The Stats Are In: Superstorm Sandy Totals

Sandy may not have been the most powerful hurricane to make landfall, but it is likely to be the most damaging ever















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This map shows how much rain has already fallen from Sandy through Tuesday afternoon. Image: AccuWeather.com

Sandy caused many problems during its life. Here are some of the most impressive statistics from the storm.

SANDY DEBUNKED:
Sandy is not the strongest hurricane north of Cape Hatteras.

A near-record low barometric pressure occurred with Sandy offshore Monday afternoon. The pressure bottomed at 27.76 inches. For a storm north of Cape Hatteras, N.C., Hurricane Gladys of 1977 holds the record at 27.73 inches. Gladys was a Category 4 hurricane which remained off the coast of the U.S.

 

HIGHEST RAINFALL TOTALS BY STATE:
Andrews AFB, Md.: 15.3" (unconfirmed)
Easton, Md.: 12.55"
Wildwood Crest, N.J.: 11.67"
Virginia Beach, Va.: 9.57"
Milford, Del.: 9.55"
Maysville, W.Va.: 7.75"
Hanover, Pa.: 7.61"
Washington, D.C.: 5.44"
Lorain, Ohio: 4.29"
East Milton, Mass.: 3.03"
Jaffrey, N.H.: 3.83"
Niagara Falls, N.Y.: 3.02"

HIGHEST WIND GUSTS BY STATE (>74 mph):
Eatons Neck, N.Y.: 94 mph
Montclair, N.J.: 88 mph
Westerly, R.I.: 86 mph
Madison, Conn.: 85 mph
Cuttyhunk, Mass.: 83 mph
Allentown, Pa.: 81 mph
Highland Beach, Md.: 79 mph
Chester Gap, Va.: 79 mph

HIGHEST SNOW AMOUNTS BY STATE:
Redhouse, Md.: 26"
Bowden, W.Va.: 24"
Champion, Pa.: 13"
Newfound Gap, N.C.: 22"
Wise, Va.: 24"
Mt. Leconte, Tenn.: 20"
Payne Gap, Ky.: 14"
Bellefontaine, Ohio: 3.5"

POWER OUTAGES: CNN reported more than 7.5 million
By comparison, Hurricane Ike had 7.5 million over his entire path.

TOP WAVES: 
39.67 feet (Buoy #41048)

TOP STORM SURGES:
The Battery, N.Y.: ~9 feet above normal
Kings Point, N.Y.: ~12.5 feet above normal
New Haven, Conn.: ~9 feet above normal

RECORD LOWEST PRESSURE (ON LAND):
Atlantic City, N.J.: 948.3 mb (28.00" Hg)
Philadelphia, Pa.: 953mb (28.23" Hg)
Harrisburg, Pa.: 963mb (28.46" Hg)
Scranton, Pa.: 971mb (28.69" Hg)
Trenton, N.J.: 958mb (28.31" Hg)
Baltimore, Md.: 965mb (28.49" Hg)
Harrisburg, Pa.: 964mb (28.46" Hb)

 

 

Reprinted with permission from AccuWeather.com. The original story was published on October 30, 2012.



7 Comments

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  1. 1. stonehat 10:44 AM 10/31/12

    And what are those numbers in proper units.
    You know, the units we use for SCIENCE ?

    Disappointed.

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  2. 2. curmudgeon in reply to stonehat 12:30 PM 10/31/12

    Is there some part of "Reprinted with permission from AccuWeather.com" that you don't understand? These are units used by those people who were actually affected. If you in your nice, cosy unaffected ivory tower want it in SI units, get your calculator out!

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  3. 3. JoannaPoppink 05:53 PM 10/31/12

    These stats are in fast. Why did it take so long for Katrina stats to become public?

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  4. 4. Tomtom9041 in reply to JoannaPoppink 09:44 AM 11/1/12

    That's because Katrina was political, it struck the most liberal, primarily black, city in the South. FYI, the demographics in New Orleans have changed so dramatically that a white *gasp* man has been elected mayor and Hispanics have become the dominant minority group.

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
  5. 5. elderlybloke 04:02 PM 11/3/12

    Regarding Units- Even Scientists are not uniformly using SI units.
    I recall a problem a few years ago when one lot calculating the correct distance from centre of Mars for an orbiting satellite,and the lot actualling controlling it didn't use the same units.
    Calculators used miles and controllers used Kilometres, with unfortunate results.

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  6. 6. svein 03:23 AM 11/5/12

    Holy Mackarel! Scientific American, join the rest of the world,and start using SI units.As an educational enterprice, at least use both your sets of unit, so Americans can learn. It will take some time, I know.
    You started in the eighties, but someone in the White House wanted to save a few dollars. Savings, I believe, was far outweighted by the loss of a cedrtain Mars probe..

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  7. 7. stonehat in reply to curmudgeon 10:13 AM 11/7/12

    I am reading this on Scientific American.com, I do not care about the source of the data.

    Are you telling me that the staff of Scientific American are unable or unwilling to convert the units for their readers ?


    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
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