This is the perfect weekend to be in New York City. On Friday at noon the thermomators read 70 degrees, and it stands the chance of jumping to 90 by Sunday!

The GaySocialites will be out in full force this weekend snapping pics for the GaySocialites.com Party Blog, so look for us and say hi!

If you're out in the wee hours that transition Saturday night until Sunday morning, come by Club Rush in Chelsea. They've asked me to come and unofficially kick-off summer with a sexy Hot Body Contest!

Enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend and party like a rockstar! You know how some warm temperatures and sunny weather can bring out the beautiful people!

If you're looking for things to do, check out the GaySocialites.com Party Blog for our picks!

Posted by Charles Winters at 2:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The same storm system that killed eight people in Oklahoma is moving towards Tennessee and Ohio and folks in the southern states are bracing themselves!

The biggest problem is that those same families preparing the for the storm front that carried tornadoes and storms through Texas and Oklahoma are still recovering from the latest round of snow and ice storms in the Tennessee Valley.

Meteorologists says the strong winds in the new storm front could cause ice to fall from trees and lead to wide-spread power outages. There have already been reports out of middle Tennessee saying the winds are so bad that several buildings have lost their roofs.

Posted by Charles Winters at 3:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

The National Weather Service has issued a snow warning for New York City starting on Friday. Let it snow all weekend long!

SNOW IS EXPECTED TO OVERSPREAD THE REGION FRIDAY MORNING...AND COULD BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES IN THE AFTERNOON. THE SNOW MAY MIX WITH SLEET AND RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE SOUTH SHORE OF LONG ISLAND. THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 OR MORE INCHES.

A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW...SLEET...OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS.

Take a look at that expended forecast from WCBS in New York! They are reporting that we might get a foot of snow, and it could stick around until Christmas! There's nothing better than a good snow for the holidays!

Posted by Charles Winters at 3:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

AFTERNOON CHATTER

Tell me that isn't a beautiful picture! It was taken today in New Orleans where snow blanketed the city measuring up to 4 inches in some areas.

Residents gazed out the window at the snow fall, while city workers slashed around like school kids in a Normal Rockwell painting.

As beautiful as the snow may be, many New Orleans residents are without electricity and basically stranded as many roads and bridges are closed.

The snow extends into parts of Mississippi giving the south a rare little touch of Christmas cheer! Meanwhile, it is basically flooding in New York. Where's our snow, damn it?!

Posted by Charles Winters at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hurricane Paloma lost steam and was downgraded to a Tropical Depression just after hitting Cuba's coast over the weekend.

Paloma hundreds of homes along Cuba's southern coast, but quickly weakened from a dangerous Category 4 storm into a tropical depression in less than a day.

The Associated Press is reporting that the late-season storm toppled a major communications tower, interrupted electricity and phone service, but no storm-related deaths were reported.

Cuba has been pretty successful at evacuating those on coastal areas to higher grounds in time to avoid causalities from hurricanes and tropical storms. Across central and eastern Cuba, 1.2 million people were evacuate for Hurricane Paloma.

Posted by Charles Winters at 2:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Balinese Room, a landmark Texas nightclub, has been destroyed by Hurricane Ike.

Once a very popular dance and gambling hall in Galveston was basically washed away by the catastrophic storm.

The Balinese Room was built on Galveston's sea wall and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. It extended 600 feet into the Gulf of Mexico.

After surviving Hurricane Carla in 1961 and Alicia in 1983, Ike proved too much for the Texas Balinese as battering waves ripped the building apart.

Posted by Charles Winters at 4:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Damage in the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Ike is very widespread. Areas in Texas including the Galveston and Houston areas as well as some coastal lines as far as Eastern Louisiana are feeling the effects of Ike.

The biggest problem is that the storm isn't over yet. Winds are blowing people away and flood waters are washing through neighborhoods and homes.

Search and rescue teams are standing by, and plan to move into the affected parts of southeast Texas later today to search for storm victims.

