Hi Steve,
For some reason I thought you where in the UK.
Thanks for the update, it does sound bad - I've only just rolled into the office, so haven't had a chance to check all the news channels yet. I guess if anything, there's some relief that it is 'just' a Cat 1. From what I read/hear, hitting landfall is what slows these down, but unfortunately a northerly cold wind will keep it rotating. Fingers crossed your home & mighty oaks survive unscathed.

Stewart

: Hi Stewart,
: We all really appreciate your asking. I reluctantly flew out of
: Richmond, VA at 5:20AM this morning on a business trip (to
: Florida which I feel very guilty over since I hoped they would
: close the airport before I left, quite frankly) leaving a mate
: to watch over my home for me. I have over thirty oak trees in my
: front yard (corner lot) and I am fearful. We are expecting
: strong gusts and lots of rain but it doesn't begin to approach
: the water and flood devastation taking place further north in
: New Jersey and New York, at this moment. As I watch The Weather
: Channel in my hotel room, I see that several NYC area tunnels
: are under 4 feet of water, as is the site of the World Trade
: Center and, much of Manhattan is in the dark with power having
: been cut. In fact, over 5 million homes in the North East are
: without power at this hour, including the states of PA, NJ, NY,
: CT, VT, NH, RI and MA. West Virginia is getting heavy snow with
: up to two feet having fallen so far, too! Virginia Beach has
: flooding and the Outer Banks of North Carolina have been
: thrashed with winds and severe flooding/surges causing
: devastating beach erosion and the loss of several beach front
: homes the past 36 hours. You are so right, the overall diameter
: of this "Category 1" hurricane is truly unbelievable.
: Over 900 miles in diameter! It has made landfall so we can now
: only hope it begins to slow the winds down somewhat and then
: moves away quickly which is the current forecast. Pretty
: unbelievable!
: Steve