By Mike Hall
Scientists say Sandy is a perfect storm, a coincidence when a number of natural factors come together with the worst possible outcome.
The tropical storm has arrived during a king tide and a full moon, but that's only part of it.
The source of Sandy's energy was the warm ocean waters. Hurricanes take in warm, moist air from the sea surface and release cooler air above.
As the air rises it creates storm clouds which rotate and gather speed as they move across the water.
Most hurricanes lose their energy source when they make landfall, but Sandy received a massive, extra boost of it. By colliding with a huge cold air system from the north, the friction created when that cold air met warm air literally generated the dynamics needed for this superstorm.
All this was combined with an extremely low air pressure that literally sucked up the sea level, piling up the seawater against the land.
And you can see why Sandy is causing so much trouble along the eastern seaboard of the US.
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