Frankenstorm

Frankenstorm : noun : [frang-kuhn-stawrm]

Definition:  The combination of Hurricane Sandy and a massive cold front storm along the eastern seaboard.

     If you haven't heard about this, you may want to check the news once in a while.  This Frankenstorm has been awarded that name due to its close proximity to Halloween as well as the nature of the storm itself.  To give you an example of how scary this could get, I'll use the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) scale to rate the destructive power of a storm's winds.  On a scale of six, Hurricane Sandy's destructive wind force is a 2.6, not a huge deal - relatively speaking.  The storm surge winds expected along the east coast when Sandy meets the cold front storm, however, are rated at a 5.7 out of 6, the highest rating observed between 1969 and 2005 (greater than either Andrew or Katrina).  Storm surges could reach as high as 11 feet around New Jersey and Long Island. Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, has ordered a shutdown of subways, buses, and commuter rails and the evacuation of some 370,000 people in low-lying areas of the city.  Sandy has already killed 61 people in the Caribbean when the Frankenstorm finally comes to life on the east coast,  I dare not even imagine when this arctic-tropic terror could cause in terms of damages and loss of life.  As I write this, it is 2:10 pm ET.  The storm is just arriving.  All US stock exchanges have been closed because of the storm.  Flooding is already occurring in New York and New Jersey, and a state of emergency has recently been declared by the White House for the state of Delaware, among other states.  Atlantic City has put out a 6 pm curfew to protect people from the storm, which is expected to make landfall in New Jersey at about 5 pm ET today.  I pray that the storm passes quickly, but it's looking fairly grim at the moment.