FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 file photo, people stand next to a house collapsed from Supers

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Hurricane Sandy has already slammed Cuba, bringing heavy rain and winds around 110 miles per hour on Thursday, as it moved north. By Friday morning, the death toll had already risen across the Caribbean.
Climate Central reported that the jet stream winds boxing in Sandy and creating a "Frankenstorm" are part of " blocking patterns [which] have appeared with greater frequency and intensity in recent years ." Some scientists have suggested the patterns could be linked to 2012's record Arctic sea ice loss, which exposes more open water to absorb the sun's energy. Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) released a report Thursday, saying, "If climate change flamingo hotel las vegas nv continues unchecked, Hurricane Sandy won't be our October surprise , it could be the new normal for New England."
The brunt of the weather mayhem will be concentrated where the hurricane comes ashore early Tuesday, but there will be hundreds of miles of steady, strong and damaging winds and rain for the entire Eastern region for several days, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
As of Friday morning, federal flamingo hotel las vegas nv forecasters were looking closer at the Delaware shore as the spot it will turn inland and merge with a wintry storm front. flamingo hotel las vegas nv But there is a lot of room for error in the forecast and the storm could turn into shore closer to New York and New Jersey and bring the worst weather there.
Wherever Sandy comes ashore will get 10 inches of rain and extreme storm surges, Louis Uccellini, NOAA's environmental prediction director, said in a Friday news conference. Other areas not directly on Sandy's entry path will still get 4 to 8 inches of rain, maybe more, he said. Up to 2 feet of snow should fall on West Virginia, with lighter snow in parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania, regardless of where Sandy first hits.
A wide swath of the East, measuring several hundreds of miles, will get persistent gale-force winds in the 50 mph area, with some areas closer to storm landfall getting closer to 70 mph, said James Franklin, flamingo hotel las vegas nv forecast chief for the National Hurricane Center.
"It's going to be a long-lasting event, two to three days of impact for a lot of people," Franklin said. "Wind damage, widespread power outages, heavy rainfall, inland flooding and somebody is going to get a significant surge event."
Last year's Hurricane flamingo hotel las vegas nv Irene was a minimal hurricane that caused widespread damage as it moved north along the coast after making landfall in North Carolina. With catastrophic inland flooding in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Vermont, federal officials say Irene caused $15.8 billion in damage.
Sandy is "looking like a very serious storm that could be historic," said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the forecasting service Weather flamingo hotel las vegas nv Underground. "Mother Nature flamingo hotel las vegas nv is not saying, `Trick or treat.' It's just going to give tricks."
Utilities flamingo hotel las vegas nv are lining up out-of-state work crews and canceling employees' days off to deal with expected power outages. From county disaster chiefs to the federal government, emergency officials are warning flamingo hotel las vegas nv the public to be prepared. And President Barack Obama was briefed aboard Air Force One.
Jersey Central Power & Light, which was criticized for its response to Irene, notified employees to be ready for extended shifts. In Pennsylvania, PPL Corp. spokesman Michael Wood said, "We're in a much better place this year."
"What we are doing is we are taking the kind of precautions you should expect us to do, and I don't think anyone flamingo hotel las vegas nv should panic," Bloomberg flamingo hotel las vegas nv said. The city has opened an emergency situation room and activated its coastal storm plan.
Sandy was expected to deal only a glancing blow to North Carolina's Outer Banks, where Lori Hilby said she planned to ride out this storm at home, unlike past storms such as Irene. Hilby, the manager at Tommy's Natural Foods Market and Wine Emporium in Duck, N.C., said the shop would remain open throughout the storm. She said she sold a fair amount of beer and wine to people who planned to ride out the storm on the barrier island.
Some have compared flamingo hotel las vegas nv the tempest to the so-called Perfect Storm that struck off the coast of New England in 1991, but that one hit a less populated area. Nor is this one like last year's Halloween storm, which was merely an early snowfall.
Associated Press writers Brock Vergakis in Duck, N.C., Tony Winton in Miami, Fernando Gonzalez in Cuba, Ken Thomas on Air Force One, Michael Rubinkam in Harrisburg, Pa., Wayne Parry in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., and Karen Matthews in New York contributed flamingo hotel las vegas nv to this report.
