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Posted
  • Location: Bognor Regis West Sussex
  • Location: Bognor Regis West Sussex

In more rural areas, with more trees etc, they'll likely be without power for much longer — after '87, we were without power for 6 weeks we lived in West Sussex and they took weeks to fix all the substations knocked out by trees falling on them.

From the storm chasers cams NJ and NY looked very wooded areas.

And they said that wasn't a hurricane, well around the IOW area it had higher wind gusts than Sandy anyway. I was lucky, our house was on the same grid as the local hospital so ours was on in 12 hours. Other places had awful waits for power. The worst devastation from Sandy was that tremendous storm surge.
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Posted
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)

Interesting analysis by Channel 4 weatherman Liam Dutton I've reposted here:

What made Hurricane Sandy’s impact so great?

A week after hitting the Caribbean, Hurricane Sandy made landfall along the east coast of the US on Monday evening as a powerful storm.

Worst fears have been realised, with 16 people killed, millions of homes without power, and road, rail and airline networks paralysed. Only last year, New York City and other parts of the eastern US were hit by Hurricane Irene, which left a trail of damage and disruption, estimated by NOAA to have cost $19bn.

So what has made Hurricane Sandy’s impact so great?

Posted Image

Size

The size of Hurricane Sandy was truly phenomenal – something that can only be fully appreciated when looking at the storm on a satellite picture. Prior to making landfall, hurricane-force winds (sustained speed of 74mph and above) and tropical storm-force winds (sustained speed of 39-73mph) extended 175 miles and 485 miles from the centre of the storm respectively. According to NOAA, in a typical large hurricane, tropical storm-force winds would only reach out 300 miles from a storm’s centre. To put this into context, if the centre of hurricane Sandy was placed over Paris, the tropical-storm force winds would affect much of western Europe – as shown by the green circle on the map below.

Posted Image

Track

Sandy’s track has been crucial in terms of the impact that it has had. Normally, hurricanes that move along the east coast of the US are steered out across the Atlantic Ocean by the west to east movement of the jet stream. However, on this occasion, the jet stream was taking a more north to south track, having less of a steering effect on Sandy. In addition, there was a big area of high pressure to the north east of the US which effectively blocked Sandy from moving out into the Atlantic. As a result, the storm was forced to take a left turn, slamming into the east coast. Not only is this an unusual route for a hurricane to take, it is a route that put around 60 million people in its path.

Storm surge and high tide

As the storm made landfall, there was a major storm surge along coastal areas on its northern side caused by onshore hurricane-force winds pushing water onto the coastline. Also, with a new moon, high tides were occurring, which only added to the water levels along the shore. These factors combined to cause major coastal flooding – especially for low-lying areas. Battery Park, New York City had storm surges reaching a record-breaking 14ft, sending torrents of water into lower Manhattan.

Damaging winds

Hurricane-force winds lashed the coastline from New Jersey to Massachusetts where gusts of up to 90mph were experienced. This strength of wind came at a time of year when some trees are still in leaf. Leaves on trees act as sails and make them more prone to being blown down, as does heavy rain, softening the ground that holds their roots. Urban areas are even more prone to damage from strong winds because the layout of buildings can cause the wind to funnel between them, giving the wind an extra kick. Very tall buildings like skyscrapers would have experienced even stronger winds than those measured at ground level. This is because the wind blows even faster just a few hundred metres above the ground due to it experiencing less friction and flowing more freely. It is probable that the top of the Empire State building experienced wind gusts in the range of 120mph, if not a little more.

Climate change?

There’s no doubt that some will debate on whether climate change can be said to have had an influence on hurricane Sandy. However, it’s not wise or reasonable to use a single weather event when considering a changing climate. On the other hand, future predictions of a warmer world would allow the atmosphere to hold more moisture, which could equate to more significant rainfall events taking place. Also, warmer ocean waters could potentially give hurricanes a bigger playground in which to roam, as this is where they draw their energy from in order to thrive.

http://blogs.channel4.com/liam-dutton-on-weather/hurricane-sandys-impacts-great/2331

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Posted
  • Location: Mostly Watford but 3 months of the year at Capestang 34310, France
  • Weather Preferences: Continental type climate with lots of sunshine with occasional storm
  • Location: Mostly Watford but 3 months of the year at Capestang 34310, France

Interesting analysis by Channel 4 weatherman Liam Dutton I've reposted here:

http://blogs.channel...acts-great/2331

Interesting post - It just shows what can happen when you get a number of factors 'dovetailing'. I would expect that at ground level the 'ventura effect' could cause localised higher gusts as the wind passes through a series of largish buildings. The approaching 250mms of rain would not help either with it being unable to drain away into a surge tide. It was well forecasted and gave the authorities some time to get emergency procedures, such as evacuation, into operation.

