Hurricane Sandy, the Frankenstorm

The Scientific American article about the storm was the top story in last night's Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Frankenstorm edition) at Daily Kos.

What You Need to Know About Hurricane Sandy to Get Ready
By David Biello
October 26, 2012

Take a hurricane moving up from the south. Mash in a colder storm moving in from the west. Add a ridge of high pressure extending through the atmosphere above the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and Greenland, blocking the typical flow of the jet stream. That’s the recipe for what will become “Post-Tropical Storm Sandy” or, as it has more colloquially been dubbed: “Frankenstorm.”

The result of all that atmospheric blocking is that instead of turning away from land and heading out into the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, this particular storm is going to be pushed ashore somewhere between Delaware and Long Island, New York. At the same time, it will be merging with the cold air coming in from the west—and that means Sandy will be the unusual hurricane that ends up producing snow in its western reaches.

And what a reach. Sandy’s swirling circulation and high winds will reach from Ohio and the Great Lakes region all the way to the New England Coast and down into the Carolinas.

For how one campus on the campaign trail is preparing for the storm, read Virginia Tech prepares for Hurricane Sandy. For a more extreme reaction, UNH Closes Oct. 29 and 30 in Anticipation of Hurricane Sandy.

For a visual, see Interactive map of Sandy... by old mark on Daily Kos. Or you can watch this video from ABC News.



I've called this storm "Hurricane Irene with a blizzard." I'm not the only one comparing Sandy to Irene. ABC News has more.



Trick or treat, everyone, and stay safe and dry!