Vote Early: Tracking Hurricane Sandy Up the East Coast

[American_Jihad]

Hurricane Sandy may slam into U.S. East Coast as Halloween week "Frankenstorm"​

Updated 9:48 PM ET


WASHINGTON An unusual nasty mix of a hurricane and a winter storm that forecasters are now calling "Frankenstorm" is likely to blast most of the East Coast next week, focusing the worst of its weather mayhem around New York City and New Jersey.


U.S. government forecasters on Thursday upped the odds of a major weather mess, now saying there's a 90 percent chance that the East will get steady gale-force winds, heavy rain, flooding and maybe snow starting Sunday and stretching past Halloween on Wednesday.


Hurricane Sandy makes landfall in Bahamas
Hurricane Sandy roars into Cuba
Hurricane Sandy prompts storm watch in Florida

Meteorologists say it is likely to cause $1 billion in damages.

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Hurricane Sandy may slam into U.S. East Coast as Halloween week "Frankenstorm" - CBS News

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From the Daily Krap:
Updated: Vote Early ! Is Hurricane Prep In Order for US?
Daily Kos: Updated: Vote Early ! Is Hurricane Prep In Order for US?
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Hey East Coast! Hurricane Sandy is Frankenstorm. VOTE EARLY! Obama & Dems! Snow, floods,Power outtages=No voting. Hurricane Sandy may slam into U.S. East Coast as Halloween week "Frankenstorm" - CBS News

Hey East Coast! Hurricane Sandy is Frankenstorm. VOTE EARLY! Obama & Dems! Snow, floods,Power outtages=No voting. : ak2sandiego

Republicans did you get the message, Vote Early!!!

 

[Warrior102]

I plan on voting early.

And often!

 

[American_Jihad]

I plan on voting early.

And often!

Hence the need for voter ID!!!

 

[waltky]

Granny says batten down the hatches, gonna be an ill wind dat blows...

Sandy pounds Bahamas after killing 29 in Caribbean
Oct 26,`12 -- Hurricane Sandy raged through the Bahamas early Friday after leaving 29 people dead across the Caribbean, following a path that could see it blend with a winter storm to hit the U.S. East Coast with a super-storm next week.

Sandy knocked out power, flooded roads and cut off islands in the storm-hardened Bahamas as it charged through Cat Island and Eleuthera, with authorities reporting one death in the scattered archipelago. Sandy, which weakened to a category 1 hurricane Thursday night, caused havoc in Cuba Thursday, killing 11 people in eastern Santiago and Guantanamo provinces as its howling winds and rain toppled houses and ripped off roofs. Authorities said it was Cuba's deadliest storm since July 2005, when category 5 Hurricane Dennis killed 16 people and caused $2.4 billion in damage.

Sandy also killed one person while battering Jamaica on Wednesday and 16 in Haiti, where heavy rains from the storm's outer bands caused flooding in the impoverished and deforested country. Police in the Bahamas said a 66-year-old man died after falling from his roof in upscale Lyford Cay late Thursday while trying to repair a window shutter. On Friday morning, the hurricane's center was about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north-northeast of Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas and 460 miles (740 kilometers) south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina. Sandy was moving north at 6 mph (9 kph) with maximum sustained winds near 80 mph (130 kph).

Government officials in the Bahamas said the storm seems to have inflicted the greatest damage on Cat Island, which took a direct hit, and Exuma, where there were reports of downed trees, power lines and damage to homes. "I hope that's it for the year," said Veronica Marshall, a 73-year-old hotel owner in Great Exuma. "I thought we would be going into the night, but around 3 o'clock it all died down. I was very happy about that."

In Long Island, farmers lost most of their crops and several roofs were torn off, said legislator Loretta Butler-Turner. The island is without power and many residents do not have access to fresh water, she said. With the storm projected to hit the Atlantic coast early Tuesday, there was a 90 percent chance that most of the U.S. East Coast would get steady gale-force winds, flooding, heavy rain and maybe snow starting Sunday and stretching past Wednesday, U.S. forecaster Jim Cisco said.

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[Samson]

is Upon the Blue States!

I wonder how many Obamots can swim.

 

[American_Jihad]

is Upon the Blue States!

I wonder how many Obamots can swim.

Obama will be giving out water wings for votes...

 

[waltky]

Head fer the hills, here comes Sandy!

5 Reasons Why Sandy Will Be a Superstorm
Oct 27,`12 - The moon will affect Sandy's impact, forecasters say

With airlines bracing for chaos and state officials declaring states of emergency, Hurricane Sandy is looking ominous. The AP runs down five reasons why:

Sandy is a massive system that will affect a huge swath of the eastern US, regardless of exactly where it hits or its precise wind speed. For example, tropical storm-force winds can be felt 450 miles away from the storm's center.