It brings back memories of our 1953 'North Sea Sea Surge', which wasn't so well forecasted at all but this really shows the advance in technology and techniques over the years rather than anybody falling down on the job - London is now better protected than what it was with the Thames Barrier but the topography of New York Harbour does not lend itself a similar contruction. I expect the alternative they will consider would be higher sea walls which would be a considerable undertaking. Thank God they closed down the subway.

It also reminds me of the floods we had in the area of France a few years ago, where we are at the moment - here gale force SE winds forced a 'high tide' causing the water to back up into the Aude whilst torrential rain in the Corbiere area was trying to drain out, the result being that Cuxac d'Aude, about 5 miles south of us, was under 2 metres of water.

Now they are building extensive flood drainage channels.

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"As Sandy came ashore in New Jersey its core recorded the lowest barometric pressure ever recorded in northeast US. Although not even a hurricane as Sandy barrelled into the coast its pressure was 940mb, a reading normally associated with a Category 3 hurricane. The previous record low pressure was in 1938 hurricane at Bellport, Long Island (946 hPa)."

That's what the BBC have to say about it, and I thought it was the other way round, with Sandy having 946mb's on landfall?

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Posted
  • Location: Bedworth, North Warwickshire 404ft above sea level
  • Location: Bedworth, North Warwickshire 404ft above sea level

Just seen a brilliant quote on facebook from my brother-in-law..

"The US Metoffice has issued a stark warning that Hurricane Sandy has now been upgraded to 'British summer'. Posted Image

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Posted
  • Location: Camborne
  • Location: Camborne

It brings back memories of our 1953 'North Sea Sea Surge', which wasn't so well forecasted at all but this really shows the advance in technology and techniques over the years rather than anybody falling down on the job - London is now better protected than what it was with the Thames Barrier but the topography of New York Harbour does not lend itself a similar contruction. I expect the alternative they will consider would be higher sea walls which would be a considerable undertaking. Thank God they closed down the subway.

The horse has now bolted.

Only three years ago a conference was held to discuss possiblity of New York being hit by a hurricane and swamped by a storm surge. A system of flood barriers was proposed to protect New York, much as the Thames Barrier defends London from a storm surge.

“We’re going to have to do something,†said the oceanographer Malcolm Bowman at Stony Brook University, New York. Because sea levels are rising particularly fast on the northeast coast of the US, the threat of a storm surge is increasing. New York’s emergency planners expressed interest in a flood barrier, but little more was done.

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Posted
  • Location: Weardale 300m asl
  • Weather Preferences: Snow
  • Location: Weardale 300m asl

The horse has now bolted.

Only three years ago a conference was held to discuss possiblity of New York being hit by a hurricane and swamped by a storm surge. A system of flood barriers was proposed to protect New York, much as the Thames Barrier defends London from a storm surge.

“We’re going to have to do something,†said the oceanographer Malcolm Bowman at Stony Brook University, New York. Because sea levels are rising particularly fast on the northeast coast of the US, the threat of a storm surge is increasing. New York’s emergency planners expressed interest in a flood barrier, but little more was done.

I was listening to the various economic aspects of Sandy… sure… storm damage into the billions, but unemployment will take a huge tumble as people are hired to repair and clean up and with it the headline GDP figures (more economic activity as people rebuild). In fact, it goes to show what a stupid measure of economic health GDP is!

Anyway, whoever's the President is going to have a fairly easy time on the social unrest front. People will be too busy.

Edited by Iceni
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Posted
  • Location: Mostly Watford but 3 months of the year at Capestang 34310, France
  • Weather Preferences: Continental type climate with lots of sunshine with occasional storm
  • Location: Mostly Watford but 3 months of the year at Capestang 34310, France

The horse has now bolted.

Only three years ago a conference was held to discuss possiblity of New York being hit by a hurricane and swamped by a storm surge. A system of flood barriers was proposed to protect New York, much as the Thames Barrier defends London from a storm surge.

