Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Mike Capps Retiring to the Epic Board | Epic Games Community

By Mike Capps

It?s hard to believe I?m writing these words, but here goes! After 10 crazy and wonderful years, I?m handing off my current presidential duties at Epic, and transitioning into an advisory role as well as remaining on the Epic board of directors.

If you haven?t heard, I have a baby boy on the way. I?m fortunate that with Epic?s success and generosity, I can be a stay at home dad for a while. My wife Julianne and I are very happy in Raleigh, and other than cleaning up baby barf, I don?t have much planned. I might do some teaching, spend more time on creative writing, and maybe get more active with a few charities.

After dedicating a decade of my life to Epic, and with so many close friends here, it?s impossible to just walk away. I absolutely love this company. If you cut me, I think I probably bleed nanoblack and Imulsion. (Wow, just think about what mixing those would do?) Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney and other board members asked me to stay on the board, and I?m thrilled to do so as I?m truly excited about our future games and Unreal Engine 4.

As I mentioned above, I?ll continue to be available as a resource to Epic, to provide context or advice where I can. Whatever I can do to help in Epic?s success, I?m in! I?ve got great confidence in our executive team ? VP of Development Paul Meegan is new to our Raleigh HQ, but we?ve worked with him for years, and I can only contemplate this retirement knowing that he and VP of Operations John Farnsworth can manage development better than I ever did.

Our partners and customers can reach me anytime on my Epic email address, and I?ll still be posting the occasional foodie and gamer musings on @epicactual. As a member of the board, I?ll help keep the ship pointed directly towards Na Pali, and make sure that everything we do is Epic.

Posted by Flak Dec 04, 2012 Last Updated Dec 04, 2012

Source: http://epicgames.com/community/2012/12/mike-capps-retiring-to-the-epic-board/

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Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouse Review - LAPTOP Magazine

Sure, you've heard of a 20-sided die, but what about a 20-button mouse? Logitech's G600 MMO Gaming Mouse features a score of buttons that can be can programmed to work with popular games such as "Guild Wars 2" and "Star Wars: The Old Republic." In addition, the $79.99 mouse has switchable DPI and three onboard memory profiles. But are all those buttons handy or a handful?

Design

Logitech G600 MMO Gaming MouseClick to EnlargeThe G600 is intimidating at first glance. Thanks to its deep, swooping vertical grooves and asymmetrical shape, the 4.6 x 2.9 x 1.6-inch, 3.98-ounce device looks more like the guidance system for an interstellar vehicle than a computer accessory.

Our ring, middle and index fingers fit easily into the G600's black matte plastic grooves while our palm rested comfortably on the mouse's base. The right side of the mouse sports a rubberized finish with a honeycomb pattern, ensuring our pinky had a firm grip. The left side of the G600 is higher than the right, making room for the 12 backlit buttons embedded in the glossy black plastic thumb panel. The top features a small black matte scroll wheel made of soft-touch plastic and a pair of buttons, one of which activates the mouse's alternative command functions.

A small gray G600 logo sits on the rear while a larger Logitech insignia resides on the bottom above the laser sensor. We're also fans of the 6.5-foot black braided fabric cord. It's more durable than a plastic cord and gives the mouse a touch of sophistication.

Buttons

Logitech G600 MMO Gaming MouseClick to EnlargeThe G600 has a whopping 20 buttons that can be customized for your fragging, questing or fighting pleasure. Twelve of the buttons, numbered G9-G20, are located along the left of the mouse in a 4-by-3 grid. However, the buttons are small and lack the spacing of the Razer Naga's thumb panel. This led to us pressing the wrong button, which put us on the business end of a head or gut shot far too many times.

Two buttons rest below the clickable, tiltable scroll wheel. There are also three primary buttons cleverly hidden in the top panels of the mouse: The traditional left and right buttons are complemented by a third button that rests under your ring finger. All of the buttons and panels delivered strong, springy feedback. But if you feel like you can use a few more options, you can hit the G-Shift button below the scroll wheel, which activates the buttons' secondary functions.

Macros

Logitech G600 MMO Gaming MouseClick to EnlargeSetting up macros and profiles can be incredibly simple or complex, according to your preferred level of customization. The mouse has three profiles where gamers can store all their lighting and button preferences. This really comes in handy when you're using the mouse with multiple PCs. However, it would have been nice if Logitech could have included the Logitech Gaming Software on the mouse, instead of making us download it from its site.

Once we downloaded Logitech's software, we were almost overwhelmed by the all the choices. Automatic Game Detection enables the mouse to use game profiles stored on the computer. Amazingly, the software already recognized 248 titles, including "Assassin's Creed," "Mass Effect" and the "Rainbow Six" series.

We chose the "Borderlands 2" profile and tweaked button commands to fit our gameplay, placing weapons, health and eagle vision commands among the top six buttons on the left of the mouse. Assigning macros was simple -- just drag and drop the command over to the corresponding button. When we were done, we saved and began gleefully blasting Bullymongs and Psychos. Gamers can also add custom commands by entering single or multiple keystrokes, depending on the desired action.

