Community Corner

Sandy Still on Track to Strike New Jersey on Monday Evening

The massive storm led to a mandatory evacuation order for all barrier islands in New Jersey.

Hurricane Sandy is still packing 75 mph winds as a Category 1 storm on Sunday morning.

The massive storm was located 395 miles east of Charleston, S.C., at 5 a.m. Oct. 28 and was traveling northeast at 13 mph over the open water of the Atlantic Ocean parallel to the East Coast.

Forecasters still expect the system to take a sharp left turn early on Monday morning and approach the New Jersey coastline by Monday night as a large and powerful storm with winds of near hurricane force (74 mph). At that point, Sandy is not expected to be categorized as a hurricane, despite her widespread and powerful effects.

Find out what's happening in Ocean Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The National Weather Service predicts a storm surge of 4 to 8 feet throughut the Mid-Atlantic states, flooding areas that normally don't see water. It predicts 4 to 8 inches of rain in addition to the storm and tidal surge.

High tides at the Ninth Street Bridge in Ocean City are at 8:27 a.m. and 8:46 p.m. on Monday.

Find out what's happening in Ocean Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In his evening forecasts on Saturday, NBC40 meteorologist Dan Skeldon suggested that the storm could make landfall anywhere in New Jersey, but he favored an area to the north of Ocean City — somewhere in Ocean or Monmouth counties. The morning models from the National Hurricane Center match that prediction.

The strongest winds and greatest impact from a storm surge are predicted to be north of the storm. If Sandy lands north of Ocean City, central and northern New Jersey would see what Skeldon calls the "worst-case scenario." Southern New Jersey would see more rain (but still feel the effects of very strong winds).

Skeldon — who has earned a strong reputation predicting local conditions for the southern New Jersey shore — predicts winds of 40 to 60 mph (with stronger gusts) on Monday in southern New Jersey.

He said the greatest impact will be during the two high tides on Monday. The first would see the potentially strongest winds. The second could be mitigated by winds that may shift offshore and blow water back out to sea (if the storm does indeed make landfall north of Ocean City).

Skeldon predicted more "blowout tides" for Tuesday — with strong winds blowing from the west.

He warned that the massive storm is very dangerous and will be "a record-breaking storm for somebody," and he emphasized that slight shifts in the forecast or track of the storm could lead to dramatic changes in potential damage.

With waves of 30 to 40 feet over the open ocean and pounding surf closer to shore, beach erosion will be one of the guarantees of Sandy. 

The storm has led to a mandatory evacuation order for all of the barrier islands in New Jersey starting effective at 4 p.m. Sunday. 


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