NEWS,29.10.2012

Hurricane Sandy - cocktail with a kick

Such a friendly sounding name on the surface, such a rare and devastating cocktail roiling within.You name it and Hurricane Sandy and the posse of titanic weather events accompanying it have them: humongous size, unusual staying power and plenty of high-tide sea water to wreak havoc, perhaps repeatedly, as the full moon and thus high tide roll in with exquisitely bad timing.Sandy already killed 66 people as it churned up from the Caribbean, ripping down houses and trees and wreaking other kinds of havoc in the Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti.But now, as it spins menacingly toward the US East Coast, with landfall expected late on Monday afternoon or Tuesday, it is morphing ominously into something else - from a tropical storm fuelled by warm sea water to a different kind of storm that runs on contrasts in temperature.Of that there is plenty. The core of Sandy is still tropical. But it is wrapped by cold air from a 'nor'easter coming from the north, by cold air coming from the jet stream to the west and by coldish air coming from the south.So Sandy is getting hit from all sides - streams of petrol fuelling a fire.And while most hurricanes tend to drift back east after making landfall, these powerful buffers will make it actually head west, inland, with forecasters saying it will even dump snow."These energetics are allowing it to maintain its strength," said Todd Kimberlain, a forecaster at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.Radar images showing the cowering US East Coast and the white, swirly mass of Sandy are indeed jaw-dropping.Allusions have been made to the so-called "Perfect Storm" of 1991, which inspired a book and a movie of the same name. Meteorologists say some of the same factors are converging this time but in a more fierce fashion, and with greater impact onshore and inland.Low pressureHurricane-force winds stretch out 289km from its core, and weaker, tropical-storm force winds go out a stunning distance of nearly 780km.That's due in part to the extremely low pressure at the core. The wind in a storm like this is caused by the pressure gradient - the difference in pressure at the eye and the edge.If somehow you could stand at the nucleus of Sandy, you would not gasp for breath or otherwise notice the difference, Kimberlain said. The pressure in mile-high Denver, Colorado, for instance  where the air is so thin it takes a few extra minutes of boiling to cook rice - the pressure is even lower.But because Sandy has such staying power, Kimberlain said, "once it hits the coast it will be at one of the lowest pressures on record."Then, there's all that water. The moon will ease into its full phase on Monday afternoon, and with it comes full tide on the eastern seaboard."Heaven and Earth may be aligning to turn Sandy into a real monster, just in time for Halloween," the climate-monitoring website Accuweather.com said on Monday.Storm surge Sandy's storm surge, forecast to cause coastal flooding of up to 2m in some states, like North Carolina, will be bad enough."But superimpose on top that the effect of the full tide and you get a couple extra cm," Kimberlain said.This is one of the most dangerous aspects of this storm, he said. Making matters worse, as Sandy is going to stick around for a few days, this coastal flooding could go through several tidal cycles.Some forecasters are tripping over each other with doomsday predictions."History is being written as an extreme weather event continues to unfold, one which will occupy a place in the annals of weather history as one of the most extraordinary to have affected the United States," senior meteorologist Stu Ostro of The Weather Channel wrote on Monday.He added: "This is an extraordinary situation, and I am not prone to hyperbole."

 

 

