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Tracking Hurricane Sandy; Sandy's Impacts
Aired October 28, 2012 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. Hurricane Sandy is already causing a lot of preparations to get under way all along the East Coast, from North Carolina up to Maine. Let's bring you up to date on already some of the cancellations that have been put in place in some of the northeastern cities as well as mid-Atlantic. Now, let's focus on New York, where already subway and commuter train service has been suspended for tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. There are already in place mandatory evacuation orders of low-lying areas. Evacuation centers are going to be open in 72 public schools. You'll have to check your listings locally. And the Port Authority says train stations will be closing at midnight, and public schools in New York City will be closed tomorrow.
Let's move on to now the state of New Jersey, where a state of emergency has already been declared. Mandatory evacuations in parts of the state are already under way, and many of the tolls are suspended in the Garden State area so that people are able to safely and slowly evacuate. Buses are being sent to Atlantic City and other low-lying areas to help out in the evacuation.
And now we move even further south to the state of Maryland, where that, too, that state has been declared a state of emergency. Voluntary evacuations are already under way in low-lying areas, and mandatory evacuations taking place on the coast there in Ocean City.
And in D.C., public schools have been canceled for tomorrow. So you've got to check your local listings to make sure you're up to speed on all the cancellations involving your transit, schools, et cetera. Chad Myers with us now to give us an idea on where this storm is. Still hovering kind of in the North Carolina coast?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, still out there. And it's still in warm water. And it still could get a little bit bigger before it makes landfall. Everybody says it's a category 1, settle down. Yes, it's a category 1, but it's going to combine with a mid-latitude low. A mid-latitude low that can make a snowstorm all by itself. All of a sudden you have a mid-latitude low. Just a regular -- just call it a snowstorm. You get that, and then you add a hurricane into it, then all of a sudden you have extra charge. You have one plus one equals three on this one, because you're going to get a super low pressure center. Even though it's 75 miles per hour, it has the pressure equal to a category 2, even a category 3 storm. That means the surge is going to be significant. The width of the wind, tropical storm winds 400 miles on both sides of the eye. So you're talking an 800-mile swath of tropical storm winds, and tropical storm winds can put down winds high enough, gusts high enough that will knock down trees, knock down power lines.
Can you imagine an 800-mile swath with all the power out or at least half the power out? It will take a long time to put all this back together if the infrastructure is going to get damaged. There is no question about it. We just hope that you pretend that this thing is not a category 1. Just make sure you're thinking of 2-3 as you're making your preps, especially if you're along the coast.
WHITFIELD: Because storm surges, that's where a lot of danger and trouble can result. We're talking about storm surges up to 11 feet in some areas, and people are hearing, oh, category 1, I've been through something like that before, it's no big deal. But when you talk about storm surges that are pretty significant like that along with the winds, power lines down, it's a terrible combination.
MYERS: And a surge is not a tsunami. It's not some big wall of water that comes onshore, then washes everything in and washes everything out. This rises over time. One foot and then another, maybe one foot per hour. And we're looking at some of these numbers that are 4 to 6 feet higher than Irene in New York harbor.
WHITFIELD: Wow.
MYERS: Irene didn't make flooding. But if you think, you take Irene and you add four more feet to the top of that surge, you're well over Battery Park. You're well up above the seawalls on both the East River and the Hudson. And then you think about the other side. You think about Hoboken, you think about back in there, you shove all that water to the other side, maybe over toward the Amboise (ph). You can get 12 feet of water higher than normal. And what would that do to the property? What would that do to the refineries over there? There is a lot of ticking parts in this thing.
WHITFIELD: And so where is it making that left turn? While it's been -- it is kind of hugging the East Coast for a while. Are we talking about the Delmarva area, or is it just north of that, or is that part of the quandary here?
MYERS: That's the $64,000 question, and I've got 41 cents.
WHITFIELD: Of course, oh, no.
MYERS: It is going to be difficult. This is the key. We know that this storm is still going straight. It is not forecast to continue straight. It will turn left and it will hit the U.S. If it turns quickly it will hit the Delmarva and truly affect Washington, D.C. with a significant bigger punch than what the forecast calls for right now.
WHITFIELD: With hardly any drainage.
MYERS: And that's why we have a reporter in Annapolis. You push all that water up the Chesapeake, and all of a sudden you have a significant basin there that will take water and it will go up quickly.
Now, that's not the forecast. If it goes farther to the north, it takes longer to turn, then it goes over Long Island, then you're piling all that water into Long Island Sound and again through the East River, and all of that water system, and they're talking about it right now, they're concerned that the water may go into the New York subway system just like we were concerned in Irene, it just didn't happen. This is a more important storm than Irene was, and Irene was a $15 billion event.
WHITFIELD: Wow.