The G600 can also be used for more mundane productivity tasks with a few button changes. Logitech's software is configured to perform Windows commands such as Copy, Paste, Show Desktop and Close Window. There are also seven multimedia commands (Play/Pause, Stop, Previous Track, Next Track, Volume Up, Volume Down and Mute) that can be mapped to the button.

Features

Logitech G600 MMO Gaming MouseClick to EnlargeWhen we plugged the Logitech G600 into an Alienware M17x R4, the thumb panel buttons immediately began to glow, rotating between deep greens, blues, reds and purples, similar to the M17x's customizable backlit keyboard. Our favorite feature of the Logitech software was the ability to customize the color of these buttons. The software only has two effects (Pulse and Cycle lighting), but you can create a wide variety of colors to give the G600 some flair. Better yet, you can assign colors to specific game profiles to give each title its own unique look.

The Logitech gaming software also let us toggle pointer settings including DPI (Dots Per Inch), Sensitivity Levels, Report Rate and acceleration speed.

Gameplay

Logitech G600 MMO Gaming MouseClick to EnlargeAs we played "Borderlands 2" and "Guild Wars 2," the G600 skated as smoothly across our desk as Apolo Ohno. Switching DPI on the fly allowed us to kick things into overdrive, zipping our aiming reticle over the field to quickly lay down cover fire with the assault rifle. We ramped down dpi for more precision shots with our sniper rifle.

The top six buttons on the left side of mouse were easy to reach. Reaching the bottom six, however, was like trying to scratch a hard-to-reach itch. We compensated for this by mapping some our least-used functions to these buttons. We had a much easier time hitting all the buttons on the Razer Naga. We were able to play "Borderlands 2" for more than three hours without so much as a cramp.

Verdict

Logitech G600 MMO Gaming MouseClick to EnlargeThe Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouse crams a lot of power into a relatively small package. For $79.99, gamers get a highly customizable piece of hardware. Gamers can spend hours creating custom macro loadouts and color profiles. The adjustable DPI delivered speed and precision while the 20 buttons made saving the world a whole lot easier. We prefer the Razer Naga, which offers customizable side panels, larger, snappy buttons and unlimited profiles for the same price. Overall, the G600 is a very good choice for fans of MMO-style games such as "World of Warcraft" or "Star Wars: The Old Republic," but FPS fans might want something better suited to their play style.

Source: http://www.laptopmag.com/review/accessories/logitech_g600.aspx

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Driverless vehicles expected to navigate intersection of safety, speed

Driverless vehicles expected to navigate intersection of safety, speed [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 4-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Lynn Nystrom
tansy@vt.edu
540-231-4371
Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech study of autonomous vehicles at intersections wins recognition

How do driverless vehicles navigate through intersections? Faster and safer than if humans were in charge, according to researchers with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

Autonomous vehicles will turn themselves over to an automated intersection controller, which adjusts the trajectory and speed of the vehicles to prevent crashes, said Ismail Zohdy of Cairo, Egypt, a Ph.D. student in civil engineering at Virginia Tech, and Hesham Rakha, director of the Center for Sustainable Mobility at the transportation institute and professor of civil engineering at the university.

Their research on "Optimizing Driverless Vehicles at Intersections," presented at the Intelligent Transportation Society World Congress in Vienna, won the Best Scientific Paper Award for North America. ITS also stands for intelligent transportation systems.

"The paper develops a step-by-step procedure, or algorithm, for managing driverless vehicles through intersections," said Zohdy. "The proposed system considers the vehicles' location, speed, and acceleration plus the surrounding environment, such as weather and intersection characteristics."

"The proposed intersection controller, which allows vehicles to keep moving, reduces the delay for each vehicle compared to traditional intersection control," said Rakha. "Keeping vehicles moving is also more fuel efficient and reduces emissions."

But, with driver behavior considered to be the leading cause of more than 90 percent of accidents, safety is the primary motivation for driverless vehicles.

"Somewhere in the future, you will not be driving your car anymore; you will be driven by your car," said Zohdy. "A driverless vehicle can much more accurately judge distances and velocities, and react instantly to situations that could cause an accident due to a delayed human reaction."

"We are not talking about the distant future," said Rakha. A May 5, 2011, article in the New York Times reported that after the successful test of the Google driverless vehicle, Nevada passed a law that could let self-driving cars on the road as soon as March 1, 2012. This provided the motivation for Zohdy's work on developing innovative optimization algorithms for controlling such vehicles, and the Intelligent Transportation Society's interest.

"Intelligent transportation systems are an interaction of many complex entities that communicate with each other, such as vehicles, traffic signals, and advisory signs. Driverless vehicles would be capable of interacting with these other entities," said Zohdy.

"Many such intelligent systems already exist, such as dynamic routing and congestion management, and intelligent traffic control," said Rakha. "Autonomous vehicles are inspired by the research done on robotic control."

