Hurricane Florence 2018

[west point]

This can be one big dozy of a storm. Now forget CAT 4. NOAA expect CAT 5 Tuesday. worse is that diameter has doubled in last 24 hours. Anyone from Atlanta / Savannah to New England should be prepared. If track should take it up east coast could be another "Sandy" for NYC area.

Of course most areas will be missed but some where It is going to be a disaster.

 

[west point]

After thought. With the amount of rain forecast there is always the slight chance that Colonial pipeline or others could suffer a washout. suggest keeping your cars full of gasoline ! Remember one of the 2 colonial pipelines got washed out a while back in Alabama.

 

[CAMISSY55]

The service alert reads like regular refund policies will apply to reservations on trains canceled because of Florence. Pretty darned harsh iyam.

From the “Service Modified in Advance of Hurricane Florence”

“Customers with reservations on trains that are being modified will typically be accommodated on trains with similar departure times or another day. Amtrak will gladly waive additional charges for customers looking to change their reservation during the modified schedule by calling our reservation center at 800-USA-RAIL. Anyone planning to travel should check their train status on Amtrak.com or our smartphone apps.

Amtrak regrets any inconvenience. This information is correct as of the above time and date. Information is subject to change as conditions warrant.”

That statement is far from definitive.

 

[TylerP42]

Anyone in the line of fire - get out now. Evacuate. There is a potential this will hit as a Category 5. Infrastructure will probably be devastated, and power may be out for weeks if not months.

 

[pennyk]

The service alert reads like regular refund policies will apply to reservations on trains canceled because of Florence. Pretty darned harsh iyam.

From the “Service Modified in Advance of Hurricane Florence”

“Customers with reservations on trains that are being modified will typically be accommodated on trains with similar departure times or another day. Amtrak will gladly waive additional charges for customers looking to change their reservation during the modified schedule by calling our reservation center at 800-USA-RAIL. Anyone planning to travel should check their train status on Amtrak.com or our smartphone apps.

Amtrak regrets any inconvenience. This information is correct as of the above time and date. Information is subject to change as conditions warrant.”

That statement is far from definitive.

In the past, I have had trains canceled due to storms or flooding. I always received a full refund of cash and/or points.

 

[Skyline]

I have homes in the Shenandoah Valley (Luray VA) and the Delmarva Peninsula (north of Rehoboth Beach). When these events occur, I can usually move to the other but this time both may be in the path of the storm. Kinda maybe wish I was on the Canadian right now!

 

[CAMISSY55]

The service alert reads like regular refund policies will apply to reservations on trains canceled because of Florence. Pretty darned harsh iyam.

From the Service Modified in Advance of Hurricane Florence
Customers with reservations on trains that are being modified will typically be accommodated on trains with similar departure times or another day. Amtrak will gladly waive additional charges for customers looking to change their reservation during the modified schedule by calling our reservation center at 800-USA-RAIL. Anyone planning to travel should check their train status on Amtrak.com or our smartphone apps.

Amtrak regrets any inconvenience. This information is correct as of the above time and date. Information is subject to change as conditions warrant.

That statement is far from definitive.

In the past, I have had trains canceled due to storms or flooding. I always received a full refund of cash and/or points.

I was countering the the point that this statement indicated that Amtrak would treat passengers harshly if they had to cancel reservations because of the hurricane. I'm sorry if I didn't clearly state my meaning. In my experience Amtrak has always been more than fair in similar situations.

 

[jis]

I would recommend that those in the danger zone follow advice from the local emergency management folks and act accordingly instead of listening to hysterical advice from people from far away.

During Matthew and Irma I found it incredibly irritating to be harangued by folks from New England and Colorado on what I ought to be doing. I just followed the recommendations from the county EM folks.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I have homes in the Shenandoah Valley (Luray VA) and the Delmarva Peninsula (north of Rehoboth Beach). When these events occur, I can usually move to the other but this time both may be in the path of the storm. Kinda maybe wish I was on the Canadian right now!

At present I think your Delaware home might be the better bet.

 

[jis]

Being on the Canadian would definitely be safer at this point [emoji57] Luray faces the prospect of a fresh water flood event. How far the nasty right front outer bands will reach up the coast will determine the situation in Delmarva. It is at present some 450-500 mile wide storm. Follow local EM advice.

 

[City of Miami]

The service alert reads like regular refund policies will apply to reservations on trains canceled because of Florence. Pretty darned harsh iyam.

From the “Service Modified in Advance of Hurricane Florence”

“Customers with reservations on trains that are being modified will typically be accommodated on trains with similar departure times or another day. Amtrak will gladly waive additional charges for customers looking to change their reservation during the modified schedule by calling our reservation center at 800-USA-RAIL. Anyone planning to travel should check their train status on Amtrak.com or our smartphone apps.

Amtrak regrets any inconvenience. This information is correct as of the above time and date. Information is subject to change as conditions warrant.”

That statement is far from definitive.

In the past, I have had trains canceled due to storms or flooding. I always received a full refund of cash and/or points.

