Hurricane Sandy

Hard to believe that it was two years ago today that Sandy hit.

I shot several video clips before, during, and after the storm, but this video is probably one of the more dramatic ones that I filmed.

It shows a garage roof getting damaged.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkg9Wv9TVx0&list=UUwE9BgyqeghfSSlLLQp8o_g

Oc course, this was nothing compared to the toppled power lines and storm surge that other videos show

I work in a school in NYC. I was getting married 3 weeks after Sandy. Another teacher was getting married NOV. 2. 10 days before Sandy, I was on an ISLANDER message board complaining that they sucked and someone posted...HEY guys, in 10 days, we can have an epic hurricane!" I was skeptical to say the least so I asked how he could know that far in advance that we would get hit and he said..."LOOK AT THE EURO!"

That was my first experience with weather models and I kept looking everyday. I went into school the next day and told my co-worker...(as a joke?) that her wedding day would be in trouble based on this storm. Everyone laughed it off and truthfully, so did I. Then about 5 days before the storm where it was looking like a real possibility, I told her again...this time not with a smile. I told people at work about the possibilities from this storm. I remember saying that if this storm curves into jersey, LI could see winds and a surge that we will never see again. I actually said we could see the battery tunnel flood and we wouldn't have school for days.And as you all know, NYC doesn;t cancel school. I think people starting believing.

The Friday before the storm, I told this teacher she will probably have less guests at her wedding and she better make plans to figure it out. Day of the storm, I went to my Bro's house on south shore of LI to help him lift furniture off the ground. It was only about 11am and streets were already flooded. And the storm wasn;t even close yet. My body felt a chill come over it and I turned white which my brother and father saw on my face. They said what's up? I told them if these roads are flooded with the storm 300 miles away, he's not gonna be living in his house for weeks.

My friend lives in long beach, LI. 2 hours before the surge, I called him to tell him to stay with me in Merrick, north of sunrise, so I knew i would be ok. He said no and that they were partying. After the surge came in, I called him again, and he said he couldn;t talk b/c the water was rushing down the street and was now 4 feet high in their house.

I walked outside with my father and brother during the heights of the wind and for the first time in my life, I was afraid of mother nature. The memory of walking through 90 mile per hour gusts will never die in my head. Power was out for about 5 days for me and dealing with gas lines were the worst part of it all.

My coworker did get married on Nov.2 but half her guests couldn't show up. Some lost their homes, others couldn;t get gas. She was miserable so she just invited friends of friends of friends to come to her wedding. By the time i got married on Nov.16, gas lines disappeared and most people were back to normal.

As a teacher, I got 4 days off and when we all returned, everyone asked me how I knew this storm was going to hit and I had one simple response for them..."The Islanders and the EURO!"

I got chills reading that Devsman. Some of the first hand stories I've heard about that storm are just nightmarish.

I was in Queens about 5 days after Sandy when NYC had the Nov 7th snowstorm. There was 8-10 inches in parts Of Queens and I remember thinking has a snowstorm ever hit an area 5 days after a hurricane, this is insane. Of course the snow was secondary compared to the devastation of Sandy, but it just added to the misery for people without power or worse without a home. Knowing the plight of some people I knew and family in Belle Harbor, it was probably the only time in my life I was hoping a snowstorm would miss our area.

I have a question: Did the ECMWF model nail Sandy over a week out? I know it had the storm retrograding towards the East Coast of the US but where did it have it making landfall? It ultimately made landfall in Brigantine in Atlantic County in NJ but did the EURO have it making landfall in Ocean County or Monmouth County?

Pictures from my area

I knew something big and possibly dangerous was coming when I woke up early that Monday morning and saw Sandy down to the 940s. This wasn't your typical storm. With this storm, I lost power for 5 days and my area became an ocean when the waters rose. I had wind gusts near 85mph for a while. I know alot of people who didn't have power for weeks and lost their house or basement. It was a great storm to track but with a terrible outcome for many.

I remember the Canadian model seeing the hook first for one run.  Then the Euro latched onto it and never let go.  I saw 4 different jet streaks feeding into this monster storm and knew something "special was going to happen".

http://www.nymetroweather.com/2013/10/24/hurricane-sandy-pressure/


I remember standing outside right at the bay with the handheld anemometer.  Highest wind gust I recorded was 82 mph and this was before peak winds struck the area. 


Later I was on Merrick Road in Freeoort and saw the wate rise rapidly.  I saw boats floating down the street and transformers exploding.

I went back north to my town and saw a raging car fire around the block from where I live. There was a power line, which had street the fire sitting on top of the car.  85-90 mph winds blowing this car fire clear across the street and threatened to set a house on fire.  

I remember returning to Freeport the next day and see boats tangled in power lines with the power poles laying on top of the boats.  I saw houses that imploded and some that had burned down.  Trees and boats were everywhere.  I remember seeing pictures of the tower at Robert Moses and seeing where the new waterline had set up.

Three years ago today, Hurricane Sandy hit the eastern US at a pressure of 946 mb!  This was a radar image I captured from my laptop from just after 7:30 PM as it neared landfall.

It has now been four years since Hurricane Sandy struck the region.  A lot of trees down from the storm.  Here is an incredible image I took in my neighborhood showing a smashed car as a result of a down tree (Note: This car was NOT owned by me or anyone I know)