Rebecca Gallanter5/07/2014EAES104_03Hurricane SandyWhen Hurricane Sandy developed, it was already late in the year, and hurricane season was for the most part, coming to a close. The season had brought very few name storms that year, only producing one the previous summer, which had been Isaac. It was not as though Hurricane Sandy, also known as Superstorm Sandy came out of nowhere. Meteorologists had seen it on their radars, and had known that it was going to have some sort of impact on the globe.However, no one knew the magnitude that the storm would end up causing. Especially for the people who live in the northeast of the United States, people like myself; storms like Sandy were not ones that we were used to seeing, so when Sandy blew ashore in late October of 2012, it brought with it a punch that no one had expected. Hurricane Sandy, also known as Superstorm Sandy started out in the In the Caribbean, onOctober 19 in 2012 (Tamagno, 2013). When it began, it started out just as a wave, but unfortunately for so many people, it did not stop there. It continued in its development, and quickly turned into a tropical depression, which was then followed by it becoming a tropical storm just six hours later (Deaths Associated With Hurricane Sandy, 2013). As the storm began to gain its traction, it found it’s first target, as can be seen in Figure 1.With its winds reaching up to 135 km/h, Hurricane Sandy slammed into Jamaica as a category 1 hurricane. From there, it moved on to Cuba, with winds now reaching up to 185 km/h, and the satellites tracked the storm as it developed into a category 3, as seen in Figure 2. After it left Cuba, the storm took a northwest turn for the Bahamas, where it weakened into a tropical storm. However, the fight had not yet left the resilient system. As it continued it’s trek north, it once again intensified, and became a hurricane again.Taking aim at the east coast of the United States, the storm drew in even more strength and intensified into a category 2. However as the storm took aim at New York and New Jersey, it once again weakened into a non-tropical storm. As Sandy began to made landfall on New York City, the waters were already reaching dangerous levels, the storm surge and tide was already Figure 3- (Above) Cuba after Hurricane Sandy Swept through as a category 3 hurricane, homes damaged, and streets flooded (Tamagno, 2013) Figure 4- (Right) The New Jersey Coast after Sandy swept through on October 30 of 2012 (Tamagno, 2013)Figure 1- (left) Superstorm Sandy’s track as it traveled from it’s point of origin, all the way until it made landfall on the continental United States (Tamagno, 2013) Figure 2- (Below)A satellite view of Hurricane Sandy as it developed into a Category 3 storm on October 25, 2012 (Tamagno, 2013).4.28 above average of low tide, with winds reaching 130 km/h (Tamagno, 2013). The water surged over boundaries people built, and natural sand dunes that had been there for years (Steinberg, 2014). Dozens of New York City transit workers scramble in the wind and rain to place plywood sheets and sandbags at Subway entrances as the onslaught of water filled seven long train tunnels. Boardwalks all up and down the East Coast were destroyed (Folger, , 2013). Super storm Sandy was the largest arm to stem from the Atlantic Ocean on record (McNally, Bonavita, Thepaut, 2013) As the storm moved closer to the East Coast of the United States, it seemed like all the elements were lining up to make the storm more powerful than most had ever seen. Firstly, whenthe storm hit the New Jersey coast, it was high tide. Secondly, it was a full moon that night, so when high tide came in, the water rose to a higher level than usual. There was also a huge changein the high-altitude jet stream, causing it to loop southward, known as a “blocking high”, which then forced the storm to make a sharp turn to the left and collided with the New Jersey Coast (Bowman, 2013). There were some other factors that contributed to Sandy becoming the storm that devastated so many. First, the sea surfaces that the storm originated from had above normal sea temperatures, fueling the storm, and giving it the energy and moisture that it needed to become the storm it was. Second, scientists had to examine the jet stream to find out why there had been such a strange dip. The conclusion they ended at was that warming in the artic had caused it, and then made the storm steer from east to west. Third, there were high lunar tides that night, causing the sea level to rise several feet more than usual along the east coast (“Hurricane Sandy: What Caused The Recent Superstorm And How To Prepare For The Next One”, 2012).Figure 5-(Left) Seaside Heights in The New Jersey is battered by a powerful wave, and a treasured rollercoaster is destroyed (50 Dramatic Images Of Destruction Caused By Superstorm And Hurricane Sandy, The Telegraph)Figure 6- (Bottom) Sea water floods Ground Zero’s construction site on October 29, 2012 (25 Indelible Images from Superstorm Sandy, SKYE)Figure 7-(above) a parking lot full of yellow cabs in Hoboken NJ, flooded on October 30, 2012 (Superstorm's most dramatic images, CBS News)Figure 8- (Right) Homes in Seaside Heights, NJ, after Superstorm Sandy swept through. 6 people were killed in Seaside Heights (Superstorm Sandy's Enduring Impressions, ABC News)Everywhere the storm touched, it caused some sort of damage, in some places more than others. In some way, the storm had an effect on both people and landscapes everywhere Jamaica to Canada. In Cuba, the storm caused around $2 billion in damages when it flooded the small country and destroyed peoples homes, as seen in Figure 3. When the numbers came in months later, the total amount of damage from the storm is was estimated to be around $68 billion, whichis more than Katrina caused. Without even factoring in the damage from the United States, there was around $3 billion that the stormcost in damages. In the United States, 24 states were affected. Figure 9- (Left) A down tree in Astoria New York (Superstorm Sandy Pictures: Top Reader Photos, National Geographic)Figure 10- (Below) The flooded subway of New York City after Superstorm Sandy swept through (25 Indelible Images from Superstorm Sandy, SKYE).Figure 11- (Above) Boats thrown together on Long Beach Island, New Jersey (Hurricane Sandy: The Superstorm, Boston.com). Figure 12- (Right) An apartment building in Chelsea New York has the