Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey on October 29, 2012. It did $74.8 billion in economic damage. This figure has been adjusted for inflation. It was the fourth-worst storm in U.S. history.

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To say that Sandy was a “hurricane wrapped in a nor’easter” is not quite correct. Nor’easters are cold-core vortices, while tropical cyclones contain warm air in their core. Sandy was a special type of storm, one rarely observed, in which cold air wraps around an intact, tropical warm core, effectively secluding it.

What Path do hurricanes usually take? How did the lack of the Bermuda High affect Hurricane Sandy? It allowed Sandy to move close to land. What pumps warm water from the Gulf of Mexico up and across the Atlantic?

about 900 miles

During hurricane season, a term that weather watchers will often hear meteorologists talking about is the Bermuda high. The impacts of the Bermuda high are so significant that it can cause a hurricane to move westward and target Louisiana, move eastward and target the East Coast, or anything in between.

The Bermuda high pressure follows the sun. As the sun moves back toward the Southern Hemisphere (the apparent position of the sun), the high pressure moves south of the Bermuda-centered position and the east. The “Azores High” may be thought of as the winter condition of the Bermuda High.

When it is displaced westward, during the Northern Hemispheric summer and fall, the center is located in the western North Atlantic, near Bermuda. In the winter and early spring, it is primarily centered near the Azores in the eastern part of the North Atlantic. Also known as Azores High.

Studies conducted by the Bermuda Weather Service found that from 1609 to the present day, devastating storms affect the Island every six to seven years. Our tropical cyclone, or hurricane, season is from May through November, with an average of one storm passing within 180 nautical miles of the Island every year.

The blocking high over the North Atlantic will establish a very strong position, together with a similar blocking ridge over Siberia. The temperature anomaly forecast reveals that abnormally warm airmass will be transported into Siberia, and into the Polar circle over Greenland.

North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), an irregular fluctuation of atmospheric pressure over the North Atlantic Ocean that has a strong effect on winter weather in Europe, Greenland, northeastern North America, North Africa, and northern Asia.

In eastern North America, the positive phase of the NAO generally brings higher air pressure, a condition associated with fewer cold-air outbreaks and decreased storminess.

Blocking patterns occurs when centers of high pressure and/or low pressure set up over a region in such a way that they prevent other weather systems from moving through. When the blocking pattern is in place other systems are forced to go around it.

A trough can bring in cloudy conditions and precipitation or they can bring in a cold air mass. A ridge is a region with relatively higher heights. A broad region of sinking air or a deep warm air mass will both lead to ridging. Since air is often sinking within a ridge they tend to bring warmer and drier weather.