Hurricane Sandy is expected to make landfall Monday evening in southern New Jersey. The latest updates on the storm are at the top of this post.
6 p.m. Monday:
5 p.m. Monday:
Another update from NOAA —
AT 500 PM EDT...2100 UTC...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE SANDY WAS LOCATED BY AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT AND NOAA DOPPLER WEATHER RADARS TO BE NEAR LATITUDE 38.8 NORTH...LONGITUDE 74.4 WEST. SANDY IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 28 MPH...44 KM/H. THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH THIS EVENING UNTIL LANDFALL OCCURS. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF SANDY IS EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL ALONG OR JUST SOUTH OF THE SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY COAST WITHIN THE NEXT FEW HOURS.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 90 MPH...150 KM/H...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SANDY IS EXPECTED TO TRANSITION INTO A FRONTAL OR WINTERTIME LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM SHORTLY. LITTLE CHANGE IN STRENGTH IS EXPECTED PRIOR TO LANDFALL. SANDY IS FORECAST TO WEAKEN AFTER LANDFALL.
North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue has declared a state of emergency due to threats of a winter storm intensified by Hurricane Sandy. “People need to continue to take this storm seriously as we face flooding in the east and significant winter weather in the west,” he said.
4 p.m. Monday:
Power outage update! Here's how many residents are without electricity by state, via the Weather Channel's Marnie Levy
New York: 144,333
New Jersey 131,542
Connecticut: 56,022
Rhode Island: 54,887
Massachusetts: 45,120
Maryland: 34,074
Pennsylvania: 17,203
Delaware: 12,203
Federal offices will be closed Tuesday, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management announced.
The mayor of Baltimore has issued a mandatory halt of car travel on city roads starting at 6 p.m.
Due to high winds and dangerous weather conditions from Hurricane Sandy, Mayor Rawlings-Blake announced mandatory travel restrictions for city roadways. Restrictions, which begin at 6:00 p.m. today, do not apply to uniformed personnel, hospital employees or other medical providers. Travel restrictions will remain in effect until noon tomorrow, although may be extended as necessary.
3 p.m. Monday:
2 p.m. Monday:
NOAA issues the following bulletin:
AT 200 PM EDT...1800 UTC...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE SANDY WAS LOCATED BY AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT AND NOAA DOPPLER WEATHER RADARS TO BE NEAR LATITUDE 38.3 NORTH...LONGITUDE 73.1 WEST. SANDY IS NOW MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 28 MPH... 44 KM/H. THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING UNTIL LANDFALL OCCURS...FOLLOWED BY A TURN TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST TONIGHT. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF SANDY IS EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL ALONG OR JUST SOUTH OF THE SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY COAST BY EARLY EVENING.
The New York Stock Exchange and BATS Global Markets announce they will be closed for a second day on Tuesday.
1 p.m. Monday — Let the countdown begin!
President Obama addressed the country, urging East Coast residents to pay attention to warnings from their local officials. "The public needs to prepare for the fact that this will take a long time to clean up," the president said.
Noon, Monday:
In a press conference, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced public schools will be closed Tuesday and that the New York Downtown Hospital and VA Medical Center have been evacuated. All public emergency rooms will remain open, however. "Conditions are deteriorating very rapidly," he said.
The Supreme Court of the United States also announced that its Tuesday cases will be moved to Thursday.
In a press conference, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley warned of storm-related deaths.
“We need to watch out for each other, but the intensity of this storm is such that there will undoubtedly be some deaths that are caused by the intensity of this storm, by the floods, by the tidal surge, and by the waves,” he said.
11 a.m. Monday:
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announces that Manhattan's Holland and Brooklyn Battery tunnels will close at 2 p.m. because they're prone to flooding.
The city of Hoboken, New Jersey, announces that driving after 4 p.m. is prohibited.
Sandy vs. Irene
10 a.m. Monday:
Flight cancellations rise to nearly 9,000, according to FlightAware.
The hurricane's first unconfirmed rumor:
9 a.m. Monday:
8 a.m. Monday:
NOAA issues the following update —
SANDY NOW MOVING NORTH-NORTHWESTWARD AND ACCELERATING... AT 800 AM EDT...1200 UTC...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE SANDY WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 36.8 NORTH...LONGITUDE 71.1 WEST. SANDY IS NOW MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST NEAR 20 MPH...32 KM/H. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED LATER THIS MORNING...FOLLOWED BY A TURN TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST TONIGHT. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF SANDY WILL MOVE OVER THE COAST OF THE MID-ATLANTIC STATES THIS EVENING OR TONIGHT.
5:30 a.m. Monday:
Sunday, Oct. 28:
The first signs of storm arrive in the mid-Atlantic. Mandatory evacuations were ordered in parts of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Rhode Island. Federal emergency declarations have been issued in all of those states except Delaware. President Obama also declared emergencies in the District of Columbia and Massachusetts.
By Monday morning, all public transit was suspended in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and D.C. Several schools were closed, and more than 6,500 flights were cancelled.