This Morning’s Bulletin — 9.19.17

September 19, 2017September 21, 2017 Beth Young 0 Comments

Waiting for José in downtown Montauk Monday.

Good Morning!

The National Hurricane Center's 5 a.m. Tuesday Forecast Cone for Hurricane José. — The National Hurricane Center’s 5 a.m. Tuesday Forecast Cone for Hurricane José.

• We’re in for some pretty snotty weather over the next couple days due to Hurricane José’s passage to our east out in the Atlantic Ocean. As of the National Weather Service’s latest local tropical cyclone briefing at 6 p.m. Monday, the East End was expecting a 40 to 50 percent chance of tropical storm-force winds (between 39 and 73 miles per hour) between 6 p.m. tonight and 6 p.m. Wednesday. As of the National Hurricane Center’s 5 a.m. Tuesday briefing, José was a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 75 miles per hour and little weakening expected until Wednesday, and is expected to pass, at its closest, 165 miles southeast of Montauk Point. Tropical storm-force winds currently extend 310 miles out from this large storm.

• East Hampton Town issued an advisory Monday afternoon that the town can expect winds between 30 and 40 miles per hour, with a 2 to 3 foot tidal surge and 3 to 5 inches of rain, with the worst surge likely during the Wednesday morning tide cycle. “Significant erosion is expected along the shoreline,” according to the town. Southampton Town issued an advisory Monday morning that the “Town of Southampton could see up to 5 inches of rain and coastal waves could be increased to 20 feet. Areas prone to flooding should be prepared for possible flooding.”

• PSEG-Long Island is accepting power outage reports at 1.800.490.0075 or by texting “OUT” to 773454.

• For storm-related non-emergency incidents, East Hampton residents are advised to contact the East Hampton Town Police Department at 631.537.7575. Southampton Town is asking that non-emergencies such as tree limbs down that are not connected to wires be reported to 631.728.500. In an emergency, the towns want residents to always dial 911.

• This storm is due to come its closest to us in conjunction with the new moon, when astronomical high tides are already above norm. We’re expecting the greatest tidal surge during Wednesday morning’s high tide cycle. Here are the high tides across the East End for the next two days:

Sept. 19
Plum Gut Harbor: 9:34 a.m., 9:59 p.m.
Montauk Harbor: 8:42 a.m., 9:07 p.m.
Greenport: 10:11 a.m., 10:36 p.m.
Mattituck Inlet: 11:16 a.m., 11:39 p.m.
Sag Harbor: 10:06 a.m., 10:31 p.m.
New Suffolk: 11:33 a.m., 11:58 p.m.
South Jamesport: 11:40 a.m.
Shinn. Inlet: 7:08 a.m., 7:24 p.m.

Sept. 20
Plum Gut Harbor: 10:19 a.m., 10:44 p.m.
Montauk Harbor: 9:27 a.m., 9:52 p.m.
Greenport: 10:56 a.m., 11:21 p.m.
Mattituck Inlet: 12:02 p.m.
Sag Harbor: 10:51 a.m., 11:16 p.m.
New Suffolk: 12:18 p.m.
South Jamesport: 12:05 a.m., 12:25 p.m.
Shinn. Inlet: 7:53 a.m., 8:08 p.m.

• The East Hampton Town Board will host a presentation on the town’s possible attempt to file a formal request to the Federal Aviation Administration for noise restrictions at its municipal airport at its 10 a.m. work session at town hall this morning. We’ll have the details this afternoon.

• The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has postponed a public hearing scheduled for tonight in Hauppauge on the third draft of its mute swan management plan due to storm conditions. Unlike earlier drafts, this current plan “gives priority to non-lethal management techniques.” A new date has not yet been set. The draft plan is available online here and comments can be sent via email to Wildlife@dec.ny.gov.

• Republican East Hampton Town Board candidates have cancelled their listening session scheduled tonight at the Amagansett American Legion Hall. We’ll have the details when they reschedule. No word yet on whether an East Hampton Democratic Committee forum on a proposed New York State Constitutional Convention scheduled for tonight at 7 p.m. at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Amagansett is still on. We will update this post when we hear more, and expect a growing list of cancellations and postponements on our website throughout the day.

• On a bright note, we’re expecting mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s Thursday through next Monday.

• If watching the storm outside isn’t your cup of tea, curl up and think about the entertainment potential when our Between the Lines columnist, Tim Kelly, runs for president in 2020. Read his latest online here.

And that’s the way things look at dawn’s light here today.