Irene's Precipitation Distribution

Irene's rainfall resulted in devastating flooding for communities in multiple states in the northeast (and much of the rest of the east coast). The flooding experienced not only destroyed properties but took lives. See the distribution of precipitation in the image above from the National Weather Service.

NOAA Accurately Predicts Irene's Path

Although there are some examples of catastrophic damage caused by Irene, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was able to accurately predict the track of the storm, thus warning millions of people days in advance. The video below shows Irene's predicted track as well as the actual storm moving up the east coast

Hopefully this accuracy can be maintained in the future, as NOAA's budget to replace an aging generation of satellites has been slashed.

Aftermath of Irene, Next up: Tropical Storm Katia

Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene came through the east coast this weekend, killing at least 38 and leaving an estimated 3.3 million people without electricity. Connecticut's eastern half of the state has been especially affected by power outages, which can be seen on Connecticut Light & Power's map of power outages. For information on the federal government's response to Irene, check out this National Oceanic Service website. Next up? Tropical Storm Katia is projected to strengthen to a major hurricane Sunday morning in the Caribbean.

Irene Heading For Densely Populated Northeast

As of Thursday morning, Hurricane Irene was heading towards the Northeast's population centers.

Communities in the Northeast are preparing for the impact of Hurricane Irene. Mayor Bloomberg is urging citizens to prepare themselves in New York City, and reports are that the city of Boston is investigating potential shelter locations. If Irene comes to shore in the Northeast, there will be large numbers of people affected, which is why some are weary of a potential disaster in the making. Today, I created the population density map above with ArcGIS to show this. On the map, you will find the projected path and cone in addition to population; each dot on the map represents 5,000 people. I have posted a tutorial on where to find the applicable data and how to generate a similar product in ArcMap on Outside the Neatline.