Hurricane Sandy Shuts Down Transportation in New York City

 

storm cloudsThe northeast is preparing for Hurricane Sandy today, with severe winds and flooding expected. As the storm dissipates later in the week, snow is a possibility.

In New York City, public transportation will be shut down on Sunday night, with subways ending service at 7 p.m. and buses two hours later. Mandatory evacuations have been announced for certain low-lying areas, including Battery Park City and Coney Island. Many flights at New York's three main airports--LaGuardia, JFK and Newark--have been delayed or canceled as the winds pick up speed. Many cultural attractions have pre-emptively closed, and Broadway shows will be dark for the next two nights.

Though the hurricane is not expected to make landfall until sometime late Monday, the New York Times is reporting that coastal regions will be hit by gale-force winds, heavy rain and possible flooding as early as Sunday. Tropical storm conditions were being felt in parts of North Carolina on Sunday, though the storm was 250 miles off the coast.

In its latest report, the Hurricane Center said the storm surge could be as high as 11 feet above normal along Long Island Sound and Raritan Bay — a significantly higher forecast than in previous reports — and warned that major flooding could occur across a broad area of the East Coast. Forecasters also expected torrential rains in some regions, which would add to the flooding.

Stay tuned to TravelAgentCentral.com for more information about how the storm is affecting travel to New York City and the surrounding areas.