Hurricane Sandy Taking Aim At DC

A storm's a'brewing.  A category 2 hurricane over the Bahamas, Sandy will make landfall on the East Coast of the United States.  The last time a tropical cyclone phased with a Nor'easter like this, it was "The Perfect Storm" of 1991.  Call Sandy the Perfect-er Storm then, as she has the potential to make history.

At this point major impacts for the DC area are highly likely, as Sandy is a huge storm, with tropical storm force winds (39+) extending hundreds of miles from the center.   At this point, Sandy seems likely to head north until making landfall near the Delaware Bay and jogging west from there.  This will lead to extended periods of heavy rain and high sustained winds of 50-60 mph with gusts up to 80.  While our last two major tropical encounters, Irene and Isabel, were relatively quick,  Sandy will affect the area for about two days, starting with the outer bands reaching us during the day Sunday.  The storm will ramp up and be at its worst Sunday night into Monday, with winds howling, leading to widespread power outages. The intensity will start to lessen into the night, and the storm should largely depart Tuesday, with massive destruction it its wake.  With winds comparable to if not exceeding Isabel, for a longer period of time, the destruction could potentially eclipse the summer derecho, and lead to school cancellations.  To exit on a more peaceful note, Sandy will bring an extremely cold pocket of arctic air and leave a few departing flurries Tuesday night.

However, this storm is still three days away, and has the potential to go in two directions. Sandy could stay further out to sea and make landfall in Long Island, leading to much less intense of  a storm here, as the winds would peak at around 35-40 mph, and last much shorter.  This would lead to effects on the scale of Irene, with significant but not devastating power outages, and a quick return to normalcy.
On the other hand, the storm could go further west than expected, tracking up the Chesapeake.  This would be a disastrous scenario for the area, as we would experience sustained hurricane force winds with gusts approaching and potentially exceeding 100 mph, the likes of which this area has never experienced.

As the storm approaches, the track will become less fuzzy, and I'll be better able to asses the potential impact on the area and school closings.  As of now, I would say there's about a 70% chance that school is canceled Monday, but don't start cheering because you'll have more time to work on your college apps- your power will probably be out.