NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Grow Text SizeShrink Text Size

Sandy Updates

• Nov. 9, 2012
• Nov. 7, 2012
• Nov. 2, 2012
• Nov. 1, 2012
• Oct. 31, 2012
• Oct. 30, 2012
• Oct. 29, 2012, second update
• Oct. 29, 2012, first update
• Oct. 28, 2012
• Oct. 27, 2012
• Oct. 26, 2012, second update
• Oct. 26, 2012, first update
• Oct. 25, 2012, second update
• Oct. 25, 2012, first update
• Oct. 24, 2012
• Oct. 23, 2012
• Oct. 22, 2012

Comparing the Winds of Sandy and Katrina

The scenes of devastation and wreckage that Hurricanes Sandy (2012) and Katrina (2005) left behind were tragically similar. Both storms flooded major cities, cut electric power to millions, and tore apart densely populated coastlines. But from a meteorological perspective, the storms were very different.

Katrina was a textbook tropical cyclone, with a compact, symmetrical wind field that whipped around a circular low-pressure center. Like most tropical cyclones, Katrina was a warm-core storm that drew its energy from the warm waters of the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Sandy had similar characteristics while it was blowing through the tropics. But as the storm moved northward, it merged with a weather system arriving from the west and started transitioning into an extra-tropical cyclone.

The names sound similar, but there are fundamental differences between the two types of storms. While tropical cyclones draw their energy from warm ocean waters, extra-tropical cyclones are fueled by sharp temperature contrasts between masses of warm and cool air. Extra-tropical cyclones also tend to be asymmetric, with broad wind and cloud fields shaped more like commas than circles. So when tropical cyclones become extra-tropical, their wind and cloud fields expand dramatically. Their strongest winds generally weaken during this process, but occasionally a transitioning storm retains hurricane force winds, as was the case with Sandy.

A pair of wind maps illustrated some of the differences. A map of Sandy’s winds produced with data from a radar scatterometer on the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Oceansat-2, showed the strength and direction of Sandy’s ocean surface winds on October 28, 2012. A map of Hurricane Katrina’s winds was made from similar data acquired on August 28, 2005, by a radar scatterometer on NASA’s retired QuickSCAT satellite.

› View larger image
The map of Sandy’s winds produced with data from a radar scatterometer on the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Oceansat-2, shows the strength and direction of Sandy’s ocean surface winds on October 28, 2012. Wind speeds above 65 kilometers (40 miles) per hour are yellow; above 80 kph (50 mph) are orange; and above 95 kph (60 mph) are dark red.
Credit: Indian Space Research Organization OceanSat-2 missions.

› View larger image
The map of Hurricane Katrina’s winds was made from similar data acquired on August 28, 2005, by a radar scatterometer on NASA’s retired QuickSCAT satellite. Wind speeds above 65 kilometers (40 miles) per hour are yellow; above 80 kph (50 mph) are orange; and above 95 kph (60 mph) are dark red.
Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's QuikSCAT

The most noticeable difference is the extent of the strong wind fields. For Katrina, winds over 65 kilometers per hour stretched about 500 kilometers (300 miles) from edge to edge. For Sandy, winds of that intensity stretched 1,500 kilometers (900 miles). “Katrina’s winds were more intense, but they covered less area,” said Brian McNoldy, a University of Miami meteorologist who authored a Washington Post article explaining why Sandy’s storm surge caused so much damage. “When that boils down to storm surge, Katrina was capable of generating a locally higher surge, but Sandy was capable of generating a destructive surge over a larger length of coastline.”

Another difference is the location of the strongest winds. For tropical cyclones in the northern hemisphere, the strongest winds are usually just east of the eye amidst a ring of violent thunderstorms called the eyewall. “The windfield of Katrina fits this pattern, but for Sandy the weakest winds are to the east—a hint that Sandy has already begun interacting with a system to its northeast and a blocking high to its northeast,” noted Penn State meteorologist Jenni Evans, State College, Penn.

