Hurricane sandy strikes the mid-atlantic otd 11 years ago

For days, forecasters across the region were tracking a powerful hurricane in the Caribbean that was set to track up the east coast. By the morning of October 27th, it became clear that impacts would be felt across the mid atlantic, some of which could be significant. The NHC included most of Maryland in the cone of uncertainty in their 5am advisory on the 27th. Hurricane Sandy made landfall in southern NJ as a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 90mph on October 29th. This storm prompted the governor to declare a State Of Emergency.

The most notable feature from sandy was its incredibly massive wind field, which was one of, if not the largest on record. Tropical storm conditions were experienced from the Carolinas all the way into Maine! Locally, winds were sustained between 30 and 40mph, with gusts of 60-75mph. This magnitude of wind combined with the long duration and heavy rain resulted in massive tree and powerline damage with hundreds of thousands of power outages. Since Sandy was undergoing the transition to a non-tropical system (still with hurricane force winds), no tropical related warnings were issued for our area. However, the region was blanketed by high wind warnings and wind advisories, along with extremely rare hurricane force wind warnings on the bay. 

Widespread flash flooding also occurred with Sandy as rainfall amounts of 6-12" were observed across the region. This only exacerbated issued and resulted in flooded homes, businesses, and blocked/washed out roadways. There was also a storm surge along the bay, which caused some areas to experience both freshwater and saltwater flooding. 

Forecaster Jack