Huge, late October hurricane turned into a superstorm that savaged much of the eastern United States

By Stephen Ornes

Web edition: November 26, 2012

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Sandy the superstorm hit the U.S. East Coast just before Halloween, devastating cities in New Jersey and New York.

Credit: Robert Simmon/NASA/NOAA GOES Project science team

Two nights before Halloween, as kids were putting the finishing touches on their costumes, an immense hurricane called Sandy crashed into New Jersey. It came ashore near Atlantic City. The storm, which had already killed 69 people as it powered through the Caribbean Sea, pummeled nearly one-third of the eastern United States. It caused tens of billions of dollars worth of damage and killed more than 100 additional people. A number of unusual conditions contributed to Sandy becoming so destructive.

Visit the new Science News for Kids website and read the full story: Evolution of a Frankenstorm