We started the morning with some Giuliani-9/11 news, so here's some end-of-the-day Giuliani-9/11 musings. There's an awesome update to one of our favorite Rudy Giuliani stories - the story, or mystery, of why was the Office of Emergency Management's emergency center placed at 7 World Trade Center. Here's how it goes: more ›

The OEM site also has a page of evacuation instructions that is intended for hurricanes, but we think it applies in this case. A Hurricane Evacuation Zone Finder will tell you if your neighborhood is at risk from storm surge flooding or you can call 311 and ask (we tried calling and it works!). The city's Ready New York brochure is available for download in a .pdf format and in multiple language versions. more ›

As you read this, you’re probably sitting in a super air-conditioned office, apartment, or café. Our advice to you is to stay put and allow us to remind you that it’s the hottest day of the year out there. In fact, Central Park is going to be the hottest it’s been since 1933 , the last August 1st when the scales tipped 100 degrees. Now Gothamist Health isn’t going to pretend to understand how the weather works, what with pressures and fronts and various Nino’s. But we do know that weather like this can seriously knock you on your ass. The mercury’s predicted to hit 102 degrees today but will feel well above that, with the heat index hitting 112!!! The Office of Emergency Management stresses the need for New Yorkers “to limit heat exposure and conserve energy.” Oh what would we do without the wiseness of our leadership? In response the OEM's warning, Bloomie’s gone and declared a state of heat emergency and an excessive heat warning will be in place from today at noon until tomorrow at 8 pm. more ›

The city's Office of Emergency Management is opening up cooling centers across the city in anticipation of the stifling heat expected today and tomorrow. You can find out where cooling centers are by calling 311 or checking out the OEM website. And when some people from other hot places around the city scoff at our antics during 90-degree weather, the city can actually be 10 degrees warmer than its surrounding areas. The OEM calls this the "urban heat island effect" when the infrastructure of asphalt, concrete and metal traps heat. We were reading the OEM's "Beat the Heat" brochure (PDF) and among the suggestions are not to eat high protein diets and not to take salt tablets - and never leave people or pets locked in parked cars and , of course, drink plenty of water. Plus, try to conserve energy by leaving on only essential appliances (laptop, check; TiVo, check). more ›

survive), but maybe if the West Side Jets stadium were sold as a "hurricane shelter," it would have had a fighting chance. But for now, New Yorkers' only contact with the hurricane is in the form of high gas prices. more ›

It's one of our favorite advertising slogans courtesy Time Out NY... 'Welcome to New York. Now get out." The NY Times answered a question from a reader yesterday about coastal evacuation signs that are posted high on lamposts in Astoria wondering what sort of impending doom prompted those. If a hurricane hits our low-lying city, the biggest risk comes not from the winds (although, they could be bad yes), but from the storm surge, the mass of water driven by winds and the low barometric pressure of the hurricane. You thought the subway drainage problem was bad? So how many of you have any clue if you should evacuate or how to evacuate if the situation arises? more ›

As hurricane season gets officially underway, tornadoes are stealing the spotlight. As reported by Leslita, yesterday a tornado touched down in northern New York and another one was reported in New Jersey, though may not have actually touched down. Still, it's only June and it seems like we've been getting our fair share of severe weather and wonderfully entertaining thunderstorms. more ›