This is very well put. Click to enlarge.

It is time to wrap up preparations.  Sandy still looks like a major threat and she is moving a little faster than originally anticipated.   Don't make this mistake, "we underestimated this one." Hurricane Sandy at 8:30am CDT with 75 mph winds and a minimum pressure of 951 mb. University of Wisconsin Coastal winds are coming up a bit faster than I expected with gusts to nearly 40 mph at Norfolk, VA and gusts in the 30's in eastern North Carolina and DelMarVa. Kitty Hawk had a gust of 45 mph recently. Current Rainfall AccuWeather regional radar shows the banding structure associated with Sandy causing light to moderate rains in coastal areas. Additional Rainfall Because some of the storm's rain has already fallen and because it is moving a little faster than originally forecast, the amounts don't look quite as impressive as earlier forecasts. However, these are more than sufficient to cause flooding in the areas with heavier rains. clic...

From The Wall Street Journal .

As I feared, the National Weather Service's decision not to issue tropical storm and hurricane warnings -- regardless of the intensity of Hurricane Sandy -- is already having unfortunate effects. The first was in NY earlier this evening. Here is NYC Mayor Bloomberg's statement: “Although we’re expecting a large surge of water, it is not expected to be a tropical storm or hurricane-type surge. With this storm, we’ll likely see a slow pileup of water rather than a sudden surge, which is what you would expect with a hurricane, and which we saw with Irene 14 months ago. “So it will be less dangerous – but make no mistake about it, there will be a lot of water and low-lying areas will experience flooding. The City’s Departments of Transportation and Environmental Protection will be deployed throughout the city to address flooding conditions. "So it will be less dangerous." We don't know that to be the case. The latest barometric pressure associated with San...

The National Weather Service's strategy of sending up extra weather balloons has worked. The models have pretty well clustered on a corridor for Sandy's center. "Spaghetti Chart" showing the various models' path of Hurricane Sandy Very heavy rains will be moving inland with Hurricane Sandy. Areas with five or more inches of rain will likely see river flooding. Areas with heavier rain may see major flooding. All of the models show a major storm with damaging winds. Trees will topple -- and in areas with heavy rains -- there will be considerable tree uprooting and power line damage. Here is the GFS model at six hour intervals. Keep in mind the system may come inland a little north or south of this path, so focus on the pattern rather than exact locations. The 937 millibar center would be an all-time record low barometric pressure. This forecast is valid at 8pm EDT Monday evening. Consider red as strong enough winds to cause power failures. Extreme ...

If you are just joining us or have been reading Mike's blogs for some time, we are glad to have that you have found us!  Mike is passionate about all things weather related, and is the go-to expert when severe weather calls. Mike saves lives, property and profits by appling weather science and technology to the real-world problems faced by business and society.  Mike is the Senior Vice President of AccuWeather, a bestselling author of 2 books, an innovator with 19 US and foreign patents to his name and more awards than I have time to mention. Mike, along with his friend and mentor, Dr. Ted Fujita, make everyone who flies today safer and when ever you are viewing color radar, a color newspaper weather page or a GPS-powered storm warning display, you have just run across one of Mike's many innovations. Mike frequently speaks to and consults with businesses across North America helping them improve their profitability by effectively dealing with weather's extremes. Mike ...

I've checked the latest computer models and wouldn't change anything I have posted today.  So, feel free to explore today's postings. My niece is getting married this evening, so this will be the last update until late this evening.