Sandy is expected to merge with a wintry system from the west, at which point it will become the powerful superstorm that has forecasters and officials from North Carolina to New England on edge. Winds from that system will pull Sandy back toward the US mainland.

Frigid air coming south from Canada also is expected to collide with Sandy and the wintry storm from the west, creating a megastorm that is expected to park over the northeast for days.

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Factbox: Rare factors could make Hurricane Sandy highly destructive
27 Oct.`12 - Hurricane Sandy is expected to hit the eastern United States with freakish power as it meets a cold front during a rare convergence of weather factors that is expected to steer the storm inland and widen the reach of its lashing winds.

Here is a look at some of the reasons why the event dubbed "Frankenstorm" by some weather watchers is so unusual and why it could be one of the most destructive U.S. storms in decades.

HISTORIC STORM

* Hurricane Sandy will join with a cold front in an event similar to Hurricane Hazel in 1954, said Bruce Sullivan, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. "We don't have a lot to compare it to in the last 50 years or so," he said.
* One factor that sets Hurricane Sandy apart from last year's Hurricane Irene, which caused $4.3 billion in damage, is that it will produce more than a foot of snow in higher elevations, especially in West Virginia, said Eric Leister, meteorologist with AccuWeather.com. That could lead to widespread power outages.
* Hurricane Sandy also presents more potential for flooding than Irene because it will produce more storm surges, particularly along northern New Jersey, New York City and Long Island, said meteorologist Dan Petersen with the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center.
* Meteorologists are reluctant to predict how destructive Sandy could be overall compared to past storms including Irene, but say it has the potential to be catastrophic. "This is a historic event, and if it turns out as bad as it could be, it's going to be likely one of those storms that people will be talking about 30, 40, 50 years from now," Leister said.

UNUSUAL PATH

* Most tropical storms that make landfall in the mid-Atlantic region move northeast and out toward the ocean. Sandy will move northwest and unleash its fury over a greater area of land than the average storm, Sullivan said.
* Sandy will be led inland on its destructive path by a high-pressure system over eastern Canada and a storm system moving southeast across the Tennessee Valley, Sullivan said. Those two systems and their winds will act like a "steering mechanism" and draw Sandy to the northwest, he said.
* This is late in the season for a hurricane to hit the northeastern United States, which could make Hurricane Sandy unusually destructive by allowing it to combine with colder air masses that are not normally present in the warmer summer months, Leister said.

VAST WIND FIELD

* Hurricane Sandy will generate heavy winds covering an area more than 500 miles in diameter, Sullivan said. By comparison, the hugely destructive Hurricane Andrew in 1992 unleashed heavy winds over an area about one-fifth that size, he said.
* The large wind storms generated by Hurricane Sandy will create major flooding and storm surges, said Chris Landsea, hurricane forecaster at the National Hurricane Center. Coastal areas will be inundated with up to 8 feet of storm surges, which will be devastating for low-lying areas, he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/factbox-rare-factors-could-hurricane-sandy-highly-destructive-215647569.html

 

[mamooth]

Easy predictions ...

The kooks will blame Obama if he doesn't visit the area soon enough.

The kooks will blame Obama if he does visit the area soon enough.

The kooks need to see what Obama does before they can decide which to blame him for. They're not honest enough to pick a single position ahead of time and be consistent about it.

 

[waltky]

Uncle Ferd singin', "Yo ho, blow the man down...

Hurricane Sandy could be Halloween nightmare for USA
October 25. 2012 - One forecast model shows the storm slamming into the Northeast next week.

Hurricane Sandy's rampage through the Caribbean today is only the beginning: Forecasters say the storm could morph into a monstrous nor'easter and slam the U.S. East Coast next week — or it could miss us entirely. If it hits the Northeast the day before Halloween, as one computer model shows, it would be a disastrous storm, bringing coastal flooding, drenching rainfall, high winds, downed trees, power outages, travel mayhem and even Appalachian snow, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.

Could that happen? Unfortunately, as of midday Wednesday, the "chances are increasing for a major storm impacting the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast," according to an online forecast report by meteorologist James Cisco of the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. Regardless of what happens next week, Sandy's first U.S. impacts will be along the East Coast of Florida this afternoon and evening, National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen says.

