Superstorm Sandy: A Game Changer?

Chapter
First Online:
Part of the Extreme Weather and Society book series (EWS)

Abstract

Superstorm Sandy was a late season hurricane that transformed into a monster post tropical storm, making a New Jersey landfall on October 29, 2012. Sandy was a transformative event with respect to its impacts on the natural environment, to changes in forecast and emergency management procedures, and, even more so, to the psyche of those living in coastal states. Seen through a New Jersey focused lens, this chapter will delve into physical and social science aspects of Sandy. Lessons learned and important continuing dialogs will be addressed. For example, the National Hurricane Center has revised watch and warning criteria. Zoning changes that would move homes and businesses away from the shoreline are being discussed and in some cases implemented. Improved means of communication between the forecast community and decision makers, and subsequently in getting the message out to the greater population, are being studied and implemented. Sandy has led to a greater appreciation of the power of Mother Nature and the ever-growing vulnerability of individuals and their communities to storms. However questions remain as to whether New Jersey and other coastal states are better prepared for the next major storm. Was Sandy truly a game changer?

Keywords

Superstorm Nor’easter Tropical cyclone Hurricane Storm surge Westerlies Warm/cold core storms Evacuation Storm category Storm track 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. Blake, ES et al (2013) Tropical cyclone report: hurricane sandy. Tech Rep AL182012, NOAA/National Hurricane Center: 157 pp. available online at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL182012_Sandy.pdf
  2. Bloomberg, M (2012) Mayor Bloomberg updates New Yorkers on City preparations for Hurricane Sandy and steps New Yorkers should take to prepare. News from the Blue Room available online at: http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2012b%2Fpr376-12.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1. Retrieved 17 August 2015Google Scholar
  3. Brickner, RK (1988) The long island express: tracking the Hurricane of 1938. Hodgins Printing Co, 125 ppGoogle Scholar
  4. Bristor CL (1951) The great storm of November 1950. Weatherwise 4:10–16CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Caplovich J (1987) Blizzard! The great storm of ’88. VeRo Publishing Company, Vernon, CT 242 ppGoogle Scholar
  6. Cuite, C, Shwom, R (2015) Best practices in coastal storm risk communication. Presentation at coastal storm awareness program investigators meeting. Newark, NJ, 26 May 2015. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B371wJJQviCgflJYNk5pSGQ5dlJiUTZXZXlTa3ZTTFdxVnpmX1NZalRHakVzUzNiNEhjTEU
  7. Galarneau TJ Jr et al (2013) Intensification of Hurricane Sandy (2012) through extratropical warm core seclusion. Mon Wea Rev 141. doi: 10.1175/MWR-D-13-00181.1
  8. Sea Grant (2015) Coastal storm awareness program project meeting: May 26, 2015. NOAA Sea Grant, Newark, NJGoogle Scholar
  9. Hall TM, Sobel AH (2013) On the impact angle of Hurricane Sandy’s New Jersey landfall. Geophys Res Lett 40:1325–2312. doi: 10.1002/grl.50395 Google Scholar
  10. Knabb RD (2013) Hurricane Sandy: Hurricane wind and storm surge impacts. Town hall meeting: Hurricane and post-tropical cyclone sandy: predictions, warnings, societal impacts and responses. Amer Meteor Soc. Austin, TX. Available online at https://ams.confex.com/ams/93Annual/recordingredirect.cgi/id/23245
  11. Ludlum DM (1983) The New Jersey weather book. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ 252 ppGoogle Scholar
  12. Magnusson L et al (2014) Evaluation of Medium-range forecasts for Hurricane Sandy. Mon Wea Rev 142:1962–1981. doi: 10.1175/MWR-D-13-00228.1 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Mattingly KS et al (2015) A climatological assessment of Greenland blocking conditions associated with the track of Hurricane Sandy and historical North Atlantic hurricanes. Int J Climatol 35:746–760. doi: 10.1002/joc.4018 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Miller KG et al (2013) A geological perspective on sea-level rise and its impacts along the U.S. Mid-Atlantic coast. Earth’s Future 1:3–18. doi: 10.1002/2013EF000135 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Monmouth University Polling Institute (2013). Superstorm sandy survey: impact on New Jersey coastal residents. Retrieved from https://www.monmouth.edu/assets/0/32212254770/32212254991/32212254992/32212254994/32212254995/40802189893/80075bb796504e2b90f9e0dd54301b22.pdf
  16. Mulshine P (2011) My own good is my own damn business. The Star Ledger available online at: http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2011/08/post_142.html. Last updated November 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2015
  17. NCDC (National Climatic Data Center) (2008 (last updated)) The perfect storm: October 1991. Available online at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/satellite/satelliteseye/cyclones/pfctstorm91/pfctstorm.html. Retrieved 17 August 2015
  18. New Jersey State Library (2015) Digital collection. Municipalities by county in New Jersey. Available online at: http://www.njstatelib.org/research_library/new_jersey_resources/digital_collection/municipalities_by_county/. Retrieved 18 August 2015
  19. NJTV (New Jersey Television) (2012) Sandy interview with State Climatologist Dave Robinson in the dark. 11 pm, 29 October 2012. Available online at: http://youtu.be/wMaZ0hNS8fw. Retrieved 17 August 2015
  20. NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) (2013) NOAA broadens definition of hurricane and tropical storm watches and warnings. Available online at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/news/20130404_pa_postTropicalChanges.pdf. Retrieved 17 August 2015
  21. Robinson DA (2009) Weather and climate. In: Laurie MN, PO Wacker (eds) Mapping New Jersey. Rutgers University Press, USA, pp 22–27Google Scholar
  22. Savadove L, Buchholz MT (1993) Great storms of the Jersey shore. Down the Shore Publishing, Harvey Cedars, NJ 203 ppGoogle Scholar
  23. Scherer C, Rickard L, Eosco G (2015) How individuals understand, react and respond to storm surge media messages. Presentation at coastal storm awareness program investigators meeting. Newark, NJ. 26 May 2015. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B371wJJQviCgflJYNk5pSGQ5dlJiUTZXZXlTa3ZTTFdxVnpmX1NZalRHakVzUzNiNEhjTEU
  24. Schwartz R (2007) Hurricanes and the Middle Atlantic states. Blue Diamond Books, Alexandria, VA 399 ppGoogle Scholar
  25. Sobel A (2014) Storm surge. HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY 314 ppGoogle Scholar
  26. Star Ledger staff (2012) Remembering New Jersey’s 40 victims of Sandy. 2 December 2012 (updated 4 December to remove one individual from the death toll, making the number of deaths 39). Available online at: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/12/hurricane_sandy_victims_from_n.html. Retrieved 17 August 2015
  27. Szatkowski G (2012) Weather briefing WFO PHL, Hurricane Sandy. 8 October 2012 noon. Available online at: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/presentations/. Retrieved 17 August 2015
  28. Uccellini LW (2013) Introduction to Sandy and the major impacts. Town hall meeting: Hurricane and post-tropical cyclone sandy: predictions, warnings, societal impacts and responses. Amer Meteor Soc. Austin, TX. Available online at https://ams.confex.com/ams/93Annual/recordingredirect.cgi/id/23244
  29. United States Census Bureau (2015) State and county quick facts. Accessed from: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34000.html. Retrieved 18 August 2015

Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Geography, Office of the New Jersey State ClimatologistRutgers, The State University of New JerseyNew BrunswickUSA

Personalised recommendations