Introduction

Hurricane Sandy originated primarily by a tropical wave

that left the west coast of Africa, which then traveled west
towards Cuba, into the Bahamas, and then north along the
east coast of the United States (Blake et. Al. 1). As the storm
moved over the Bahamas, the storm curved slightly to the
west (Fanelli et. Al. 3). It began as a wave on October 11
th
,
2012 and hit New Jersey on October 29
th
, 2012 (Blake et. Al.
1). Throughout its destruction, Sandy remained a category 1
hurricane (Fanelli et. Al. 3). Although its winds were
equivalent to that of a category 1 hurricane, Sandy had
transitioned to a post-tropical cyclone just prior to making
landfall near Atlantic City, NJ (Fanelli et. Al. 3). A tropical
cyclone can be defined as being a warm storm with a circular,
low-pressure center; it retains hurricane winds and cloud
fields that dramatically expand (Gutro). According to NOAA,
the highest wind speed occurred in Cape May, while the
lowest barometric pressure was documented in Atlantic City
(Fanelli et. Al. 3). This leads to conclude that Sandy was a
destructive tropical cyclone.
Works Cited
Blake, Eric S., Todd B. Kimberlain, Robert J. Berg, John P. Cangialosi, and John L. Beven II.
Tropical Cyclone Report Hurricane Sandy. National Hurricane Center, 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 16 June 2013.
Fanelli, Colleen, Paul Fanelli, and David Wolcott. "NOAA NOS Hurricane Sandy Water Level &
Meteorological Data Report." National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 24 Jan. 2013. Web. 15
June 2013.
Gutro, Robert. "Hurricanes/Tropical Cyclones." NASA. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 7
Mar. 2013. Web. 16 June 2013.
"Weather Forecast & Reports." Wunderground.com. Weather Underground, 2013. Web. June 2013.
27.5
28
28.5
29
29.5
30
0
: 1
1
2
: 5
8
5
: 4
6
8
: 3
3
1
1
: 2
0
1
4
: 0
8
1
6
: 5
5
1
9
: 4
2
2
2
: 3
0
1
: 3
2
4
: 2
0
7
: 0
7
9
: 5
4
1
2
: 4
1
1
5
: 2
9
1
8
: 3
6
2
1
: 2
3
0
: 1
1
2
: 5
8
5
: 4
5
8
: 3
3
1
1
: 2
0
1
4
: 0
7
1
6
: 5
5
1
9
: 5
7
2
2
: 4
5
1
: 3
3
6
: 4
6
9
: 3
3
1
2
: 2
1
1
5
: 0
8
1
7
: 5
5
2
0
: 4
3
2
3
: 3
0
28-Oct-12 29-Oct-12 30-Oct-12 31-Oct-12
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
(
i n
c
h
e
s
)

Time
40
45
50
55
60
65
0
: 1
1
2
: 5
8
5
: 4
6
8
: 3
3
1
1
: 2
0
1
4
: 0
8
1
6
: 5
5
1
9
: 4
2
2
2
: 3
0
1
: 3
2
4
: 2
0
7
: 0
7
9
: 5
4
1
2
: 4
1
1
5
: 2
9
1
8
: 3
6
2
1
: 2
3
0
: 1
1
2
: 5
8
5
: 4
5
8
: 3
3
1
1
: 2
0
1
4
: 0
7
1
6
: 5
5
1
9
: 5
7
2
2
: 4
5
1
: 3
3
6
: 4
6
9
: 3
3
1
2
: 2
1
1
5
: 0
8
1
7
: 5
5
2
0
: 4
3
2
3
: 3
0
28-Oct-12 29-Oct-12 30-Oct-12 31-Oct-12
A
i r
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
(

F
)

Time
40
45
50
55
60
65
0
: 0
0
2
: 4
0
5
: 3
3
8
: 2
3
1
1
: 1
1
1
3
: 5
9
1
6
: 4
8
1
9
: 4
1
2
2
: 2
6
1
: 0
7
3
: 5
3
6
: 3
9
9
: 2
8
1
2
: 1
3
1
4
: 5
8
1
7
: 4
0
2
0
: 3
5
2
3
: 5
0
2
: 2
5
5
: 0
0
7
: 4
5
1
0
: 2
5
1
3
: 0
0
1
5
: 3
5
1
8
: 1
5
2
0
: 5
5
2
3
: 3
0
2
: 0
5
5
: 4
0
8
: 1
5
1
1
: 0
0
1
3
: 3
5
1
6
: 2
0
1
9
: 1
0
2
1
: 4
5
28-Oct-12 29-Oct-12 30-Oct-12 31-Oct-12
A
i r
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
(

F
)

