Forecasters say Hurricane Sandy is still on track to deliver a punishing blow to a large swath of the U.S. East Coast — expected to be larger than Hurricane Irene.

Hurricane Sandy is a late-season tropical cyclone affecting Jamaica, Cuba, The Bahamas, Haiti and Florida, and is threatening the United States East Coast and Eastern Canada.

Much of the East Coast in the Mid-Atlantic and New England states have a good chance of receiving gale-force winds, flooding, heavy rain and possibly snow early next week by an unusual hybrid of Hurricane Sandy and a winter storm.

“Frankenstorm” because three merging weather factors will form a hybrid storm (Hurricane, Winter Storm, Full Moon/Tide Effect).

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. Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. is putting workers on standby and making plans to bring in crews from other states. In New Jersey, where the storm is expected to come ashore, Jersey Central Power & Light has told employees to be prepared for extended shifts.

On October 26, 2012 Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray declared a state of emergency for the nations capital. Agencies will work throughout the weekend to prepare the city for Sandy.

North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue declared a state of emergency for 38 counties taking effect October 27, 2012.

Cape May County, New Jersey officials have advised residents on barrier islands to evacuate on October 26, 2012. The evacuation will become mandatory on October 28, 2012. A voluntary evacuation for Mantoloking in Ocean County is also advised.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter advised residents in low lying areas and neighborhoods prone to flooding to get out of their homes by 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 28, 2012 and get to safer ground.

In New York City, officials activated the city’s coastal emergency plan, with subway closings and the evacuation of residents in areas that experienced trouble during Hurricane Irene in August 2011. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg advised that some residents should prepare to evacuate. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for every county in the New York. Cuomo was also asking for a pre-disaster declaration to get better access to federal assistance.

In Massachusetts, the state’s emergency management agency started issuing situational awareness news releases as some computer models show that Sandy could “potentially transition over the weekend into a powerful nor’easter.” A nor’easter is a macro-scale storm along the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada that travels south to north off of the east coast. The storms rotation brings backlash winds from the northeast as it passes.

The five-day forecast from the National Hurricane Center predicts the center of the storm will travel along the east coast of the United States over the weekend. Massachussetts Governor Deval Patrick has given utilities until Friday to submit plans for the storm.

Hurricane Sandy raged through the Bahamas early Friday after leaving 22 people dead across the Caribbean, following a path that could see it blend with a winter storm to hit the U.S. East Coast with a super-storm next week.

Hurricane Sandy stayed off the Florida coast, but the storm sent huge waves crashing into the state’s east coast beaches.

Hurricane Sandy raged through the Bahamas early Friday after leaving 38 people dead across the Caribbean, following a path that could see it blend with a winter storm to hit the U.S. East Coast with a super-storm next week.

National Weather Service ‘Hurricane Sandy’ …

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