Data courtesy of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's QuikSCAT and the Indian Space Research Organization OceanSat-2 missions. Jenni Evans, Bryan Stiles, Brian McNoldy, and Alexander Fore contributed to this feature.

Adam Voiland
NASA's Earth Observatory

---

Nov. 7, 2012

› View larger image
Photo of the New Jersey coastal town of Mantoloking, just north of where Hurricane Sandy made landfall, taken on October 31, 2012 shows the damages caused by Hurricane Sandy.
Credit: Aerial photography courtesy of the NOAA Remote Sensing Division.

---

› View larger image
Photo of the New Jersey coastal town of Mantoloking taken on March 18, 2007
Credit: Aerial photography courtesy of the NOAA Remote Sensing Division. Hurricane Sandy Changes Coastline in New Jersey

On October 29, 2012, lives were changed forever along the shores of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and in the two dozen United States affected by what meteorologists are calling Superstorm Sandy. The landscape of the East Coast was also changed, though no geologist would ever use the word “forever” when referring to the shape of a barrier island.

Two aerial photographs show a portion of the New Jersey coastal town of Mantoloking, just north of where Hurricane Sandy made landfall. Both photographs were taken by the Remote Sensing Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The after image on October 31, 2012; the before image was acquired by the same group on March 18, 2007. The images were acquired from an altitude of roughly 7,500 feet, using a Trimble Digital Sensor System.

The Mantoloking Bridge cost roughly $25 million when it was opened in 2005 to replace a bridge built in 1938. After Sandy passed through on October 29, 2012, the bridge was covered in water, sand, and debris from houses; county officials closed it because they considered it unstable.

On the barrier island, entire blocks of houses along Route 35 (also called Ocean Boulevard) were damaged or completely washed away by the storm surge and wind. Fires raged in the town from natural gas lines that had ruptured and ignited. A new inlet was cut across the island, connected the Atlantic Ocean and the Jones Tide Pond.

Mike Carlowicz
NASA's Earth Observatory

---

Nov. 2, 2012

› View larger image
This visible image from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite shows the remnant clouds from Sandy still linger over the Great Lakes, east to New England and north into Canada at 1:31 p.m. EDT on Nov. 2, 2012.
Credit: NASA GOES Project Satellite Still Shows Sandy's Remnant Clouds Over Eastern Canada and the Northeastern U.S.

Satellite imagery from Nov. 2 showed that Sandy's remnant clouds continue to linger over Canada and the northeastern U.S.

The National Weather Service map for Nov. 2, 2012 showed two areas of low pressure over eastern Canada, near Quebec. That's where the remnants of Sandy are located and the storm's massive cloud cover continues to linger over a large area. That low pressure area is associated with Sandy's remnants.

A visible image from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite at 1:31 p.m. EDT on Nov. 2, 2012 showed the remnant clouds from Sandy still linger over the Great Lakes east to New England. In Canada, Sandy's clouds stretch from Newfoundland and Labrador west over Quebec, Ottawa and Toronto. The GOES image was created by NASA's GOES Project at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

By Monday, Nov. 6, the National Weather Service map projects that the low pressure area associated with Sandy's remnants will be offshore.

Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

---

Nov. 1, 2012

› View larger image
This TRMM rainfall analysis indicates that the heaviest rainfall totals of greater than 260mm (10.2 inches) were over the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Rainfall totals of over 180mm (~ 7 inches) are also shown over land in many areas near the Atlantic coast from New Jersey to South Carolina. Hurricane Sandy's track over the Atlantic Ocean is shown overlaid on this analysis in white.
Credit: SSAI/NASA, Hal Pierce

---

› View larger image
This visible image from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite shows the remnant clouds from Sandy still linger over the Great Lakes, east to New England and north into Canada at 1:31 p.m. EDT on Nov. 1, 2012.
Credit: NASA GOES Project NASA Adds Up Hurricane Sandy's Rainfall from Space

NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, or TRMM, satellite acts as a rain gauge in space as it orbits the Earth's tropics. As TRMM flew over Hurricane Sandy since its birth on Oct. 21 it was gathering data that has now been mapped to show how much rain the storm dropped along the U.S. eastern seaboard.