“We’re going to have to do something,†said the oceanographer Malcolm Bowman at Stony Brook University, New York. Because sea levels are rising particularly fast on the northeast coast of the US, the threat of a storm surge is increasing. New York’s emergency planners expressed interest in a flood barrier, but little more was done.

Maybe this will convince them now.

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Posted
  • Location: up a bit from from Chelmsford, Essex
  • Location: up a bit from from Chelmsford, Essex

It seems that some of the Americans in New York, who are bleating may have a better perspective on what the poorer countries put up with on a regular basis.

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Posted
  • Location: Cefn Fforest, Blackwood 228 asl
  • Weather Preferences: Extreme
  • Location: Cefn Fforest, Blackwood 228 asl

It was an incredible storm. Like many others on here, I love the extreme side of mother nature.

I have just returned from the Dominican Republic after spending 2 weeks in Punta Cana. It did upset me that so much coverage both here and in the USA focuses upon the USA only when many lives were lost in the Caribbean. The Dominican was hit extremely hard - especially with the current quality of life there. Many people in the towns have been unable to sleep, eat, even have a roof over their heads as their one floor house has been flooded. These people do not have access to drinkable water at the best of times and no shelters are available - so life there has been hit hard. They however, have done a great job in getting back on their feet and staying positive at such a difficult time - I hope America is able to do the same.

We were not hit by the eye of the storm, but had THE most incredible lightening and rain I have ever witnessed. We had 48 hours+ of severe rain, lightening and tropical storm conditions. It was amazing to watch from my balcony, but once you start hearing the reports of the deaths, it's very bitter - sweet.

I am grateful that I was able to witness this historical storm but hope that all people hit are able to rebuild their towns and lives as quickly as possible.

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Posted
  • Location: Leeds/Bradford border, 185 metres above sea level, around 600 feet
  • Location: Leeds/Bradford border, 185 metres above sea level, around 600 feet

For anybody that may not have heard, round 2 is on the way with a Nor'Easter tracking up the eastern seaboard on Wednesday with gales and potentially even snow.

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Posted
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District South Pennines Middleton & Smerrill Tops 305m (1001ft) asl.
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District South Pennines Middleton & Smerrill Tops 305m (1001ft) asl.
Edited by Polar Maritime
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Posted
  • Location: Sheffield South Yorkshire 160M Powering the Sheffield Shield
  • Weather Preferences: Any Extreme
  • Location: Sheffield South Yorkshire 160M Powering the Sheffield Shield

It seems that some of the Americans in New York, who are bleating may have a better perspective on what the poorer countries put up with on a regular basis.

I like the American moaning about paying a grand to see the marathon and it was called off. What a selfish cow anyway I hoped she went and gave some help to the people there.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
  • Location: Milton Keynes MK
  • Weather Preferences: anything extreme or intense !
  • Location: Milton Keynes MK
On Sunday 18th November at 8pm there is a one off documentary on BBC2 called 'anatomy of a superstorm' looking at the effects of Sandy
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Posted
  • Location: on a canal , probably near Northampton...
  • Weather Preferences: extremes n snow
  • Location: on a canal , probably near Northampton...

On Sunday 18th November at 8pm there is a one off documentary on BBC2 called 'anatomy of a superstorm' looking at the effects of Sandy

Lets hope it covers it from the West Atlantic as a tropical depression through all it's stages and across all the disaster areas in it's path........not just a New York documentary with a 1 minute resume of the rest of it's path.

Here's hoping.....

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Posted
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)

The BBC2 program was actually quite good, not to scientific but factual and well interesting, worth watching on iplayer for anybody that missed it and interesting in canes.

Ah good, a perfect way to christen my Sky 'On Demand' wireless box tonight then!

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Posted
  • Location: Headington,Oxfordshire
  • Weather Preferences: Snow
  • Location: Headington,Oxfordshire

There was also an interesting one on BBC 3 last week about footage recorded through the storm..

Link to it on the Iplayer is now at..... . http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01p122s/Superstorm_USA_Caught_on_Camera/

Edited by Mark Neal.
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Posted
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)

Thanks to catch up TV I've finally seen this now and I thought it was pretty good actually!

