Hurricane Sandy picks up strength as U.S., Canada prepare for ‘Frankenstorm’
Associated Press and Reuters | Oct 27, 2012 11:22 AM ET
Steve Nesius/Reuters
A man looks at storm surf before
sunrise in St. Augustine Beach, Florida as Hurricane Sandy passes
offshore, Oct. 27, 2012. The storm is expected to hit land around
Tuesday next week.
MIAMI – Tropical cyclone Sandy
revved back up to hurricane strength on Saturday as it churned toward
the U.S. northeast coast where it threatens to become one of the worst
storms in decades.
The U.S. National Weather Service said that is likely to make landfall early Tuesday near the
Delaware coast, then hit two winter weather systems as it moves inland. That may create a hybrid monster storm that could bring nearly 30 centimetres) of rain, high winds and up to 2 feet (60 centimetres) of snow.
The late-season storm has been dubbed “Frankenstorm” by some weather watchers because it will combine elements of a tropical cyclone and a winter storm. Forecast models show it will have all the ingredients to morph into a so-called “super storm.”
On Saturday morning, forecasters said hurricane-force winds of 75 mph (120 kph) could be felt 100 miles (160 miles) away from the storm’s centre.
Sandy killed more than 40 people in the Caribbean, wrecked homes and knocked down trees and power lines. Early Saturday, the storm was about 350 miles (565 kilometres) south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina.
Up and down the east coast of the United States, people were cautioned to be prepared for days without electricity.
On Friday, forecasters in Canada warned that the storm will be so
huge its reach will be felt from southern Ontario to the Maritimes.
“Everyone in the Maritimes, certainly everyone is southern Quebec and eastern and southern Ontario should be monitoring this storm,” said spokesman Bob Robichaud at the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Halifax.
“I know it’s a big area but it speaks to the size of this storm. The storm will be a very huge storm by the time it gets close to here … It’s getting a lot of attention and deservedly so.”
Robichaud said it was too early to predict the strength of the winds or rainfall amounts for Canadian territory, but he said the latest computer models suggest powerful gusts and heavy downpours are on the way for Monday and Tuesday.
He said southwestern Nova Scotia was expected to see the worst of the storm, but that prediction could change in the days ahead, particularly if Sandy heads farther south.
Robichaud warned the complex interaction of these three weather systems has produced an unusually scattered set of track forecasts. That means the predicting the progress of the storm has been more difficult that usual.
On the shore of New Jersey state beach towns began issuing voluntary evacuations and protecting boardwalks. Atlantic City casinos made contingency plans to close, and officials advised residents of flood-prone areas to stay with family or be ready to leave. Several governors declared states of emergency. Airlines said to expect cancellations and waived change fees for passengers who want to reschedule.
“It’s looking like a very serious storm that could be historic,” said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the forecasting service Weather Underground.
With a rare mix of three big merging weather systems over a densely populated region, experts predict at least $1 billion in damage.
Sandy, having blown through Haiti and Cuba and leaving 43 dead across the Caribbean, continued to barrel north. A wintry storm was moving across the U.S. from the west, and frigid air was streaming south from Canada.
If they meet Tuesday morning around New York or New Jersey, as
forecasters predicted, they could create a big, wet mess that settles
over the nation’s most heavily populated corridor and reaches as far
west as Ohio.
Government forecasters said there is a 90% chance — up from 60% two days earlier — that the East Coast will get pounded.
“It’s going to be a long-lasting event, two to three days of impact for a lot of people,” said James Franklin, forecast chief for the National Hurricane Center.
Some have compared the tempest to the so-called Perfect Storm that struck off the coast of New England in 1991, but that one hit a less populated area.
“The Perfect Storm only did $200 million of damage and I’m thinking a billion” this time, Masters said. “Yeah, it will be worse.”
The massive hurricane has continued to grow in size with tropical force winds extending 450 miles (725 km) from its center, government forecasters said.
Coming in the final weeks before the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 6, the storm was presenting a challenge to the campaigns of U.S. President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
Romney canceled a rally scheduled for Sunday evening in Virginia Beach, Virginia, while Obama’s re-election campaign announced that Vice President Joe Biden had also canceled a Saturday trip to that city.
Ahead of the election, millions of Americans are taking advantage of early voting arrangements to cast their ballots. State officials said they had put in place contingency plans in case Sandy caused extended power outages or other problems that could disrupt voting.
In New York City, officials were considering shutting down the country’s largest mass transit system because they were worried the storm’s impact could cause flooding or high winds that might endanger subways and buses.
Much of Florida’s northeast coast was under a tropical storm warning and storm warnings and watches extended up the coast through most of South Carolina and North Carolina.
Along North Carolina’s Outer Banks, which jut out into the Atlantic, vacationers in large camper trailers and motor homes streamed off the barrier islands.
