Hybrid of Sandy, winter storm threatens East Coast

WASHINGTON (AP) — Much of the U.S. East Coast has a good chance of getting blasted by gale-force winds, flooding, heavy rain and maybe even snow early next week by an unusual hybrid of hurricane and winter storm, federal and private forecasters say.

Though still projecting several days ahead of Halloween week, the computer models are spooking meteorologists. Government scientists said Wednesday the storm has a 70 percent chance of smacking the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.

Hurricane Sandy in the Caribbean, an early winter storm in the West, and a blast of arctic air from the North are predicted to collide, sloshing and parking over the country's most populous coastal corridor starting Sunday. The worst of it should peak early Tuesday, but it will stretch into midweek, forecasters say.

"It'll be a rough couple days from Hatteras up to Cape Cod," said forecaster Jim Cisco of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration prediction center in College Park, Md. "We don't have many modern precedents for what the models are suggesting."

It is likely to hit during a full moon when tides are near their highest, increasing coastal flooding potential, NOAA forecasts warn. And with some trees still leafy and the potential for snow, power outages could last to Election Day, some meteorologists fear. They say it has all the earmarks of a billion-dollar storm.

full story HERE

Isn't the Perfect Storm a hurricane, or remnant of one, a winter storm AND a Nor'easter?

Still, that weather pattern does not bode well. Batten down the hatches!!

It may not be a Perfect Storm but some NE cities may get flooded again...

And it's gonna happen during a full moon!

I like that part.

Anyway, I'm pretty much ready for this, I guess. I'm going to stock up on wine and other essentials over the weekend, so I should be set.

Officials dub Hurricane Sandy 'Frankenstorm,' odds of hitting N.J. increase

The threat of a powerful, and perhaps unprecedented, hybrid storm government officials have dubbed a “Frankenstorm” affecting New Jersey in the coming days is still increasing, even if its exact impacts and location continues to confound forecasters across the nation this morning.

Hurricane Sandy, a category 2 storm with winds of 105 mph, is churning north through toward the Bahamas this morning and is a key player in just how bad our weather will be from Sunday into mid-week. Forecasters at the National Weather Service warn that Sandy is forecast to track north up the eastern seaboard and potentially merge with a developing nor’easter, creating a powerful hybrid storm that has the potential to have devastating impacts along the Mid-Atlantic and New England coastlines.

“The lion’s share of guidance indicates that the circulation associated with Hurricane Sandy will pass close enough to the amplifying polar trough over the eastern United States to become incorporated into a hybrid vortex over the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast next Tuesday,” the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center wrote in its morning forecast discussion. "The high degree of blocking from Eastern North America across the entire Atlantic Basin is expected to allow this unusual merger to take place…inviting perhaps the ghoulish nickname for the cyclone along the lines of ‘Frankenstorm.’"

“It borders on rare to unprecedented on its potential,” he said. “This is a threat that should be taken seriously. I’m not suggesting people should run right now to the grocery store for your bread and milk, but it needs to be watched closely.”

A myriad of scenarios for how the situation will unfold exists, according to forecast guidance. Were Sandy to track inland just south of or on the New Jersey coast, major coastal flooding, hurricane force winds and torrential rain are all distinct possibilities. A track further to the north, in New England, and the Garden State may be spared some of the more severe impacts. Even the potential for Sandy to move out to sea (while the least likely) can’t be completely discounted at this point.

Because the ceiling of the storm’s impact is so high, forecasters and state officials are urging residents to monitor it closely. The threat of major coastal flooding, inland flooding and wind damage is very much in the realm of possibilities for New Jersey – a threat that should not be taken lightly, regardless of the outcome.

full story HERE

^^^^ They really should have run that story by the copyediting department before posting.

Efan said:

^^^^ They really should have run that story by the copyediting department before posting.

It's okay really...they're from New Jersey.

(..."brick" from chocolate1 hitting me in 5...4...3...2...)

"Frankenstorm"? Jesus Christ.

The new predictions got it far away from the NC coast but it will curve to the NE... my goodness...

Another Halloween, another freak storm for the northeastern U.S.

They pulled out the generator and the snow shovels at my job!

No I'm not ready I haven't recovered from the one we had last year, we lost power for twelve days. I cannot do that again!!!

Ughhh!!! I'm not ready for snow

nammie said:

No I'm not ready I haven't recovered from the one we had last year, we lost power for twelve days. I cannot do that again!!!

People are all like "you think Irene was bad..."

Last time we had a huge storm I was out of power for over a week... Any west coast orgers want a houseguest?!

Timmy84 said:

nammie said:

No I'm not ready I haven't recovered from the one we had last year, we lost power for twelve days. I cannot do that again!!!

People are all like "you think Irene was bad..."

With Irene we lost power for five days, it was the October storm that had us out, in my area, for over a week

nammie said:

Timmy84 said:

People are all like "you think Irene was bad..."

With Irene we lost power for five days, it was the October storm that had us out, in my area, for over a week

Oh wow... that's fucked up. Irene had us out for three I think. And that was because apparently we had different lines than all of the town we live in.

PurpleJedi said:

Efan said:

^^^^ They really should have run that story by the copyediting department before posting.

It's okay really...they're from New Jersey.

(..."brick" from chocolate1 hitting me in 5...4...3...2...)

(Didn't want to disappoint! )

nammie said:

No I'm not ready I haven't recovered from the one we had last year, we lost power for twelve days. I cannot do that again!!!

That freak occurrence caused me to miss the fdluxe show!

I took me 45 minutes to get home from work, when it usually takes 5.

We were out of school for 2 days and Halloween was "cancelled" in our area.

Let's all pray it goes out to sea and harms no-one. But as time goes by I'm getting really nervous -- my mother is really ill and she's home with me..

According to the forecast, Sandy has stalled... hmm...

nammie said:

Let's all pray it goes out to sea and harms no-one. But as time goes by I'm getting really nervous -- my mother is really ill and she's home with me..

I hope she gets better.

...and I hope you're right about it going out to sea...

Urgh. I wish it would just go away! I thought we had dodged any possiblility of a hurricane this year. I'm not looking forward to losing power, food and having to shower at other people's houses. Hopefully that mess will evaporate in the Atlantic Ocean.

chocolate1 said:

PurpleJedi said:

It's okay really...they're from New Jersey.

(..."brick" from chocolate1 hitting me in 5...4...3...2...)

(Didn't want to disappoint! )

awwwww this how i first met you

banks said:

chocolate1 said:

(Didn't want to disappoint! )

awwwww this how i first met you

That's right!

I've never in my lifetime heard of a storm like this. Hurricane like weather with snow storms? Hurricanes usually come in warm or hot weather. The scientists must be right. The evironment is definitely changing.

It's gonna drop to being Tropical Storm Sandy later on tonight or sometime tomorrow. It may restrengthen to Category 1 but it's no telling when or if that even happens. It could continue to weaken to a tropical depression but the pressure would still go down. And it's unclear from what I've seen if it'll curve to New England or whatever. It seems to continue to trek northeast.

The weather models I'm seeing are very confused about its path. It originally was supposed to make its landfall around Delaware, Maryland and Virginia (and even so far as the northern tip of NC) but now it seems like it'll make its landfall straight to New Jersey. The pressure keeps going up and down too. They say it may cost like $2 to $5 billion in damages depending if it hits the Northeast right away by Monday.

[Edited 10/27/12 12:25pm]

Ya'll better get out there and vote early!!

lazycrockett said:

Ya'll better get out there and vote early!!

ACTUALLY - that's a real concern. If the storm hits us full-blast on Election Day, many people won't venture out to vote.