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  • 3 weeks later...
Posted
  • Location: Torrington, Devon
  • Weather Preferences: storms - of the severe kind
  • Location: Torrington, Devon

edit: checked 30 mins later, and this link got removed. no idea why

basically it stated tropical or non-tropical, the focus would be the occurrence of hurricane conditions within the warning area

here, i'm not going mad

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/05/hurricane-warning-definition_n_2245819.html?ir=Green

----

NHC Hurricane definition change, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy

https://www.facebook...467789106601221

Hmmm, does this re-ignite the debate 1987 Uk storm

Depends if there were any sustained winds 74 mph or higher, i don't think we had that

Edited by stevofunnelcl
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  • 10 months later...
Posted
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)

Hurricane Sandy, one year on: 'It's like a new chance in life'

 
A year after Sandy struck the north-east US, Adam Gabbatt revisits Staten Island, the hardest-hit New York borough
"I remember the water coming from the ocean," says Anna Maglione-Buono. "And the thing I remember most is that I was very guilty that the kids were in the house with us. I was not scared for me and my husband. I was more scared for the children."
 
A year ago, as hurricane Sandy approached America’s north-east, Maglione-Buono, 49, was in her home in South Shore, just 200m from Staten Island’s eastern coast. As the ocean rose amid the howling winds, water washed up over the beach and began to lap at Father Capodano Boulevard, the expressway at the top of Maglione-Buono's street. The Buono family had decided to stay at home, despite their area being classed as evacuation zone A – the most likely to be dangerously affected. They could remember similar warnings about hurricane Irene a year earlier. That storm had come to nothing. Maglione-Buono said that by the time she realised this one was different, it was too late to leave. As the hurricane lashed Staten Island, her son Nicholas, 19, ran out with a neighbour in an attempt to reach the family's car and get to higher ground.
 
"They came running back saying that the water was coming,†Maglione-Buono told the Guardian in an interview on Staten Island, almost a year to the day since the storm hit. "Behind them was a wave of water following them. When they got to the front steps, the water came from the corner, hit the building, made a big splash, and then it was non-stop. It literally was an ocean coming at us."
 
The Buonos’ street dips downhill away from the beach. The water gushed down the road and within minutes their home, a two-storey, three-bedroom 1930s house, was flooded. The water rose to 7ft high in their ground floor. The family watched it creep up the stairs as they huddled in a bedroom, occasionally glancing out onto the street, where water was rising outside their neighbours’ homes. Down the block, Patty Chiaramonte, 49, and her son Alex April, 21, had also ignored the warnings. They were in their kitchen as the storm approached. “We were in the room about to eat dinner and we hear the back door open,†April remembered. “Then we see the water coming in and I didn't know what was happening. [Chiaramonte] went to close the backdoor and then I hear water: ‘Glug, glug, glug’.â€
 
Within minutes the water was chest high and still rising. “The refrigerator floating. That's the one thing I remember seeing,†Chiaramonte said. In their single-storey home there was no safety from the icy flood. Like in the Buono’s home, it rose to seven feet – almost above the doorframes. “I thought we were going to die,†April said. “You're thinking about everything you’re going to lose. Friends, family. You’re thinking: ‘I could lose everything’.â€
 
April decided he had to leave. He swam out into the storm, taking the difficult decision of leaving his mother, who couldn’t swim, behind. He told the Guardian his story in the aftermath of the hurricane last year, and still thinks about it a year later. Kicking out into the into the pitch-black, swirling, ocean, from his backdoor, April made it to a neighbour’s two-storey home. They took him in, but it was too dangerous to return for Chiaramonte. She sat, semi-submerged, on the boiler – the highest point in the home – for seven hours. The coast guard rescued her the next morning in an inflatable boat.
 
“Your mood gets affected,†she said. “Because of the fact you've come so close to death. I'm sitting there, I'm saying: ‘Please I don't want to die. I want to see my son grow up. I want to see my grandkids’. “So, yeah, your mood changes, because you've come so close to death and you don't know what it's going to be. Even your personality changes. You become like a whole different person, because it's like a new chance in life.â€
 
'Get rid of this house and just leave'
 
When the water finally receded, both families’ homes were caked with mud, silt and sewage. The contaminated water caused mould to spread. Clothes, furniture, photographs and treasured possessions were ruined, as in houses elsewhere in New York City, New Jersey and beyond. Neither family could stay in their home. Chiaramonte and April moved into a hotel in downtown Brooklyn, the room paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema). They lived in the hotel – with only a microwave to prepare food – for six months. A colleague of Maglione-Buono’s offered his mother’s recently vacated Staten Island apartment, free of charge.
 