Although the center of gigantic Sandy (even if downgraded to a tropical storm) will be between Cuba and the Bahamas, it will still affect Florida: Sandy will grow into a huge storm Thursday, Feltgen says, with tropical-storm-force winds extending as far as 220 miles from the eye. The National Hurricane Center has issued tropical storm warnings and watches for Florida's southeastern coast from the Volusia/Brevard County line south to the Upper Keys.

The weather along waterlogged Florida's East Coast will be dismal today through Saturday as Sandy slogs north, bringing gusty winds and rain, huge waves and dangerous rip currents. South Florida has had one of its wettest years on record and could do without any additional rain from Sandy. Just since May 1, Miami has received more than 5 feet of rain, the National Weather Service reports. Where the storm goes after it moves past Florida Saturday is just a guess, Feltgen says. One computer model shows it curving out to sea, while another shows it hooking into the Northeast coast as a powerful nor'easter.

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Sandy gone, Caribbean mourns 58 dead, cleans up
Oct 27,`12 -- The Caribbean death toll from Hurricane Sandy rose again sharply on Saturday, even as the storm swirled away toward the U.S. East Coast. Officials said the hurricane system has cost at least 58 lives in addition to destroying or badly damaging thousands of homes.

While Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas took direct hits from the storm, the majority of deaths and most extensive damage was in impoverished Haiti, where it has rained almost non-stop since Tuesday. The official death toll in Haiti stood at 44 Saturday, but authorities said that could still rise. The country's ramshackle housing and denuded hillsides are especially vulnerable to flooding when rains come. "This is a disaster of major proportions," Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe told The Associated Press. "The whole south is under water."

He said the death toll jumped on Saturday because it was the first day that authorities were able to go out and assess the damage, which he estimated was in the hundreds of millions of dollars, the bulk of it in lost crops. Nineteen people are reported injured and another 12 are missing, according to Haiti's Civil Protection Office. One of the remaining threats was a still-rising muddy river in the northern part of the capital, Port-au-Prince. "If the river busts its banks, it's going to create a lot of problems. It might kill a lot of people," said 51-year-old Seroine Pierre. "If death comes, we'll accept it. We're suffering, we're hungry, and we're just going to die hungry."

Officials reported flooding across Haiti, where 370,000 people are still living in flimsy shelters as a result of the devastating 2010 earthquake. Nearly 17,800 people had to move to 131 temporary shelters, the Civil Protection Office said. Among those hoping for a dry place to stay was 35-year-old Iliodor Derisma in Port-au-Prince, who said the storm had caused a lot of anguish. "It's wet all my clothes, and all the children aren't living well," he said. "We're hungry. We haven't received any food. If we had a shelter, that would be nice."

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[Old Rocks]

Really, for all those making political statements on this storm. This is an unprecedented event. It is extremely dangerous, and will result in multiple fatalities. Much property will be damaged or destroyed, much of it owned by people that cannot replace it. Our thoughts and prayers should be with the people in the path of this storm. Whatever political fallout there is can wait until everyone has their power back on, and have a warm, dry place to be. This is a very serious event, not one that should be played politics with as it is happening.

 

[waltky]

Massive Flooding Is the 'Worst Case Scenario'...

Sandy and storm surge pose 'worst case scenario'
Oct 28,`12 -- Rain, high tides, giant waves could drench eastern seaboard

The projected storm surge from Hurricane Sandy is a "worst case scenario" with devastating waves and tides predicted for the highly populated New York City metro area, government forecasters said Sunday. The more they observe it, the more the experts worry about the water - which usually kills and does more damage than winds in hurricanes. In this case, seas will be amped up by giant waves and full-moon-powered high tides. That will combine with drenching rains, triggering inland flooding as the hurricane merges with a winter storm system that will worsen it and hold it in place for days. Louis Uccellini, environmental prediction chief for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told The Associated Press that given Sandy's due east-to-west track into New Jersey, that puts the worst of the storm surge just north in New York City, Long Island and northern New Jersey. "Yes, this is the worst case scenario," he said.

In a measurement of pure kinetic energy, NOAA's hurricane research division on Sunday ranked the surge and wave "destruction potential" for Sandy - just the hurricane, not the hybrid storm it will eventually become - at 5.8 on a 0 to 6 scale. The damage expected from winds will be far less, experts said. Weather Underground meteorologist Jeff Masters says that surge destruction potential number is a record and it's due to the storm's massive size. "You have a lot of wind acting over a long distance of water for hundreds of miles" and that piles the storm surge up when it finally comes ashore, Masters said. Even though it doesn't pack much power in maximum wind speed, the tremendous size of Sandy - more than 1,000 miles across with tropical storm force winds - adds to the pummelling power when it comes ashore, he said.

