A superstorm threatening 50 million people in the most heavily populated corridor in the nation gained strength Monday, forecasters said. The National Hurricane Center said early Monday that Hurricane Sandy increased its top sustained winds from 75 mph to 85 mph, with higher gusts. The Category 1 hurricane is moving north at 15 mph after moving northeast Sunday night. Hurricane-force winds extend up to 175 miles from the storm's center. Gale force winds were reported over coastal North Carolina, southeastern Virginia, the Delmarva Peninsula and coastal New Jersey. Sandy is about 385 miles south-southeast of New York City and the center of the storm is expected to be near the mid-Atlantic coast on Monday night. It was expected to hook inland during the day, colliding with a wintry storm moving in from the west and cold air streaming down from the Arctic. CBS News hurricane consultant David Bernard reports that wind gusts of 38 mph and 41 mph have already been reported in New York City and Boston, respectively. Sandy is likely going to strengthen even more as it approaches the East Coast, Bernard reports, with hurricane-force winds reaching land by Monday afternoon. Flooding will be a huge threat, with many areas potentially seeing rainfall amounts between 5 and 8 inches over a 48-hour period. From Washington to Boston, big cities and small towns were buttoned up against the onslaught of Sandy, with forecasters warning that the New York area could get the worst of it — an ...
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