Video: 'Superstorm Sandy' (20 videos)
(Monday, October 29, 2012, approximately 7:30 p.m. EDT; part of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane and 2012–13 North American winter seasons) — The storm that began as Hurricane Sandy and hit several Caribbean countries made landfall tonight in New Jersey — after being reclassified as a still-powerful post-tropical cyclone — and slowly marched inland, devastating coastal communities and causing widespread power outages.
Video: 'Most dramatic footage of Superstorm Sandy'
The hurricane and its aftermath were blamed for nearly $70 billion (2012 USD) in damage and killed 233 people across eight countries from the Caribbean to Canada, including 157 in the United States.
Sandy was a Category 3 storm at its peak intensity when it made landfall in Cuba. While it was a Category 2 hurricane off the coast of the Northeastern United States, the storm became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spanning 1,150 miles.
Video: 'BBC: Sandy - Anatomy of a Superstorm (December 2012)'
Sandy developed from a tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea on October 22, quickly strengthened, and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Sandy six hours later. Sandy moved slowly northward toward the Greater Antilles and gradually intensified.
On October 24, Sandy became a hurricane, made landfall near Kingston, Jamaica, re-emerged a few hours later into the Caribbean Sea, and strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane.
On October 25, Sandy hit Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane, then weakened to a Category 1 hurricane. Early on October 26, Sandy moved through the Bahamas. On October 27, Sandy briefly weakened to a tropical storm and then restrengthened to a Category 1 hurricane.
Video: 'Surviving Hurricane Sandy | Superstorm Sandy | Earth Stories'
Early on October 29, Sandy curved west-northwest (the “left turn” or “left hook”) and then moved ashore near Brigantine, New Jersey, just to the northeast of Atlantic City, as a post-tropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds.
Sandy continued drifting inland for another few days while gradually weakening, until it was absorbed by another approaching extratropical storm on November 2.
In the United States, Hurricane Sandy affected 24 states, including the entire eastern seaboard from Florida to Maine and west across the Appalachian Mountains to Michigan and Wisconsin, with particularly severe damage in New Jersey and New York.
Video: 'Hurricane Sandy Aftermath Video: New York at a Stand Still'
Its storm surge hit New York City on October 29, flooding streets, tunnels, and subway lines and cutting power in and around the city. The storm caused 43 deaths in New York City, mostly on Staten Island.
There were another five deaths caused by carbon monoxide poisoning after people used generators inside their homes. Power outages affected nearly 2 million people in New York City, while more than 1 million people lost cellphone service.
Damage in the United States amounted to $65 billion (2012 USD).
