Hurricane Sandy is nearing the coastline,
centered about 30 miles est-southeast of Cape May, New Jersey. It's
moving toward the west-northwest at 28 mph. Landfall will occur with a
few hours along or just south of the New Jersey coastline.
Central Hudson is reporting more than 27,000 people in the Hudson Valley area are currently without power. That number is expected to rise dramatically as Sandy makes landfall.
You should now be in a safe place for the duration of the storm. Do not venture outdoors!
Maximum sustained winds are 90 mph- a Category One hurricane on the
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Sandy is expected to transition
into a frontal or wintertime low pressure area shortly, but little
change is strength is expected until landfall, with weakening after
moving well inland.
Tropical-storm-force conditions or
gale-force winds are now occurring along portions of the mid-Atlantic
coastline, and will spread northward tonight. Hurricane-force winds
will occur tonight along the coast from Chincoteague, Virginia, to
Chatham, Massachusetts. This includes the tidal Potomac from Cobb Island
to Smith Point, the middle and upper Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, the
coast of the northern Delmarva Peninsula, New Jersey, the New York City
area, Long Island, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Winds affecting the
upper-floors of high rise buildings will be significantly higher than
those near ground level.
A dangerous storm surge is expected to
occur in the mid-Atlantic states and southern New England. If the peak
surge occurs at the time if high tide, the depths above ground level
could reach 6 to 11 feet at Long Island Sound and Raritan Bay, and 4 to 8
feet from Ocean City, Md., to the Connecticut/Rhode Island state line,
and 3 to 6 feet from there to the south shore of Cape Cod, including
Buzzards Bay and Narragansett Bay.
Other coastal and inland
watches and warnings are in effect for much of the mid-Atlantic states
and New England. See the statements being issued by local National
Weather Service offices,
www.weather.gov for the details.
Total rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches, with isolated 8 inch amounts,
are possible over far eastern North Carolina. Amounts of 4 to 8 inches,
with isolated 12 inch amounts, are possible over portions of the
mid-Atlantic States, including the Delmarva Peninsula. Amounts of 1 to 3
inches, with isolated 5 inch amounts, are possible across southern New
York through New England.
Snow accumulations of 2 to 3 feet are
expected in the mountains of West Virgina, with locally higher amounts,
tonight through Tuesday Night. The southwestern Virginia mountains are
forecast to see 1 to 2 feet of snow, with 12 to 18 inches near the North
Carolina/Tennessee state line and in the mountains of western Maryland.