Much of the recent deadly flooding along the northeastern United States coastlines was caused by super storm Sandy's storm swell. Strong winds from Sandy persistently pushed Atlantic Ocean waters toward the coast. High tides that occurred at the same time also magnified the effects of the storm swell. Some flooding was also caused by long periods of heavy rainfall that made rivers and streams overflow their banks.

The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) is done at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The MPA monitors rainfall over a large area of the globe (from 60 degrees North latitude to 60 degrees South latitude). MPA rainfall totals over the eastern United States were calculated for the period from October 24-31, 2012 when super storm Sandy was making it's catastrophic transit through the area.

The rainfall analysis indicated that the heaviest rainfall totals of greater than 260mm (10.2 inches) were over the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Rainfall totals of over 180mm (~ 7 inches) occurred over land in many areas near the Atlantic coast from New Jersey to South Carolina.

The reported death toll from hurricane Sandy's flooding and high winds has now reached above 120. Over 70 deaths were caused by Sandy in the Caribbean and recent reports bring the total to greater than 50 in the United States.

NOAA's Hydrometeorological Prediction Center issued their last advisory on Sandy's remnants on Oct. 31, stating that "multiple centers of circulation in association with the remnants of Sandy can be found across the lower Great Lakes."

A visible image from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite at 1:31 p.m. EDT on Nov. 1, 2012 showed the remnant clouds from Sandy still lingered over the Great Lakes and stretched east to New England and north into Canada.

The book on this super storm is now closed, though the clean-up will continue for a long time to come.

Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

---

Oct. 31, 2012

NASA/NOAA's Suomi NPP Captures Night-time View of Sandy's Landfall

› View larger image As Hurricane Sandy made a historic landfall on the New Jersey coast during the night of Oct. 29, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on NASA/NOAA's Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite captured this night-time view of the storm. This image provided by University of Wisconsin-Madison is a composite of several satellite passes over North America taken 16 to18 hours before Sandy's landfall.

---

Satellite Captures the Life and Death of Hurricane Sandy on Halloween

› Download movie This animation of satellite imagery shows the life of Hurricane Sandy from its development in the Caribbean Sea on Oct. 21, through its track up the U.S. East coast and landfall. The animation continues through Oct. 31 when Sandy had weakened to a remnant low pressure area. Credit: NASA GOES Project

Hurricane Sandy is giving up the ghost on Halloween over Penn. As the storm weakened to a remnant low pressure area the NASA GOES Project released an animation of NOAA's GOES-13 satellite imagery covering Hurricane Sandy's entire life.

› View larger image
This GOES-13 satellite image was captured on Oct. 31 at 1240 UTC as Sandy's circulation was winding down over Pennsylvania. Sandy had been downgraded a remnant low pressure area.
Credit: NASA GOES Project
The GOES-13 satellite is managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and NASA's GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. creates images and animations from GOES data.

The animation of Sandy's life runs from Oct. 23 through 31. It begins when Tropical Depression 18 strengthened into Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 23, 2012. The animation shows Hurricane Sandy blowing from the Caribbean to the mid-Atlantic where it became wedged between a stationary cold front over the Appalachians and a static high pressure air mass over maritime Canada. The air masses blocked the storm from moving north or east, as it would normally. Instead, their wintery dynamics amplified Sandy and drove it ashore in the mid-Atlantic.

Sandy then became a ferocious Nor'easter that brought record storm surges to coastal N.J. and N.Y., plus blizzard conditions to the mountains. Unprecedented chaos occurred in lower New York City, such as flooding the subway system on the evening of Oct. 29. Total damage by the storm was estimated at $20 billion dollars.

