'Frankenstorm' Sandy Hits Hard Before Halloween, Dress Up Of Rain, Snow & Wind
With hurricane season in the Atlantic officially ending at on Nov. 30, according to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Sandy has decided to give the East Coast a late-season visit.
Sandy has been nicknamed "Frankenstorm" by some weather watchers for being a hybrid storm, combining elements of a tropical cyclone with a winter storm, according to Reuters. Additionally, some forecast models show that Sandy has the potential to morph into "a massive and potentially catastrophic 'super storm.' "
Forecasters stated that Sandy collided with a winter storm in the West and arctic chills from the North before reaching the East Coast on Sunday. NHC maps show that Sandy might linger in the East Coast all the way until Sunday.
It also comes right around the time of Halloween, where many are usually more focused on what costume to wear than how to prepare for a major hurricane. The storm might also put a damper on many holiday plans, since majority of restaurants, shopping malls, casinos and offices are closed along the East Coast as a precautionary measure for Sandy's arrival.
Extreme tides, flooding and damages from strong winds are to be expected, as well as power outages across the coast. Heavy rainfall and strong wides have already hit East Coast states like Maryland, Washington, Delaware and New York but snow can also hit inland if Sandy does not slow down.
Hurricane Irene in 2011 cost in damages an estimated amount between $15-20 billion, according to Yahoo. In comparison, Sandy is not to be underestimated. Before making its way to the U.S., Sandy killed at least 41 people in the Caribbean, according to Reuters. Sandy knocked out power to the somewhat 5,500 people living on Cuba's Guantanamo Bay base. On Oct. 24, a man in Jamaica was killed by a boulder that crashed into his house and in Haiti, a woman died after she was swept away by a river, Fox News reported.
NHC graphics show that Sandy has the potential to pick up sustained surface wind speeds equal to or exceeding 74 mph.