Warning of acute danger as hurricane edges closer

Hurricane Sandy has begun battering the densely populated East Coast of the US, shutting down transportation, forcing evacuations in flood-prone areas and interrupting the presidential campaign.Fierce winds and flooding were expected along hundreds of miles of Atlantic coast and heavy snows were forecast farther inland at higher elevations when the centre of the storm moves ashore on Monday evening near Atlantic City, New Jersey.US stock markets closed for the first time since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the government in Washington shut down and school was cancelled up and down the East Coast.About 150,000 customers were without power by midday  and millions more could lose electricity."This is going to be a big and powerful storm and all across the Eastern Seaboard I think everybody is taking the appropriate preparations," President Barack Obama said at the White House.States of emergency State governors from Virginia to Massachusetts warned of the acute danger from the storm for the 60 million residents in its path.Nine states have declared a state of emergency. Experts said economic losses from the storm could reach $US20 billion ($24bn)."There will undoubtedly be some deaths that are caused by the intensity of this storm, by the floods, by the tidal surge, by the waves.The more responsibly citizens act, the fewer people will die," Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley told reporters.Off North Carolina, the US Coast Guard rescued 14 of the 16 crew members who abandoned the replica tall ship HMS Bounty, using helicopters to lift them from life rafts.The Coast Guard continued to search for the two missing crew members. The US coastguard said the boat had reportedly sunk, though the mast was still visible.'Extremely dangerous' At 2pm Monday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the Category 1 storm had strengthened as it turned toward the coast and was moving at 44kph. Tropical storm force winds were already occurring over portions of the mid-Atlantic states, it said.The centre said landfall was "expected early this evening"."The combination of an extremely dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters," it said.Sandy was expected to bring a coastal hurricane winds and heavy snow in the Appalachian Mountains, the NHC said.In Fairfield, a Connecticut coastal town and major commuter point into Manhattan, police cruisers blocked the main road leading to the beaches and yellow police tape cordoned off rocky side entrances."People are definitely not taking this seriously enough," police officer Tiffany Barrett, 38, said. "Our worst fear is something like Katrina and we can't get to people."Some 400km to the south, several feet of water flooded streets in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, which could be right in the target zone of the storm.Police knocked on doors, reminding people there was a mandatory evacuation. While the police took names, they allowed residents to stay at their own risk.Rare 'super storm' Forecasters said Sandy was a rare, hybrid "super storm" created by an Arctic jet stream wrapping itself around a tropical storm.The combination of those two storms would have been bad enough, but meteorologists said there was a third storm at play  a system coming down from Canada that would effectively trap the hurricane-nor'easter combo and hold it in place, amplifying the inland flooding effects.Moreover, the storm was coming ashore at high tide, which was pulled even higher by a full moon.The storm interrupted the presidential campaign with eight days to the election.Obama canceled a campaign event in Florida on Monday so he could return to Washington and monitor the US government's response to the storm.Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney canceled campaign stops on Monday night and Tuesday.While Sandy does not pack the punch of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005, it has been gathering strength as it approaches the US coast.It killed 66 people in the Caribbean last week before pounding US coastal areas as it moved north.Winds were at a maximum of 150kph, the NHC said in its 2pm report, increasing throughout the day.Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 280km from the centre, while tropical storm-force winds reached as far as 780km it said.Transit New York and other cities and towns closed their transit systems and schools, ordering mass evacuations from low-lying areas ahead of a storm surge that could reach as high as 3.4 metres.By early Monday water was already topping the seawall in Manhattan's Battery Park City, one of the areas evacuated by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.He ordered 375,000 New Yorkers to evacuate and told those who remained to leave immediately. "Conditions are deteriorating rapidly and the window for you getting out safely is closing."All US stock markets were closed on Monday and possibly Tuesday, the operator of the New York Stock Exchange said, reversing an earlier plan that would have kept electronic trading going on Monday.The United Nations, Broadway theaters and New Jersey casinos were forced to close, and more than two-thirds of the East Coast's oil refining capacity was in the process of shutting down.Airlines cancelled flights, bridges and tunnels closed, and national passenger rail operator Amtrak suspended nearly all service on the East Coast.The US government told non-emergency workers in Washington, DC, to stay home.The storms could cause up to 30cm of rain in some areas, as well as up to one metre of snowfall in the Appalachian Mountains from West Virginia to Kentucky.While Sandy's 150 kph winds were not overwhelming for a hurricane, its exceptional size means the winds could last as long as two days.

