Unprecedented Hurricane Sandy Hours Away

October 29,2012; 1:53PM,EDT

Hurricane Sandy has sustained winds of 90 mph and continues to intensify. It already has the lowest barometric pressure in history for a storm in the Northeast.
A gust of more than 90 mph has been measured just off Long Island. A wind gust of 60 mph has already been observed at Barnegat Light, N.J. The winds will only increase the next twelve hours. Our latest forecast is for wind gusts near 100 mph to occur in New Jersey and Long Island. Winds of 100 or more will affect the tops of high-rise buildings (winds increase with height due to friction near the ground).
Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Baltimore will have gusts around 70 mph. Extensive power failures are inevitable, perhaps exceeding 2 million homes and businesses across the eastern U.S. as a whole.
The storm surge will reach generally 5-10 feet with up to 15 feet possible in a locations along and to the north of where the center makes landfall. When a 2-foot tide this evening is combined with 10- to 20-foot wave action, water will reach more than 30 feet above sea level in places.
Rainfalls around Chesapeake Bay have already reached 6 inches. Additional rainfalls of around 8 inches are likely from the northern bay across southern Pennsylvania. These rains will likely cause moderate to major river flooding.
There is a slight chance of a tornado in southeastern New England.
More than a foot of snow, along with blizzard conditions, will occur in the central Appalachians. Closed roads and more power failures will result.
Total damage from Hurricane Sandy may well exceed Katrina's $96 billion. This could be the first $100+ billion storm in U.S. history.

In the history of modern meteorology, there has never been a storm like Hurricane Sandy. AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions, along with the entire meteorological infrastructure (hurricane hunter aircraft, weather balloons, radars, etc.), have risen to the occasion with special products and forecasts. To learn more about proactive hurricane risk mitigation and preparation, please go to my Book.

Mike Smith is the Sr. Vice President and Chief Innovation Executive of AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions. He is a board-certified consulting meteorologist and a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. Mike is a historian of major storms and the history of the storm warning system. He is the author of the acclaimed Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather and When the Sirens Were Silent, the story of the Joplin tornado.