Sandy Likely To Be Powerful & Damaging In Mass., But Not Catastrophic
BOSTON (CBS) – The earlier forecast remains on track.
All morning and midday weather models are bringing the center of Sandy into New Jersey Monday night.
The brunt of this storm will be Monday afternoon through early Tuesday morning. Conditions will rapidly deteriorate during the day on Monday. By Monday afternoon we will already feel a stiff wind out of the east, and seas will be rapidly building. The core of the winds and storm surge will arrive around sunset Monday night and last through early Tuesday just before dawn.
By mid-morning Tuesday, Sandy will be well inland and weakening quickly. Winds will be gusty but lessening out of the southeast and rain will taper to showers.
Gallery: Latest Sandy Forecast Maps
This is going to be a powerful and damaging event but likely not be a catastrophic event. I believe there will be scattered tree damage and power outages but likely not the scope of last Halloween's storm.
Main concerns from Sandy:
The hardest hit areas will undoubtedly be the South Coast, Cape Cod and the Islands. Winds may gust to hurricane force in those locations, up to 75 mph. The storm surge and coastal flooding will also be greatest there, peaking around Midnight Monday night during high tide.
For the vast majority of our area (inland from the Coast) the winds will be the biggest issue. Gusts are expected to be 30-60 mph for all of Southern New England Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning.
Check: Tracking Maps | Interactive Radar | Current Conditions | Forecast Maps
This will cause some tree damage and power outages, but again, at this point I am not expecting catastrophic damage.
This will feel like a nasty nor'easter for about 12-18 hours but I am confident that we are not in for what we once feared could be a worst case scenario.
All storm preparations should be finished by Sunday evening, don't leave anything to chance, prepare for the worst.
You can follow Terry on Twitter at @TerryWBZ.
