TEN
REASONS FOR THIS SANDY
1. Sheer size
A TYPICAL HURRICANE
SPANS ANYWHERE FROM 30 KM TO 100 KM FROM ITS EYE TO THE POINT WHERE WINDS ARE
HIGHEST, SAYS RYAN MULLIGAN, A COASTAL ENGINEERING EXPERT AT QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY
WHO STUDIES HURRICANES. AS OF MONDAY NIGHT, HURRICANE SANDY MEASURED 280 KM,
ALMOST TRIPLE THE AVERAGE SIZE. SO WHILE SANDY IS ONLY A CATEGORY 1 STORM ON
THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE, WHICH RUNS UP TO CATEGORY 5, THAT FIGURE IS
DECEPTIVE: THE CATEGORY OF A STORM DOES NOT ALWAYS DIRECTLY RELATE TO HOW MUCH
DAMAGE IT WILL CAUSE, WARNS THE U.S. NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER.
2. Storm path
WHILE FLORIDA AND THE
GULF COAST ARE OFTEN BATTERED BY HURRICANES, IT’S RARE FOR STORMS TO CHURN
INLAND NORTH OF CAPE HATTERAS, A SPIT OF LAND HALFWAY UP NORTH CAROLINA’S
SHORE, SAYS MULLIGAN. STORMS THAT PASS THE CAPE TYPICALLY BEND EASTWARD AND
HEAD OUT OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, SOMETIMES CLIPPING NOVA SCOTIA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND ALONG THE WAY. BUT AN UNUSUAL CONFIGURATION OF LAND-BASED WEATHER
SYSTEMS IS INTERACTING WITH SANDY, DRAWING THE STORM OVER NEW YORK AND NEW
JERSEY.
3. Double-whammy
PART OF THAT UNUSUAL
CONFIGURATION IS THE LOW-PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT BROUGHT COLD AND RAIN TO TORONTO
ALL WEEKEND. THAT SYSTEM IS DOING MUCH MORE THAN HELPING TO DRAW SANDY INLAND,
HOWEVER: IT’S ALSO FEEDING POWER TO THE HURRICANE. “THIS IS A UNIQUE SITUATION
WHERE THE TWO ARE KIND OF MERGING,” SAYS PETER KIMBELL, A WARNING PREPAREDNESS
METEOROLOGIST WITH ENVIRONMENT CANADA. THE “FRANKENSTORM” — NOW A POST-TROPICAL
STORM RATHER THAN A HURRICANE, BUT NO LESS DANGEROUS — IS EXPECTED SIT OVER
NORTH AMERICA FOR DAYS, DUMPING DOWN RAINFALL.
4. Freezing cold
IN MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS
OF SOME U.S. STATES ARE EXPECTING UP TO THREE FEET OF SNOWFALL. COMBINED WITH
POWER OUTAGES, THE COLD COULD BE PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS. WITH SNOW ALREADY
FALLING, THE GOVERNOR OF NORTH CAROLINA DECLARED A STATE OF EMERGENCY FOR 24
COUNTIES ON MONDAY.
5. Impact zone
SANDY’S UNUSUAL ROUTE PUTS
UPWARDS OF 50 MILLION PEOPLE ALONG ITS STORM PATH. IT IS EXPECTED TO MAKE
LANDFALL ON THE SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY COAST THAT INCLUDES THE MOST DENSELY
POPULATED AREA OF THE U.S. “THE TRACK OF THE HURRICANE IS PARTICULARLY BAD,”
SAYS MULLIGAN. HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO WREAK HAVOC AS FAR NORTH
AS CHATHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, AND AS FAR SOUTH AS CHINCOTEAGUE, VIRGINIA. “IT’S
GOING TO CAUSE A STORM SURGE WHICH WILL BE (THE) HIGHEST OR WORST-CASE IN NEW
YORK HARBOUR, WHICH IS NOT A GOOD THING,” HE SAYS. THE AREA IS LOW-LYING AND
FILLED WITH INFRASTRUCTURE.
6. Storm surge
THE NEW YORK HARBOUR
STORM SURGE IS FORECAST TO PEAK ANYWHERE FROM 1.8 METRES TO 3.3 METRES. NYC’S
HARBOUR IS FUNNEL-SHAPED AND ONLY 5 METRES TO 7 METRES DEEP IN MANY PLACES,
WHICH WILL ENCOURAGE WAVES TO AMPLIFY, SAYS MULLIGAN. THE NATIONAL HURRICANE
CENTER CALLED THE SURGE “LIFE-THREATENING,” AND CITY OFFICIALS WARNED THAT A
DELUGE OF SALT WATER COULD CORRODE SUBWAY BRAKES. OTHER COASTAL AREAS WILL ALSO
BE BATTERED. A BIG CHUNK OF ATLANTIC CITY’S BOARDWALK WAS WASHED AWAY MONDAY
AFTERNOON.
7. High tide
A FULL MOON OCCURRED
MONDAY AFTERNOON. THE PHASE OF THE LUNAR CYCLE MEANS TIDES ARE HIGHER THAN
USUAL, CONTRIBUTING TO THE HUGE STORM SURGE.
8. Leafy peril
WHILE TREES IN ONTARIO
ARE MOSTLY BARE BY NOW, FURTHER SOUTH THE LEAVES ARE STILL ON THEIR BRANCHES.
THAT’S SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE LEAVES HELP CATCH WIND, CONTRIBUTING TO THE
LIKELIHOOD THAT TREES WILL BLOW DOWN AND CAUSE DAMAGE TO HOMES AND CARS, SAYS
GEOFF COULSON, ANOTHER WARNING PREPAREDNESS METEOROLOGIST AT ENVIRONMENT CANADA.
9. Already deadly
WHILE MUCH OF THE
WORLD’S ATTENTION IS FIXATED ON NORTH AMERICA, SANDY HAS ALREADY PROVED LETHAL,
KILLING 69 PEOPLE IN THE CARIBBEAN. IN SANTIAGO, CUBA’S SECOND-LARGEST CITY,
RESIDENTS REMAINED WITHOUT POWER OR RUNNING WATER FOR THE FOURTH STRAIGHT DAY.
WITH 11 PEOPLE DEAD, SANDY WAS CUBA’S DEADLIEST STORM IN SEVEN YEARS.
10. Not going anywhere
SANDY IS ALSO MOVING
PARTICULARLY SLOWLY. “SANDY AND WHAT’S LEFT OF HER IS GOING TO LINGER,” SAYS
COULSON. ANY ISSUES THE STORM IS CREATING OVER THE EASTERN SEABOARD RIGHT NOW
AREN’T GOING TO DIMINISH SOON, HE ADDS: “THEY’RE GOING TO BE DEALING WITH A LOT
OF WEATHER OVER THE NEXT THREE DAYS.” EVEN THE CANADIAN RED CROSS AND ONTARIO’S
MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY SAFETY IS URGING ANYONE IN THE STORM’S PATH TO GET
TOGETHER ENOUGH SUPPLIES FOR 72 HOURS.
