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Powerful Storm Systems Continue on Collision Course Urgent Warnings as Hurricane Sandy Strengthens and Heads to Northeast
(35 minutes later)
With forecasts showing Hurricane Sandy and another powerful storm system likely to collide with devastating effect somewhere on the Eastern Seaboard as early as Sunday evening, tens of millions of people began to make preparations, and authorities increased the urgency of their warnings.With forecasts showing Hurricane Sandy and another powerful storm system likely to collide with devastating effect somewhere on the Eastern Seaboard as early as Sunday evening, tens of millions of people began to make preparations, and authorities increased the urgency of their warnings.
Several states, including New York, declared states of emergency and urged residents to take precautions. In Philadelphia, the mayor called for voluntary evacuations of low-lying areas as did New Jersey’s governor, Chris Christie. Several states, including New York and New Jersey, declared emergencies, and thousands of people were evacuated from low-lying areas. In the New York City area, officials made contingency plans to begin shutting down the subways and the regional rail lines starting at 7 p.m. on Sunday.
At a news conference on Saturday morning, Mr. Christie said that residents could be without power for more than a week if the current forecasts are correct and he urged people not to dismiss the warnings. And President Obama consulted with the leaders of the federal agencies that are monitoring the storm and will respond when it moves ashore. Governors in nine states deployed more than 60,000 National Guard troops to assist the local authorities.
“We should not underestimate the impact of this storm,” he said. “We have to be prepared for the worst here.” Federal authorities said the weather conditions would deteriorate long before the center of the storm makes landfall, and that damage from flooding, snow and wind could extend into the Ohio Valley.
From Plymouth, Me., to Cape Hatteras, N.C., people boarded up windows, stocked up on water, batteries and food and prepared to hunker down. Airlines encouraged people with flights scheduled in the next few days to change their plans, waiving cancellation fees. At a news conference on Saturday morning, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said that power could be out for more than a week if the current forecasts hold, and he urged the state’s residents not to dismiss the warnings. “We should not underestimate the impact of this storm,” he said. “We have to be prepared for the worst here.”
In New York City, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg told residents to stay out of city parks starting on Sunday, and to stock up on basic supplies. All construction in the city was ordered suspended starting Saturday night. From Plymouth, Me., to Cape Hatteras, N.C., people boarded up windows; stocked up on water, batteries and food; and prepared to hunker down. Airlines encouraged people with flights scheduled in the next few days to change their plans and waived cancellation fees.
“This is a large, unpredictable storm, so be prepared for possible outages,” Mr. Bloomberg said at a news conference Friday afternoon. At supply stores across the region, generators and other supplies were snapped up in preparation for the possibility of extended power failures.
The latest computer models tracking the storm showed it likely to make landfall somewhere between Delmarva Peninsula in Delaware and Long Island. But as Hurricane Sandy churned in the Atlantic, it began to spread out, casting tropical-force winds some 450 miles from the center of the storm, which was moving slowly north of the Bahamas about 350 miles from Charleston, S.C. There were also fears of widespread flooding inland. Sandbags joined the Halloween scarecrows along Main Street in Hightstown, N.J., on Saturday as business owners that suffered flood damage during Hurricane Irene last year braced themselves.
Forecasters cautioned that predictions could change, but with each passing hour it seemed more likely that the northeast would be facing a storm of great magnitude. Basem Hassan, who opened a coffee shop, Roasting Post Cafe, a few doors down from the fire station there just two weeks ago, spent Saturday putting his most valuable belongings — a coffee roaster and furniture — atop more replaceable equipment like kitchen shelves. “This is to minimize headache,” he said.
“There is a growing consensus among the computer models that increases our confidence in the storm’s path,” said Dan Hofmann, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. In New York City, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg told residents to stay out of city parks starting on Sunday and to stock up on basic supplies. All construction was ordered to be suspended starting on Saturday night.
Hurricane Sandy weakened overnight Friday into a tropical storm and then strengthened again to hurricane level, with sustained winds of over 75 miles per hour recorded by ocean buoys more than 100 miles from the storm’s center. “This is a large, unpredictable storm, so be prepared for possible outages,” Mr. Bloomberg said at a news conference on Friday afternoon.
Experts cautioned that even if Hurricane Sandy decreased in strength, the storm would likely still be powerful because of the unusual convergence of several weather systems. Officials prepared for a possible shutdown of the subway and regional rail system, depending on the path the storm will take. A final decision will not be made until Sunday, but officials said that if it looks like New York would be hit by storm surges more than four feet, they would stop all Long Island Railroad and Metro-North service at 7 p.m. If they decide to shut down the subway system as well, the trains would also stop running at 7 p.m., with all cars off the tracks by 3 a.m. on Sunday.