MYERS: So there you go.
WHITFIELD: That was significant. That was Connecticut hit very hard.
MYERS: Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and even into New Jersey.
WHITFIELD: Power was out for more than a week in some locations. All right, thanks so much. Chad Myers, thanks so much. Appreciate that. We'll see you again momentarily. All right, let's check in on a state that is feeling the fury of Hurricane Sandy right now, and that's North Carolina, the Outer Banks getting the worst of it. Maybe the worst of it is actually hitting our George Howell. So, George, you're in Kill Devil Hills. What's new?
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, let's talk about what's happening here on the Outer Banks. Let's talk about the state of North Carolina. When you look at the radar, this is the state. You have 40-plus counties that have all declared states of emergency. Because when you look at the bands here, these bands on the western side, the northwest side of the storm, they are affecting this area, and what you're getting, you're getting the strong winds. Here we're getting the sideways rain mixed with sand here along the ocean, and I also want to talk about storm surge. Chad was talking about that a minute ago. You know, when you look at what's happening back there, Fredricka, there was a beach out there yesterday. We walked on the beach. The beach is gone. And the storm surge out here expected to be anywhere from 4 to 6 feet in this area. On the other side of the island, there is a possibility of 3 to 5 feet of flooding. People here know the areas that typically flood. They've gotten to higher ground, but everybody is keeping a very close eye on the storm as it passes by this area.
WHITFIELD: All right, George. Chad Myers still with me now. Chad, do you have a question for George?
MYERS: What I was mentioning earlier about how Irene didn't hit New York City very hard, it didn't hit New York City very hard because it got the stuffing knocked out of it when it hit North Carolina. Irene really devastated parts of that Outer Banks. They are still fragile, the weeds (ph), the sea grass not back where it should be, so any type of surge will quickly erode that beach again. It takes a few years for all those to seal and all those things to come back and protect them. I know they put up a snow fence and all that kind of stuff, but George, are you expecting that water to come over that barrier island and into the sound behind you?
HOWELL: There is a real concern, Chad, about the storm surge on this area where we are. Obviously 4 to 6 feet, that will cause some flooding, and it will get over the water. There was a temporary bridge, a bridge that was washed out from Irene. People are worried about that bridge. There is a temporary bridge there now. They're worried about what will happen as we continue to see the ocean push up. They're also worried about all the water, Chad, that gets pushed into the sound and then comes back out and causes that flooding on the sound side. We're talking near where we are, Kill Devil Hills area, 3 to 5 feet. But the further you go south along this island strand, they are looking at a possible 7-foot storm surge, so absolutely, people are concerned that this storm could cause major flooding, major damage.
MYERS: George, the water you're wiping from your eyes and off your face, is it salty water or is it fresh water?
HOWELL: It's salty water and it's also mixed with sand, and I typically like to just see what's coming at me, so I like to keep a good view of what's ahead as best I can. That's why I don't wear the hood. But it's been like this throughout the day sustained, I would say. It's been like this, gusts right around 40 miles an hour, stronger gusts. And Chad, you were talking about that wind field. We're on the edge of that wind field, so when you think about what's going on closer to the eye and when you think about these hurricane force winds coming into those metropolitan areas, it's definitely something people should take heed of. Look at what's happening here and definitely take precautions if you live in those areas, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. area.
MYERS: You're hundreds of miles from the center, maybe 300, and that's what you're getting. And by the way, all the rain that's coming down, for people out there, all the rain that's coming down, is fresh water. The rain coming out of a hurricane is fresh water. The salt he's tasting is the mist and the spray coming off the waves and the foam of the ocean and into his eyes and his face.
I really would appreciate if you did get some goggles on, though, sir. I know when that sand gets in the air, it feels like you're getting stung by a sand blaster. So please be careful out there. It is going to be a long night tonight and a longer one tomorrow.
WHITFIELD: All right, George Howell, thanks so much. Of course, people need to be reminded why North Carolina, the Outer Banks are always hit so hard. As we saw that map there, it's just kind of like a little hook that sticks out. Whenever there is a hurricane that hugs the Atlantic Coast in that area, the Outer Banks almost always get a brush of it. If anything, if they don't get the devastating surge, then they at least get the wind, they get the rain, and that's exactly what we're seeing here. But of course we always wish the best for the folks there and the property owners of the Outer Banks.
MYERS: You see that yellow arm that's coming off of the center? The center is above the word ring in hammer ring (ph), that's where the center is spinning. But we have that big yellow band. It's an outer band that is slamming North Carolina right now. If you go 50 miles, 60 miles closer to the eye where that band isn't, it's calm. And George wouldn't be feeling anything. So when every band comes by, the weather gets bad. When the band leaves, the weather will improve for 36 more hours.
