Sandy – A Decade After the Disaster

 

"Sandy" nearing landfall in New Jersey (Source: NOAA)

Today is the 10^th anniversary of “Superstorm” Sandy’s landfall in New Jersey.  The former hurricane reached its peak intensity several days earlier as a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 115 mph and a minimum central air pressure of 940 millibars.  That also made it the strongest hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. 

Shortly before its landfall in New Jersey, Sandy moved over cooler water and into an increasingly unfavorable environment for a tropical storm or hurricane.  Consequently, the structure of the storm changed and Sandy was declared a “non-tropical” or “post-tropical” storm.  That led to a great deal of confusion for many residents of the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States who thought Sandy was no longer a threat once the hurricane watches and warnings were discontinued. 

Sandy was dubbed a “Superstorm” and made landfall at the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 80 mph and a minimum central pressure of 946 millibars.  As Sandy transitioned to a non-tropical storm, the wind field and rain shield associated with it both increased in diameter.  That allowed for a larger area to be impacted. 

Sandy had the second-lowest pressure of any storm to come ashore north of Cape Hatteras, N.C.  Atlantic City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Trenton all set records for the lowest air pressure reading, according to NOAA.  The lower the air pressure is, the stronger the storm is and higher the winds tend to be with a stronger pressure gradient (a greater difference in air pressure over a shorter geographic distance produces higher wind speeds).  Record flooding occurred in New Jersey, New York City and on Long Island, N.Y. with epic storm surges.  Tens of thousands were left without electricity or heat for weeks.  Record rainfall totals also occurred in the D.C. Metro Area with two-day rainfall totals (October 29-30).

October 29:  DCA (National Airport): 3.85” / Dulles Airport (IAD): 4.26” / BWI: 5.51”

October 30:  DCA: 0.84” / IAD: 1.00” / BWI: 0.92”

There were eye-popping snowfall totals as Sandy pushed further inland and into the higher elevation of the Appalachian Mountains.  In West Virginia, for example, Richwood saw 36” of snow, Snowshoe got 32” and Davis had 28”.   In all, Sandy did an estimated $81.9 billion in damages (2022 dollars) and is the fourth most destructive “hurricane” in U.S. history, behind only Katrina, Harvey and Maria.  Sandy also claimed almost 150 lives in the United States.