4/16/2007 Update:

Statement from Mayor David Roberts, City of Hoboken

“It has been a trying 24 hours for the City of Hoboken. We had a 4 alarm fire and are experiencing the rain storm of the century. I want to let the citizens of Hoboken know that our emergency services are fully functional and able to reach every resident.

“At 4 pm yesterday, I requested the Office of Emergency Management Professionals to declare a State of Emergency due to the rising tide and storm surge. The request was granted at approximately 5:20 pm.

“Last night and early this morning, I was on the scene of the fire at General Lumber on Clinton Street. The Fire Department did an excellent job protecting nearby residential buildings from the flames. We have now restored power to many of the area residents and are working to get the rest back.

“After conferring with emergency management professionals, I am most concerned with the high tide to occur around 7:30 pm. I would like to urge residents to stay home and for others to not travel into Hoboken this afternoon or evening.

“I want to thank the city’s emergency responders for their hard work and dilligence in keeping our city safe and will be making further comments soon”.

4/15/2007 Update:

There’s a good chance our already abnormal flooding tendencies in Hoboken will be worse than usual over the next day. The National Weather Service says: “THE STORM WILL ALSO COINCIDE WITH A PERIOD OF HIGHER THAN NORMAL SPRING TIDES.”

One reader suggest we allow Pedi-Boats in addition to Pedi-Cabs. Send your flood photos in, and I’ll post them later this afternoon.

4/12/2007:
If what they’re predicting is even partially true, we may be in for some serious flooding around Hoboken again late this weekend heading into Monday. See what happened the last time we had a major rain storm?

Get your cameras ready and submit what kind of carnage you see! Vote accordingly next month, too!

From Accuweather.com:

An already memorable April rife with cold and snow may still be holding its best cards, at least with respect to the Northeast. The newest weather player will be a storm making its way eastward from the Four Corners starting Thursday. Impacts across the midsection will include strong to severe thunderstorms, soaking rain and locally heavy snow. But it is the behavior of this storm upon reaching the Eastern Seaboard that really bears watching. As the storm settles off the mid-Atlantic Seaboard early Sunday, a shot of cold air will break loose out of Canada. Warm, moist air will sweep northward ahead of the storm. The clash of contrasts will, in all likelihood, give rise to a strong Atlantic storm –a nor’easter. And building high pressure over eastern Canada will further boost the wind potential of this storm. What would be the likely impacts of a powerful coastal storm Sunday into Monday. Heavy, potentially flooding, rains over the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts, for one. Also high winds and even tidal flooding, as the tidal range will be higher than usual. Inland is where the storm could have its greatest impact with heavy, wet, windswept snow over northern and western New York and Pennsylvania. This is a dynamic weather situation that we at AccuWeather.com Headlines will be watching closely and updating as the weekend draws near.

Technorati Tags: April 2007, flooding, Hoboken, Nor`easter