"We expected a major storm, and our expectations, unfortunately, came true," said a spokesperson for the Texas Governor's office.

"It is too early to send search and rescue teams into the devastated areas. They are on stand by. They’re ready to go. The weather needs to clear up a little bite before they can actually go in, take a look around, and see what the actual devastation was."

Due to treacherous conditions, rescue and clean-up efforts could take a while.

"Power is almost 100 percent out," Houston Mayor Bill White said this morning. "We have gotten 4700 emergency calls into the 9-1-1 center. The good news is, as the winds are diminishing, we plan to have some of our emergency crews bacdk on the streets by 10 this morning."

It is way to early to access the damage, but the Associated Press is reporting that nearly $1 trillion of insured items were hit by Ike.

Posted by Charles Winters at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It is amazing what we can see with today's technology.

As the Gulf Coast preprares for Hurricane Ike, people from all over the world can watch the huge storm hit in Galveston, Texas.

If you head over to Galveston.com, they've actually got web cams that show part of the city. Here's your chance to watch Hurricane Ike roll through.

The interesting thing about the web cams at Galveston.com is that you can catch several different angles. You can watch the Strand Cam from the Strand Historic District, the Wave Cam from The Spot Restaurant & Tiki Bar, the Seawall Cam from Casa Del Mar and many more web cam placed along the shore.

The entire Galveston area has been warmed by the Weather Association to either leave or face death.

Ike is currently moving into Texas, and we'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, keep your eyes on the web cams!

Posted by Charles Winters at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Barack Obama looked very Presidential over the weekend by staying out of the way as the Gulf Coast prepares for Hurricane Gustav.

Like President Bush, Obama said he would not travel to the Gulf Coast area so that he doesn't interfere with rescue and evacuation efforts.

Instead the Democratic nominee said he will tap into his e-mail list of volunteers and donors to help with the relief effort if Hurricane Gustav wreaks havoc on New Orleans and surrounding areas.

Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin rushed to Mississippi to tour rescue sites. I'm not sure what that accomplishes other than a few good photos ops.

Strike one up for Obama.

Posted by Charles Winters at 6:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Mayor Ray Nagin is taking an aggressive approach to Hurricane Gustav in hopes that we won't have another Katrina tragedy.

In addition to putting a dusk til' dawn curfew in affect, Mayor Nagin has also made a pledge that anyone caught steeling (like these above during Hurricane Katrina) will go straight to prison.

Nagin isn't sending the thieves to just any ole prison, looters will evidently go straight to Angola Prison.

"You will not get a pass this time. Anyone caught looting in New Orleans will go directly to the Big House in the general population. You will go directly to Angola Prison and God bless you if you go there.''

Angola is the Louisiana State Penitentiary. It's a maximum security prison, and the inmates there do farm work to keep themselves busy.

That doesn't sound like fun, so looters better think twice!

Posted by Charles Winters at 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Every year on Labor Day, gays and lesbians pack into the French Quarter in New Orleans to celebrate Southern Decadence.

This year, Hurricane Gustav has basically rained on the parade!

Most news outlets are reporting that all of the gulf area is like a ghost town. Governor Bobby Jindal has declared a state of emergency in most parishes. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has ordered mandatory evacuations and a dusk til dawn curfew for the entire city. He says anyone caught looting or breaking the curfew will be taken straight to prison.

Nagin, of course, was the Mayor when Katrina hit. He's taking a much more aggressive approach this time - as he should!

Some party-goers are sticking around though!

Troy Meryhew, in town for Southern Decadence, said the storm hasn't effected his party except for the sawing and hammering as his hotel boarded up windows. He said his flight on Monday was still scheduled to depart, and the hotel was staying open.

“As long as our hotel's open and there's liquor, we're fine,” Meryhew said.

I think you should all get the hell out of dodge! Better safe than sorry!