WHITFIELD: All right, Chad, we're going to travel north now. Let's go to New Jersey now, and Governor Chris Christie is preparing for the worst there, hoping for the best of course when it comes to this hurricane. And he's doing everything possible to get his state ready. Alison Kosik is on the Jersey shore in Seabright. So, Allison, it almost looks picturesque, but we know that people are bracing for the worst. In what form?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they definitely are preparing, especially as you feel this wind get stronger and stronger as the day goes into night here.
Look at this ocean. It is certainly getting angrier by the minute, that's for sure. These waves are certainly picking up. The rain has stopped, but the winds once again are picking up.
I talked to the sheriff of Monmouth County here in New Jersey. He said there are two big concerns for this area. He said the wind and the storm surge, which is expected to happen tomorrow when the hurricane does come to shore. The big worry is that this whole area will flood. His big worry is it could flood anywhere from 3 to 4 feet through here. Of course they got a taste of this this morning when high tide happened. Over here is Seabright, the town where a lot of the stores are, where a lot of the residents live. And they certainly got a taste of high tide. There is a river on the other side of these buildings. It certainly overflowed this morning, gave them a taste of what's to come. It certainly is worrying at least one store owner I talked with who owns a business that's only been open about two months. She's been boarding up and she's concerned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a little nervous about this one. Everything we've been watching on the news looks like this one might really get us. We're definitely worried about it, we're worried about our business, and we're worried about our home, which is right over on the other side of the river. But we're doing everything we can to prepare, and hopefully she'll spare us. So we'll see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: And a little moment of levity here as we stand out here in the cold wind and rain. There you see a pumpkin, yes, a pumpkin getting ready to be washed out into the ocean. Just another indicator that Halloween very well, Fredricka, could be a washout.
WHITFIELD: Oh, no, I know that little kiddies are going to be very disappointed about that. Chad Myers with me now, so Chad, as you look at what may potentially come for New Jersey, I guess what kind of advice can you give to the New Jerseyans right now? MYERS: The thing you have to look at is where the eye is going to make landfall. We don't know yet, but when it gets closer, if you're south of that eye and you're boarding up your windows that face the ocean, you're boarding up the wrong side of your house. Because the winds are going to come off this, not from the sea, they're going to come from land. And so 70-mile-an-hour, 80-mile-per-hour gusts will blow the windows out on the wrong side of your house that you're not boarding up. There is so much to think about, and so many things go wrong. People that think they're doing the right thing sometimes do the exact wrong thing. So you have to -- if you are preparing, I want you to sit down for just ten minutes, think about worst case scenario, what am I forgetting before I leave, and then get out. Do the what you forgot and get out.
WHITFIELD: All right.
MYERS: And make sure -- people talk about medicines, medicines, right? Make sure the medicines that you put away for Hurricane Irene are still good. Because if they're expired, then all of a sudden your emergency medications aren't emergency medications anymore. You may have to get a refill sometime today.
WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness, all right, great advice, Chad, thanks so much. And of course, Alison, we'll be checking back with her there in Seabright, New Jersey.
Let's move over to New York where the mayor, Michael Bloomberg, plans to hold a news conference at 4:00 Eastern time on the storm preparations, about 45 minutes from now. We'll bring that to you live. Also up next I'll talk to a Coast Guard admiral to find out how they are planning to protect the nation's ports and waterways all along the East Coast ahead of this storm.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Millions of dollars in commerce flow through the ports up and down the eastern seaboard. How is the U.S. Coast Guard safeguarding the ports and waterways from this impending storm called Sandy? Admiral Stephen Ratti is the Fifth District commander of the U.S. Coast Guard. He's joining me right now on the phone from Portsmouth, Virginia.
So Admiral, if there is a way in which to prepare for this storm, how do you go about this? Because we're talking about an awful lot of waterways, many ports, you're talking about commerce ships, and then of course you're talking about leisure ships, maybe many of whom didn't know that this storm is coming.
ADM. STEPHEN RATTI, U.S. COAST GUARD, COMMANDER, FIFTH DISTRICT: Certainly, Fredricka. We start by being prepared all the time, and really the Coast Guard really concentrates on that, but if you look at this particular storm, it's really been on our radar screen since before last weekend. We flew a search and rescue mission with a C-130 out of North Carolina. Started down in Georgia and went all the way up to New England, overflying the waters in the Atlantic to warn people about the pending storm. So I think anybody who is unaware of the storm really hasn't been paying attention. Most mariners are pretty well prepared, and we're not so worried about all of the mariners. We've warned them pretty well, and we've taken action on what we're doing with our ports to ensure that our ports are also going to be safe.
WHITFIELD: So then given that, what's your biggest concern or what's the greatest measure that you're able to take at this juncture?