NY businesses hunker down, close for Sandy's arrival

They say that New York is the city that never sleeps, but throughout Manhattan today, it seemed as if many businesses were preparing to tuck in, perhaps for days.A monster of a hurricane - potentially the largest on record - was barreling toward the city, threatening business owners with catastrophic damages, biblical flooding and power outages that could last for days.In Times Square, restaurants, electronics shops and perfumeries were sending employees home before 7 pm, when the city's subways were set to close.It was the same throughout Midtown, along Madison Avenue and down into the Bohemian enclave of Greenwich Village, where many of famed Bleeker Street's shops were closing early - and indefinitely."After Monday, employees will be on call," said Jerome Ison, a clerk at Burberry.At Magnolia Bakery, the cupcakes shop made famous by the TV show "Sex and the City," the ovens were turned off around noon."We won't have any extra cupcakes," a worker said.Throughout Manhattan, the pretzel and hot dog vendors were packing up too, often to travel across bridges and tunnels to New Jersey, Brooklyn and Staten Island."Everybody's leaving," said peanut purveyor Miah Daras of the Bronx. "For me, this is losing $300 a day."The mad dash out of Manhattan was spurred by the shut down of mass transit today. The loss of transportation illustrated a socio-economic divide - there are many wealthy residents of Manhattan.Those who serve them tend to live elsewhere - the outer boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx.Without public transit, and with the possibility of bridges and tunnels being closed, cutting off vehicular traffic, those two populations were going to be apart from one another. And who knew for how long?"I need my workers to get home safely," said health food deli owner Gale Shim.Heavy rain, high winds Shim decided to stay behind and deal with the situation himself, meaning he'd bunk down in his deli. He had been hearing the news all week - 30cm of rain, 120km/h winds - though was happy he has insurance for food spoilage.But like a lot of New York business owners, it was the flooding that worried him. He stood in the back of the deli's kitchen, surrounded by cases of the hipster health drink Kombucha, and pointed to a place in the ceiling where rainwater routinely surges in.His plan was to fight off the expected deluge with a sump pump, though he didn't know what he would do if the electricity went out. He also hadn't figured out how to get a blanket if he got cold.On the Upper West Side, lines wrapped around the block at grocery store Trader Joe's. At Abingdon Deli, the cheese and meat shelves had been picked clean.Throughout the day, more and more closings were announced.But New Yorkers  who survived the September 11 attacks, a blackout in 2003 and Hurricane Irene last year can be hard to rattle. Some delighted in being contrarians.As many stocked their fridges with water and food, others blew the whole thing off."You know what I have in my fridge?" said Chris Conway, a 41-year-old who lives in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. "Four different kinds of Tabasco and one jar of A-1 steak sauce."There were also plenty of businesses that were daring the storm to bother them."We'll be open, no matter what," said Clarence Ricketts, who manages the 24-hour Walgreens at Times Square. The building has its own in-house engineer, a military-grade power generator and a full staff in the store.Ricketts will pay for cab fare if an employee needs to go home, but he's cleared out space in the store's fifth-floor offices and has air mattresses for workers."We sell air mattresses," he said. "So however many workers need, we have."One business that storms treat positively well  bars.Downtown Manhattan's Corner Bistro was full today. The Bistro, legendary for its salty bartenders and tender burgers, stayed open throughout Hurricane Irene.During the 2003 blackout, one manager tried to close the bar - and was fired."The Bistro only closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that's it," said bartender Jeff Sheehan.Justice never rests While Hurricane Sandy may shut down much of the federal government and halt public transport in Washington DCtomorrow, it will be business as usual at the US Supreme Court, where justices - appointed for life - pride themselves in all manner of staying power.The country's highest court is keeping to its oral-argument schedule and intends to hear cases through Wednesday, court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said today."It was the decision of the chief justice, in consultation with court officials," Arberg said, in a reference to Chief Justice John Roberts, who was appointed in 2005.There is a tradition to this. In 1996, when a major snowstorm closed the federal government and brought Washington DC, to a near standstill, court arguments went on. Then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist, a Wisconsin native undeterred by snow and ruled by a strong sense of punctuality, made sure business that January 8 began on schedule.Roberts, 57, who grew up in Indiana, was once a law clerk to Rehnquist, who died in 2005.The justices are starting their second two-week round of arguments for the annual term, beginning tomorrow with a foreign intelligence wiretap case and a copyright dispute. Non-emergency federal workers have been told to stay home.Arberg said court officials would be monitoring the hurricane to determine whether safety factors might require a change in the schedule. Two cases are scheduled for each of the following two days.During the January 1996 snowstorm, court officials picked up some of the justices in four-wheel-drive vehicles. Seven of the nine arrived on time for the 10 am opening session. Justice David Souter eventually made it to the bench that Monday.Justice John Paul Stevens, who was in Florida at the time, did not. Both have since retired.Arberg said she was unaware of any justices who would not make it in on Monday.

Obama: Hurricane Sandy Will Be 'Big And Powerful,' But We're Ready

President Barack Obama on Monday expressed confidence that his administration is prepared to take on Hurricane Sandy and said he's not concerned about the impact it will have on the elections.During brief remarks at the White House, Obama said he has been working with the Departments of Energy, Transportation, Homeland Security and Health and Human Services to coordinate for what is "obviously" going to be a "big and powerful storm." He said the center of the storm is expected to make landfall along the East Coast on Monday night. But because of its size, millions of people across the country will be affected, particularly when it comes to power outages and transportation."The most important message that I have for the public right now is, 'Please listen to what your state and local officials are saying,'' Obama said. "When they tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate. Do not delay. Don't pause. Don't question the instructions being given because this is a serious storm and could potentially have fatal consequences."Obama gave his remarks right after coming out of a Situation Room briefing on the storm. Among those in the meeting, via video teleconference, were Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, FEMA administrator Craig Fugate, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Energy Secretary Chu and National Hurricane Center Director Richard Knabb.The president emphasized that he has been working with state and local officials to ensure everybody has the resources they need, including food, water and electricity generators."At this point, there are no unmet needs," Obama said. Straddling the line between his presidency and his candidacy for reelection, Obama added that "the great thing about America" is that people pull together in tough times. "We set aside whatever issues we may have otherwise to respond appropriately and with swiftness, and that's exactly what I anticipate is going to happen here."Asked by a reporter if he is worried about the storm affecting the election, he said no."I am not worried at this point about the impact on the election. I am worried about the impact on families. I am worried about the impact on our firstresponders. I am worried about the impact on our economy and on transportation," Obama said. "The election will take care of itself next week."