Although Irene has left our area, locals who have family in the Northeast are still keeping their eyes on the storm.
The food is what normally gets people in the door at Howley's Diner in West Palm Beach. Sunday morning it was Hurricane Irene that had folks sticking around longer than usual, with their eyes glued to the television.
"It's crazy those people up there probably don't have any idea what to do; they may be freaking out a little bit," says Jamie Rutherford.
"When we heard the hurricane was headed towards Florida, we thought it would be a great time for a family vacation to New York.
Brooklyn native Michael Platt had just arrived in New York thinking he was escaping Irene, but it seemed as though the storm followed him there.
"As we started to head towards New York we saw the storm was headed there, so we basically got out on the last flight," says Platt.
His daughter, who lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, was also coming to take part in that trip. She and her boyfriend are now in a dark New York City hotel room; it's not exactly the family vacation everyone had in mind.
"She has flashlights and candles that we picked up for them before we left," added Platt.
Platt has been on the phone with his daughter ever since Friday and he has been following Irene's path on his computer.
He says the next time he tries to escape a storm, and plan a family vacation, he will head out of the country.
"We'll be going to Italy," says Platt.
