At 11 PM ET, the storm formerly known as Sandy was centered near 39.8N 75.4W, about 10 miles southwest of Philadelphia, PA. Sandy was moving northwest at 18 mph and had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. The minimum central pressure is steady at 952 mb (28.11 in Hg).
Hurricane force winds are forecast to be experienced from Chatham, MA south to Chincoteague, VA, including the tidal Potomac, north of Cobb Island to Smith Point, the middle & upper Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, Long Island Sound, the coastal areas of Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, and the northern portions of the Delmarva peninsula. This includes the New York City area and Philadelphia.
Tropical storm force winds are forecast for Chatham, MA north to Merrimack, MA and from Chincoteague, VA, south to Duck, NC, along with the lower Chesapeake Bay.
Storm surge forecasts are listed below:
– 1-3 ft in the middle & upper Chesapeake,
– 2-4 ft in the lower Chesapeake and Tidewater area of Virginia,
– 6-11 ft along Long Island Sound and Raritan Bay,
– 4-8 ft from Ocean City, MD north to Connecticut-Rhode Island border,
– 3-6 ft from Connecticut-Rhode Island border east to south shore of Cape Cod, and
– 1-3 ft from Cape Cod to Maine/Canada border
The storm surge combined with higher neap tides will bring significant coastal erosion and rip tides. Flooding from both storm surge and heavy rain (see map below) is a major concern as the storm moves into Pennsylvania and New York. The other map that’s included is the rainfall totals until 2 PM ET today.
