Hurricane Sandy Proving to be a Major Weather Event

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The media always seems to expect the next Hurricane to be the next superstorm. They usually overplay their hand.  This time, with Hurricane Sandy, the devastation predicted may be the coming reality.

Tens of thousands of people are evacuating.  As Sandy approaches the Eastern Seaboard, she is colliding with two other storms.  The hybrid storm is being predicted as the worst storm to hit the East Coast. . . ever, and that includes The Perfect Storm of 1991.

The Associated Press listed five major reasons why Sandy is expected to be one of the worst storms in decades: 1) it's a hurricane, 2) it's set to combine with another winter storm hanging out nearby, 3) then it's set to pick up Arctic winds, 4) next comes a full moon -- thus, high tides that in turn threaten higher storm surges, 5) with winds expected to reach 74 miles per hour, the storm promises to wreak havoc on the coast's power supply lines.

New York and Philadelphia have shut down their mass-transit systems.  Mass evacuations are in place with the knowledge that Sandy killed fifty-one people in Haiti alone, and another couple dozen more in other Caribbean countries.  Officials expect massive flooding, including inland flooding, and a storm surge that could paralyze coastal cities.  Airlines are moving their aircraft to safety, Amtrack has canceled train runs, and over a thousand National Guardsmen are at the ready. On Sunday alone, power was knocked out in places such as Hampton Roads, Virginia, as rough waves crashed along the coast. This storm is expected to cause havoc for 800 miles from the East Coast to the Great Lakes.

Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the forecasting service Weather Underground, is suggesting we may see a billion dollars in damage - The Perfect Storm in 1991 caused $200 million in damage.

The large storm is expected to also be a long-lasting event, bringing heavy rains for days.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Monstrous Hurricane Sandy Threatening Up To 50 Million People - CBS DC

Coast Guard Official: Hurricane Sandy could be bad, or it could be devastation - CNN

Millions across East Coast brace for Superstorm Sandy, while transit systems close and supplies fly off shelves - Fox News

Breaking: Sandy Prompts NYC, Other Coastal Evacuations - AccuWeather

Hurricane Sandy Worse than the Perfect Storm of '91, Experts Say - Global Post

5 Reasons why Sandy is Expected to be a Superstorm - Wall Street Journal