Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

Hurricane Sandy: one year after

Dr Jonathan Fairman, Centre for Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester

Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall in the north-eastern United States in October 2012, has now been classified as the second-most expensive hurricane in the history of the US with over $68 billion in total damages.  Due to its landfall location just outside of New York, its large damage swath and the merging of the tropical cyclone with a pre-existing cold front, the storm and its effects have been intensely studied over the past year.  This talk will focus on three main topics concerning Hurricane Sandy: the meteorological conditions that led to the formation of the hurricane, the after effects of the storm including the damage that ranged from the east coast of the US into the Midwest, and the effect of social media on dissemination of information before, during, and after the event.

Report

Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey at speed on 29 October 2012. It should have weakened but instead picked up energy from, and was trapped by a weather front travelling east. Measuring ca.1000 miles across, from Florida to Canada, New York to Chicago, it became a hybrid, a “Frankenstorm”. Its warm 20^oC wet core joined the cold dry core of the approaching winter storm and dropped to -4^oC. The released energy was augmented by the jetstream and caused continuous winds, rain, storm surges, and snow, sustained over days rather than hours, with immense damage across a vast region.

Global climate change or not, the need to improve forecasting and relief management was obvious and has begun. The various agency forecasts are being remodelled against actual data; billions have been spent on reconstruction, as well as weather-data collection. Social media traffic during the storm is being studied for its potential use in both forecasting and public information. When it happens again, the US may be well-informed and prepared, but probably still helpless in the face of the elements. New York cannot function under water, nor West Virginia under 30 inches of snow.

Carole Smith