Hurricane Sandy storms on

NOAA's GOES-13 satellite captured this image of the massive Hurricane Sandy, with a line of clouds from the Gulf of Mexico demonstrating the cold front Sandy is merging with.Source: NASA GOES Project 

From Homeland Security NewsWire:

U.S. East Coast braces for Sandy

 29 October 2012

Residents along the U.S. Atlantic coast, from North Carolina to Maine, were bracing form Hurricane Sandy landfall; people began to evacuate certain areas, while in many other places school closures were announced and supplies were quickly disappearing from stores’ shelves; public transit services were suspended Sunday evening, and more than 3,000 flights canceled; the hurricane may be especially ferocious because it was on its path to meet a winter storm and a cold front, together with high tides from a full moon.

 

Fox News reports that Sandy was at Category 1 strength, reaching 75 mph winds, about 270 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and moving northeast at 14 mph as of 2 p.m. Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Late afternoon Sunday it was about 575 miles south of New York City.


The Hurricane Center notes that the hurricane may be especially ferocious because it was on its path to meet a winter storm and a cold front, together with high tides from a full moon. Weather experts noted that this rare hybrid storm may well wreak mayhem and destruction inland – all the way to the Great Lakes, which are 800-900 miles from the East Coast.


In other developments:

• Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York announced that the city was suspending its bus, subway, and commuter rail service Sunday at 7 p.m. Sunday in anticipation of the storm.
• New Jersey’s PATH train service, which carries passengers between New York City and New Jersey, announced that it would close starting Monday until further notice. Bridges and tunnels would be closed on a case by case basis, and the New York Stock Exchange floor will be closed, but trading will resume electronically.
• New York mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered the closure of all city public schools for Monday and mandatory evacuations of all low-lying areas. He said that residents in lower Manhattan should call 311 or visit the city’s Web site for information on evacuation zones.
• About 1,100 National Guard troops will be deployed — including 400 on Long Island and 200 in New York City.
• In Nassau County on Long Island, County Executive Edward P. Mangano said three public shelters were opened at 1 p.m. Sunday. In neighboring Suffolk County, a mandatory evacuation of Fire Island was ordered, with all parks to close at 6 p.m. Sunday....
•  

Many more details here.