By Fredrick Kunkle, Laura Vozzella and Jeremy Borden, Published: October 29 | Updated: Tuesday, October 30, 3:17 PM
Hurricane Sandy, one of the largest and fiercest storms to menace the East Coast in years, lost some power but still packed a devastating wallop that slammed into New Jersey on Monday evening with torrential rains, howling winds and widespread flooding.
The powerful storm transformed some of Atlantic City’s streets into rivers and inundated parts of Lower Manhattan, with water forming whitewater cascades in Ground Zero and swamping New York’s financial district. Part of Manhattan’s storied skyline went dark as power failed for more than 250,000 customers south of Midtown, some of a nearly 6 million people on the eastern seaboard who lost power.
Video From Virginia to Maine, people with cameras brave the arrival of Hurricane Sandy to capture footage of the storm's fury.
Live blog: Latest updates on the storm - 7:12 AM ET
Sandy — which was reclassified as a nontropical storm because of its unusual dynamics — came ashore at 8 p.m. in Atlantic City, carrying sustained hurricane-force winds of 80 mph or more and dangerous flood tides as high as 13 feet , the National Hurricane Center said.
Meteorologists said that the storm lost some characteristics of a tropical storm because of its collision with arctic air. But that collision had also created an unsually large and dangerous storm system spanning nearly 1,000 miles. Farther west, fierce snowstorms dumped as much as 2 feet of snow across mountainous areas in southern Virginia, West Virginia and western Maryland, forcing officials to close Interstate 68. The storm also had an impact on politics, as candidates called off campaign events and election officials shut down early voting in some areas.
By 9 p.m. , the National Hurricane Center said Sandy had shifted about 15 miles northwest of Atlantic City, its winds still blowing at 80 mph. Estimated storm surges were predicted to go higher, however. With tides swollen by a full moon, the ocean surge was expected to reach nearly 14 feet at Manhattan’s Battery Park, the National Hurricane Center said.
“I’m standing in 32 inches of water,” said Jared Roessler, whose film lighting company in Battery Park City on the lower west side of Manhattan was flooded when a construction barrier was swept through its front window.
Federal officials announced that government offices would remain closed Tuesday for most employees, while Metro officials shut down rail, bus and MetroAccess service at least through Tuesday morning. Amtrak canceled Northeast service, while stranded airplane passengers dozed or played cards in quiet terminals after dozens of flights were scratched at Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport.
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