Sandy, The Perfect Storm? ...... but perfect for who?

I am the first one to admit that I really listen to my gut.  Some might think that's hokey, some might think that it's irresponsible, but I've found that most times my gut instincts are pretty accurate.  

I've been watching tropical storm "Sandy", or "Frankenstorm" as it's now been nick-named, since the first moment it was reported. Don't know why,  like I said, just a tingle at the back of my brain....

Various meteorological agencies are now tracking the path of this already deadly storm, predicting that it will slam into the north eastern states starting this Sunday into mid week next week.  Sandy has already deployed devastation in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas, destroying homes and businesses and killing 21 people so far. And it's only getting stronger and more ferocious.

Yesterday TIME Us said: (italics and colour highlight are my addition)

(WASHINGTON) — Much of the U.S. East Coast has a good chance of getting blasted by gale-force winds, flooding, heavy rain and maybe even snow early next week by an unusual hybrid of hurricane and winter storm, federal and private forecasters say.

Though still projecting several days ahead of Halloween week, the computer models are spooking meteorologists. Government scientists said Wednesday the storm has a 70 percent chance of smacking the Northeast and mid-Atlantic....

...“It’ll be a rough couple days from Hatteras up to Cape Cod,” said forecaster Jim Cisco of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration prediction center in College Park, Md. “We don’t have many modern precedents for what the models are suggesting.”

It is likely to hit during a full moon when tides are near their highest, increasing coastal flooding potential, NOAA forecasts warn. And with some trees still leafy and the potential for snow, power outages could last to Election Day, some meteorologists fear. They say it has all the earmarks of a billion-dollar storm.

Read the entire article HERE
But the Washington Post points a finger right on the sensitive spot that tingled in my brain:

Hurricane Sandy’s path to ‘WORST CASE SCENARIO’

By Erik Wemple

The debates are over, the campaigns are hugging their talking points and the polls are moving in micro-increments. In other words, it’s an ideal time for some other news story to sweep in and wash the almost-over presidential campaign to the side for a few days.

Hurricane Sandy is promising to do just that, to judge from the forecasts out there....

Reuters quotes a NOAA meteorologist who juggles caution with warning:

“It’s going to be a high-impact event,” said Bob Oravec, a lead forecaster with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Hydro-Meteorological Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. “It has the potential to be a very significant storm with respect to coastal flooding, depending on exactly where it comes in. Power outages are definitely a big threat,” he said.

Read entire article HERE

weather.com has this to say:

Though we feel that it's likely Sandy will hit some portion of the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic coast, there remains uncertainty with the exact timing, location and magnitude of the worst impacts. The forecast involves a rare, complex atmospheric setup that will allow the system to pivot back to the northwest into the region rather than simply moving out to sea.


Dutchsinse's update on Sandy is HERE

I also recommend (as always) listening to SuspisciousObservers run down for today.

So we have a volatile storm raging through the Caribbean and heading towards the capitol of the USA, predicted to make landfall right before a highly volatile national election.  Meteorological specialists are admitting that they are spooked and unprepared to be able to predict it's path or how severe it could become.  Power outages are already being discussed as a possible outcome, right before voting that will be taking place using electronic ballot machines (owned by people with a vested interest in the outcome of the election- which is a whole other story!), and floods forecast in highly populated areas.... floods that might just deter people from making their way to the voting booths?

It could be the "Perfect Storm".... but the question remains: Perfect for Whom?

Oh, add to this storm:

- 5 live volcanoes outside of San Diego

-A changing Gulf Stream off the East Coast that has destabilized frozen methane deposits trapped under nearly 4,000 square miles of seafloor

- a sinkhole in Louisiana that is getting bigger and bigger, and now rocked by an earthquake yesterday 

- largest solar maxim in recorded history, throwing off Xclass flares


A few interesting links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwtS6JDIfvU&feature=g-all-f

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P4vEx0RdW0&feature=g-all-f

http://www.haarpstatus.com/status.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7OF4CPrlEM&feature=plcp