Time
27
27.5
28
28.5
29
29.5
30
0 : 0 0
1 : 5 7
3 : 3 6
5 : 0 2
6 : 1 1
7 : 2 0
8 : 3 9
1 0 : 0 5
1 1 : 1 8
1 2 : 3 4
1 3 : 4 8
1 5 : 0 1
1 6 : 2 0
1 7 : 5 5
1 9 : 2 3
2 0 : 5 0
2 2 : 1 2
2 3 : 4 6
2 : 0 7
3 : 5 6
5 : 4 0
7 : 1 0
8 : 2 4
9 : 4 0
1 1 : 1 7
1 2 : 5 8
1 4 : 2 2
1 5 : 3 2
1 7 : 0 6
1 8 : 3 7
1 9 : 5 0
2 0 : 5 6
2 2 : 1 6
2 3 : 3 8
1 : 3 3
4 : 1 5
6 : 4 2
9 : 0 0
1 1 : 0 3
1 3 : 0 5
1 5 : 3 4
1 7 : 3 1
1 8 : 4 8
1 9 : 5 8
2 1 : 1 6
2 2 : 3 1
2 3 : 5 5
2 : 0 3
3 : 5 6
5 : 2 5
6 : 4 7
7 : 5 7
9 : 0 9
1 0 : 2 3
1 1 : 4 5
1 3 : 0 8
1 4 : 2 4
1 5 : 4 4
1 7 : 1 6
1 8 : 3 3
1 9 : 5 8
2 1 : 3 1
2 2 : 5 7
28-Oct-12 29-Oct-12 30-Oct-12 31-Oct-12
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
(
i n
c
h
e
s
)

Time
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
0
: 0
2
2
: 5
2
5
: 4
3
8
: 3
3
1
1
: 2
3
1
4
: 1
3
1
7
: 0
3
1
9
: 5
3
2
2
: 4
3
1
: 3
3
4
: 2
2
7
: 1
3
1
0
: 0
4
1
2
: 5
4
1
5
: 4
4
1
8
: 3
4
2
1
: 2
3
0
: 1
2
3
: 0
2
5
: 5
3
8
: 4
3
1
1
: 3
3
1
4
: 2
3
1
7
: 1
2
2
0
: 1
2
2
3
: 0
3
1
: 5
2
4
: 4
3
7
: 3
3
1
0
: 2
2
1
3
: 1
3
1
6
: 0
3
1
8
: 5
3
2
1
: 4
3
28-Oct-12 29-Oct-12 30-Oct-12 31-Oct-12
W
i n
d
S
p
e
e
d
(
m
p
h
)

Time
0
10
20
30
40
50
0
: 0
2
2
: 5
2
5
: 1
2
8
: 0
3
1
1
: 5
3
1
4
: 1
3
1
7
: 0
3
1
9
: 5
3
2
2
: 1
2
1
: 0
2
3
: 5
3
6
: 1
2
9
: 0
5
1
1
: 5
4
1
4
: 5
4
1
7
: 1
3
2
0
: 0
3
2
2
: 5
2
1
: 5
2
4
: 1
2
7
: 0
3
9
: 5
3
1
2
: 1
2
1
5
: 0
2
1
7
: 5
2
2
0
: 5
3
2
3
: 1
2
2
: 0
2
4
: 5
3
7
: 1
2
1
0
: 0
2
1
2
: 5
3
1
5
: 1
2
1
8
: 1
2
2
1
: 0
2
28-Oct-12 29-Oct-12 30-Oct-12 31-Oct-12
W
i n
d
S
p
e
e
d
(
m
p
h
)

Time
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0
: 0
2
2
: 5
5
6
: 0
1
9
: 0
7
1
2
: 1
4
1
5
: 1
5
1
8
: 2
1
2
1
: 2
7
0
: 2
4
3
: 2
9
6
: 3
5
9
: 4
1
1
2
: 4
7
1
5
: 5
4
1
9
: 0
7
2
2
: 2
2
1
: 1
2
4
: 0
2
6
: 4
2
9
: 2
2
1
1
: 5
7
1
4
: 3
2
1
7
: 1
2
1
9
: 4
7
2
2
: 2
2
1
: 1
2
3
: 5
2
6
: 4
7
9
: 2
7
1
2
: 2
2
1
4
: 5
7
1
7
: 3
7
2
0
: 1
7
2
2
: 5
7
28-Oct-12 29-Oct-12 30-Oct-12 31-Oct-12
R
a
i n
f
a
l l (
i n
c
h
e
s
)

Time
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0
: 0
0
2
: 4
6
5
: 3
2
8
: 1
8
1
1
: 0
4
1
3
: 4
9
1
6
: 3
1
1
9
: 1
6
2
2
: 0
2
0
: 5
3
3
: 3
8
6
: 2
3
0
9
: 0
9
1
1
: 5
5
1
4
: 4
0
1
7
: 2
6
0
: 4
1
3
: 2
7
6
: 1
3
8
: 5
8
1
1
: 4
4
1
4
: 3
0
1
7
: 1
5
2
0
: 0
2
2
2
: 4
7
1
: 3
1
4
: 1
6
7
: 0
2
9
: 4
8
1
2
: 3
4
1
4
: 1
4
1
5
: 3
5
1
8
: 1
5
2
1
: 0
0
2
3
: 4
5
28-Oct-12 29-Oct-12 30-Oct-12 31-Oct-12
R
a
i n
f
a
l l (
i n
c
h
e
s
)

