Hurricane Central
Hurricane Central

Sandy: Five Latest Developments

Published: Oct 31, 2012, 2:16 PM EDT weather.com

Play Video
Overlay

Autoplay
On
Off

Sandy continues to weaken over the interior Northeast, however gusty winds, snow and rain will linger into Wednesday.

Below are some of the latest developments as we continue to track Superstorm Sandy.

1: Millions Still Without Power

  • As of 1 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, over 5.9 million customers were without power due to Sandy.
  • On Tuesday morning, a peak total of over 8 million customers were in the dark. Obviously the Northeast was hardest hit, but significant outages occurred in northern Ohio, and sporadic outages occurred as far away as northwest Indiana and northern Georgia.
  • In some regions, power failures were nearly total. Governor Andrew Cuomo said 90% of Long Island families were without power Tuesday. One of New Jersey's utilities reported 86% of its 1.1 million customers were without power Tuesday morning, and that figure was still 86% early Wednesday.

(LATEST NEWS: NY, NJ and CT | Mid-Atlantic | New England)

2: Numerous Fatalities Reported

  • As of mid-morning Wednesday, the total number of fatalities blamed on Sandy is 47 in the mainland United States plus one in Puerto Rico.
  • Many of the victims were killed by falling trees.
  • Sandy also killed 69 people in the Caribbean. Click here for a complete roundup of Sandy's aftermath in the Caribbean.

3: Staggering Damage

  • Very early damage estimates suggest Sandy caused at least $10 billion in damage, and possibly as much as $50 billion in total damage and lost business. The higher number would make Sandy the second-costliest storm in U.S. history, behind Katrina.
  • Damage ranged from storm surge flooding to direct wind damage to devastating fires fueled by high winds and the difficulties fire departments faced in navigating flooded or blocked roads. We have more than 200 images of the devastation at this link.
  • For video of the damage and aftermath, check out our video player at the top of this page.
  • We also have a by-the-numbers breakdown of Sandy's top winds, worst surge and heaviest snow.

4: Chilly Weather in the Blackout Zone

Background

Wed AM lows

Wed AM lows

Wed AM lows

Wed AM lows

Behind the storm, cold air has moved into areas where power is out.

Wednesday morning temperatures were in the 30s and 40s across most areas without power, except for New England where 50s and lower 60s prevailed.

New England will lose the mild advantage Thursday morning and 30s and 40s will prevail across the power outage regions for the next several mornings.

(LOWS MAPS:  Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun)

Daytime highs will only rise into the 40s and 50s over most of the areas that are without power, with no warm-up expected through the next five days.

(HIGHS MAPS:  Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun)

5: Three Feet of Snow!

  • Three feet -- 36 inches -- of snow fell near Richwood, W.Va. by late Wednesday morning.
  • Mount Le Conte, Tenn., reported a whopping 34 inches of snow by Wednesday morning.
  • 33 inches of snow fell near Clayton, W.V., ironically located in Summers County.
  • Up to 29 inches of snow was reported in Redhouse, Md.
  • Several other locations in the mountains of West Virginia and western Maryland received 2 feet or more. Even the high elevations of East Tennessee received as much as 22" of snowfall.
  • The heavy wet snow and high winds led to numerous power outages in communities throughout the central Appalachians, posing hardships especially for elderly residents coping with outdoor temperatures in the 20s and lower 30s.
  • You can read more about Sandy's snowy side and check out impressive Sandy snow photos here on weather.com.

(INTERACTIVE:  Radar | Winter Weather Alerts)

Previous Article Broadway No Longer Dark After Sandy Next Article Obama, Christie Tour N.J. Storm Damage

Share Your Comment

More from The Weather Channel