The storm surge energy numbers are bigger than the deadly 2005 Hurricane Katrina, but that can be misleading. Katrina's destruction was concentrated in a small area, making it much worse, Masters said. Sandy's storm surge energy is spread over a wider area. Also, Katrina hit a city that is below sea level and had problems with levees. National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb said Hurricane Sandy's size means some coastal parts of New York and New Jersey may see water rise from 6 to 11 feet from surge and waves. The rest of the coast north of Virginia can expect 4 to 8 feet of surge.

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Superstorm could impact 60 million people in US; coastal residents told to get out of the way
28 Oct.`12 - Forget distinctions like tropical storm or hurricane. Don't get fixated on a particular track. Wherever it hits, the rare behemoth storm inexorably gathering in the eastern U.S. will afflict a third of the country with sheets of rain, high winds and heavy snow, say officials who warned millions in coastal areas to get out of the way.

"We're looking at impact of greater than 50 to 60 million people," said Louis Uccellini, head of environmental prediction for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. As Hurricane Sandy barrelled north from the Caribbean — where it left nearly five dozen dead — to meet two other powerful winter storms, experts said it didn't matter how strong the storm was when it hit land: The rare hybrid storm that follows will cause havoc over 800 miles from the East Coast to the Great Lakes. "This is not a coastal threat alone," said Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "This is a very large area." President Barack Obama was monitoring the storm and working with state and locals governments to make sure they get the resources needed to prepare, administration officials said.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie declared a state of emergency Saturday as hundreds of coastal residents started moving inland and the state was set to close its casinos. New York's governor was considering shutting down the subways to avoid flooding and half a dozen states warned residents to prepare for several days of lost power. Sandy weakened briefly to a tropical storm Saturday but was soon back up to Category 1 strength, packing 75 mph winds. It was about 275 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and moving northeast at 14 mph as of 2 a.m. Sunday. Forecasters said the storm was spreading tropical storm conditions across the coastline of North Carolina, and they were expected to move up the mid-Atlantic coastline late Sunday. Experts said the storm was most likely to hit the southern New Jersey coastline by late Monday or early Tuesday.

Governors from North Carolina, where heavy rain was expected Sunday, to Connecticut declared states of emergency. Delaware ordered mandatory evacuations for coastal communities by 8 p.m. Sunday. Christie, who was widely criticized for not interrupting a family vacation in Florida while a snowstorm pummeled the state in 2010, broke off campaigning for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in North Carolina on Friday to return home. "I can be as cynical as anyone," Christie said in a bit of understatement Saturday. "But when the storm comes, if it's as bad as they're predicting, you're going to wish you weren't as cynical as you otherwise might have been."

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[TruthSeeker56]

is Upon the Blue States!

I wonder how many Obamots can swim.

That's EXACTLY what I told my better half today.............God is pissed off at the leftist northeast, so he's putting the hammer down!

Us conservative northeasterners are already prepared for this storm. God help a LIBERAL who knocks on my door looking for a handout.

Not too many Obamabots can swim..........without government assistance.

 

[percysunshine]

I didn't realize that Sandy Berger was out of jail.

 

[Grandma]

is Upon the Blue States!

I wonder how many Obamots can swim.

That's EXACTLY what I told my better half today.............God is pissed off at the leftist northeast, so he's putting the hammer down!

Us conservative northeasterners are already prepared for this storm. God help a LIBERAL who knocks on my door looking for a handout.

Not too many Obamabots can swim..........without government assistance.

You are appalling. How many of the West Virginian children that will freeze to death are "Obamabots?" You smirk and happily post how the god created in your image drowns people just because of the way they vote. I hope my gods teach you a lesson in karma.

BTW, West Virginia and a number of congressional districts in other danger zone states are republican. Do you think your "god" will spare them?

 

[American_Jihad]

Sandy: Latest Status and Maps

Hurricane Sandy appears destined to enter the history books as one of the most exceptional -- and potentially destructive -- storms to strike the Northeast in modern history.

(LIVE: Updates and analysis)

Sandy, in terms of geographic size already the largest Atlantic hurricane of the past quarter-century, has stayed close to the borderline between high-end tropical storm and low-end hurricane status, despite an impressively low central pressure. But despite the absence of sustained triple-digit winds, the huge breadth of Sandy's circulation promises widespread disruption to life for tens of millions of Americans.

Sandy will produce its greatest impacts in the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic Monday into Tuesday. For more on the destructive wind, flood and snow impacts, click on the links below.

(MORE: Sandy's forecast impacts | City-by-city peak impacts)

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Sandy: Latest Status and Maps - weather.com