Hurricane Sandy Facts


Hurricane Sandy did not make landfall as a hurricane, but as an extratropical cyclone. Its tropical classification was dropped shortly before landfall on the southern New Jersey coast during late October of 2012. What will be most remembered is that Sandy brought catastrophic destruction to large stretches of the Northeast coast. New Jersey and New York were the hardest hit, but states stretching from the Mid - Atlantic to New England also saw the destructive impacts of high storm tides, damaging winds, flooding rainfall and heavy snowfall.

What made Sandy especially destructive was the large amounts of coastline that was inudated by a storm surge created by a very large wind field. New York's subway system was flooded as well as some of the iconic amusement parks and board walks on the New Jersey shore.
Sandy was especially difficult to forecast as most forecast models showed Sandy moving out to sea well east of the coastline. The European forecast models however showed impact on the New Jersey coast. The forecast models eventually can into agreement as the landfall time approached.

Hurricane Sandy Satellite Picture - east of Southeast U.S.
Hurricane Sandy satellite picture
Images / data courtesty of the National Hurricane Center / NOAA / NASA

Hurricane Sandy Facts Summary
  • Lowest pressure: 940 millibars / 27.76 inches
  • Pressure and sustained wind at landfall in Brigantine, New Jersey: 945 mb millibars / 80 mph
  • Maximum sustained winds at peak: 115 mph
  • Strongest wind gust: 143 mph Gran Piedra, Cuba
  • Strongest wind gust in the Northeast U.S.: 83 mph, Eaton's Neck, Long Island, N.Y.
  • Fatalities: 147 total, 72 Northeast U.S.
  • U.S. Damage: $65 billion - unadjusted dollars
  • U.S. Damage: $70.2 billion - adjusted dollars for 2017
  • Maximum storm surge height NY: 12.65 feet, King's Point, NY
  • Maximum storm surge height NJ: 8.57 feet, Sandy Hook, NJ
  • Maximum storm surge height CT: 9.83 feet, Bridgeport,CT
  • Maximum Rainfall: Bellevue, MD - 12.83"
  • Maximum Snowfall: Near Wolf Laurel, NC & Richwood, WV 36"


Do you want to find out more about Hurricane Sandy or other hurricanes? Check out our 2012 hurricane summaries.
Back to more hurricane articles.