HURRICANE UPDATE MONDAY EVE: Ghiorse Says More High Winds, Flooding

HURRICANE UPDATE MONDAY EVE: Ghiorse Says More High Winds, Flooding

Hurricane Sandy has made landfall on the southern New Jersey coast. It came ashore with 90 mph winds and a massive surge of water that inundated several communities. As of 6pm this enormous and intense storm was located about 250 miles southwest of Providence and was moving northwest at 28 mph. Sandy will weaken slowly over the next several hours, slow down and meander into Pennsylvania and by later Tuesday will turn northward into upstate New York.

For Rhode Island: more dangerous high winds, major flooding

The worst part of the wind from the storm for us will continue until later this evening then diminish. East to southeast winds will gust over 50 mph with a few gusts to 65-75 mph for a while longer especially near the coast and over higher terrain inland. The coast and Narragansett Bay communities will continue to experience the worst of Sandy locally with major flooding and destructive wave damage. A coastal surge of 4-6 feet over mean high water this evening as high tide approaches will lower slowly after the 8-9pm high tide. That surge could reach 5-7 feet in the upper portion of Narragansett Bay. As indicated earlier, there will be bands of heavy rain moving through the area but river and stream flooding is not expected to be a big problem.

Heading into tonight

The storm will diminish after midnight but gusty winds and scattered showery periods could persist into Wednesday. For an overview of Sandy in real time, go to GoLocal's Stormpulse map, here.

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