Hurricane Sandy

For other storms of the same name, see List of storms named Sandy.

Hurricane Sandy
Sandy at its initial peak intensity just before landfall in Cuba on October 25
Meteorological history
FormedOctober 22, 2012
Post-tropicalOctober 29, 2012
DissipatedNovember 2, 2012
Category 3 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds115 mph (185 km/h)
Lowest pressure940 mbar (hPa); 27.76 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities254
Damage$68.7 billion (2012 USD)
(Ninth-costliest hurricane in U.S. history)
Areas affectedGreater Antilles, Bahamas, Eastern United States (especially the coastal Mid-Atlantic States), Bermuda, eastern Canada
IBTrACSEdit this at Wikidata
Part of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane and
2012–13 North American winter seasons
History

Effects

Other wikis

Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy)[1][2] was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late October 2012. It was the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spanning 1,150 miles (1,850 km).[3][4][5] The storm inflicted nearly $70 billion USD in damage (equivalent to $93 billion in 2023), and killed 254 people in eight countries, from the Caribbean to Canada.[6][7] The eighteenth named storm, tenth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, Sandy was a Category 3 storm at its peak intensity when it made landfall in Cuba, though most of the damage it caused was after it became a Category 1-equivalent extratropical cyclone off the coast of the Northeastern United States.[8]

Sandy developed from a tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea on October 22, quickly strengthened, and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Sandy six hours later. Sandy moved slowly northward toward the Greater Antilles and gradually intensified. On October 24, Sandy became a hurricane, made landfall near Kingston, Jamaica, re-emerged a few hours later into the Caribbean Sea and strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane. On October 25, Sandy hit Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane, then weakened to a Category 1 hurricane. Early on October 26, Sandy moved through the Bahamas.[9] On October 27, Sandy briefly weakened to a tropical storm and then strengthened back to a Category 1 hurricane. Early on October 29, Sandy curved west-northwest (the "left turn" or "left hook") and then[10] moved ashore near Brigantine, New Jersey, just to the northeast of Atlantic City, as a post-tropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds.[8][11] Sandy continued drifting inland for another few days while gradually weakening, until it was absorbed by another approaching extratropical storm on November 2.[8][12]

In Jamaica, winds left 70 percent of residents without electricity, blew roofs off buildings, killed one person, and caused about $100 million (equivalent to $133 million in 2023) in damage. Sandy's outer bands brought flooding to Haiti, killing a total of 75 people, causing food shortages, and leaving about 200,000 homeless; the hurricane also caused two deaths in the Dominican Republic. In Puerto Rico, one man was swept away by a swollen river. In Cuba, there was extensive coastal flooding and wind damage inland, destroying some 15,000 homes, killing 11, and causing $2 billion (equivalent to $2.65 billion in 2023) in damage. Sandy caused two deaths and an estimated $700 million (equivalent to $929 million in 2023) in damage in The Bahamas.

In the United States, Hurricane Sandy affected 24 states, including the entire eastern seaboard from Florida to Maine and west across the Appalachian Mountains to Michigan and Wisconsin, with particularly severe damage in New Jersey and New York. Its storm surge hit New York City on October 29, flooding streets, tunnels and subway lines and cutting power in and around the city.[13][14] Damage in the United States amounted to $65 billion (equivalent to $86 billion in 2023).[15] In Canada, two were killed in Ontario, and the storm caused an estimated $100 million CAD (equivalent to $129 million CAD in 2023) in damage throughout Ontario and Quebec.[16]

  1. ^ Kate Sheppard (September 18, 2014). "Report Warns That Superstorm Sandy Was Not 'The Big One'". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  2. ^ Eric Zerkel (October 29, 2014). "Superstorm Sandy Anniversary: Remembering Hurricane Sandy Two Years Later". The Weather Company. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  3. ^ "Modeling Sandy: A High-Resolution Approach to Storm Surge" (PDF). Risk Management Solutions, Inc. October 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  4. ^ Masters, Jeff. "Will Global Warming Create Larger Hurricanes?". Weather Underground. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  5. ^ "Hurricane Sandy Grows To Largest Atlantic Tropical Storm Ever". WBZ-TV. October 28, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  6. ^ Diakakis M.; Deligiannakis G.; Katsetsiadou K.; Lekkas E. (2015). "Hurricane Sandy mortality in the Caribbean and continental North America". Disaster Prevention and Management. 24 (1): 132. Bibcode:2015DisPM..24..132D. doi:10.1108/DPM-05-2014-0082.
  7. ^ Cumulative total of death toll by country; see chart.
  8. ^ a b c Blake, Eric S; Kimberlain, Todd B; Berg, Robert J; Cangialosi, John P; Beven II, John L; National Hurricane Center (February 12, 2013). Hurricane Sandy: October 22 – 29, 2012 (PDF) (Tropical Cyclone Report). United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 17, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  9. ^ "Hurricane Sandy storms through Bahamas, Central Florida on alert". Central Florida News 13. Archived from the original on October 28, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  10. ^ "Post-Tropical Cyclone SANDY Update Statement". National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  11. ^ "Sandy wreaks havoc across Northeast; at least 11 dead". CNN. October 30, 2012.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sandy absorbed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "Superstorm Sandy causes at least 9 U.S. deaths as it slams East Coast" Archived January 20, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, CNN
  14. ^ "Eli Manning deals with Superstorm Sandy flooding". National Football League. October 31, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference costliest was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ "Sandy caused $100M in Canadian insurance claims". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. November 28, 2012.