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FARGO — Nine years ago today, a low-pressure system south of Jamaica developed enough circulation to be named Tropical Storm Sandy. Sandy rapidly strengthened to a Category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds as it came ashore on Cuba on the 25th. The mountains on Cuba disrupted the storm, and it weakened to a tropical storm before merging with a non-tropical, low-pressure system over the Bahamas. This convergence strengthened the storm again and greatly increased its size.
Moving northward as a hybrid storm, so-called Superstorm Sandy made a hard left turn into New Jersey and Lower Manhattan on the night of Oct. 29, 2013. Technically, it was no longer a tropical hurricane anymore because of its physical structure. However, Sandy delivered hurricane-force wind and a 14-foot storm surge to New York City and northern New Jersey, where it caused about $80 billion in structural damage to this heavily populated area.