RATTI: Well, a lot of people are talking about this storm and saying, is it a hurricane, is it a tropical storm? And from our perspective, it really doesn't matter, because Sandy has a tremendous amount of energy in this system. There is a lot of rain, wind, and depending upon where, when and exactly how it comes ashore, it could be bad or it could be devastating.
I've heard other people talk about the storm surge, the tide and how the timing is critical, and where you are in relation to the eye, and that's exactly true, but it's so far out that we don't know exactly where it will hit, so I say we need to prepare now.
WHITFIELD: And, Admiral, our meteorologist Chad Myers is with me now. He's got a question for you as well.
MYERS: We talk about this surge, and there's a number, 0 to 6, and this surge is over 5.5, which is significant. They think the surge is more important than almost anything else. This surge you're talking about through the Chesapeake, through where you are, all the way up through and into the Delmarva Peninsula and into the New York harbor. If the New York harbor gets 11 feet of surge, what happens?
RATTI: Well, Chad, I'm certainly not the expert to talk about what will happen in New York City, but that will be significant. I know they're taking steps up there, and the First District commander, Dan Abel up in Boston, will probably be talking with you later about the specific steps that New York is taking. But depending upon how and where it hits, it could really be devastating.
So some of the action we've taken, for instance, off of the Virginia and Maryland coastal areas, we've gone to what is called Port Condition Zulu (ph). We've closed all of those ports. No ships by order of the captain or the porter (ph) allowed to enter or leave because it's not safe to do so. And if the storm goes on, I think those conditions will continue to move up the coast.
MYERS: What about retying or double tying ships and barges that may come loose and bump into bridges? What's the rule of thumb on that?
RATTI: Well, it depends upon the particular port. There are many places where that's what's being done. The Navy here, commander fleet forces, initially was looking at (inaudible) sailing all of the Navy ships out of here, and based on the projections said, OK, let's hunker down here. So many of the ships have moved to the safest moorings possible, and with the Coast Guard ships, we've done the same, and for our purposes so that we can reconstitute immediately after the storm and fall in and figure out where there is trouble and where people need our assistance.
WHITFIELD: And Admiral, even though you say the notice has been out for at least a week, most mariners would know, and for anyone who wouldn't know that this story was on the way, they perhaps were not paying attention, still, do you have a concern there is going to be a certain level of search and rescue you'll have to engage in?
RATTI: Well, certainly, Fredricka. There is always that level of concern. And we get certain types of calls all of the time. Sometimes we're able to correlate it to vessels in distress, and sometimes they're not actual vessels in distress. So almost all of the time we will send somebody to determine what's happening, and if that type of situation occurs closer to a storm, we really have to assess the risk and say, are we sure somebody is in distress? And if so, do we have an appropriate asset, either fixed wing or a cutter, that is able to get to the location.
MYERS: Admiral, it's Chad again. I just want to just go back to your thought process about hunkering down the ships rather than sending them out. Did the size of the storm, and the wind field, being 800 feet across, for tropical storm force, literally you may not think you could steam out of the way fast enough? Did that have something to do with it?
RATTI: Well, that's correct, and you know, for instance, if you look at the Hampton Roads, Tidewater area where I am, I think if ships did not sortie out of port, unless they're very fast ships, they probably needed to leave Thursday or maybe as late as Friday, and if they waited until Friday evening, they probably couldn't get out ahead of the storm. And the danger of trying to get ahead of the storm is if the seas become rougher, you cannot make the same speed you would make in calm seas, and if you can't get out ahead of the storm or if the storm were to, in fact, start heading to the east, you would be in the middle of it, and no mariner wants to be in that situation.
WHITFIELD: Admiral Stephen Ratti of the U.S. Coast Guard, thanks so much for your time and all the best over the course of the next few days. It's going to be very busy, we know.
All right, so the Delmarva--
MYERS: So many moving parts. So many people depend on the water or are attached to the water in some way, their lives, their jobs, and so is our Susan Endo (sic) right now.
WHITFIELD: That's right, she's in Maryland, she is in Ocean City. And apparently that area is being pounded pretty hard right now, including that of our Sandra Endo. Sandra, what's happening?
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you, you've been talking about the storm surge, that is a big concern here in Ocean City. You can see it. It's about two hours from high tide right now, but already very rough waves out here, and constant, steady wind at about 25 miles an hour, Fred and Chad, and that's not including the wind gusts which are much more strong. And local officials here are just worried about high tide plus the long duration of this 36-hour storm just hovering over this area, pouring down rain, and that's really going to be the big concern, flooding and the storm surge, possible power outages, downed wires as well. That's why they've ordered a mandatory evacuation for downtown Ocean City as well as visitors of this area, and a voluntary evacuation for low-lying areas. So they're really bracing for Hurricane Sandy, preparing for the worst, and a lot of residents and businesses are boarding up as well, preparing for this storm. But you can see we're already feeling the effects, and it's not even close to this area as of yet. So clearly the worst is yet to come.
