By Storm Team 4
| Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 | Updated 2:27 PM EDT
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Hurricane SandyMore Photos and Videos
Sandy barreled north from the Caribbean on Saturday, expected to make landfall early Tuesday near the Delaware coast before it hits two winter weather systems as it moves inland, creating a hybrid superstorm that has the potential to cause widespread flooding and power outages that last for days.
MTA officials warned that subways, bridges and commuter rails could be shut down starting 7 p.m. Sunday, but said a decision would not be made until hours before that.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie declared a state of emergency and ordered mandatory evacuations by Sunday at 4 p.m. for the state's barrier islands from Sandy Hook south to Cape May. During a briefing Saturday, he also ordered evacuations at Atlantic City casinos by that time.
To anyone planning to ignore the warnings, Christie said: "Please don't. We have to be prepared for the worst here."
Sandy, which has left more than 40 people dead in its path, is expected to move parallel to the southeast coast of the U.S. through the weekend.
The storm could be wider and stronger than Irene, which caused more than $15 billion total in damage, and could rival the worst East Coast storm on record. On Saturday morning, forecasters said hurricane-force winds of 75 mph could be felt 100 miles away from the storm's center.
After Irene left millions without power, utilities were taking no chances and were lining up extra crews and tree-trimmers. Wind threatened to topple power lines, and trees that still have leaves could be weighed down by snow and fall over if the weight becomes too much.
Sandy was briefly downgraded on Saturday to a tropical storm, which is defined by only a small difference in wind speed; a hurricane has sustained winds of at least 74 mph while a tropical storm has 73 mph and under. More fluctuations between hurricane and tropical storm status are expected as it heads north.
Track Sandy with our satellite radar
See a timeline of when Sandy's effects will be felt here
The rain bands of Sandy will first show in the region Sunday, with the heaviest rain developing Sunday evening and lasting through Tuesday, meteorologists say. The worst of the system is expected to hit Monday into Tuesday morning.
Sandy is likely to arrive in our region during a full moon when tides are near their highest, increasing coastal flooding potential, particularly across the south shores of Long Island and coastal New Jersey.
Significant beach erosion is expected along the shore lines with wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph, 6 to 10 inches of rain, waves of up to 20 feet and widespread power outages that, with some trees still leafy and the potential for snow, could last to Election Day.
Under the heaviest rain band, which looks like it will settle across New Jersey, rain totals could exceed 10 inches, saturating the ground. As strong winds move across those soaked soils, that could cause trees to come down, causing large-scale power outages.
NEW YORK
The first evacuations in New York have been ordered on Fire Island. Residents are to leave by 2 p.m. Sunday, the Islip town supervisor said.
New York City officials are warning that people in low-lying areas might have to evacuate. The city's emergency management situation room has been activated.
The city's primary evacuation zone includes Battery Park City, Coney Island, Manhattan Beach, Far Rockaway and Midland Beach and South Beach in Staten Island. See the zone in orange on this map.
Mayor Bloomberg said Friday that six hospitals and 41 chronic care facilities are in those areas. At this point, officials are not recommending evacuations but say all those facilities should cancel all elective admissions and should discharge patients that can be sent home.
In August 2011, Bloomberg ordered evacuations in low-lying areas of the city as Hurricane Irene approached. The entire subway system was also shut down.
The MTA says its plan calls for service to be shut down if sustained winds of 39 mph or higher are expected. Ahead of the storm, extra workers were being called in, trains were being removed from outdoor yards and subway ventilation grates vulnerable to flooding were being sandbagged and covered.
The agency says some vehicles may be barred from its bridges when winds reach 50 mph or more, and the bridges could be closed if winds reach 60 mph.
Bloomberg said officials would decide Sunday if school would be in session on Monday.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has activated the state's emergency crews. He also urged people to prepare storm kits, which include non-perishable food, water, cash, filled prescriptions, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, first aid kit, flashlights and batteries.
"We want to take every precaution possible," Cuomo said.
NEW JERSEY
Despite the dire predictions, some coastal residents said they planned to stay in their homes. Many predicted Sandy would fizzle as most of the recent storms to approach the shore did, while others said they felt safer in their homes.
Many residents, though, were preparing for the worst.
One island resident who wasn't taking any chances was Russ Linke. He and his wife planned to leave Ship Bottom after securing their patio furniture and packing bicycles into their pickup truck.
"I've been here since 1997, and I never even put my barbecue grill away during a storm," Linke said. "But I am taking this one seriously. They say it might hit here. That's about as serious as it can get."
Christie is urging residents to closely monitor the storm and prepare to put in motion their own emergency plans.
The Department of Environmental Protection is opening the Pompton Lakes Dam to lower the lake's level in advance of the storm. The town of Pompton Lakes sits between the Pequannock and Ramapo rivers and has a long history of flooding.
In addition, the state is lowering the levels of four reservoirs used for drinking water in northern New Jersey for the first time ever in preparation for the storm. According to Larry Ragones, a spokesman for the department, the actions were being taken to "create a void space for runoff from the storm."
CONNECTICUT
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has declared a state of emergency. He says the state is better prepared for Sandy than it was last year when it was hit by the remnants of Hurricane Irene, which knocked out power to residents for days.
Malloy met Friday with representatives from the electric, cable and communications utilities to discuss their preparations. Electricity line crews are already making their way to the state.
Malloy said residents need to plan on at least 7 inches of rain to fall over a 36 hours and winds of 40 mph. Effects could be felt early Sunday evening.
The state has launched a site to keep residents up to date on Sandy. It can be found atwww.ct.gov/sandy.
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