Posted by Charles Winters at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

BREAKING NEWS

President George Bush announced this morning that he will not be attending the Republican National Convention in St. Paul this week, so that he can be available when Gustav makes landfall in the Gulf of Mexico.

The RNC may actually be canceled all together, but the party for the Republicans will definitely be toned down.

Bush plans to ride the storm out in Texas to stay close but out of the way. The airspace above the President has to be clear at all times, so moving closer to the action might impair rescue or evacuation efforts.

Vice-President Dick Cheney is also going to skip the convention. The Vice-President says he is heading for the county of Georgia as tension remains there.

No word yet on whether or not Republican nominee-to-be John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin will make it to the convention themselves.

Posted by Charles Winters at 1:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

New Orleans residents are bracing for another big hurricane as Gustav is aimed at the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, on the busy streets of the big easy, gays and lesbians from all over the world are celebrating Labor Day at the annual "Southern Decadence" festival.

Even though many residents are heading out of Gustav's path, we're told the party goes on down on Bourbon Street.

"No one here seems overly concerned," said Boiparty.com's Alan Picus who is in New Orleans for "Southern Decadence."

"The boat is ready," Picus joked. "I may be sailing back to NYC!"

It looks like the storm could hit by Monday as "Southern Decadence" comes to a close. Gustav is currently over Cuba and moving for the gulf quickly. The National Guard is on standby. New Orleans can't handle another major hurricane disaster!

Posted by Charles Winters at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

An earthquake rattled the waters of Vancouver Island on Thursday morning, but authorities say we don't have to worry about a tsunami despite local fears.

According to Natural Resources Canada, several quakes have rocked this area since Monday. They also say that while the quake was pretty powerful at 6.1, it evidently isn't big enough to cause a tsunami.

This morning's quake hit just after 5:30 a.m. local time, and was the largest in a series of earthquakes occurring in the seismically active region all week long.

Glen Plummer, spokesman for Emergency Management British Columbia, the province's emergency preparedness agency, said Thursday's pre-dawn earthquake was "nothing to be alarmed about," as it was "not an unusual event".

No reports of casualties or damage had come in to the agency from Vancouver Island or the surrounding area, Plummer said.

Evidently the Vancouver Island area experiences an earthquake daily, but not all of them are felt.

Posted by Charles Winters at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hurricane Gustav is expected to make landfall later today in Haiti and may hit the Gulf of Mexico, home to more than a fifth of U.S. oil production.

Gustav's powerful winds strengthened to 90 miles (145 kilometers) per hour, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory just before 8 a.m. local Miami time. The system, located 75 miles south-southeast of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, was heading northwest at 9 mph.

Chances are within a week, the hurricane will be crashing into the Gulf of Mexico.

Gustav will probably intensify into a Category 2 hurricane later today with winds of at least 96 mph and may develop into a Category 3 or 4 by the end of the week.

Posted by Charles Winters at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Atlantic hurricane season's seventh tropical storm Gustav formed in the central Caribbean on Monday and could strengthen into a hurricane before striking Haiti, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Haiti has about 9 million impoverished residents, so if tropical storm Gustav could pack a punch even if it is not upgraded to a hurricane before landfall. Meteorologists expect as much as 25 inches of rain in some places. Floods and landslides were possible across Haiti's southern peninsula, and the forecasts suggested the eye could pass very closely to the capital of Port-au-Prince, home to nearly 3 million people.

Hurricane warnings were issued for the southern coasts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti west of Barahona.

From there, Gustav is aimed at Florida.

Posted by Charles Winters at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Tropical storm Fay is officially hitting the Florida keys, and it looks the angry storm may work her way up Florida all the way to the panhandle.

Tropical Storm Fay made landfall over Key West, Florida, today after killing about a dozen people on its path through the Caribbean.

The storm may hit the state's west coast between Naples and Tampa Bay tomorrow, packing winds of at least 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour. Crude oil fell as the storm is expected to miss oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

Anyone vacationing in Florida has basically been encouraged to bail. The state is expecting a disaster from Fay whether she remains a tropical storm or is upgraded to a hurricane.

