Hurricane Sandy Likely to Damage Windows in High-Rise Buildings

Posted on October 28, 2012

Hurricane Sandy is a massive storm. Winds of tropical storm strength or greater currently stretch out for over 520 miles. Damage to windows in high-rises in the impacted major urban areas will be just one of the many impacts from the storm. It won't be a big of a problem as surge, flooding and power outages, but it will be add to the damage from Sandy and could open up buildings to potential water damage.

The high wind warnings for the New York City area from Hurricane Sandy calls for a long duration event - 6 am Monday to 6 pm Tuesday of strong winds sustained in the 35 to 55 mph, with gusts of 70 to 80 mph. Winds will be higher in high-rise buildings. A Wall Street Journal report says winds are expected to reach up to 90 mph in higher floors of skyscrapers in Manhattan. The National Weather Service indicates there is the possibility of broken windows due to flying debris.

 
* LOCATIONS...SOUTHEAST NEW YORK...NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY AND
  SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT.

* HAZARDS...DAMAGING WINDS OF LONG DURATION.

* WINDS...NORTHEAST 35 TO 55 MPH SUSTAINED WITH GUSTS 70 TO 80
  MPH...STRONGEST MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. HIGHEST WINDS ARE
  EXPECTED OVER ELEVATED ROADWAYS...IN HIGH RISE BUILDINGS...HIGHER
  ELEVATIONS AND EXPOSED AREAS INCLUDING THE SHORE. WINDS WILL
  SHIFT TO THE SOUTHEAST LATE MONDAY NIGHT.

* TIMING...MONDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON. STRONGEST
  WINDS ARE EXPECTED MONDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT.

* IMPACTS...A SIGNIFICANT THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY EXISTS.
  DAMAGING WINDS ARE EXPECTED. WINDS WILL BE CAPABLE OF DOWNING
  TREES AND SNAPPING OFF LARGE TREE BRANCHES. POWER OUTAGES COULD
  BE WIDESPREAD AND LAST AT LEAST SEVERAL DAYS. DEBRIS WILL BLOCK
  SOME ROADS. MOST POORLY ANCHORED MOBILE HOMES WILL BE DAMAGED.
  OTHER HOMES MAY HAVE DAMAGE TO SHINGLES...SIDING...GUTTERS AND
  WINDOWS...ESPECIALLY IF THESE ITEMS ARE NOT PROPERLY SECURED.
  LOOSE OUTDOOR ITEMS WILL BECOME AIRBORNE...CAUSING ADDITIONAL
  DAMAGE AND POSSIBLE INJURY.WINDOWS IN HIGH RISE BUILDINGS COULD
  BE BROKEN BY FLYING DEBRIS.

One of the computer models - the GFS - is showing even stronger winds at higher altitudes in the New York City metro area, which increases the possibility of skyscraper window damage. New York City residents were warned during Hurricane Irene to stay away from windows if they lived on the 10th floor or higher on a high-rise building. Irene ended up weakening to a tropical storm before its arrival in the New York City area. That won't be the case with Sandy, which is expected to be intensifying as it arrives.

The most recent high wind warning for New York City can be found can be found here on weather.gov. Advisories and warnings for all regions can be found on weather.gov as well as weather.com.

WEATHER
HURRICANE SANDY