WHITFIELD: Right. Still many hundreds of miles away from the Maryland coast, right? Because we've been talking about it being just a couple hundred miles off the coast of North Carolina. And so you have to move further north in order to get to that Maryland coast. Hopefully, Sandra, you didn't lose that hat with all that wind, and you just decided to take it off, because last we saw you, you were holding onto that hat for dear life.
Sandra mentioned a lot of those businesses have been boarding up. Hopefully they're done with their boarding up, because at this point it's just a little too late to have the semblance of doing that.
MYERS: I'll tell you, they're done. Whether they got all the boards on the house or not, they're done. Because you cannot handle a 4x8 sheet of plywood when the winds are blowing at 20 miles an hour, and that's 45 or 50 miles per hour.
What I did like about that shot was that there was nobody in the water, including Sandra. She got to the age of the foam, I was like, stay out of the water. Because you know what, the rip currents that are out there right now are tremendous. They are flying over -- the water flying over the sandbars and that water just rushing out to sea, and it would take anybody out there as fast -- even if you're on a board, on a surfboard, you might have to -- you might have to trying to paddle another mile back to shore, and that would be really hard.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: And it is so tempting because we know it's a dangerous storm, potentially dangerous storm. It is still so beautiful and inviting. I spent many of my summer weekends in Ocean City, Maryland, and very seldom did you get a chance to enjoy that kind of surf. But it's gorgeous, but it is potentially dangerous. So I'm glad, too, like you, there is no one out there trying to belly board or surf or anything of that nature.
MYERS: I couldn't afford Ocean City, so I had to go to Rehoboth and Dewey.
WHITFIELD: That's all right, they're the neighbors. That's all one big stretch of family beach.
MYERS: Love the shore there.
WHITFIELD: I know, I love it too. Thanks so much, Chad. Appreciate that.
Our coverage of Hurricane Sandy is going to continue. Of course, we're expecting to hear from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg at 4:00 Eastern time, just about 30 minutes away. He'll bring us up to date on the preparations being made in the Big Apple. As the storm surges, it could be indeed a long night for so many East Coast cities. We'll bring you up to date.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Hurricane Sandy already causing lots of changes. We've got school closings, we've got closing in transit service, and we're even talking about now Broadway going dark. Our Josh Levs is at the hurricane desk with the latest on all of this taking place. Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi again, Fred. So incredibly many moving parts to this storm, even before it gets all the way actually to the coast. Take a look at where we are right now. We're in the middle of the newsroom and this is now our CNN hurricane desk. We've got teams of people following every state, every city that can and most likely will be impacted by this storm.
Let me tell you a piece of information that just came in. New Jersey is now asking the federal government for a pre-landfall emergency declaration. Now, folks, keep this mind the context of this.
First of all, the most important thing, keeping everybody safe, having all the resources to take care of everyone. Also this is happening against the backdrop of a presidential election. And here will be a lot of eyes on how the federal government handles this.
So you've got New Jersey asking the federal government at this point for a pre-landfall emergency declaration. Also, Fred, you mentioned Broadway shows. (Inaudible) a piece of information about that right now. We have found out that Broadway shows will be canceled tonight and also tomorrow night.
One more thing to let you know here, school closings are now covering more and more young people out there. One of our producers here has determined at least 1.8 million kids will be out of school tomorrow.
And for everyone else, even if you don't live in that area, you might be impacted because flights will be impacted everywhere. Take a look. I've got a screen for you here of how many flights will be impacted all over the country. We've been talking to all the airlines trying to get the absolute latest numbers for you.
American Airlines tells us 1,500 flights canceled. Delta has not given us a number, but they're saying that all Monday flights for New York City and Philadelphia have been canceled. And flights for tomorrow morning elsewhere as well.
United is canceling many flights already, including from New York City and Dulles, and just before I came on the air here, I got that JetBlue has now canceled more than 1,000 flights. So, Fred, you can expect impacts all over the place. And before I go here, I want to show you all this. Take a look with me here.
WHITFIELD: All right.
LEVS: You know, we've been talking about the evacuations in New York City. Not everyone is clear on whether they're in that area or not. Well, we have an interactive map for you that I have linked up at Twitter that shows what the evacuation centers are -- the evacuation orders, rather, for New York City.
And we also have information on evacuation centers that people can go to. And also, I'll just mention, we have some really powerful photos coming in from iReporters in various parts of the country. I'll tell you more about them next hour.
Folks, if you are in a safe place to take pictures -- look at that, wow -- go ahead and send them to iReports. And we'll be sharing them with you -- as long as they were taken safely -- Fred, we'll be sharing some of these amazing photos that we're getting all throughout the evening.
