Hurricane Sandy, regarded as the second-largest, Atlantic tropical storm on record since 1988, hit the U.S. the last week of October, 2012. It landed south of New Jersey with winds up to 90 mph. Sandy is the 18th storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season.

Fact 1. Hurricane Sandy is not regarded as a strong hurricane, but it was wide, extending 175 miles from its center and its tropical-force winds extending out to 520 miles.

Fact 2. Sandy is characterized by a combination of factors considered rare.  It picked up strength from the warm ocean from down south; hit the cold, arctic blast from the north, and in terms of timing, it was a full moon, which translated into high tides and floods.

Fact 3. Due to its landing around Halloween, Sandy is dubbed as a ‘œFrankenstorm.’

Fact 4.  Sandy was predicted to cause life-threatening flooding in New York Harbor with tides of 6 to 11 feet.

Fact 5. According to insurance companies, a hit by a hurricane in New York could result in potential economic losses of $53 billion. New York ranks second among the 10 worst places for a hurricane to hit in the U.S.

Fact 6.  The total estimates of the damage caused by Sandy are between $30 billion and $50 billion as stated by EQECAT, a catastrophe risk model. This exceeded the pre-storm estimate of $20 billion.

Fact 7.   Due to a fuel shortage, a temporary waiver of the Jones Act was enacted in allowing oil tankers from the Gulf of Mexico to enter Northeastern ports.

Fact 8.  An environmental group used bicycles to generate electricity for recharging cell phones and laptops on New York’s Lower East Side.

Fact 9.  Sandy is a ‘œCategory 1’ storm, meaning it is nowhere  as powerful as its cousin Katrina that devastated New Orleans in 2005.

Fact 10. Sandy is considered dangerous due to its head-on collision with the coast of New Jersey.  Normal tropical storms would run directly up the coast, but in this case, the cold air from the north and a jet stream from the west pushed the storm towards the shore.