US Officials Declare State of Emergency

Officials in the northeast declared states of emergency today as Hurricane Sandy and two nasty weather systems moved ominously toward the region, the Daily News and NBC Washington report. New York, DC, Maryland, and Virginia each declared a state of emergency, and New York City said it may evacuate up to 375,000 people before the hurricane arrives Sunday. Sandy—now churning north as the weakest-category hurricane—will likely converge Tuesday with frigid air from Canada and a wintry storm from the west, creating "a very serious storm that could be historic," a meteorologist tells the AP.

Forecasters give the East Coast a 90% chance of being hit with extreme tides, harsh wind, heavy rain, and possibly snow for days starting Sunday morning. "It's going to be a long-lasting event, two to three days of impact for a lot of people," says the National Hurricane Center's top forecaster. He compared it to the "Perfect Storm" that lashed New England's coast in 1991: "The Perfect Storm only did $200 million of damage and I'm thinking a billion" with Hurricane Sandy, he said. "Yeah, it will be worse." Sandy has already killed at least 40 in the Caribbean. You can follow its path here. (More Hurricane Sandy stories.)