Hurricane Sandy – Karla Monge
Partners: Karla and Caitie
Use: Anecdotes Statistics Quotes Pictures Examples

I. Intro A. Intro sentence: B. 3 things: 1. Links to global warming 2. Where it hit and how dangerous it was in each area 3. Effects and Victims C. Concluding Sentence:

II. Links to global warming

III. Where it hit and how dangerous it was in each area A. Where it hit 1. Sandy began as a tropical wave (cloudiness and storms) in the Caribbean. 2. Became a tropical storm (A cyclonic storm in the tropics w/winds from 39 to 73 miles) per in just six hours. 3. Became a hurricane when its winds reached 74 mph 4. Left the Caribbean, gained strength over open water and became a Category 2 hurricane. 5. Hit Cuba and weakened to a Category 1. 6. Hit Bahamas 7. Weakened (for a short amount of time) to a tropical storm 8. Gained strength -- Category 1 hurricane 9. Turned north to the U.S. coast. 10. Jersey shore, people were left stranded in their homes and waited for rescue teams in boats to rescue them. More than 80 homes were destroyed in one fire in Queens. Several other fires were started throughout the New York metro area.
Seawater surged over Lower Manhattan's seawalls and highways and into low-lying streets. The water inundated tunnels, subway stations and the electrical system that powers Wall Street and sent hospital patients and tourists scrambling for safety. Skyscrapers swayed and creaked in winds that partially toppled a crane 74 stories above Midtown. A large tanker ship ran aground on the city's Staten Island.
As of Nov. 1, about 4.7 million people in 15 states were without electricity, down from nearly 8.5 million a day earlier. Subway tunnels in Lower Manhattan remained flooded, but some lines had resumed service. Airlines, which had canceled more than 15,000 flights around the world, were returning to normal schedules. Most gas stations in New York City and New Jersey were closed because of power shortages and depleted fuel supplies. Long lines formed at gas stations that were expected to open.
Sandy will end up causing about $20 billion in property damage and $10 billion to $30 billion more in lost business, making it one of the costliest natural disasters on record in the United States, according to IHS Global Insight, a forecasting firm. The New York City mayor's office in late November estimated total losses to the city to be $19 billion and asked the federal government for $9.8 billion in aid for costs not covered by insurance or FEMA.
By Nov. 1, Sandy had dissipated. The National Weather Service reported that "multiple remnants" were circulating across the lower Great Lakes region and moving into Canada. Some areas were getting residual rain and snow showers. Tides were back down to less than a foot above normal.
Frankenstorm
Sandy, the 10th hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, earned the nickname "Frankenstorm," as well as other descriptive appellations, such as "Blizzacane" and "Snor-eastercane." The National Hurricane Center's official name for the storm is "Post Tropical Cyclone Sandy." Many media outlets started calling it "Superstorm Sandy" after the storm made landfall, weakened and was downgraded from hurricane status.
At one point, Sandy's hurricane-force winds (at least 74 mph) extended up to 175 miles (280 kilometers) from its center and tropical storm-force winds (39 mph) out to 485 miles (780 km). Even so, according to the NHC, Sandy was still only the second-largest Atlantic tropical cyclone on record. Hurricane Olga, another late-in-the-year storm, set the record in 2001, with tropical-force winds extending 600 miles (965 km).
Sandy set other records, however, CNN reported. When hurricane hunter aircraft measured its central pressure at 940 millibars — 27.76 inches — Monday afternoon (Oct. 29), it was the lowest barometric reading ever recorded for an Atlantic storm to make landfall north of Cape Hatteras, N.C. The previous record holder was the 1938 "Long Island Express" Hurricane, which dropped as low as 946 millibars.
Sandy's strength and angle of approach combined to produce a record storm surge of water into New York City. The surge level at Battery Park topped 13.88 feet at 9:24 p.m. Monday, surpassing the 10.02 feet record water level set by Hurricane Donna in 1960.
New York Harbor's surf also reached a record level when a buoy measured a 32.5-foot wave Monday. That wave was 6.5 feet taller than a 25-foot wave churned up by Hurricane Irene in 2011. [Infographic: How Hurricanes Work]
B. How Dangerous 1. Wind speed 2. Rate: 3. Flooding: a. West Manhattan’s battery park was mostly under water b. Streets were flooded, trees and power lines knocked down and the city's famed boardwalk was ripped apart. Presidential campaign interrupted
President Barack Obama joined New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Oct. 31 to inspect the devastation, flying over flooded neighborhoods along the New Jersey coastline. He declared states of emergency in New York and New Jersey to allow federal aid to start flowing into damaged areas.
Republican Mitt Romney canceled political rallies on Oct. 29 and 30, turning one campaign appearance into a "storm relief" event. He gave brief non-political remarks and spent less than an hour collecting hurricane relief donations and loading them into a truck. Romney resumed his campaign on Oct. 31, using a Florida campaign stop to criticize the president's record. Obama resumed campaign appearances on Nov. 1.
The storm's political impact is still unknown. Concrete effects on Election Day are yet to be tallied: how many early voting days lost, how many voters who don't make it to the polls because of power outages, damaged homes or cleanup duties, whether any polling places or election equipment are damaged. Parts of four states seen as pivotal to this election were hit — North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio and New Hampshire.
Categories
Tropical Depression—An organized system of persistent clouds and thunderstorms with a closed low-level circulation and maximum sustained winds of 38 mph (33 knots) or less.
Tropical Storm—An organized system of strong thunderstorms with a well defined circulation and maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph (34-63 knots).
Hurricane—An intense tropical weather system with a well defined circulation and sustained winds of 74 mph (64 knots) or higher. In the western North Pacific, hurricanes are called typhoons, and similar storms in the Indian Ocean are called cyclones. Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale Categories Category 1 Hurricane — winds 74-95 mph (64-82 kt)
No real damage to buildings. Damage to unanchored mobile homes. Some damage to poorly constructed signs. Also, some coastal flooding and minor pier damage.
Category 2 Hurricane — winds 96-110 mph (83-95 kt)
Some damage to building roofs, doors and windows. Considerable damage to mobile homes. Flooding damages piers and small craft in unprotected moorings may break their moorings. Some trees blown down.
Category 3 Hurricane — winds 111-130 mph (96-113 kt)
Some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings. Large trees blown down. Mobile homes and poorly built signs destroyed . Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with larger structures damaged by floating debris. Terrain may be flooded well inland.
Category 4 Hurricane — winds 131-155 mph (114-135 kt)
More extensive curtainwall failures with some complete roof structure failure on small residences. Major erosion of beach areas. Terrain may be flooded well inland.
Category 5 Hurricane — winds 156 mph and up (135+ kt)
Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. Flooding causes major damage to lower floors of all structures near the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas may be required. http://www.livescience.com/24380-hurricane-sandy-status-data.html http://www.disasterupdates.com/hurricane_winds_defined_for_category_1_2_3_4_5.html