northern Virginia, when I went away to the College of the Holy Cross and had to take an exam in an actual blizzard, it was culture shock. Here in the DC Metro Area, we cancel school for a projected dusting. My military friends who have lived in California tell me that no reaction is warranted to anything under a 6.5 earthquake. Friends in the gulf coast region have informed me that the appropriate response to a rapidly approaching storm is not to buy toilet paper and milk, but batteries and margarita mix for whomever’s house you’re holding your hurricane party at.
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Update 7 a.m.
Things just got kicked up a notch as a tropical storm warning is now in effect for the Potomac Communities. It replaces the tropical storm watch issued Thursday afternoon.