WHITFIELD: Wow. And Josh, you know, we talked to our Chad Myers earlier, who was talking about the width of this storm. We're talking about 800 miles, including the center. So on each side more than 400 miles of its wind reach and the potential devastation that comes with it. It's pretty extraordinary.
So all up and down the East Coast, particularly from North Carolina up to the northeast -- Maine, are all bracing for what could come, whether it's storm surges, whether it's rain or whether it's heavy winds that can bring down power lines, et cetera. So these kind of pre-landfall emergency declarations make a whole lot of sense just to keep as many people out of harm's way as they can.
LEVS: And people, we all need to cast a really big net in following where this storm could be, obviously, and then following the officials that we're looking at out there, as you know, at 4 o'clock, coming up, we'll be hearing from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg again.
We'll be hearing what that city is doing. And we are talking to officials all over the place. I encourage everyone to keep it here because, as news breaks, Fred, we will have that information --
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: That's right. We're going to carry that live, in fact, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. So maybe about 30 minutes or so from now.
Josh Levs, appreciate that.
All right. So you heard Josh underscore how many schools are now closed and how many jurisdictions. We're talking about millions of kids who will not be in school tomorrow, whether it be in D.C. or in other portions of New York, et cetera. We're going to keep an eye on all the developments for you as a result of this impending storm, Hurricane Sandy, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Hello again, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Welcome back to our continuing coverage of Hurricane Sandy. Right now it is a pretty sizable storm and it's hugging the coast of North Carolina. Let's bring in our meteorologist Chad Myers to give us an idea where it is exactly, its track, its power and its potential.
MYERS: It's hundreds of miles from anywhere and we're still feeling the effect, we're still seeing these live pictures already from the shore, and we're still 36 hours, maybe a little bit less, from making landfall.
So such an impressive storm because it's so large in size, not because the center of the eye is a category 4, but because the hurricane winds extend so far out from the middle of it, and the tropical storm force winds extend 800 miles in the diameter around this thing -- or across this thing.
So that's the potential. It's not that it's a 75-mile-per-hour storm, so do not focus on that. You must focus on the size, how long it's been in the water, how low the pressure is and what the tremendous storm surge is going to be as this water piles up along the shores of New Jersey and also into New York Harbor and the water comes up and over.
Now it could be a little bit farther south if the storm turns to the left. That would be the Chesapeake. So far that's not quite the forecast. The winds from the Chesapeake should be blowing out to sea.
So in fact, if you're in the James River, you may actually see some of those areas get lower than normal rather than get higher than normal because the surge may actually drag water out of the Chesapeake Bay. Also snow: honestly, I don't even have a real number of how much snow could come down. I would easily say 60 inches -- 60 inches of snow.
WHITFIELD: That is unbelievable.
MYERS: Could be -- yes, with this storm, just an incredible number, and it's so early in the season, and some of the trees still have leaves on them. So here we go.
Here's our 6- to 11-foot surge all the way through the sound, and then you have to understand what this water is going to be doing in the East River and what it's going to be doing up through the Hudson and back toward the Amboys as well. We could even see surges higher than that number 11 for feet. If we go a little bit father to the south into Atlantic City, 4 to 8 feet.
Our Sandra Endo there at Seaside, I'm going to get her out of there as soon as I can, because all of this area is going to be over-washed. All of those barrier islands in New Jersey, the water will be coming from the ocean, over the sand and into the sound or into the area behind it and anywhere they put my near Tom's cut (ph) in all that there. And then a little bit farther down to the south, 2 to 4 feet. And then the surge here, right now is because the wind is already coming on shore here in North Carolina, and understand that the surge will come up for the coastal areas here of the Delmarva, but then as the storm goes here, the winds will blow out and it'll take that water back out to sea.
So there are so many moving parts with this because it is so very large. And you're still not out of the question for Boston, and New Hampshire and Vermont, if this storm decides to not turn in time, then all of a sudden it's like a Hurricane Charlie, that it turns so quickly and missed Tampa but hits Punta Gorda.
These things do not (inaudible) they don't work on the computer model because they don't even know we have computer models. If there's something up here, if the storm does get farther north into Boston, out of the cone, out of all the forecasts, not out of the question, then you could get surge up in here at Narragansett and even up toward the Cape.
But look at all this rain, 4 to 6 inches in some spots. Could pick up 10 inches of rainfall before it's all done. That's what the center of the storm looks like.
It's a ginormous -- I can't use any other word because that's all I got -- it's a huge low pressure center that's going to interact with the high pressure center to the west -- that's over here -- and even winds in Michigan, Ohio, even into parts of Indiana, could approach 60 to 70 miles per hour.
