We've endured the windiest & chilliest of "Sandy", so now it's time for some beautiful weather with mild to warm days & pleasantly cool nights. Only shot at rain through the middle of next week will be Mon. & amounts look very light. Temps. will jump into the 70s through Mon. with lows in the 40s & 50s. The warmest day will be Sunday when some inland spots could touch 80 degrees.
A few more tidbits on "Sandy" as the storm fills (weakens) & finally lifts out to the northeast:
* lots of false pictures & doctored photos...click here for a twitter site for comments about some of the fakes that have been circulating. It's the ol' if the photo looks too cool to be true, it probably is.
* You might of heard about the blood shortages in the areas hardest hit by "Sandy" but the First Coast is need of blood too. From the Fl. Blood Alliance:
-- The Blood Alliance’s priority is to provide an adequate supply of blood to our local hospitals as their sole provider. TBA needs Northeast Florida residents to roll up their sleeves and donate blood to ensure an adequate 5-day supply is always available to our community and local patients – rain or shine!
Don’t wait for a hurricane or other crisis to donate…the blood needs to already be on the shelf and available BEFORE a disaster strikes. Please help us keep our supply robust. Our need is constant, and today, it’s critical.
Your only community blood bank’s local supply is currently experiencing critically low levels of O-Negative blood, the Universal Donor. The Blood Alliance depends on the community, YOU, to help us help save lives. If you are a donor, thank you. If you are not a donor, please consider it.
To make an appointment to donate visit our website ** here **, use our free iPhone and Droid app at: “iDon8” or call The Blood Alliance at: 888-99-TBA HERO (888.998.2243).
FACT: If donors gave two times per year, blood shortages could be prevented! The Blood Alliance must collect blood from more than 360 donors EVERY day to meet the needs of our hospitals as their SOLE provider of blood.
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Salvation Army Ramps Up Deployment Efforts in Sandy’s Wake
New York City Officials Appoint Salvation Army to Coordinate Feeding at City Shelter
Alexandria, Virginia (October 30, 2012) – As Hurricane Sandy barreled up the East Coast, leaving mass destruction and power outages in its wake, The Salvation Army prepared for a long-term disaster response and recovery operation. Feeding has already begun at shelters in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions and mobile canteen units will deploy to the areas of greatest need as damage is assessed in the coming days. Crews will provide food, hydration, clean-up kits as well as emotional and spiritual care.
In New York City, officials from the Office of Emergency Management have appointed The Salvation Army as the lead agency for the City’s Food Access Plan, to coordinate feeding at city shelters. For the next few days The Salvation Army will be serving food at Seward High School in lower Manhattan where 1,000 people are being fed breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“It’s clear now that Hurricane Sandy was and continues to be a major and historic storm impacting millions of people,” said Major George Hood, National Community Relations Secretary for The Salvation Army in the United States. “Residents of the impacted areas can rest assured that The Salvation Army will be with them for the long-haul – providing practical, physical and spiritual support at the areas of greatest need.”
Current Salvation Army activities in other impacted areas include:
In New Jersey:
o The Salvation Army is serving meals, snacks and drinks to hundreds of evacuees at 11 shelters in five counties.
o While serving meals at a shelter in Union Beach, a Salvation Army canteen and a volunteer vehicle were flooded when waters rose unexpectedly. Despite the loss of these vehicles Salvation Army volunteers continued to serve meals to both displaced residents and first responders.
o Local senior citizens found refuge from Hurricane Sandy at The Salvation Army building in Red Bank.
o In Montclair, The Salvation Army is operating a “charging” center for members of the community needing to charge their phones, computers, or other electronic devices.
o A canteen is embedded with Task Force 1, the State's official search and rescue team.
Elsewhere in New York:
o The Salvation Army provided food and shelter assistance at two locations in Albany as Sandy impacted that area last night.
o On Long Island, The Salvation Army is assisting the American Red Cross with redistribution of supplies to eight shelters.
In Pennsylvania:
o The Salvation Army is serving approximately 1,000 meals per day in nine shelters throughout the Philadelphia area.
o In Lehigh Valley and West Chester, the Army is providing meals at three shelters.
In Stamford, CT:
o The Salvation Army has served more than 400 meals and will serve 650 dinners tonight using supplies collected for this year’s Thanksgiving meal.
The Salvation Army maintains a fleet of disaster vehicles and supply warehouses across the United States to enable speedy mobilization. There are more than 300 emergency response vehicles in the eastern and southern United States alone and nearly 600 units nationwide.
In addition to food, hydration, and emotional and spiritual care, The Salvation Army is also prepared to provide:
• Clean-up kits containing brooms, mops, buckets and cleaning supplies
• Hygiene kits
• Shower units
• First-aid supplies
• Communications support
The Salvation Army also provides a ministry of presence to residents looking for hope in the midst of turmoil. Pastoral care is available for all those impacted, but is not a prerequisite for receiving assistance. The Salvation Army encourages all residents of areas in the storm’s path to stay informed of and heed all warnings and evacuation orders. Disaster response professionals recommend having a three to five day supply of food and water for each member of your family as well as flashlights, medication and battery powered radios.
* A positive "Sandy" impact is that some snow ski resorts in the Central & Southern Appalachians are open early -- in some cases the earliest ever. Ironically most of the Northeast & New England still are mostly snowless as that area was in the strong, mild southerly flow east of Sandy's center. At Sugar Mtn. resort in N.C., opening for business on Halloween is the earliest ever beating Nov. 5th, 1976. Click here for more info.....the pic below was courtesy Sugar Mountain Resort.
* The upwelling & considerable wave action in the midst of "Sandy" have combined to sharply drop water temps. at First Coast beaches to near 70 degrees. Just a week ago water temps. were still in the upper 70s (map below courtesy "Weather Underground"). The bright yellow represents water temps. below 70...the 2nd shade of yellow is 71+.
