As of this Saturday, Sandy is a weak category one hurricane with sustained winds hovering at 75 mph. The current center of the storm is moving northeast at slow pace of 11 mph and continues to hold together despite interacting with dry air at mid-level of the atmosphere.
The scary aspect of Sandy is not what is going on now but will be in the near future. Between today and tomorrow, Sandy will get a major boost aloft. The monster cyclone will interact with a strong upper level trough thousands of feet above us, which will enhance it to a large degree. If you're wondering, this is the same trough that help bring in the cold front to Arkansas last Friday.
As Sandy progresses northward it will run into a strong blocking high pressure system. Instead of turning out to sea, Sandy will be sucked into an upper air channel that will force it to make a radical left hand turn straight to the New Jersey Shore by Monday evening.
You might be asking yourself, aren't hurricanes or tropical storms suppose to weaken as they head up north this time of year? Is it the water too cold for a tropical system?
Usually you would be right, but this is a very bizarre setup. The upper level trough I mentioned earlier will actually help this system rather than tear it apart. It's extremely bizarre and unprecedented. The upper air pattern will make for an interesting vortex where it will come ashore as a tropical storm but then act like a monstrous nor'easter.
The track is not the only concern. The slow movement and the intensity is a scary sight to see from the weather models. As Sandy approaches the coastline Monday, it will likely sustain a minimum pressure of between 950-960mb. That may not sound like much to you but let me put it this way. The lowest pressure ever recorded in the Northeast was 946mb back when a hurricane hit Long Island in 1938. That's impressive stuff for a Mid-Atlantic storm.
Even though Sandy will come ashore as a weak hurricane why is it a big deal? Besides the fact this storm happens about once a century, it's going to reach a highly populated region. Roughly 40-50 million people will be effected by this storm early next week. Not to mention the laundry list of potential hazards are menacing. There will be power outages lasting up to a week, major coastal flooding, tropical storm force winds and a foot of snow in the high terrain of West Virgina.
Anyway you slice it, this storm will be talked about for years to come.
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