Hurricane Sandy Weather Update From Steve Caporizzo – Details Of Rain And Wind Expected

News 10's Steve Caporizzo is a trusted voice of weather in the Albany Area. Several people have inquired about the specific storm details of Hurricane Sandy, and Caporizzo just posted the detailed information on his official Facebook page to share with everyone.

Please share this information with your friends and family, compliments of the Steve Caporizzo Facebook page.

"Hi Everyone…..

10-29-12 10:30am

STORM UPDATE:

In the office now with the entire Weather Team gearing up for storm coverage.

PLEASE Share or repost this with family and friends so they know the
latest.

ADVISORIES:

High Wind Warning and Flood Watch now in effect for all locations.

A FEW IMPORTANT POINTS:

1-This looks like a wide spread strong wind event with potential of power outages in most locations of the viewing area so be prepared.

2-Rainfall will vary tremendously with respect to topography…all upslope-east facing hills and mountains will have the most. Strong shadowing along the Hudson Valley will likely result in much less rain. With dry air at mid levels….it may take til late this afternoon to really fill in and may not make it to the Adirondacks til this evening. In fact the sky will be bright at times and maybe a few breaks in the clouds….

3-This is NOT like Irene…the track is south of us…we are on the right side of the track. This means more wind and less rain as a rule. The left side of the track (such as Floyd and Irene here)…results in more rain and flooding. For Sandy, it is in NJ.DE,MD,Southeast PA

4-Flood threat is mainly for minor flooding…esp Catskills/Berkshires and Southern Green Mountains…..this is where the most rain will fall. There will also be Minor Flooding at the times of high tide on the Hudson River. Schoharie Creek…the reservoir has been dropped down to 1123ft…great news..able to hold 7.5ft of water. The forecast calls for the Schoharie to rise to near bankfull by Tuesday Mid day.

TRACK:

Sandy/Post Tropical Sandy will track into Southern NJ between 8 and 10pm This evening and then gradually weaken as she moves inland. This will produce the strongest winds and storm surge across Northern NJ/NYC/Long Island and the South coast of New England. We are expecting near historic storm surges of 6-11ft around New York City…and winds may gust to 80-90mph

TIMING:

Most of the strong winds and rain will hold off til later this afternoon and evening

Showers/drizzle breaking out Now thru 2pm…..Bands of rain will increase 4-7pm, with the heaviest in the Catskills/Berkshires/Greens. The strong shadow in the Hudson Valley north of Hudson could prevent much heavy rains from falling.

Rain continues of varying intensities though the night and becoming more showery in nature for Tuesday. Still bands of heavier showers will be rotating around the center of the storm.

RAINFALL AMOUNTS:

Still targeting all the High elevations South and West of Albany and the East side of the Berkshires/Southern Green Mountains to have the most. By Tuesday Evening….2”-4” Likely for these spots…..Southern Adirondacks….SE facing slopes, 1.5-2.5” of rain……For areas close to these locations, 1”-2”. For the Hudson Valley all the way from Hudson to Lake George……there is likely going to be a strong shadow..as a result, rainfall amounts of ½” to 1.5”….so much less.

There will still be some showers into Wednesday which could add another ¼-1/2”.

We WILL be able to handle this rain……as for the Catkskills/Berkshires/Southern Greens….there will be river/stream rises to near bankfull and potentially minor flooding.

****Be aware driving of ponding on roadways due to clogged storm drains from the leaves.

****Also, at the times of High Tides on the Hudson, there will be some minor flooding due to the fact of the water being piled up downriver….this will slow down the drainage and actually back the water up. We’ve seen this many times in bigger storms with winds at the coast.

WINDS:

This will be a MUCH bigger issue for everyone. Expect scattered power outages….and depending on where the trees/lines come down, it could be more widespread.

Here’s a breakdown on the expected winds. Basically I’ve divided into Lowlands/Valley and Higher elevations above 1500 ft.

V-Valleys
HE-Higher elevations

Noon
V NE 15-25 g-35mph
HE NE 20-35 g-45mph

5pm
V NE 25-30 g-50mph
HE NE 30-40 g-65mph

10pm til daybreak Tuesday
V E to SE 20-35 g-50-55mph
HE SE 30-40 G-60+mph, esp Berkshires/Greens/Catskills

Tuesday 8am
V SSE 20-30 g 45-50mph
HE gusting to 60

2pm
V SE 15-25 g-40mph
HE SE 20-30 g-50mph

IN SUMMARY:

I hope this gives you an idea of what will happen in detail…again these are my thoughts based on the data I’ve been looking at today.

As you can see, this looks like a large scale wind event….obviously trees that have more leaves on them offer more air resistance and are more apt to be damages…trees without leaves can tolerate stronger winds. Pine/Fur/Evergreens are most prone to damage this time of year."