Yes, and we seem to be in a new

Amtrak world with the current CEO. In the service alert of yesterday afternoon linked in post #23 it mentions REFUNDS once with a link to the normal refund policies. The previous paragraph is about modification and re-booking which may not be desirable by everyone... ...like if I'm going to NYC to see a show and have tickets & hotel reservations etc.

 

[JRR]

Onboard #98, with our “Modified” reservations! 98 is cancelled tomorrow on, so I’m sure those affected will get their full refund.

 

[pennyk]

Onboard #98, with our “Modified” reservations! 98 is cancelled tomorrow on, so I’m sure those affected will get their full refund.

Be safe. I am glad you were able to get out. As you may know, the Silver Meteor is my favorite train. If you have time, please PM me and tell me the names of the sleeping car attendants. I can then travel with you vicariously.

 

[JoeBas]

I would recommend that those in the danger zone follow advice from the local emergency management folks and act accordingly instead of listening to hysterical advice from people from far away.

During Matthew and Irma I found it incredibly irritating to be harangued by folks from New England and Colorado on what I ought to be doing. I just followed the recommendations from the county EM folks.

This. For folks in the area with a history in the area, for wind they should be thinking less "Hugo" and more "Fran".

What concerns me is the rainfall, which has the potential to be a real, serious problem for folks well, well inland from the coast. Would not want to try to ride this out in the Research Triangle without a rubber zodiac. Remember the flooding we saw in SC a couple years back that devastated Columbia? Might have been a dress rehearsal...

 

[chrsjrcj]

I would recommend that those in the danger zone follow advice from the local emergency management folks and act accordingly instead of listening to hysterical advice from people from far away.

During Matthew and Irma I found it incredibly irritating to be harangued by folks from New England and Colorado on what I ought to be doing. I just followed the recommendations from the county EM folks.

This. For folks in the area with a history in the area, for wind they should be thinking less "Hugo" and more "Fran".

What concerns me is the rainfall, which has the potential to be a real, serious problem for folks well, well inland from the coast. Would not want to try to ride this out in the Research Triangle without a rubber zodiac. Remember the flooding we saw in SC a couple years back that devastated Columbia? Might have been a dress rehearsal...

I was reading up on Hugo a few nights ago, once it appeared that this was a threat to the mid-Atlantic. What amazed me about that storm, was hurricane force winds were felt as far inland as Charlotte! I guess it was moving at a pretty good clip when it made landfall. Definitely appears to be the opposite as Florence. No doubt it will be a coastal bruiser, but also looks like it's shaping up to be a significant flooding threat.

 

[Skyline]

I have homes in the Shenandoah Valley (Luray VA) and the Delmarva Peninsula (north of Rehoboth Beach). When these events occur, I can usually move to the other but this time both may be in the path of the storm. Kinda maybe wish I was on the Canadian right now!

At present I think your Delaware home might be the better bet.

It's shaping up that way for Delaware. It's not going to be mine much longer -- under contract. I'm planning a trip there next week anyway.

Agree, Luray may be hit as hard as we were in 1996 (Fran). My home, fortunately, is on higher ground and far away from both streams and trees. But I'd suffer the same power outages as everyone else. I hope we all live to tell stories about it years from now!

 

[RichieRich]

ok OKaaay....I din't scroll THAT far down the page!!! Sorrrrieee.

 

[Dakota 400]

Some of our TV Meteorologists are starting to say that parts of Ohio--including my area in Southwest Ohio--could experience some effects of this hurricane, possibly starting late Sunday.

 

[west point]

As of 1650 EDT SW of Atlanta we are getting very weird clouds blowing in from the east with times of spotty rain at times and a couple quick downpours. Also some wind from the NE..

 

[Train2104]

The service plan as described leaves a set in Roanoke and a set in Norfolk (and possibly Newport News). Are they planning on keeping them there for the storm?!

 

[user 1215]

A lot of these cancellations were WAY premature. First of all, it would behoove Amtrak to be available until the last moment to facilitate evacuees. With the storm not even expected to make landfall until Friday evening, Amtrak could have waited until the outer bands actually started scraping land before any cancellations, based on the projected path and strength. Now, Amtrak has been down for nearly two perfectly normal days while Florence just lingers out there.

Even with trajectory and strength changes, Amtrak in NC and SC are far enough inland that a 12 hour cancellation notice would have been plenty to get the trains out of the way.

Meanwhile, I'm watching flight radar apps showing hundreds of aircraft aloft over the Outer Banks all across the SE US.

 

[MARC Rider]

I noticed that thr Northbound Palmetto was cancelled last night (9/12). Nirth of Washington this train is supposed to replace a Northeast Regional that was cancelled a couple of years ago. I'm a little surprised they didn't run a WAS - NYP train to cover the NEC passengers. I guess they put them all on 66.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

I saw the southbound Palmetto at Princeton Junction this morning, so it was running, but I don't know how far south it will go.

 

[user 1215]

I think Palmetto is supposed to run as normal between WAS and NYP.

 

[west point]

Meanwhile, I'm watching flight radar apps showing hundreds of aircraft aloft over the Outer Banks all across the SE US.

It all depends on the height of the storm. Been some we could fly over others no so. Although not always true the stronger the Category the higher ?