WHITFIELD: And I guess that accumulation is, in large part, because what we heard the President of the United States say earlier today when he was visiting FEMA headquarters, that this is a slow-moving storm. So it's dumping a lot of rain central to those areas.
Chad, thanks so much.
Let's check in with our George Howell, who's been whipped around quite a bit there on the coast, there in the outer banks. He's at Kill Devil Hills, and, yes, it continues. You continue to get pummeled there pretty badly, George. Have you seen anybody who has ventured out in your purview?
HOWELL: No. It's just us. We're out here, everyone is inside, everyone is making sure to stay out of the way of this thing because it is pretty rough out here. The winds come and go. We've seen gusts 40 miles an hour-plus.
And I just spoke with officials of the Dare County Emergency Management, and they said, look, this is going to be a deteriorating situation through the next few hours, through the night. They expect the wind gusts to get stronger.
Also what we're seeing, you know, we are on that area of land, that part of the state that juts out into the Atlantic. The storm is moving up and then we move into the metropolitan area, but as it gets closer to us, we're getting closer to the stronger winds in that wind field. So that's the big worry out here.
And also as these winds start to shift. So it was coming in from the east (inaudible), now coming in more from the north and somewhat from the south. Officials say the problem here, when you get -- when you start talking about the sound side, that's where you see a lot of flooding as the winds push this water around, push it into areas and the water comes back out, causes flooding on the south side.
That's where they see a lot of flooding typically, especially when Irene came through. That's what they're worried about here, these low-lying areas that are prone to flooding. Officials are keeping a very close eye on it.
WHITFIELD: And you can hear that wind, that rain coming down hard as well. All right. Thanks so much, George Howell, appreciate that from Kill Devil Hills.
Our Hurricane Sandy coverage continues in about 20 minutes or so. For now we're going to hear from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg update folks on preparations that will take place there.
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WHITFIELD: Both New York and New Jersey are taking the threat of Hurricane Sandy very seriously. The governors and mayors from both states have been keeping everyone posted constantly on preparations, evacuations and closures.
Nick Valencia has been monitoring all the information. So New York, New Jersey, they really are kind of working in concert to make sure that everyone gets the word, all their residents get the word no matter what.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Speaking of the residents, Fred, you can notice some sort of fatigue, similar predictions were made for Hurricane Irene. Now Hurricane Sandy. I think some people are sort of why do we need to pay attention to these preparations if last time we didn't get hit as hard.
But Mayor Bloomberg at his press conference, he really stressed, Fred, that there is a difference here. With Irene, it was wind and rain damage; that was the big concern there.
This time around, it's storm surges.
And Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York was very specific addressing those storm surges in his press conference earlier and how it might impact transportation in and around the state of New York. Take a listen.
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ANDREW CUOMO, GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK: The suspension of the service is for three main reasons. Number one, it is unsafe to operate the trains in high winds. Second, we don't want the equipment damaged -- and trains are designed to deal with a lot of tough duty. They are not intended to be submerged.
And we don't want to damage the equipment and then have a real problem getting the system up and running.
And thirdly, we don't want to encourage people being up and about. We want people staying in their homes, be prepared and stay at home.
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VALENCIA: Stay at home, prepare, prepare, prepare.
There are similar concerns in New Jersey as well. Chris Christie also held a press conference earlier today. But even before that press conference, he stepped out on his Twitter to get the word out on that different, unconventional avenue.
He tweeted earlier that New Jersey transit will begin a gradual systemwide shut down of all bus, rail, light rail and access link service starting about 4:00 pm. And, Fred, that will go through overnight hours of about 2:00 am. So you see New Jersey and New York, like you said, working sort of hand in hand to get that word out in preparation.
WHITFIELD: Meantime, Governor Christie's colleague in Newark, New Jersey, the mayor, Cory Booker, he had a different approach to conveying a message as well, didn't he?
VALENCIA: Yes, we heard a different tone in his press conference. He was very straightforward, very blunt about addressing what his principle concern was, and I think it's first responders, not getting those first responders in an even more dangerous situation than they have to be. He addressed the residents directly in his press conference. Take a listen to this.
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CORY BOOKER, MAYOR OF NEWARK: The biggest thing we're concerned about right now is individuals not taking this storm seriously enough, the human error that often comes from a lack of preparation or a lack of sobered understanding of what is going to happen to the state of New Jersey.
And many of the crises we've had to respond to in the past, most mark people not adequately preparing for the crisis.
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VALENCIA: Back to New York, Fred, they're not taking any -- they're not taking any chance there, I should say, about precautions. They send residents updates to their iPhones and to their smartphones, talking about these mandatory evacuations that we've been reporting in zone A.
