Sandy was a powerful combination storm that started out as a tropical depression on October 22^nd, then becoming a hurricane Wednesday October 27^th. That Saturday before the Monday evening landfall, forecast computer models already had hurricane Sandy moving onshore affecting the northeastern U.S. In fact looking back most computer models already had Sandy hitting New Jersey several days in advance. At that time the storm was a Category 1 hurricane, and had not transitioned into a combination mid-latitude storm/hurricane. But as we went through the week the storm would begin to undergo some changes making it even bigger and more powerful.

A cold front and jet stream energy which would usually weaken such a storm allowed it to strengthen, with the tropical component holding together in the center and a more Nor’easter type storm forming around it. Growing in size to about 1000mi across! Once the storm increased in size the air pressure in the storm really began to drop. This an indicator of the intensity of the storm. And on Monday October 29^th before making landfall the pressure had dropped to 940mb, making it the strongest storm ever to hit the northeastern U.S.

Once moving ashore in southern New Jersey, it had winds of 80 to 100mph with higher gusts. And a storm surge between 8 and 10+ ft. The system also dumbed almost a foot of rain in some areas and around three feet of snow further west in the southern and central Appalachian Mountains!  The bigger story now is all of the damage such a powerful and widespread storm can cause. With the death toll approaching 90 people as of today in the U.S., and damage around 30 to 50 Billion dollars.