Frankenstorm Sandy: The making of a monster

Coming as it did on the eve of Halloween, "Sandy" might well be the scariest storm to hit the United States in recent memory —but not, by far, the strongest.

 

Based on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale —a means of estimating potential property losses— Sandy is just a Category 1 Hurricane with potential for minimal damage “primarily restricted to shrubbery, trees, and unanchored mobile homes,” according to Weather.com. In contrast, Hurricane Katrina, the most devastating US storm in modern history, was a Category 3 on the scale. 

 

However, Sandy and other "post-tropical cyclones" like it that have undergone "extratropical transition" —that is, ventured out of the tropical zone— have winds that are weaker but more spread out and more far-reaching. Thus, they can wreak havoc over a larger area than tropical cyclones.

 

Also, extratropical or post-tropical cyclones may bring heavy rains, thunderstorms, and even thundersnows.

 

Sandy's far-reaching effects prompted National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Paul Kocin to say: "what we're seeing in some of our models is a storm at an intensity that we have not seen in this part of the country in the past century.”

 

“We're not trying to hype it, [but] this is what we're seeing in some of our models,” he added. 

 

Why is Sandy so strong?

 

Even before Sandy hit the US, it had already killed at least 67 individuals as it passed through the Carribean, according to a report from CNN.

Weather.com tweeted an update on this:

 

Hurricane Sandy's Death Toll Rises to 69 in Caribbean Countries like Cuba & Haiti wxch.nl/StukQb via @nbclatino #tormenta #sandy — The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) October 30, 2012    

 

Other factors also aggravated Sandy’s impact.

 

CNN reported, “Irrespective of the tides, the National Weather Service is forecasting potentially harmful storm surges of between 6 to 11 feet in New York Harbor and Long Island Sound.”

 

Independent.Co.UK reported that the highest storm surge—abnormal rise of water due to a storm—in modern history happened in 1960 when Battery Park, New York was hit by 10.5 ft. storm surge.

 

iWitness Weather Photos: Flood on Ave C 14th St NYC. Cars under water. wxch.nl/YggIte — The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) October 30, 2012    

 

Because Sandy hit the East Coast at high tide, it had the capacity to cause bigger floods.

 

Another reason for its damaging impact is that the storm extends up to 520 miles (835 km) from its eye.

 

“That portends to affect hundreds of miles of territory, on both sides of Sandy's eye, hit hard by destructive winds, with an even bigger swath getting tropical force-level gusts and drenching rains,” said CNN in a report. 

 

Sandy also caused heavy snowfall in the Appalachian Mountains, from West Virginia to Kentucky. 

 

“Coupled with the high winds we mentioned earlier, the threat of downed trees, power outages, and, due to the weight of the heavy, wet snow, roof collapses exists with this storm. Whiteout conditions are possible, at times. Travel will be difficult, if not impossible,” Weather.com warned.

 

Present conditions

 

The US weather bureau's public advisory  as of 5 p.m. (Philippine time) said that Sandy had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (105 kph). The storm is currently 15 miles (24 km) east of York, Pennsylvania, moving west northwest at 15 mph (24 kph).

 

As of 3:31 pm (Philippine time), more than 3.4 million people were without power and an unconfirmed death toll as the storm hit New Jersey, according to Weather.com.

 

 

 

Can Sandy happen in the PHL?

 

According to LiveScience, the main difference between hurricanes and typhoons is just location: Eastern Pacific and Atlantic cyclones are called hurricanes, and North Pacific, South Pacific and Indian Ocean cyclones are called typhoons. 

 

 

The Philippines, home to an average of 20 typhoons per year, is not unfamiliar with strong tropical cyclones. 

 

Among the deadliest typhoons that visited the Philippines in recent years was Tropical Storm Sendong —Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale— which ravaged the southern Philippines in December, 2011, leaving 334 people dead.

 

Safety from extratropical cyclones

 

GMA resident meteorologist Nathaniel "Mang Tani" Cruz explained that the Philippines commonly experiences cyclones with windspeeds comparable to Sandy, but our location in the tropics prevents us from experiencing the full brunt of such "extratropical" cyclones.

 

"'Yung mga bagyong may kaparehong windspeed kay Sandy, nararanasan natin iyon. Pero, dahil ito ay umabot na sa tinatawag na 'extratropical' (area), hindi na tayo makakaranas ng ganoon," Mang Tani explained.

 

"'Yung windspeed, storm surge, rainfall, pwede 'yun (sa Pilipinas), pero 'yung snowfall, hindi," he added. — TJD, GMA News