WHITFIELD: Wow, incredible. And speaking of New York, we're going to hear from Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, momentarily, maybe about 10 or 12 minutes from now. And, of course, we're going to hold that press conference live as it happens, for an update on how the city of New York is preparing for Hurricane Sandy.
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WHITFIELD: All right. Hurricane Sandy already brushing parts of the Maryland coasts; let's go outside of Washington, D.C., to -- I mean, to Athena Jones, yes, she's in Annapolis, in Maryland, where it's a little placid there in comparison to what we were seeing in Ocean City, Maryland, which really is getting kind of pummeled right now, but it looks as though you're getting a little bit of rain right now?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. It just started raining here, the wind picking up in the last hour or so.
But I want to point out that we're here in Annapolis; this is one of the low-lying areas along the coast that's particularly prone to flooding. You can see just how close the water already is to street level. And so it only takes a few inches to send it over. And in case there is a storm surge, people are getting ready here. They were handing out sandbags earlier to people and to businesses.
We were able to speak to a coffee shop owner who said that they -- he hopes that they don't get a big brunt of this flooding, but he's preparing all the same. Let's listen to what he had to say.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not expecting -- we're not expecting floods coming up, but we have sandbags here just in case, which we'll be putting in front of the doors and on the sides there, just to keep any rainwater that heavy, heavy winds blew the rain toward the building until it's dry.
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JONES: So you heard from him, storm water, floodwater they're worried about. And also losing power. We've spoken to an ice cream shop that's, of course, going to lose everything if they end up without power for several days, Fred.
WHITFIELD: And so, Athena, let's talk about politics a little bit. Maryland was enjoying its first day of early voting yesterday. But now that's been suspended, right, as a result of the storm?
JONES: That's right. Governor O'Malley said that early voting for tomorrow for Monday will be cancelled. But this is also having wider impacts on the campaign, or on everything campaign-related, I should say.
Vice President Biden had to cancel an event in Virginia on Saturday. Governor Romney cancelled events in Virginia today and President Obama canceled and even that was planned for Virginia tomorrow.
I should also say the Romney campaign says that they are suspending fundraising e-mails in Washington, D.C., in Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and New Jersey. So a big impact on politics, Fred. WHITFIELD: Yes, the Romney camp moving its campaigning, Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney to Ohio over the next couple of days, but there, too, they might find themselves in the middle of a whole lot of snow, because that's what's expected there, while the East Coast deals with a lot of wind, rain and damage from Hurricane Sandy.
Thanks so much, Athena Jones. Appreciate that.
All right, momentarily, maybe about six minutes or so away, we understand the New York mayor city -- the New York mayor of Michael Bloomberg is expected to have a press conference about the preparations that are underway there.
But first let's go to our Josh Levs. He's got some new information from the hurricane desk.
LEVS: It keeps coming in, Fred, as we've been talking about, so many moving parts. I'll tell you this, we're also, in the next hour, going to be hearing from the governors of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and we'll be bringing you whatever the absolute latest information is as it comes in.
I am at the CNN hurricane desk, which is right here, in the middle of the CNN newsroom. And everyone you're seeing is in engaged in the process of making calls, reaching out to find out everything you need to know about what's happening with this storm.
I will tell you when I was on earlier with you this hour; we were talking about flight cancellations. We have just gotten another piece of information on that; we are hearing that United Airlines has now cancelled about 3,700 flights over the next several days. We're going to keep updating that for you as the time comes along.
I wanted you to take a look, since we're going to hearing from New York, all you see, these figures I have here for you here, of how many millions of people are already being impacted by the transportation changes that are going on in New York as a result of what's being shut down. Look at this. On a typical day, New York City subway has 4.3 million rides.
The Metropolitan Authority has about 8.5 million riders a day. And Amtrak's northeast corridor, we don't know how much of Amtrak is going to be shut down, but we do know that 750,000 riders a day generally take that northeast corridor from Amtrak. So you've got a lot of people who are already impacted just in that area alone.
And then before we disappear, I want to show you two things quickly that you should check out online. One is no matter where you are, if you go to the main page of CNN.com, you can take a look at the various possibilities for how this could impact you and how much rainfall to expect.
And, finally, for those of you on Twitter, I have created a Twitlist -- a tweet -- a Twitter list that has officials from all of the states expected to be impacted. If you go to my Twitter right now, JoshLevsCNN, just join in. You'll see what you need for your area, OK?
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Josh Levs, appreciate that.
OK. Minutes away from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his update on preparations in that city, next.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
WHITFIELD: Hello and welcome back to our continuing coverage of Hurricane Sandy. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
Tens of millions of people along the East Coast, from North Carolina to Maine are on alert as a huge storm threatens to cause major destruction. This is what we know right now. The outer bands of Hurricane Sandy are pounding the North Carolina and Maryland coast right now.
