WEATHER ON STEROIDS - Sandy's Wake Up Call

Above Photo: Sandy on Long Beach NY 2012

We seem to have "Weather on Steriods" and the TREND is not good. We have just had three 100 year storms hit the Northeast alone in the last 3 years!

Hurricane/SuperStorm "Sandy" is the worst storm since New York was founded in 1624, It's preliminary costs are now over over $50 BILLION in damages. Suddenly Governors and Mayors are thinking that they may need an Amsterdam-type shield from future flooding.  The windborne debris blew out windows across the city - even blowing off the side of an old buildings.

Meanwhile, another major hurricane (called "cyclones" in that part of the world) is hitting INDIA. Before that CHINA has had several major hits with CAT 4 storms this year. Each storm kills crops and displaces people, causing more economic strife and economic uncertainty.

2012 has been the warmest on record since weather records were started. The TREND is for BIGGER storms, more POWERFUL storms.

We've seen record-setting TORNADOES the past couple years as well. Last year the HAIL was several FEET deep in parts of North Texas near Amarillo and Lubbock.

That means greater destruction to our human dwellings unless we use greater "armoring" of our buildings from future wind and storm surge brought on by these "SuperStorms."  Windborne debris breaking a window leads to immediate structural stress that can blow apart buildings and at a minimum inundate a building with water and the aftermath of mold and extensive repairs for months.

That scenario has just happened to tens of millions of people living in 12 states!  Those of us who went through IKE in 2008 and Katrina before that understand what it's like not having electric power for days and spoiled food and no access to gasoline or grocery stores.

On the radio today I listened to several people describe to NPR their experiences. One lady was in a building near the Jersey Shore pier that was shredded for miles. She said she was hoping that a plank would not crash through a window. None did, but what about next time?

It's time we started armoring our structures - AND taking action to reduce these damaging storms in the future.

Recently at a primary debate, Gov. Romney endorsed cutting back FEMA and sending the costs to the States and private sector. Can you imagine any state picking up a $50 Billion tab?  I can't imagine Texas taxpayers picking up the costs of Hurricane Ike or the residents of Louisiana paying 100% for the losses of Katrina. We are Americans and have to help each other out from these growth natural disasters.

I am speaking to key building management professionals about that issue the next couple days. Stay tuned for updates.

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Hurricane Sandy - FORGET THE TAPE - Get Armor Glass FILM

I can't believe it. Old myths die hard.

I just saw a piece on the TODAY show, which is doing hurricane coverage about Hurricane Sandy. They had on a guy with a window-- and they actually recommended putting tape on it like an "X" you saw in those old WW II movies. ABSURD!

THIS (below) is what people SHOULD be putting on their glass to prevent breach from wind-borne debris:

It's SECURITY WINDOW FILM - designed to withstand a 4.5 lb. Large Missile impact and hurricane-force winds.

Compare that to this tape job (below) I once saw:

And with tape, you will end up with this:

And BELOW is a Chase Bank on Long Island that has Armor Glass Security Film protecting its windows from hurricane-force winds:

The film is rated for a Large Missile impact (4.5 lbs)! It can take a 175 mile per hour wind.

The Chase Bank in the last photo is located on Long Island at Oakdale NY - which is getting 71 mile per hour winds right now. In 2009 we put our Hurricane security film on it (Clear version). No need for plywood. We'll see how it looks AFTER Sandy is gone...

Hurricane Sandy is the LOWEST pressure to ever hit the U.S> at 940 millibars. The big storm of 1938 was 946 millibars!

Storms are getting BIGGER. Stay tuned. Click "Subscribe" or "Follow" to get updates...and check out our website at www.ArmorGlass.com

Corpus House - Hollywood Dream

Here are a couple photos of the house in Corpus that we have been installing solar security window film this weekend.  HOLLYWOOD would LOVE that bathroom! 

Outside is a boat dock and a channel that leads to the Gulf of Mexico...now they have 24/7 protection from hurricane force winds, burglars, etc...

Sandy - Bearing Down on NE - Armor Glass on Chase

Sandy is bearing down on the Northeast - but at least one Chase Bank on Long Island will have protection from wind-borne debris. In 2009 Armor Glass installed our hurricane-rated security film on a new Chase Bank built in Oakdale NY (its on Long Island).

At the time we were told that it was the first time hurricane film had been used on Long Island. In 2011, Hurricane Irene slammed into the area. Now it is Sandy.  Is this a pattern?

Stay tuned - this beast will, at a minimum, knock out power for tens of millions. 

October Surprise - HURRICANE Sandy

We have an unusual October Surprise - a CAT 2 Hurricane named Sandy that the weather forecasters say will hit the Northeast - and could knock out power to "tens of millions" of people - right before election day.

Quoting the Weather Channel:

"What kind of impacts are we talking about?
Destructive winds, heavy rain, major coastal flooding and beach erosion would pummel portions of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions between later Sunday and Tuesday of next week. Of course, the high winds would extend inland, with the potential for downed trees and powerlines. Widespread power outages could last for days.
(MORE: Latest "Sandy" Maps | Tropical Update)
This setup could even wrap in just enough cold air on its western edge to produce wet snow, possibly heavy, in some parts of the central Appalachians (mountains of West Virginia and Pennsylvania).
Residents from New England to New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia should remain vigilant and be prepared to take action in the next few days."

Normally Hurricane season is long gone before it officially ends November 1 - but in this case, the extra heat has produced a late season powerful storm that will disrupt MILLIONS of people in the Northeast - as far inland as Maryland and Virginia.

What impact this storm could have on a close election is hard to say - STAY TUNED!

A Job in Beautiful corpus christi

During the next couple of days we are putting our tinted security film on a house facing the Gulf of Mexico in Corpus Christi, a beautiful city.  It is a monster size house and has tempered windows facing the Gulf, with no protection from windborne debris during  a future hurricane, or a burglar breaking in.

So today we are putting on the security film. Tomorrow we will be bonding it to the frames with a special structural sealant called Dow 995 - you HAVE to use the 995 on tempered glass or else it will detach from the frame and fall out when struck. Plate glass doesn't need the bonding. We have seen other companies that fail to do the bonding - so the glass falls out later at the worse possible time.

We believe in doing it RIGHT.