As the storm moves ashore, a system known as a midlatitude trough — which often leads to severe winter storms — is moving across the country from the west. It is expected to draw in Hurricane Sandy, giving it added energy. A burst of frigid arctic air is expected to sweep down through the Canadian plains just as those two storms are converging. That could lead to several feet of snow inland in West Virginia, and lighter amounts in parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio, as well as a deluge of rain along the coast. If sustained winds exceed 60 miles per hour, officials said, the bridges leading in and out of the city would be shut down too.
The full moon on Monday could also help cause even greater flooding, with tides at their peak. On Long Island, there was an added urgency because computer models showed that it was within the predicted landfall zone. The Town of Islip ordered the mandatory evacuation of residents in low-lying areas, including Fire Island, by Sunday afternoon.
In all, the hybrid storm could affect as many as 50 million people. The hurricane was forecast to make landfall between the Delmarva Peninsula and Long Island, with its path shifting hourly. But as the storm continue to churn its way north, it began to spread out, with tropical-force winds extending about 450 miles from its center of the storm. On Saturday, the hurricane was moving slowly north of the Bahamas and was about 300 miles east of Charleston, S.C.
In many of the states in the storm’s path, there are still fresh memories of a “derecho” storm this summer — with bursts of gale-force winds, tornadoes and lightning storms — that left millions stranded without power for days. Forecasters cautioned that predictions could change, but it seemed likely that the Northeast would be facing a storm of great magnitude.
The approaching storm is predicted to be more powerful than Hurricane Irene in 2011. Although New York City was spared a direct hit, that storm caused more than $15 billion in damage across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, according to federal officials. Rick Knabb, the director of the National Hurricane Center, said the intensity of the storm was unlikely to change, and he warned that weather conditions will become dangerous long before the storm’s center makes landfall. “The center of circulation is only going to be a very small part of the story,” he said. “This is not just going to be a coastal event,” Dr. Knabb said. People from Virginia northward should be prepared for a “long-duration event.” Experts cautioned that even if Hurricane Sandy decreased in strength, it would remain a danger because of the unusual convergence of several weather systems.
Power companies were racing on Saturday to get extra crews in place and implement plans to restore power outages that are expected across the region. A system known as a midlatitude trough — which often leads to severe winter storms — is moving across the country from the west. It is expected to draw in Hurricane Sandy, giving it added energy. A burst of arctic air is expected to sweep down through the Canadian plains just as those two storms are converging. That could lead to several feet of snow in West Virginia and lighter amounts in parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio, as well as a deluge of rain along the coast.
For the past 48 hours, meteorologists on local and national broadcasts exhausted a thesaurus full of superlatives trying to capture the potential magnitude of the unusual storm. The full moon on Monday could cause even greater flooding because tides would be at their peak.
It was compared to the “perfect storm” that struck the northeast in 1991 and it was christened “Frankenstorm.”

Brian Stelter contributed reporting from New Jersey, and Colin Moynihan from New York.

But most experts agreed that if the worst-case scenarios play out, it could be the most severe storm to hit the East Coast in a generation.
Even before the storm struck, it disrupted the presidential campaign, forcing candidates to change their schedules and prepare to deal with the fallout from any severe damage.
Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia — where both campaigns canceled events — declared a state of emergency and advised residents in low-lying areas in the eastern part of the state to prepare to evacuate. Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland issued a similar order for all counties in his state and activated the National Guard to assist in emergencies.
On Long Island, there was an added urgency to the preparations as computer models continued to show that the area was within the target zone of where the storm could make landfall. The Town of Islip ordered the mandatory evacuation of residents in low-lying areas, including Fire Island by Sunday afternoon.
In New Jersey, Mr. Christie ordered that four reservoir systems in the northern part of the state be drawn down to help limit flooding.
“These actions are necessary due to the potentially unprecedented nature of the storm that is heading our way,” he said.
As the storm moved slowly northward in the Atlantic, people along the coast in North Carolina began to see rising waves and heavy wind and rain were expected later in the day. Forecasts called for heavy rains to begin in the northeast on Sunday afternoon, with the storm growing in intensity overnight. By Monday night, according to computer models, the storm is likely to be close to shore and the severe weather could last for several days.