Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Sunday morning that subway, bus, and railroad service would be suspended beginning at 7 p.m.
Noting that it was unsafe to operate trains in high winds, Mr. Cuomo said the shutdown was also intended as a signal to discourage New York-area residents from being “up and about.”
Joseph J. Lhota, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said he expected the transit systems to restore at least some service about 12 hours after the storm ends. “I do think Monday and Tuesday are going to be difficult days,” Mr. hota said.
The announcement came as the National Hurricane Center warned of a “life-threatening storm surge” that could cause record-breaking coastal flooding from Delaware to Southern New England.
In its latest report, the hurricane center said it expected a surge of as much as 11 feet along Long Island Sound and Raritan Bay and warned that major flooding could occur across a broad swatch of the East Coast. In addition to surge, forecasters expected torrential rains in some regions, which would add to the flooding problems.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from low-lying areas, governors across the region have declared states of emergency, and federal officials have issued urgent warnings for people to prepare, saying that the storm’s impact would stretch from the mid-Atlantic to New England and as far inland as the Ohio Valley. Tropical storm-strength winds lashed the North Carolina coast on Sunday morning and strong gales were expected up the Atlantic coast throughout the day.
While tracking models showed the center of Hurricane Sandy likely to make landfall late Monday evening or early Tuesday, the director of the National Hurricane Center, Rick Knabb, said that the weather was expected to worsen well before then.
The exact path of the storm was unclear, complicating preparation efforts. In its latest report on Sunday morning, the hurricane center said the storm was about 260 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and moving northeast. Federal officials, in a briefing with reporters on Saturday afternoon, could not say for certain where the impact would be the worst — only that it would be major. More than 60,000 National Guard troops in nine states were ready to assist the local authorities.
In an indication of the storm’s enormous size, the tropical storm warning stretched all the way to Bermuda, 580 nautical miles away. In its latest forecast, the National Hurricane Center predicted hurricane-force winds to reach the mid-Atlantic state by late Monday.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York told residents to stay out of city parks starting on Sunday and to stock up on basic supplies. All construction was ordered to be suspended starting on Saturday night.
On Long Island, the Town of Islip ordered the mandatory evacuation of residents in low-lying areas, including Fire Island, by Sunday afternoon. Similar orders were issued in other coastal areas.
From Plymouth, Me., to Cape Hatteras, N.C., residents boarded up windows; stocked up on water, batteries and food; and prepared to hunker down. Airlines encouraged people with flights scheduled in the next few days to change their plans and waived cancellation fees.
At supply stores across the region, generators and other goods were snapped up in preparation for the possibility of extended power failures.
Sandbags joined the Halloween scarecrows along Main Street in Hightstown, N.J., on Saturday as business owners who suffered flood damage during Hurricane Irene last year braced themselves.
At a Home Depot in Yonkers, where propane cylinders were prominently displayed near the cash registers, generators were sold out by 6:30 on Saturday morning, within 30 minutes of opening, said Kareem Hiland, a store employee. “The line for them was out the door,” he said. “For batteries, too.”Experts warned that even if Hurricane Sandy decreased in strength, it would remain a danger because of the unusual convergence of several weather systems.
A system known as a midlatitude trough — which often causes severe winter storms — is moving across the country from the west. It is expected to draw in Hurricane Sandy, giving it added energy. A burst of arctic air is expected to sweep down through the Canadian Plains just as they are converging. That could lead to several feet of snow in West Virginia and lighter amounts in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The full moon on Monday could cause even greater flooding, with tides at their peak.
The hurricane was forecast to come ashore between the Delmarva Peninsula and Long Island. But as it continued to churn north, it began to spread out, with tropical storm-force winds extending about 520 miles from its center. On Saturday, it was still moving slowly north and had yet to make its predicted westward swing, at which point it will likely become clearer where it will make landfall.
Forecasters cautioned that the course of the storm could change, but officials from the National Hurricane Center said that it was no longer a question of if the storms would converge — but where and with how much force.
Dr. Knabb of the National Hurricane Center said the storm’s intensity was unlikely to change. “The center of circulation is only going to be a very small part of the story,” he said. “This is not just going to be a coastal event.” People from Virginia northward should be prepared for a “long-duration event,” he said.
Utility companies were rushing to put crews in place to deal with power failures, which state officials warned could be extensive and long lasting. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey told residents that they should be prepared to go 7 to 10 days without electricity. On Saturday evening, Amtrak began to cancel train service to parts of the East Coast, including between Washington, D.C., and New York.
Maureen Smith, 70, and her husband, Jim Dugan, 76, have been through hurricanes before, but on Saturday they were evacuated from North Wildwood, on the south shore of New Jersey.
“There was a sense of worry, because we do believe this will be serious,” she said.
With forecasters predicting this storm would be much worse than Hurricane Irene, which caused $15 billion in damage, many people were taking no chances. Bob Parise of North Wantagh, on Long Island, was scouring a hardware store.
“We learned our lesson from Irene and are better prepared,” he said. “I’ve got the generator and the gas. Now I’m just worried about the roof.”
Reporting was contributed by Brian Stelter from New Jersey, Colin Moynihan from New York, Jon Hurdle from Philadelphia, Stacey Stowe from Yonkers and Angela Macropoulos from Long Island.
