Miami, Florida—(ENEWSPF)—October 28, 2012 5 PM EDT.
Changes in Watches and Warnings with this Advisory
The Tropical Storm Warning has been discontinued from Surf City North Carolina southward.
Summary of Watches and Warnings in Effect
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for:
- North of Surf City to Duck North Carolina
- Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds
- Bermuda
In addition, hurricane-force winds are expected along portions of the coast between Chincoteague Virginia and Chatham Massachusetts. This includes the tidal Potomac from Cobb Island to Smith Point, the middle and upper Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, and the coasts of the northern Delmarva Peninsula, New Jersey, the New York City area, Long Island, Connecticut. and Rhode Island.
Tropical-storm-force winds are expected north of Chatham to Merrimack River Massachusetts, the lower Chesapeake Bay, and south of Chincoteague to Duck North Carolina, the northern endpoint of the tropical storm warning.
Other coastal and inland watches and warnings are in effect for these areas. please see statements from local National Weather Service Forecast Offices.
For storm information specific to your area in the united states, including possible inland watches and warnings, please monitor products issued by your local National Weather Service Forecast Office. for storm information specific to your area outside the United States, please monitor products issued by your National Meteorological Service.
Discussion and 48-hour Outlook
At 5:00 p.m. EDT (2100 UTC), the center of Hurricane Sandy was located near latitude 33.4 north, longitude 71.3 west. Sandy is moving toward the northeast near 15 mph (24 km/h) and this general motion is expected to continue this evening. A turn to the north and then the northwest is expected tonight and early Monday. On the forecast track, the center of Sandy is forecast to be near the mid-Atlantic coast Monday night.
Maximum sustained winds are near 75 mph (120 km/h) with higher gusts. Sandy is expected to transition into a frontal or wintertime low pressure system prior to landfall. However, this transition will not be accompanied by a weakening of the system, and in fact a little strengthening is possible during this process. Sandy is expected to weaken after moving inland.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km) from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 520 miles (835 km). An Automated Station at Cape Hatteras recently reported sustained winds of 48 mph (78 km/h) with a gust to 60 mph (96 km/h) and a station at Duck North Carolina 47 mph (76 km/h) with a gust to 59 mph (94 km/h). a buoy near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay recently reported sustained winds of 50 mph (83 km/h) with a gust to 59 mph (94 km/h).
The minimum central pressure recently reported by an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter Aircraft was 952 mb (28.11 inches).
Hazards Affecting Land
Wind. Tropical Storm conditions are already occurring over coastal North Carolina and southeastern Virginia. Gale force winds are expected to arrive along portions of the mid-Atlantic coast later today, and reach Long Island and southern New England by Monday morning. Winds of hurricane force could reach the mid-Atlantic states, including Long Island, by late Monday.
Storm Surge. 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. The water could reach the following depths above ground if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide:
- North Carolina north of Surf City including Pamlico/Albemarle Sounds, 4 to 6 ft.
- Southeast Virginia and Delmarva including lower Chesapeake Bay, 2 to 4 ft.
- Upper and middle Chesapeake Bay, 1 to 3 ft.
- Long Island Sound, Raritan Bay, and New York Harbor, 6 to 11 ft.
- Elsewhere from Ocean City Maryland to the Connecticut/Rhode Island border, 4 to 8 ft.
- Connecticut/Rhode Island border to the south shore of Cape Cod including Buzzards Bay and Narragansett Bay, 3 to 6 ft.
- Cape Cod to the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border including Cape Cod Bay, 2 to 4 ft.
- Massachusetts/New Hampshire border to the United State/Canada Border, 1 to 3 ft.
Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances. Given the large wind field associated with sandy, elevated water levels could span multiple tide cycles resulting in repeated and extended periods of coastal and bayside flooding. In addition, elevated waters could occur far removed from the center of sandy. Furthermore, these conditions will occur regardless of whether sandy is a tropical or post-tropical cyclone. For information specific to your area, please see products issued by your local National Weather Service Office.
Rainfall. Rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches are expected over far northeastern North Carolina with isolated maximum totals of 8 inches possible. rainfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches are expected over portions of the mid-Atlantic states, including the Delmarva Peninsula, with isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches possible. Rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 5 inches are possible from the southern tier of New York State northeastward through New England.
Snowfall. Snow accumulations of 2 to 3 feet are expected in the mountains of West Virginia, with locally higher totals tonight through Tuesday night. Snowfall of 1 to 2 feet is expected in the mountains of southwestern Virginia to the Kentucky border, with 12 to 18 inches of snow possible in the mountains near the North Carolina/Tennessee border.
Surf. Dangerous surf conditions will continue from Florida through the mid-Atlantic states for the next couple of days and spread into the northeastern states later today.
Surface Wind Field
Click image to zoom in – Download GIS data ![[Image of initial wind radii]](http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT18/refresh/AL1812R_sm2+gif/205341R_sm.gif)
Click Here for a Printer Friendly Graphic
About this Graphic:
This graphic shows the areas potentially being affected by the sustained winds of tropical storm force (in orange) and hurricane force (in red). The display is based on the wind radii contained in the latest Forecast/Advisory (indicated at the top of the figure). Users are reminded that the Forecast/Advisory wind radii represent the maximum possible extent of a given wind speed within particular quadrants around the tropical cyclone. As a result, not all locations falling within the orange or red shaded areas will be experiencing sustained tropical storm or hurricane force winds, respectively.
In addition to the wind field, this graphic shows an approximate representation of coastal areas under a hurricane warning (red), hurricane watch (pink), tropical storm warning (blue) and tropical storm watch (yellow). The white dot indicates the current position of the center of the tropical cyclone, and the dashed line shows the history of the center of the tropical cyclone.
Source: nhc.gov
