thanks clark and hf

here in southern nj coast i've always thought that we too are protected as much by the outer banks as the ebb and flow of the weather patterns.
what concerns me most is that people here won't take a hurricane watch or warning very seriously. i feel we truly do have a "that won't happen here" outlook. so many storms over the years (snow storms, northeasters,ect) have come up the coast, been forcasted to affect us and then made a right turn at the outer banks, that people will not take a watch or warning seriously. of course if everyone up here proves me wrong and do take the watches and warnings to heart, we like everyone else along the east coast will have the "fun" of evacuating the coast. that should give the media alot of good footage of long lines of traffic if it happens during the tourist season.(june - mid september).

i'm looking extensively at the 1821 hurricane that moved right along the nj coast for my masters thesis (mostly for what it did to new york city), possibly still a cat 3. there is a well-documented record that cape may was in the eye for about a half an hour. getting one that big on your coast is extremely rare, but the stakes are pretty crazy as far as how much they can break. last direct hit on nj was september 1903. gotten solid impacts from plenty of nc-landfallers as well. -HF