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Hurricane Sandy Arrives!

The latest on the East Coast storm that meteorologists are calling "unprecedented" and "the worst-case scenario coming true."

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:

1.6 million customers without power now due to Hurricane #Sandy.

1.6 million customers without power now due to Hurricane #Sandy.-- Hurricane Central

Pure surge is 6.6 feet at the Batttery. That's 2.2feet above Irene! The battery will flood #Sandy

Pure surge is 6.6 feet at the Batttery. That's 2.2feet above Irene! The battery will flood #Sandy-- Jim Cantore

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.

An 86-mph gust was reported in Westerly, RI - the highest gust report we've received all day. #Sandy

An 86-mph gust was reported in Westerly, RI - the highest gust report we've received all day. #Sandy-- Hurricane Central

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.

If center of #Sandy bends a little left and misses Cape May NJ just to south, official landfall of center could occur in Delaware.

If center of #Sandy bends a little left and misses Cape May NJ just to south, official landfall of center could occur in Delaware.-- Dr. Rick Knabb

81-mph gust reported near Plum Island in extreme eastern Suffolk County, NY (off the tip of Long Island). #Sandy

81-mph gust reported near Plum Island in extreme eastern Suffolk County, NY (off the tip of Long Island). #Sandy-- Hurricane Central

3 p.m. Monday:

Snow is increasing in higher elevations of West VA. Snow will be picking up southward through the Appalachians tonight per @TomNiziol

Snow is increasing in higher elevations of West VA. Snow will be picking up southward through the Appalachians tonight per @TomNiziol-- Hurricane Central

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.

Winds are now gusting to 66 mph at #JFK Airport in #NYC. #Sandy #nywx

Winds are now gusting to 66 mph at #JFK Airport in #NYC. #Sandy #nywx-- Hurricane Central

1 p.m. Monday — Let the countdown begin!

Sandy is speeding up, moving northwest at 25-30 mph. It could make landfall south NJ around 5PM. Hurricane winds approaching NJ, south NY

Sandy is speeding up, moving northwest at 25-30 mph. It could make landfall south NJ around 5PM. Hurricane winds approaching NJ, south NY-- Dr. Greg Forbes

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:

Approx. 70 trees down across city parks in #NYC. #Sandy

Approx. 70 trees down across city parks in #NYC. #Sandy-- Hurricane Central

Gusts to 58 mph at Islip, NY and Martha's Vineyard, MA this hour; 46 mph at Central Park in NYC. #Sandy #mawx #nywx

Gusts to 58 mph at Islip, NY and Martha's Vineyard, MA this hour; 46 mph at Central Park in NYC. #Sandy #mawx #nywx-- Hurricane Central

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:

BREAKING -- WABC-TV: Atlantic City official says most of the city is under water; damage could be worse than 1962

BREAKING -- WABC-TV: Atlantic City official says most of the city is under water; damage could be worse than 1962-- Michael van Poppel

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:

Air Force recon is now measuring 85-90 mph surface winds about 100 miles SW of the eye of #Sandy.

Air Force recon is now measuring 85-90 mph surface winds about 100 miles SW of the eye of #Sandy.-- Hurricane Central

Center of #Sandy is currently 310 miles SSE of #NYC, or about 265 mi SE of Atlantic City NJ.

Center of #Sandy is currently 310 miles SSE of #NYC, or about 265 mi SE of Atlantic City NJ.-- Hurricane Central

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.

View this video on YouTube

A time lapse of the storm from 7:15 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

A map of the storm, updated live by WNYC: