Sandy to Bring Strong Winds, Cooler Temperatures to the Area

The New England states are dealing with the brunt of "Frankenstorm" Sandy, but the North Georgia area is still feeling the effects of the massive storm.

Local weather expert and Patch blogger Steve Brueck explained Sandy will bring high winds and colder temperatures to our area.

"Winds will increase today with gusts increasing to 35 mph, with 45 mph in the mountains," Brueck wrote in an email to Patch. "Wrap around moisture will possibly bring showers/snow showers to the extreme north Georgia mountains as Sandy slows down after coming ashore. If it weren't for the winds, we would most likely have freezing temperatures (and still may on Tuesday) but we can still expect lows in the mid 30s overnight." 

Gwinnett County is under a wind advisory until 8 p.m. Monday evening. Tonight's Daculaweather.com forecast calls for a low of 36 with winds out of the west at 15-20 mph with gusts as high as 30 mph. Windy conditions continue tomorrow with gusts predicted as high as 35 mph. Tomorrow's high is expected to reach 55.

In the northeast, Sandy is expected to bring rains, snow and strong, sustained winds. According to The Weather Channel, the worst impacts of the storm will be felt this evening. 

As Sandy approaches the coast, it continues to strengthen. 

"About 50 million people from the Mid-Atlantic to Canada were in the path of the nearly 1,000-mile-wide (1,600-km-wide) storm, which forecasters said could be the largest to hit the mainland in U.S. history," Reuters reports. "It was expected to topple trees, damage buildings, cause power outages and trigger heavy flooding."

Transit systems in Washington D.C., New York and other cities have been shut down. Evacuations have been ordered for low lying areas and tens of thousands are already without power.

Sandy, which resulted in the deaths of dozens in the Caribbean, has also endangered more lives as it approaches the U.S. mainland. Two crewmembers of the HMS Bounty, a tall ship replica featured in movies such as “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” are missing after their ship sank while trying to outrun the storm. The Coast Guard rescued 14 of the ship's crew.

Read Sandy a 'Massive and Highly Destructive Storm' for ongoing updates about the storm.