A year ago Monday, the Northeast part of the United States was greeted with a horrendous storm, which included a lot of snow and damaging wind. My wife and I that day went to a civil union ceremony, a trip that should have taken about an hour; instead, it took four.

Well, on this storm’s (and the happy couple’s) one-year anniversary we were visited by Sandy, a hurricane which has pelted us quite hard. Its performance was quite good, for a hurricane, but quite bad, for those of us who were recipients of its forces.

The NYSE closed for two days, as did our offices. Many, including almost everyone in our NJ offices, are without power. Our office, however, has power, so those of us who can are here.

Many roads remain closed, which can make travel quite difficult. While I had no problem making it in (I live less than 10 minutes away), it took Patrick Fowler three times as long as usual to get here, and others may not make it in.

Because of loss of power, many (most?) gas stations are closed; and those that are open are doing lots of business, as the lines extend for quite some distance (Chris counted 150 at one waiting for a single pump!).

Hurricanes have hit this area before; what made Sandy different?

I am not, of course, a meteorologist. But, from what I can gather, most hurricanes come ashore much farther south (e.g., in Florida), and then, if they so choose, work their way north along the coastal states, but inland, meaning their power is weakened as it moves northward. Sandy moved north in the ocean, and made land right along the New Jersey coast, with its width spreading north (to NYC, Long Island, and Connecticut) and south (to Philadelphia, Delaware, and Maryland). It caused extremely high waves, which pummeled the shoreline, flooding many towns and communities. Its winds, sometimes in excess of 100 mph, caused much destruction.

We’re the lucky ones

Despite some of the damage that we’ve had, and our power issues, our troubles are not at all like those of many others, whose homes, cars, and property have been lost or severely damaged. Our thoughts are also with those who have died as a result of this devastation (55 so far), as well as their families that are left behind to mourn their passing.