LONG BEACH, NY - NOVEMBER 09: A man walks past a destroyed section of the boardwalk at the base of Lincoln Boulevard as Long Islanders continue their clean up efforts in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy on November 9, 2012 in Long Beach, New York. New York Gov. Andrew flamingo hotel las vegas nv M. Cuomo has said that the economic loss and damage to homes and business caused by Sandy could total $33 billion in New York, according to published reports. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) Storm-Damaged Communities On East Coast Hit By Nor'Easter
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 08: Alex Vila, 2, carries a box of cereal after visiting an aid station for people affected by Superstorm Sandy on November 8, 2012 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Household supplies and groceries were distributed to Red Hook neighborhood residents by Catholic Charities at the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin flamingo hotel las vegas nv Mary church. Meanwhile a nor'easter storm plunged temperatures to below freezing, bringing more misery to many Red Hook residents still without power, heat nor running water in their public housing apartments. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) US-WEATHER-STORM-SANDY
Boats and docks damaged by Hurricane Sandy are seen at the Mansion Marinia on the shores of the Great Kills community November 7, 2012 on Staten Island, New York. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday announced a limited evacuation flamingo hotel las vegas nv of some neighborhoods ahead of harsh weather barreling toward a city still recovering from superstorm Sandy. The national weather service forecast heavy rain and likely snow on Wednesday and Thursday, accompanied by gale force winds gusting as high as 43 mph (69 kmh). Though barely half the strength of Sandy, the autumn storm will lash already damaged buildings and bring lower temperatures for tens of thousands of people still struggling without electricity. Bloomberg told a news conference that parks and beaches would close. The worst-hit patches of waterfront neighborhoods, including Rockaways in the Queens flamingo hotel las vegas nv borough, and in Staten Island, were being asked to evacuate again. AFP PHOTO/Paul J. Richards (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images) Storm-Damaged Communities On East Coast Hit By Nor'Easter
LONG BRANCH, NJ - NOVEMBER 08: Debris from Superstorm Sandy is seen on a beach November 8, 2012 in Long Branch, New Jersey. Meanwhile a nor'easter storm plunged temperatures to below freezing, bringing flamingo hotel las vegas nv more misery to many residents throughout flamingo hotel las vegas nv New York and New Jersey still without power. (Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images) Long Island Residents, Many Still Without Power, Continue To Clean Up After Superstorm Sandy
OCEANSIDE, NY - NOVEMBER 09: (L-R) James Vouloukos and William Ferris sort through flamingo hotel las vegas nv donated clothes at a site maintained by the Town of Hempstead in cooperation with FEMA at Oceanside Park during in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy on November 9, 2012 in Oceanside, New York. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said that the economic loss and damage to homes and businesses caused by Sandy could total $33 billion in New York, according to published reports. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) Funeral Held in Brooklyn For Two Young Brothers Killed During Superstorm Sandy
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: New York sanitation department workers watch as a hearse arrives with a casket carrying the bodies of two brothers killed during Superstorm Sandy for a funeral at the St. Rose of Lima Catholic church on November 9, 2012 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Brandon Moore, 2, and Connor Moore, 4, were swept away from the arms of their mother Glenda Moore as she fled Superstorm Sandy floodwaters in New York's Staten Island borough to seek safety with family in Brooklyn. She is married to New York Sanitation worker Damian Moore, and dozens of workers and officials from the sanitation department attended the funeral ceremony. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) Long Island Residents, Many Still Without Power, Continue To Clean Up After Superstorm Sandy
ISLAND PARK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: (L-R) Residents Paul and Donald Zezulinski and their dog 'Plywood' of Island Park show their appreciation to first responders during their clean up efforts in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy on November 9, 2012 in Island Park, New York. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said that the economic loss and damage to homes and business caused by Sandy could total $33 billion in New York, according to published reports. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 file photo, people stand next to a house collapsed from Superstorm Sandy in East Haven, Conn. While Connecticut flamingo hotel las vegas nv was spared the destruction seen in New York and New Jersey, many communities along the shoreline, including some of the wealthiest towns in America, were struggling flamingo hotel las vegas nv with one of the most severe storms in generations. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
Meg Dolan holds her dog Nellie during Sunday mass at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Breezy Point, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in New York. With overnight temperatures sinking into the 30s and hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses still without flamingo hotel las vegas nv electricity six days after Sandy howled through, peop