Superstorm Sandy slammed into the New Jersey coastline and hurled a record-breaking 4.3 metre surge of seawater at New York City on Monday, roaring ashore after washing away part of the Atlantic City boardwalk and putting the U.S. presidential campaign on hold.
Just before its centre reached land, the storm was stripped of hurricane status, but the distinction was purely technical, based on its shape and internal temperature. It still packed hurricane-force wind, and forecasters were careful to say it remained every bit as dangerous to the 50 million people in its path.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center announced at 8 p.m. that Sandy had come ashore near Atlantic City.
In an attempt to lessen damage from the storm, New York City's main utility cut power to about 6,500 customers in lower Manhattan. Authorities worried that seawater would seep into the New York subway and cripple it, along with the electrical and communications systems that are vital to the nation's financial centre.
As it closed in, Sandy knocked out electricity to more than 1.5 million people and figured to upend life for tens of millions more. It smacked the boarded-up big cities of the Northeast corridor, from Washington and Baltimore to Philadelphia, New York and Boston, with stinging rain and gusts of more than 135 kph.
As it made its way toward land, it converged with a cold-weather system that turned into a fearsome superstorm, a monstrous hybrid consisting not only of rain and high wind but of snow. Forecasters warned of 20-metre waves bashing into the Chicago lakefront and up to a metre of snow in West Virginia.
Storm puts oldest nuke plant on alert
America's oldest nuclear power plant is on alert after waters from a colossal storm reached high levels.
Oyster Creek in Lacey Township, New Jersey, was already offline for regular maintenance before Sandy, a superstorm downgraded Monday night from a hurricane, slammed the East Coast.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says an "unusual event" was declared around 7 p.m. when water reached a high level. The situation was upgraded less than two hours later to an "alert," the second-lowest in a four-tiered warning system.
Federal officials say all nuclear plants are still in safe condition. They say water levels near Oyster Creek, which is along the Atlantic Ocean, will likely recede within a few hours.
Oyster Creek went online in 1969 and provides 9 per cent of New Jersey's electricity.
The Associated Press |
People across central and eastern Canada hunkered down to face powerful winds and a deluge of rain as approaching superstorm Sandy hit the U.S. and gradually wheeled its way north.
The impact of the weather system extended over a thousand kilometres away from the storm, according to the Canadian Hurricane Centre, with southern Ontario and Quebec experiencing high wind gusts and periods of heavy rain on Monday night.
In Toronto, police said a woman had been killed by a falling sign as strong winds whipped the city. A spokesman said witnesses reported the woman was struck while walking through a parking lot as winds gusted around 65 kilometres per hour.
The Hurricane Centre said northerly winds were increasing over southern Ontario Monday night, with some areas reporting gusts above 80 kilometres per hour which were expected to get stronger. Meanwhile, south western Nova Scotia was also being whipped by gusty winds.
Officials warned residents in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes to prepare, though the East Coast of the United States was expected to bear the brunt of the unusually large storm.
Southern Ontario and Quebec were expected to see the strongest winds, with gusts up to 100 kilometres per hour and between 20 to 40 millimetres of rain, although higher amounts were possible in some areas.
That will make for a soggy Tuesday, but that level wasn't enough to trigger a rainfall warning.
Starting Tuesday morning, the Maritime provinces will see a lot more rain - up to 50 millimetres - and weaker winds than Ontario, though still strong at an expected 70 kilometres per hour.
“The rain will pick up in intensity late Monday, with winds also increasing and peaking very early Tuesday morning,” said Global News meteorologist Anthony Farnell. “Additional rainfall amounts of 50-75 millimetres shouldn't cause a severe flood situation, but basement flooding and some river flooding is expected.”
Farnell expects the heaviest rain will be around the Niagara region and across southwestern Ontario, where local amounts could reach 100 millimetres.
Follow along with Anthony Farnell and Global Maritimes meteorologist Trevor Adams for the latest graphics, analysis and information on superstorm Sandy in our live blog here
Meanwhile, the Maritime provinces will see a lot more rain - up to 100 millimetres - and weaker winds than Ontario, though still strong at an expected 70 kilometres per hour.
Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The precipitation could turn into snow over parts of Ontario and western Quebec, said Environment Canada.
But it's not the force of the winds or the amount of rain that sets this storm apart from others, it's the sheer size of it, said Canadian Hurricane Centre spokesman Bob Robichaud.
"Usually a tropical system is a bit more compact than this and it doesn't affect quite as large an area," he said.
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The storm is also expected to whip up the water, generating waves of up to seven metres in Lake Huron. The Quebec Storm Prediction Centre issued storm surge warnings for pounding waves in the Gaspe and north shore of the St. Lawrence River. The south shore of Nova Scotia could also see several-metre high waves.
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said in a statement that the military and the Canadian Coast Guard are on standby. Health Canada is conducting generator checks and has reviewed the National Emergency Stockpile, he said.
The stockpile, maintained by the Public Health Agency of Canada, contains supplies such as beds, blankets and antibiotics.
John Byrne, the director general of disaster management for the Red Cross, said the organization had 550 volunteers on standby in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces.
Utility companies in Ontario were preparing for the onslaught of the storm by having crews ready to respond to any calls about damage. By Monday night, more than 15,000 customers were without power in the province.
Emergency Management Ontario warned the storm may result in flooding, road closures and power failure. It said people should put away any objects that can be blown away by wind, such as garbage lids and Halloween decorations, to prevent damage or injury.
Nova Scotia's Emergency Management Office said residents who live along the coast should watch out for pounding surf and high winds, particularly in the southwestern corner of the province.
In Fredericton, that city's Emergency Measures Organization told residents to keep catch basins near their homes clear of leaves and other debris to prevent localized flooding.
Hundreds of flights leaving from airports across Canada bound for the U.S. East Coast were cancelled. At Toronto's international airport, one-quarter of all of flights departing Monday were cancelled.
Airlines advised travellers to check the status of their flight ahead of time.
Sandy was blamed for more than 60 deaths as it churned across the Caribbean.
With files from The Associated Press, Global News
© The Canadian Press, 2012