Hurricane Sandy 2012, Atlantic, United States

Much of the East Coast of the United States in the Mid-Atlantic and New England states have a good chance of receiving gale-force winds, flooding, heavy rain and possibly snow early in the week of October 28 from an unusual hybrid of Hurricane Sandy and a winter storm. Government weather forecasters said there is a 90% chance (the chance having increased from 60% on October 24), that the East Coast will be impacted by the storm. Some media outlets began referring to the expected combination of the tropical system and storm front under the nickname "Frankenstorm." As coverage continued, many outlets began eschewing this term in favor of "superstorm", with CNN in particular declaring an embargo on the use of the term "Frankenstorm" in its reporting, citing sensitivity concerns. Utilities and governments along the East Coast are attempting to head off long-term power failures as a result of Sandy. Power companies from the Southeast to New England are alerting independent contractors to be ready to assist to fix storm damaged equipment quickly and are asking employees to cancel vacations and work longer hours. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University, using a computer model built on power outage data from previous hurricanes, conservatively forecast that 10 million customers along the Eastern Seaboard will lose power from Sandy. In New Jersey, where the storm is expected to come ashore, Jersey Central Power & Light has told employees to be prepared for extended shifts.
Through regional offices in Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will continuously monitor Sandy and will remain in close coordination with state and tribal emergency management partners in Florida and the potentially affected Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and New England states. President Barack Obama signed emergency declarations on October 28 for several states expected to be impacted by Sandy, allowing them to request federal aid and make additional preparations in advance of the storm.
Amtrak canceled some services through October 29 in preparation for the storm.
Flight cancellations and alerts for travel on the U.S. East Coast are in place and more may be added should the storm stay on its predicted path towards the Mid-Atlantic and the New England areas. Over 5,000 commercial airline flights scheduled for October 28 and October 29 were cancelled by the afternoon of the 28th.