You've probably heard about the hurricane that may be wending its way toward our city. CBS News reports that the storm—now in its infancy over the Atlantic—may very well turn into a category 1 hurricane before it lashes our shore over the weekend. While experts are still unsure as to whether the storm will maintain its position long enough to gather the necessary wind, we're of the opinion that it's better to be prepared for the worst. We don't want you to panic, obviously, but this is how things will play out.

From the mailbag:

The Times' Lede blog notes that today's news has been especially depressing: hundreds dead from an earthquake in Peru, 500 dead from a truck bombing in Iraq, thousands homeless after floods in North Korea, flooding in Texas, a hurricane forming in the Atlantic, Wall Street is tanking, and those miners in Utah probably aren't getting rescued. Yay, reality! The comments are particularly hilarious. [NYT/The Lede]

Oh no, WABC meteorologist Bill Evans was right! From our favorite internet astrologist Susan Miller comes this prediction: "In the media, there could be reports of very bad weather, including rain, flooding, and/or hurricanes and the like during this last week of the month, for the lunar eclipse will be in Pisces, the sign of water. This eclipse has a lot of difficult aspects associated with it, so you need to keep your schedule light." [AstrologyZone]

Last week's deluge could not have come at a better time for WABC's avuncular weather hottie Bill Evans. As you'll recall, Bill's new novel, Category 7, imagines the effects that a hurricane might have if it hit New York City. And make no mistake: A hurricane WILL hit New York City! And soon! Probably right after Labor Day! Last week was just foreshadowing. But how will it play out? Evans put together a promotional video that is so adorably amateur—and frightening—that we had to share it with you. Batten down the hatches, people: It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.