Hurricane Irene: What Do You Remember?

In a far contrast to the sunny skies and mild temperatures today, a year ago many people were scrambling for generators and fresh water as Hurricane Irene hit Marlborough.

Irene hit the edge of North Carolina on Aug. 27, 2011, as a Category 1 hurricane, according to this article in the Huffington Post. It was the first of its kind to hit land since Ike two years earlier, and most of the East Coast felt its effects, with 2.3 million under mandatory evacuation orders. 

Patch MetroWest covered the effects on Marlborough and surrounding towns

Patch was there with The mess left in the wake of the storm required Many residents were for an extended period of time.

And Patch readers submitted photos from before, during and especially the aftermath of the hurricane,

Massachusetts, Vermont and New Jersey felt the most severe impacts from the storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.The National Hurricane Center reports that 49 people were killed as a direct result of the storm, 41 of them in the United States, as reported in the Huffington Post. The damage totaled $15 billion.

For Marlborough's residents, the major concern proved to be the loss of power. During Irene, roughly 20,000 National Grid customers in the city lost power .

Attorney General Martha Coakley's office announced in late July it is fining National Grid $16 million because of its handling of the tropical storm Irene in August and the snowstorm last October, according to the Worcester Business Journal.

What do you remember about Hurricane Irene? Did the storm force you to buy a generator? How long were you without power? Are you more equipped should another massive weather pattern be headed to your property?

Share your memories of Irene, other storms, and the response in our comments section below.

Also attached are many photos that Marlborough Patch took, or that were submitted, during Irene.