The family – Maglione-Buono, her husband Joe, 50, and their four children Joseph, 28, Raymond, 25, Brittany, 24, and Nicholas, 19 – moved into the place in November, while they tried to decide whether they should move back into their home. "The hardest part was figuring out if we were staying,†Maglione-Buono said. “In the beginning we weren't sure what we wanted to do.†"The house was severely damaged. Severely. It was just before Christmas, and the entire roof needed to be replaced. It was completely covered in mould. The house needed to be completely renovated. And we knew the money we had from the insurance company and we knew it wasn’t going to be enough. "My son Raymond was like: 'Ma, just go find another house. Get rid of this house, and just leave'. "My husband and I thought about it, and we love this house. And it was our home. And we decided we'll do what we can with what we have. No matter how long it takes, we'll fix it."
 
Tired of waiting for assistance from Fema, the family decided to do the work on the house themselves. “We did everything. Plumbing, sheetrock, insulation, painting, priming, putting studs in. I can't believe what we were able to do. We put in a bathroom – my son YouTubed how to put in a bathroom,†Maglione-Buono said. “He didn’t know how to do it. He YouTubed it. Thank God for YouTube."
 
The construction work was painstaking. Maglione-Buono’s son and husband did the bulk of it, her son fitting it around his training at the police academy. The entire second storey of the house had to be dismantled and rebuilt from scratch, with new exterior and interior walls. The roof had to be replaced. Electricity rewired. It took six months of daily work before the family could move back in, in May. “It was the best feeling in the world,†Maglione-Buono said. “It was more gratifying than the day we bought this house. I had a lot of family and friends that helped me. People from work, even strangers in the street just would come and bring us a quilt. They would stop and ring your bell.â€
 
While the Buonos toiled, Chiaramonte and April, without the skill or money to work on their home, were feeling restricted in their Brooklyn hotel room. “When you're here,†Chiaramonte said on Sunday, gesturing out to the beach, a step away from the street in Staten Island, “it's like country. Where we were it was like city. Restaurants, businesses, hotels and everything else. We went from countryish beaches to cityish.â€
 
Without transport, they struggled to return to their home regularly during the first couple of weeks. It was an hour and a half on buses and trains, and even then, they had little money to do anything once they arrived. One time they returned to find their cat, Cinnamon, sitting on April’s bed amid the debris. She had been presumed lost in the storm. They took her home but she died a week later, they suspect from being exposed to the environment in the house. Their dog, a golden labrador named Rocky, had swum out after April on the night of the storm. They never saw him again. In the early days they were helped by church volunteers, who shifted the debris – furniture, clothes, electronics – out of their wrecked home. The kitchen floor had gaping holes in it, bearing the foundations of the four-room home. Walls, windows, doors, cabinets and cupboards needed to be replaced.
 
The volunteers helped to strip the insulation from the walls, gutting the property. After a couple of months, teams from Fema came in to refit the house, installing electricity and reconnecting running water. Every couple of days, Chiaramonte and April would stop by to see how the work was going. Amid the chaos of the relocation to the Brooklyn hotel, and the strain of monitoring progress on the house, Chiaramonte lost her part-time job. With April also out of work, life was more difficult. They relied on friends and family for support – a friend of April’s raised $600 for the pair, while the kindness of strangers took them both by surprise.
 
“We even met this freelance photographer, and she came to the hotel a couple of times,†Chiaramonte said. “She gave me a card for DSW shoes, she gave my son a card, she helped us out with clothes and stuff like that.†They moved back into to their place in Staten Island on 22 April. It was like a new home. Giving a tour of its gleaming white walls, lush carpet and new furniture a million miles from the dark, dirty, damp shell it had been before, Chiaramonte was obviously proud of the transformation. But it is not just the physical things in this little section of Staten Island that have changed. “It's funny,†Chiaramonte said. “A lot of people on this block wouldn't talk to each other before the hurricane. After the hurricane, people have been talking to each other and speaking to each other. People that didn't talk, now all of a sudden they're talking to each other and helping each other out.â€
 
As for Chiaramonte, the change that she felt after surviving the storm has stayed with her. “I'm more calm, more relaxed. I'm a little bit different. I'm not always yelling all the time. I still yell. But not as often. You get a little bit calmer and more relaxed because you're starting thinking about things. “You could lose it all. We lost everything, between us. The dog gone. The cat gone. So, you know, you could lose everything. And it could happen to anybody.â€
 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/29/hurricane-sandy-anniversary-staten-island-families-rebuild

 

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