Noting that it was unsafe to operate trains in high winds, Mr. Cuomo said the shutdown was also intended as a signal to discourage New York-area residents from being “up and about.”
Joseph J. Lhota, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said he expected the transit systems to restore at least some service about 12 hours after the storm ends. “I do think Monday and Tuesday are going to be difficult days,” Mr. hota said.
The announcement came as the National Hurricane Center warned of a “life-threatening storm surge” that could cause record-breaking coastal flooding from Delaware to Southern New England.
In its latest report, the hurricane center said it expected a surge of as much as 11 feet along Long Island Sound and Raritan Bay and warned that major flooding could occur across a broad swatch of the East Coast. In addition to surge, forecasters expected torrential rains in some regions, which would add to the flooding problems.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from low-lying areas, governors across the region have declared states of emergency, and federal officials have issued urgent warnings for people to prepare, saying that the storm’s impact would stretch from the mid-Atlantic to New England and as far inland as the Ohio Valley. Tropical storm-strength winds lashed the North Carolina coast on Sunday morning and strong gales were expected up the Atlantic coast throughout the day.
While tracking models showed the center of Hurricane Sandy likely to make landfall late Monday evening or early Tuesday, the director of the National Hurricane Center, Rick Knabb, said that the weather was expected to worsen well before then.
The exact path of the storm was unclear, complicating preparation efforts. In its latest report on Sunday morning, the hurricane center said the storm was about 260 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and moving northeast. Federal officials, in a briefing with reporters on Saturday afternoon, could not say for certain where the impact would be the worst — only that it would be major. More than 60,000 National Guard troops in nine states were ready to assist the local authorities.
In an indication of the storm’s enormous size, the tropical storm warning stretched all the way to Bermuda, 580 nautical miles away. In its latest forecast, the National Hurricane Center predicted hurricane-force winds to reach the mid-Atlantic state by late Monday.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York told residents to stay out of city parks starting on Sunday and to stock up on basic supplies. All construction was ordered to be suspended starting on Saturday night.
On Long Island, the Town of Islip ordered the mandatory evacuation of residents in low-lying areas, including Fire Island, by Sunday afternoon. Similar orders were issued in other coastal areas.
From Plymouth, Me., to Cape Hatteras, N.C., residents boarded up windows; stocked up on water, batteries and food; and prepared to hunker down. Airlines encouraged people with flights scheduled in the next few days to change their plans and waived cancellation fees.
At supply stores across the region, generators and other goods were snapped up in preparation for the possibility of extended power failures.
Sandbags joined the Halloween scarecrows along Main Street in Hightstown, N.J., on Saturday as business owners who suffered flood damage during Hurricane Irene last year braced themselves.
At a Home Depot in Yonkers, where propane cylinders were prominently displayed near the cash registers, generators were sold out by 6:30 on Saturday morning, within 30 minutes of opening, said Kareem Hiland, a store employee. “The line for them was out the door,” he said. “For batteries, too.”Experts warned that even if Hurricane Sandy decreased in strength, it would remain a danger because of the unusual convergence of several weather systems.
A system known as a midlatitude trough — which often causes severe winter storms — is moving across the country from the west. It is expected to draw in Hurricane Sandy, giving it added energy. A burst of arctic air is expected to sweep down through the Canadian Plains just as they are converging. That could lead to several feet of snow in West Virginia and lighter amounts in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The full moon on Monday could cause even greater flooding, with tides at their peak.
The hurricane was forecast to come ashore between the Delmarva Peninsula and Long Island. But as it continued to churn north, it began to spread out, with tropical storm-force winds extending about 520 miles from its center. On Saturday, it was still moving slowly north and had yet to make its predicted westward swing, at which point it will likely become clearer where it will make landfall.
Forecasters cautioned that the course of the storm could change, but officials from the National Hurricane Center said that it was no longer a question of if the storms would converge — but where and with how much force.
Dr. Knabb of the National Hurricane Center said the storm’s intensity was unlikely to change. “The center of circulation is only going to be a very small part of the story,” he said. “This is not just going to be a coastal event.” People from Virginia northward should be prepared for a “long-duration event,” he said.
Utility companies were rushing to put crews in place to deal with power failures, which state officials warned could be extensive and long lasting. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey told residents that they should be prepared to go 7 to 10 days without electricity. On Saturday evening, Amtrak began to cancel train service to parts of the East Coast, including between Washington, D.C., and New York.
Maureen Smith, 70, and her husband, Jim Dugan, 76, have been through hurricanes before, but on Saturday they were evacuated from North Wildwood, on the south shore of New Jersey.
“There was a sense of worry, because we do believe this will be serious,” she said.
With forecasters predicting this storm would be much worse than Hurricane Irene, which caused $15 billion in damage, many people were taking no chances. Bob Parise of North Wantagh, on Long Island, was scouring a hardware store.
“We learned our lesson from Irene and are better prepared,” he said. “I’ve got the generator and the gas. Now I’m just worried about the roof.”
Reporting was contributed by Brian Stelter from New Jersey, Colin Moynihan from New York, Jon Hurdle from Philadelphia, Stacey Stowe from Yonkers and Angela Macropoulos from Long Island.