NOAA's National Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (NOAA/HPC) issued an advisory at 5 a.m. EDT on Oct. 31 that stated there was "no discernible surface circulation." Sandy had weakened to a surface trough (elongated area) of low pressure over western Penn.

There are a lot of warnings and watches in effect as Sandy continues to wind down. Gale warnings and small craft advisories are in effect for portions of the great lakes. Small craft advisories are in effect along much of the Mid-Atlantic and northeast coasts.

Flood and coastal flood watches, warnings and advisories are in effect over portions of the Mid-Atlantic and northeast states. Coastal flooding along portions of the Great Lakes is also possible.

Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories remain in effect for the mountains of southwest Pennsylvania, western Maryland, West Virginia, eastern Tennessee, eastern Kentucky, and extreme western North Carolina.

Sandy is appropriately dying on Halloween, but the storm's effects will linger for some time.


Text credit: Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

---

Oct. 30, 2012

NASA Satellites Capture Hurricane Sandy's Massive Size

› View larger image
CloudSat, flying in formation with the A-TRAIN constellation of satellites, provides detailed radar observations of clouds including the vertical distribution of precipitation and cloud structure.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech CloudSat's View of Hurricane Sandy

NASA's CloudSat spacecraft overpassed Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 29, 2012 at approximately 11:25 a.m. PDT (2:25 p.m. EDT) just as Sandy was approaching the Atlantic coastline. Sandy contained estimated maximum sustained winds of 90 miles per hour (78 knots).

CloudSat, flying in formation with the A-TRAIN constellation of satellites, provides detailed radar observations of clouds including the vertical distribution of precipitation and cloud structure. At the expense of horizontal resolution, CloudSat observations produce detailed vertical resolution of clouds and precipitation starting at the surface through 19 miles (30 kilometers) in the atmosphere. CloudSat profiles the clouds and distinguishes the amount and type of water, liquid or ice, found throughout these storm systems.

CloudSat overpassed an estimated 137 miles (220 kilometers) to the west of Sandy's storm center, which at the time of the overpass was still over the Atlantic Ocean. The satellite overpassed a wide area of moderate precipitation stretching across New York to coastal North Carolina. Maximum cloud top heights from the CloudSat overpass are estimated at 7.5 to 8 miles (12 to 13 kilometers) in height. The brighter colors (orange, red and light pinks) represent greater intensity of the backscattered radar signal from the satellite. These brighter colors correlate to larger raindrops, heavier precipitation and ice or hail depending on the vertical level. The shades of blues and greens represent smaller amounts water and ice particles that correspond to thinner clouds type (cirrus and anvil tops). A nearly continuous area of light and moderate precipitation stretches across the mid-Atlantic region. Near the surface of these areas of light to moderate precipitation, the radar signal measured by CloudSat isn’t as strong due to larger sized water droplets that tend to weaken the strength of the signal. The CloudSat observations are an excellent tool for determining cloud layers and heights, precipitating cloud structures and other cloud properties.

Part of the CloudSat overpass over the ocean just off the coast of Virginia and North Carolina (denoted by blue line) reveals small pockets of shallow "closed cell" cumulus clouds less than 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) in height. Closed cell cumulus clouds generally represent more stable atmospheric conditions and occur on the back side of mid-latitude cyclones as is the case with Sandy moving onshore.

---

› View larger image
NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image Sandy's massive circulation on Oct. 29 at 18:20 UTC (2:20 p.m. EDT). Sandy covers 1.8 million square miles, from the Mid-Atlantic to the Ohio Valley, into Canada and New England.
Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team

---

› View larger image
Flooding from Hurricane Sandy occurring on Oct. 29, 2012 near the Wachapreague Marina , Wachapreague Va.
Credit: Betty Flowers