Many forecasters are warning that Sandy could be more destructive than last year’s Hurricane Irene, which caused billions of dollars in damage across the U.S. Northeast.
The U.S. National Weather Service said that is likely to make landfall early Tuesday near the
Delaware coast, then hit two winter weather systems as it moves inland. That may create a hybrid monster storm that could bring nearly 30 centimetres) of rain, high winds and up to 2 feet (60 centimetres) of snow.
The late-season storm has been dubbed “Frankenstorm” by some weather watchers because it will combine elements of a tropical cyclone and a winter storm. Forecast models show it will have all the ingredients to morph into a so-called “super storm.”
On Saturday morning, forecasters said hurricane-force winds of 75 mph (120 kph) could be felt 100 miles (160 miles) away from the storm’s centre.
Sandy killed more than 40 people in the Caribbean, wrecked homes and knocked down trees and power lines. Early Saturday, the storm was about 350 miles (565 kilometres) south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina.
Up and down the east coast of the United States, people were cautioned to be prepared for days without electricity.
Desmond Boylan/Reuters People
walk on a street littered with debris after Hurricane Sandy hit
Santiago de Cuba, Oct. 26, 2012. The Cuban government said on Thursday
night that 11 people died when the storm barrelled across the island.
“Everyone in the Maritimes, certainly everyone is southern Quebec and eastern and southern Ontario should be monitoring this storm,” said spokesman Bob Robichaud at the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Halifax.
“I know it’s a big area but it speaks to the size of this storm. The storm will be a very huge storm by the time it gets close to here … It’s getting a lot of attention and deservedly so.”
Robichaud said it was too early to predict the strength of the winds or rainfall amounts for Canadian territory, but he said the latest computer models suggest powerful gusts and heavy downpours are on the way for Monday and Tuesday.
He said southwestern Nova Scotia was expected to see the worst of the storm, but that prediction could change in the days ahead, particularly if Sandy heads farther south.
Robichaud warned the complex interaction of these three weather systems has produced an unusually scattered set of track forecasts. That means the predicting the progress of the storm has been more difficult that usual.
On the shore of New Jersey state beach towns began issuing voluntary evacuations and protecting boardwalks. Atlantic City casinos made contingency plans to close, and officials advised residents of flood-prone areas to stay with family or be ready to leave. Several governors declared states of emergency. Airlines said to expect cancellations and waived change fees for passengers who want to reschedule.
“It’s looking like a very serious storm that could be historic,” said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the forecasting service Weather Underground.
With a rare mix of three big merging weather systems over a densely populated region, experts predict at least $1 billion in damage.
Sandy, having blown through Haiti and Cuba and leaving 43 dead across the Caribbean, continued to barrel north. A wintry storm was moving across the U.S. from the west, and frigid air was streaming south from Canada.
Swoan Parker/Reuters A
coconut tree is washed away by rains from Hurricane Sandy, as a river
swells to dangerous levels and threatens homes along the bank, in
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Oct. 26, 2012.
Government forecasters said there is a 90% chance — up from 60% two days earlier — that the East Coast will get pounded.
“It’s going to be a long-lasting event, two to three days of impact for a lot of people,” said James Franklin, forecast chief for the National Hurricane Center.
Some have compared the tempest to the so-called Perfect Storm that struck off the coast of New England in 1991, but that one hit a less populated area.
“The Perfect Storm only did $200 million of damage and I’m thinking a billion” this time, Masters said. “Yeah, it will be worse.”
The massive hurricane has continued to grow in size with tropical force winds extending 450 miles (725 km) from its center, government forecasters said.
Coming in the final weeks before the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 6, the storm was presenting a challenge to the campaigns of U.S. President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
Romney canceled a rally scheduled for Sunday evening in Virginia Beach, Virginia, while Obama’s re-election campaign announced that Vice President Joe Biden had also canceled a Saturday trip to that city.
Ahead of the election, millions of Americans are taking advantage of early voting arrangements to cast their ballots. State officials said they had put in place contingency plans in case Sandy caused extended power outages or other problems that could disrupt voting.
In New York City, officials were considering shutting down the country’s largest mass transit system because they were worried the storm’s impact could cause flooding or high winds that might endanger subways and buses.
Much of Florida’s northeast coast was under a tropical storm warning and storm warnings and watches extended up the coast through most of South Carolina and North Carolina.
Along North Carolina’s Outer Banks, which jut out into the Atlantic, vacationers in large camper trailers and motor homes streamed off the barrier islands.
Many forecasters are warning that Sandy could be more destructive than last year’s Hurricane Irene, which caused billions of dollars in damage across the U.S. Northeast.
Labels: Canada, Environment, Nature, United States
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