Hurricane Sandy (Blog Update #12)

The year of 2012 had many severe and crazy weather vents that took place during the year. And Hurricane Sandy was no exception. Sandy would go down in history as the third most destructive Atlantic storm.

The hurricane followed a west-northwesterly track and as it made landfall, had tropical storm force winds spanning over 943 miles. Due to the shear size of the storm, winds warning had to posted as far away as Chicago.

The National Hurricane Center forecast of the storm. Courtesy: National Hurricane Center/NOAA

Including heavy rains and winds, the storm had catastrophic storm surge that was most responsible for the $62 billion in damages as well as most of the 131 deaths related to the storm in the U.S.

Before and after image of flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Courtesy: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region

Storm surge also hit New York City and flooded streets, tunnels and and subway lines and knocked out power around the city.