---

› View larger image
The AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured 2 infrared images of Post-Tropical Storm Sandy on Oct. 30 at 2:11 a.m. EDT that were stitched together that showed the storm's clouds (blue and purple) over the Ohio Valley and upper Midwest, stretching into Canada. The strongest storms, with coldest cloud top temperatures, appear in darker blue and purple.
Credit: NASA JPL, Ed Olsen NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image Sandy's massive circulation. Sandy covers 1.8 million square miles, from the Mid-Atlantic to the Ohio Valley, into Canada and New England.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image Sandy's massive circulation on Oct. 29 at 18:20 UTC (2:20 p.m. EDT). Sandy covered 1.8 million square miles, from the Mid-Atlantic to the Ohio Valley, into Canada and New England. Sandy made landfall hours after the MODIS image was taken.


Sandy Was Still a Hurricane After Landfall

On Oct. 29, 2012 at 11 p.m. EDT, the center of Hurricane Sandy was just 10 miles (15 km) southwest of Philadelphia, Penn., near 39.8 North and 75.4 West. Sandy was still a hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 75 mph (120 kph) and moving northwest at 18 mph (30 kph). Sandy's minimum central pressure had risen to 952 millibars. The hurricane-force-winds extended 90 miles (150 km) east of the center of circulation. Tropical-storm-force winds, however, went much further, as far as 485 miles (780 km).

NASA's GOES Project created a "full-disk view" of NOAA's GOES satellite data, that captured a global view of Hurricane Sandy's birth to landfall. The animation of NOAA's GOES-13 and GOES-15 satellite observations were combined from Oct. 21-30, 2012 and showed the birth of Tropical Storm Sandy in the Caribbean Sea, the intensification and movement of Sandy in the Atlantic Ocean along the U.S. East Coast, and Hurricane Sandy make landfall in N.J. on Oct. 29 and move inland to Penn.


Sandy's Inland Movement on Oct. 29

At 2 a.m. EDT, on Oct. 29, Sandy's center was located just south of Lancaster, Penn. At 5 a.m. EDT, Sandy continued moving to the west-northwest at 15 knots (24 kph) and was located just 15 miles (24 km) east of York, Penn., and 90 miles (145 km) west of Philadelphia. Sandy was centered near 40.5 North and 77.0 West. Sandy's minimum central pressure continues to rise and was 960 millibars.

Sandy's sustained winds were near 65 mph. Tropical-storm-force winds extend almost 1,000 miles. According to Weather Channel, the winds are going to continue being a problem from the northeast into the Ohio Valley today. The strongest winds are being experienced now in the Great Lakes Region.


Widespread Damages

Hurricane Sandy has caused significant damage in New York City and along the Mid-Atlantic coast. Flooding has been reported from Maine to Va. During the morning hours on Oct. 29 (Eastern Daylight Time), nearly eight million people were without power this morning up and down the East coast. The Appalachian Mtns. received some heavy snow from western Md. down to Tenn. and N.C. As much as 26 inches of snow had fallen in Garrett County, Md. by the morning of Oct. 30. According to Reuters news, flooding along the U.S. East Coast was extensive.


Watches and Warnings in Effect on Oct. 29

According to the NOAA's Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (NOAA/HPC), there are high-wind warnings in effect including gale force winds over the coastal waters of the Mid-Atlantic States, New York and New England. Storm warnings are in effect for portions of the Mid-Atlantic coastal waters. Flood and flash flood watches and warnings are in effect over portions of the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern states.

NOAA's HPC forecast on Oct. 29 calls for Sandy to move in a "west-northwest motion with reduced forward speed is expected today into western Penn. with a turn north into western New York tonight, Oct. 30. The cyclone will move into Canada on Wed., Oct. 31. Steady weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours."

NOAA/HPC warns that gale-force winds will continue over parts of the Mid-Atlantic through New England on Oct. 29 and storm surge and tides can still cause normally dry areas along or near the coast to be flooded, especially during high tide.


Rain and Snowfall Forecasts from NOAA

NOAA/HPC forecasts large rainfall totals for many areas in Sandy's reac