Irene will go down in the history books regardless of whether it was a hurricane or a tropical storm when it swept into any given region. Although many folks may feel like Irene was a dud because so much attention and anticipation was put on NYC and then not a whole lot happened in the major metro areas, it was quite devastating to many other regions, like upstate New York, western Massachusetts, Conneticut, and Vermont. The devastation is still unfolding or being tallied even now. Watching the video from Vermont, it's humbling to see what damage can be done by a tropical storm. Of course, let's not forget about all the folks who have lost their lives.

There seem to be more than the usual number of articles wondering if things had been overhyped this time. I think this AP article is a well balanced piece that looks at many facets of the issue.