The Sandy Moon

A historic October moon

The nearly-full moon was shining like a headlight in the sky a couple of nights ago when I took this picture. It's completely full and even brighter tonight.

The full moon in October is the "Hunter's Moon", or the "Dying Grass Moon," or the "Travel Moon", according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. Those are good-enough names, but East Coast residents will remember it as the "Hurricane Sandy Moon."

Hurricane Sandy with its rain and wind and storm surge couldn't have happened at a worse phase of the moon. Because the moon is full, the high tide came in farther today than it will at any other time during the month. This combination of natural forces is filling the subways of New York City with water tonight and flooding Long Island, Staten Island, and Manhattan.

If you'd like to check on the hurricane in the New York City area without commentary from a news reporter, here are some webcam links that were posted by Natasha Lennard to a hurricane liveblog at Salon.com:

• New York Harbor, http://www.nyharborwebcam.com/
• From the Lady Liberty's viewpoint, looking on to Downtown Manhattan, http://earthcam.com/usa/newyork/statueofliberty/
• Coney Island, http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/coneyisland/
• The Jersey Shore (Point Pleasant), http://www.nj.com/shore/pointpleasantcam/
• Virginia Beach Boardwalk, http://www.vbbound.com/webcam/hampton-inn-virginia-beach/

The webcams won't work if their electricity is off. When I tested these links, I got mixed results.