Items tagged with 'Hurricane Sandy'
The eastern wall
The Capital Region was largely spared serious rain and wind from Sandy. Why? Meteorologist Ross Lazear explains over at UAlbany's Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences blog:
Upon reaching the lee (west) side of the Berkshires and Taconics, the strong winds essentially jumped over the valley. The only times the winds really gusted over 50 mph in the immediate Capital District were during, or just before rainfall. As rain falls into unsaturated air, raindrops evaporate, thus cooling the air and causing strong downdrafts. This process literally forced these strong winds all the way down to the surface. Had we experienced more rainfall (also significantly weakened by "downsloping" motion off the Berkshires and Taconics), strong winds would have been brought to the ground more readily, and we would have likely seen stronger sustained winds and more numerous gusts at or above 50 mph.
Bonus geological facts: the Taconics were formed about 440 million years ago and stretch about 200 miles from Connecticut to Vermont. They include Mt. Equinox in Vermont, and Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts.
Petersburgh pass photo: Andy Arthur via Flickr (cc)
The dry corner of the storm
As Sandy plowed its way onto land last night, we saw the Albany Weather Examiner page comment that this area had ended up on the "dry side" of the storm.
So we looked up the National Weather Service 1-day precipitation map today, and as you can see above, the Capital Region very much ended up with very little rain compared to the rest of the Northeast. In fact, you might even be able to say we were in the "dry corner" of the storm. We were lucky.
Post jump is a large-format clip from the map showing the entire Northeast and mid-Atlantic.
Hurricane Sandy updates (7:40 am update)
Updated 7:40 pm
+ The core Capital Region largely missed on the rain and wind for much of Monday -- the NWS reports only a little more than 1/10 of an inch of rain for the day in Albany, with just a bit more over night.
+ There is a flood warning in effect for the Hudson River at Albany, with the river projected to rise above flood stage for a few hours Tuesday morning. The flooding is predicted to be "minor." The warning is in effect until the early afternoon.
+ The forecast for Tuesday: a 50 percent chance of rain, increasing in the evening -- breezy, with gusts near 50 mph, cloudy, highs in the low 60s.
+ There are scattered power outages around the Capital Region core, mostly in Saratoga County -- where at one point Monday night National Grid was reporting 5,667 customers without power. As of Tuesday morning the utility is reporting a little more than 2100 customers without power in the four core counties, again the majority in Saratoga. (There are 1.94 million around the state without power, as of this morning, according to the Cuomo admin.)
+ Many schools and orgs are closed or delayed Tuesday. [YNN]
+ The situation in the New York City area, and other parts of New Jersey, is serious. Record-high storm surge pushed water into Manhattan and other low-lying areas of the boroughs. Tweeted NYS Director of Operations Howard Glaser at 8:45 pm: "lower manhattan is being covered by seawater. I am not exaggerating." In another tweet he said water is flooding into the WTC "at massive rate." Bridges and tunnels into Manhattan were closed. And the power was shut off in lower Manhattan, leading to some eerie pics. [NYT] [@hglaser1] [@hglaser1] [@hglaser1] [@StephLauren] [@lexinyt]
+ Sandy has been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, the center of which is tracking through Pennsylvania, and is forecasted to head through western New York tonight. [National Hurricane Center]
+ Amtrak has canceled service in the Northeast Corridor again Tuesday, including the Empire Service. [Amtrak]
+ ALB is open, but many flights have been canceled or delayed. [YNN]
+ CDTA said this morning it's on its regular schedule and routes. Here's the CDTA service advisories page. The customer service number -- staffed 6 am-7 pm weekdays -- is: (518) 482-8822.
Post jump, emergency info and numbers...
... said KGB about Drawing: What's something that brought you joy this year?