WATERBURY, Vt. -
Tropical Storm Irene is still fresh in the minds of many. 14 months later, clean-up isn't complete.
But this time around, people are already on high alert. We don't want you worried, just simply prepared, so I spoke with someone from the Emergency Management Department who had some great reminders.
Thursday, the wind was blowing, and the water was choppy... making it already feel like a storm is brewing.
"We're preparing for everything," Mark Bosma said.
Strong winds, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, downed trees and power outages are possible, so the Emergency Management Spokesperson Mark Bosma says get ready this weekend; have flash lights, food and water on hand.
"We encourage people to have some sort of an evacuation plan that takes you up on higher ground," Bosma added.
Several people have already started to prepare and are cleaning up their yards, so that all of their leaves don't end up in the storm drain.
"Something as simple as leaves clogging a culvert can lead to a lot of damage," Bosma said.
Hurricane Sandy already blasted through Cuba and made landfall in Jamaica, and although it's early to predict what the impact will be on the East Coast, Sandy's wrath could be here Tuesday.
"I'm giving it about a 70 percent chance that it will affect us in some way shape or form," FOX44/ABC22 Meteorologist Steve Glazier said.
When I asked our very own Skytracker meteorologist about Sandy, he said wind gusts exceeding one hundred miles per hour tore through towns, but said Sandy should weaken if she hits us.
"My primary scare and threat is the rain," Glazier said.
Governor Peter Shumlin is also keeping a close eye on the storm and may even declare a state of emergency as early as Friday.
"We're following it very very closely," Gov. Shumlin said.
Bosma says that makes it easier to activate the National Guard. "We may need some of their assets like high water trucks, we may need them to undertake some sandbagging operations, things like that."
Our best advice is to monitor FOX44 and ABC 22 closely, because our weather team will be tracking the storm, and we'll have updated information as it becomes available.
If this becomes a worst case scenario, the Red Cross will get involved should people need shelter.