We'll keep tracking Fay's path, and we'll keep you posted!

Posted by Charles Winters at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Tropical storm Fay is headed for Florida, and she might just be Hurricane Fay before it is all said and done.

Wondering about Fay's path? Here's what the News Journal is reporting:

Fay is expected to begin affecting the Keys today and most of Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday but to what degree remains only an educated guess. It's likely hurricane specialists at the National Hurricane Center will have better answers today, once Fay crosses Cuba and enters the Florida straits or Gulf of Mexico.

Local emergency managers will have a statewide conference call this morning to hear the latest. Volusia County will wait to make any major decisions after that, said Charlie Craig, emergency management director.

The hurricane center noticed a shift in Fay's track as she was merging slightly to the left Sunday evening. That's both good and bad for East Central Florida.

They miss the tropical storm's eye, but the shift increased the threat of tornadoes for this area from the outer bands circulating out over the Atlantic Ocean.

If you're in Fay's path, you may want to get the hell out of dodge.

Posted by Charles Winters at 2:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Tropical storm Fay's a bitch, and she's headed for the U.S. After soaking Haiti on Friday, Fay looks like she is going to drinch Florida.

“Hurricanes are part of our lives,” Carlos Alvarez, mayor of Miami-Dade County, tells people, adding: “Every time you get groceries, add a few extra cans. Have some jugs to fill up with water.”

Despite their history of hurricanes and storms, with Fay on the way it looks like some people will try to stick it out no matter how bad she is.

“Officials tell us that they are really quite worried about people who would not cooperate, who are not aware of what was about to happen,” said Robert Blendon, director of a Harvard report studying post-Katrina hurrican patterns.

He added: “And just thinking of the mobile homes, if people stay and they really are blown all over, public officials, ambulance services, Red Cross units have to go find these people and provide them with support and services.”

Cuba has already issued a hurricane warning for Fay.

Posted by Charles Winters at 3:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hurricane Dolly has hit shore, and this bitch is a doozy!

Dolly is lashing the US-Mexico coast with 120 mile-per-hour winds forcing evacuations on both sides of the border near Brownsville, Texas.

Thousands are without electricity, and 14 counties in Texas have already been declared disaster areas.

Weather forecasters warn that the area could get up to 15 inches of rain compliments of hurricane Dolly. The storm is expected to produce flooding and breach levees in the populated Rio Grande Valley.

FEMA, the National Guard and the Red Cross are standing by to move in after the storm passes.

What do you say we all have a hurricane party with a "Dolly" theme?

What could me appropriate for a hurricane party then "Islands in the Stream?"

Posted by Charles Winters at 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here comes Dolly...

No! Not that Dolly. I'm talking about Hurricane Dolly who seems to be headed for the Gulf of Mexico likely to hit both south of the border and in Texas.

The center of the storm was about 55 miles north-northeast of Progreso, Mexico this morning with maximum sustained winds near 50 mph.

A tropical storm watch was also in effect on the Texas coast from north of Port O'Connor to San Luis Pass and from La Pesca, Mexico, northward to Rio San Fernando.

Dolly is moving west-northwest near 18 mph.

And since I go your hopes up about some Dolly Parton:

Let's hope Hurricane Dolly is just "Traveling Through" too!

Posted by Charles Winters at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hurricane Bertha is officially the Atlantic season's first. Now, Bertha has strengthened to a Category 3 storm.

The Atlantic season's first hurricane is still far from land, but the National Hurricane Center says it now has maximum sustained winds of 115 miles an hour.

The center of the storm is located about 730 miles east-northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands and about 1,150 miles southeast of Bermuda.

The hurricane center says Bertha is expected to work its way toward Bermuda. It's still too early to tell if Bertha will make it to the island, but forecasters urged residents to keep an eye on her.

Posted by Charles Winters at 1:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Charles Winters at 12:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)