Time

Pressure vs. Wind
Speed Pressure vs. Rainfall
Pressure vs.
Temperature
p-Value r-squared p-Value r-squared p-Value r-squared
Washington < 0.0001 0.2678 N/A N/A 0.0029 0.0241
Tenafly < 0.0001 0.5911 < 0.0001 0.0944 < 0.0001 0.0455
Wood Ridge < 0.0001 0.5622 N/A N/A < 0.0001 0.0788
Jersey City < 0.0001 0.5104 N/A N/A < 0.0001 0.0428
Cranford < 0.0001 0.347 N/A N/A 0.4639 0.0014
South Orange < 0.0001 0.1401 N/A N/A < 0.0001 0.5808
Sayreville < 0.0001 0.2945 < 0.0001 0.1603 0.0093 0.0065
Monroe < 0.0001 0.1629 < 0.0001 0.0648 < 0.0001 0.0225
Keyport 1E-164 0.4815 1.1E-06 0.0207 2E-105 0.3413
Monroe 9.2E-74 0.3267 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Sea Girt 2.5E-44 0.3948 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Millstone 3.9E-16 0.4353 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Island Heights 1.8E-22 0.3946 0.00074 0.0584 3.2E-18 0.3294
Wrightstown 4E-05 0.5003 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Stafford 5E-266 0.3653 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Chatsworth 8.3E-32 0.261 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Atlantic County Top
Coast N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Atlantic County Top
Inland N/A N/A < 0.0001 0.288 N/A N/A
Atlantic County Bottom
Coast N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Atlantic County Bottom
Inland N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Cape May Top Coast < 0.0001 0.297 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Cape May Top Coast N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Methodology
Along eastern New Jersey, twenty-three weather stations were used to collect data from the time period in which
Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy occurred.

The weather stations spread along the shoreline of New Jersey from Bergen County south to Cape May County
and were accessed with the use of the credible site entitled wunderground.com.

Starting from October 28
th
in 2012, data was examined until October 31
st
of the same year. Superstorm Sandy hit
New Jersey late in the day on October 29
th
, 2012.

Each station recorded multiple parameters of data, and amongst them were precipitation, temperature, wind
speeds, and atmospheric pressure. The instruments used for these measurements were a rain gauge,
thermometer, anemometer, and barometer. These parameters were compared, by station, over the course of the
four days.

Once all data was computed, regressions were run to determine any statistical significant difference amongst the
data from the different weather stations, using an alpha value of 0.01
Abstract
Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall near Atlantic
City, New Jersey on October 29th, was one of the most
destructive storms in the history of New Jersey. Before
making landfall, this category 1 hurricane transformed
into a post-tropical cyclone before hitting the coast of
New Jersey. Some weather stations throughout the state
logged meteorological data throughout the storm;
however, many stations were made ineffective as a result
of the sheer destruction of the storm. This research
studies weather parameters recorded from weather
stations from October 28, 2012 to October 31, 2012
throughout coastal counties in New Jersey including wind
speeds, air temperatures, atmospheric pressure, rainfall
rates, and wind gusts. Data supported that in many areas
throughout the state, there was a significant correlation
between pressure and air temperatures, pressure and
wind speeds, and pressure and rainfall rates. Therefore,
Hurricane Sandys low pressure system affects several
meteorological aspects of the environment during the
time the hurricane passed over New Jersey.
Andrew Pidduck
Adedayo Gbadamosi
Jacqueline Poglodek
Discussion
As seen by the graphs, on October 29
th
, Sandy brought high
winds and reduced barometric pressures, along with excess rain
(Fanelli et. Al. 2). The temperature also increased slightly during the
hours that the storm hit the shore. Amongst most of the stations
throughout the coastline, the correlations between pressure and wind
speed were significant, as well as between pressure and temperature,
and between pressure and precipitation. Strong winds associated with
the Sandys post-tropical stage penetrated well inland, so this
explains why the comparisons remained conclusive at the inland
stations as well (Blake et. Al. 5). When Sandy came in contact with
New Jersey, all of the meteorological data that was being tracked
changed drastically. In our graphs, this is visually represented. On
October 29th, 2012, pressure decreased, wind speeds increased,
temperature peaked, and there was more rainfall; however, this
behavior is expected when a tropical cyclone hits.
Objective: Analyze the meteorological effects of Hurricane Sandy throughout
New Jersey.
Figure 1. Rainfall over four days of Hurricane Sandy at coast location.
Figure 2. Rainfall over four days of Hurricane Sandy at inland location.
Figure 3. Pressure over four days of Hurricane Sandy at coast location.
Figure 4. Pressure over four days of Hurricane Sandy at inland location.
Figure 5. Air temperature over four days of Hurricane Sandy at coast location.
Figure 6. Air temperature over four days of Hurricane Sandy at inland location.
Figure 7. Wind speed over four days of Hurricane Sandy at coast location.
Figure 8. Wind speed over four days of Hurricane Sandy at inland location.
Table 1. Regression results between pressure and other meteorological
parameters.
Conclusion
Hurricane Sandy was a strong and harmful post-tropical cyclone whose
low-pressure system affected the meteorology of the environment while
it passed.
Figure 9. Stations along New Jersey coastline selected for
analyses.