The NASA Earth Observatory has released some images revealing the extent of the blackout caused in the Northeast by Hurricane Sandy. Nearly 10 million in the Mid-Atlantic and New England were without power after the storm, and these satellite images show large areas of New Jersey, New York City, and Long Island in the dark. The images are a comparison between November 1, 2012 (Hurricane Sandy Blackout) and August 31, 2012 (A normal night).
From the NASA Earth Observatory website
This pair of images shows New Jersey, New York, and eastern Pennsylvania as viewed at night by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite. The top image was taken at 2:52 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (06:52 Universal Time) on November 1, 2012. For comparison, the lower image was taken at 2:14 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (06:14 UTC) on August 31, 2012, when conditions in the area were normal.
Along with the scattered electric lights, there is a bright point along the shore south of Mantoloking, New Jersey, that could be fires fueled by severed natural gas lines. Note: It is not clear if the fires reported on October 31were still burning on November 1.
For more views of the storm, visit NASA Earth Observatory Hurricane Sandy event page.
