Although the National Hurricane Center’s latest advisory indicates that Sandy’s sustained winds have achieved 90 mph, some weakening is likely to occur before landfall tonight, and Sandy is expected to arrive on the south Jersey shore with winds of about 75 mph, according to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide.
The impacts of tropical storm force winds have already been felt on the East Coast, AIR reports. "Later today, wind and surge will become more significant from Long Island Sound to Chesapeake Bay, with some of the strongest impacts being felt this evening, prior to the actual storm landfall," said Dr. Tim Doggett, principal scientist at AIR Worldwide. "One caveat regarding the interpretation of the NHC track maps is that as Hurricane Sandy gets closer to landfall, the extent of the cone is decreasing. This reflects the increased forecast certainty in the track and is not an indication of the extent of damaging winds. For example, while New York City is not actually in the NHC cone any more, that does not mean they will not be impacted strongly by this event."
The NHC track forecast is still largely unchanged, and the intensity forecast is still calling for Hurricane Sandy to have hurricane force wind speeds as it makes landfall close to midnight tonight, AIR says. The highest wind speeds will most likely be experienced along coastal exposures, where winds have less interaction with land and thus experience less surface friction.
Based on the projected path of Hurricane Sandy as of 12:30 p.m. ET today, CoreLogic released data showing the 25 zip codes in New York City-Northern New Jersey-Long Island that are at risk of exposure to the highest residential property damage. The CoreLogic analysis measures damage from storm surge and does not include potential damage from wind and rain associated with hurricanes:
11758 - MASSAPEQUA, N.Y.
11795 - WEST ISLIP, N.Y.
11706 - BAY SHORE, N.Y.
11561 - LONG BEACH, N.Y.
08742 - POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J.
11414 - HOWARD BEACH, N.Y.
11901 - RIVERHEAD, N.Y.
11769 - OAKDALE, N.Y.
11572 - OCEANSIDE, N.Y.
11694 - ROCKAWAY PARK, N.Y.
11566 - MERRICK, N.Y.
11581 - VALLEY STREAM, N.Y.
10306 - STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.
08753 - TOMS RIVER, N.J.
11234 - BROOKLYN, N.Y.
11235 - BROOKLYN, N.Y.
08050 - MANAHAWKIN, N.J.
07302 - JERSEY CITY, N.J.
11598 - WOODMERE, N.Y.
08723 - BRICK, N.J.
11520 - FREEPORT, N.Y.
11757 - LINDENHURST, N.Y.
08731 - FORKED RIVER, N.J.
11978 - WESTHAMPTON BEACH, N.Y.
11510 - BALDWIN, N.Y.
