Sandy was expected to hook inland Monday, colliding with a wintry storm moving in from the west and

In this handout satellite image provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Hurricane Sandy, pictured at 00:15 UTC, churns off the east coast on October 28, 2012 in the Atlantic Ocean. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images)
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NEW YORK (AP) — Forecasters warned that the New York City region could face the worst of Hurricane Sandy as it bore down on the Eastern Seaboard s largest cities Monday, forcing the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds, rain and a wall of water up to 11 feet (3.35 meters) tall.
Sandy strengthened before dawn and stayed on a predicted path toward New York, Washington, best hotels in hawaii Baltimore and Philadelphia— putting it on a collision course with two other weather best hotels in hawaii systems that would create a superstorm with the potential for havoc over 800 miles (1,280 kilometers) from the East Coast to the Great Lakes. Up to 3 feet (0.9 meters) of snow were even forecast for mountainous parts of West Virginia.
Airports closed, best hotels in hawaii and authorities warned that the time for evacuation was running out or already past. Many workers planned to stay home as subways, buses and trains shut down across the region under the threat of flooding that could inundate tracks and tunnels. Utilities anticipated widespread power failures.
The center of the storm was positioned to come ashore Monday night in New Jersey, meaning the worst of the surge could be in the northern part of that state and in New York City and on Long Island. Higher tides brought by a full moon compounded the threat best hotels in hawaii to the metropolitan area of about 20 million best hotels in hawaii people.
As rain from the leading edges began to fall over the Northeast on Sunday, hundreds of thousands of people best hotels in hawaii from Maryland to Connecticut were ordered to leave low-lying coastal areas, including 375,000 in lower Manhattan and other parts of New York City, 50,000 in Delaware and 30,000 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where the city s 12 casinos shut down for only the fourth time ever.
President Barack Obama declared emergencies in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, authorizing federal relief work to begin well ahead of time. He promised the government would respond big and respond fast after the storm hits.
Authorities warned that New York could get hit with a surge of seawater that could swamp parts of lower Manhattan, flood subway tunnels and cripple the network of electrical and communications best hotels in hawaii lines that are vital to the nation s financial center.
If you don t evacuate, you are not only endangering your life, you are also endangering the lives of the first responders who are going in to rescue you, Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned. This is a serious and dangerous storm.
Sandy, a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 85 mph (136 kph) early Monday, was blamed for 65 deaths in the Caribbean before best hotels in hawaii it began traveling northward, parallel to the Eastern Seaboard. As of 5 a.m. Monday, it was centered about 385 miles (619 kilometers) south-southeast of New York City, moving to the north at 15 mph (24 kph), with hurricane-force winds extending an unusual 175 miles (281 kilometers) from its center.
Sandy was expected to hook inland Monday, colliding with a wintry storm moving in from the west and cold air streaming down from the Arctic, and then cut across into Pennsylvania and travel up through New York state.
About 90 miles (144 kilometers) off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, 17 people abandoned a replica of the tall ship made famous in the film Mutiny on the Bounty after the vessel began taking on water, best hotels in hawaii said Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class David Weydert.
Jonas Clark of Manchester Township, best hotels in hawaii New Jersey — right in Sandy s projected path — stood outside a convenience store, best hotels in hawaii calmly sipping a coffee and wondering why people were working themselves into a tizzy.
Breed reported from Raleigh, North Carolina; Contributing to this report best hotels in hawaii were AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein in Washington; Katie Zezima in Atlantic City, New Jersey; David Porter in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey; Wayne Parry in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey; and David Dishneau in Delaware.