In Zohdy and Rakha's research, the intersection controller governs the vehicles within 200 meters from the intersection. The vehicles report their physical characteristics, such as power, mass, speed, location, and acceleration.

"The aim of giving complete authority to the controller is to overcome any selfish behavior by an autonomous vehicle and benefit all vehicles in the intersection zone," said Zohdy. "The controller determines the optimum speed and acceleration at each time step for every vehicle within the intersection zone by processing the input data through a real-time simulator/tool."

The research was done based on a four-way intersection with one vehicle entering from each direction and moving straight through. It has since been expanded and tested on more congested intersections involving not fully deployed systems and comparing this type of control to traffic signal and roundabout control.

"We were testing it if only 10 percent of the vehicles were automated and the other 90 percent were regular vehicles with driver control. We varied the level of automation from 10 to 100 percent at 10 percent increments," said Rakha. This effort has resulted in two papers that will be presented that the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in January 2013.

Zohdy and Rakha will also be testing their system on a roundabout on the Virginia Tech campus as part of the Connected Vehicle/Infrastructure University Transportation Center.

###

Founded in 1991 as a Federal Advisory Committee to the U.S. Department of Transportation and now operating as a nonprofit organization, the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) is the leading advocate for deployment of technologies that improve the safety, security and efficiency of the nation's surface transportation system.



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Driverless vehicles expected to navigate intersection of safety, speed [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 4-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Lynn Nystrom
tansy@vt.edu
540-231-4371
Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech study of autonomous vehicles at intersections wins recognition

How do driverless vehicles navigate through intersections? Faster and safer than if humans were in charge, according to researchers with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

Autonomous vehicles will turn themselves over to an automated intersection controller, which adjusts the trajectory and speed of the vehicles to prevent crashes, said Ismail Zohdy of Cairo, Egypt, a Ph.D. student in civil engineering at Virginia Tech, and Hesham Rakha, director of the Center for Sustainable Mobility at the transportation institute and professor of civil engineering at the university.

Their research on "Optimizing Driverless Vehicles at Intersections," presented at the Intelligent Transportation Society World Congress in Vienna, won the Best Scientific Paper Award for North America. ITS also stands for intelligent transportation systems.

"The paper develops a step-by-step procedure, or algorithm, for managing driverless vehicles through intersections," said Zohdy. "The proposed system considers the vehicles' location, speed, and acceleration plus the surrounding environment, such as weather and intersection characteristics."

"The proposed intersection controller, which allows vehicles to keep moving, reduces the delay for each vehicle compared to traditional intersection control," said Rakha. "Keeping vehicles moving is also more fuel efficient and reduces emissions."

But, with driver behavior considered to be the leading cause of more than 90 percent of accidents, safety is the primary motivation for driverless vehicles.

"Somewhere in the future, you will not be driving your car anymore; you will be driven by your car," said Zohdy. "A driverless vehicle can much more accurately judge distances and velocities, and react instantly to situations that could cause an accident due to a delayed human reaction."

"We are not talking about the distant future," said Rakha. A May 5, 2011, article in the New York Times reported that after the successful test of the Google driverless vehicle, Nevada passed a law that could let self-driving cars on the road as soon as March 1, 2012. This provided the motivation for Zohdy's work on developing innovative optimization algorithms for controlling such vehicles, and the Intelligent Transportation Society's interest.

"Intelligent transportation systems are an interaction of many complex entities that communicate with each other, such as vehicles, traffic signals, and advisory signs. Driverless vehicles would be capable of interacting with these other entities," said Zohdy.

"Many such intelligent systems already exist, such as dynamic routing and congestion management, and intelligent traffic control," said Rakha. "Autonomous vehicles are inspired by the research done on robotic control."

In Zohdy and Rakha's research, the intersection controller governs the vehicles within 200 meters from the intersection. The vehicles report their physical characteristics, such as power, mass, speed, location, and acceleration.

"The aim of giving complete authority to the controller is to overcome any selfish behavior by an autonomous vehicle and benefit all vehicles in the intersection zone," said Zohdy. "The controller determines the optimum speed and acceleration at each time step for every vehicle within the intersection zone by processing the input data through a real-time simulator/tool."

The research was done based on a four-way intersection with one vehicle entering from each direction and moving straight through. It has since been expanded and tested on more congested intersections involving not fully deployed systems and comparing this type of control to traffic signal and roundabout control.

"We were testing it if only 10 percent of the vehicles were automated and the other 90 percent were regular vehicles with driver control. We varied the level of automation from 10 to 100 percent at 10 percent increments," said Rakha. This effort has resulted in two papers that will be presented that the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in January 2013.

Zohdy and Rakha will also be testing their system on a roundabout on the Virginia Tech campus as part of the Connected Vehicle/Infrastructure University Transportation Center.

###

Founded in 1991 as a Federal Advisory Committee to the U.S. Department of Transportation and now operating as a nonprofit organization, the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) is the leading advocate for deployment of technologies that improve the safety, security and efficiency of the nation's surface transportation system.



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/vt-dve120412.php

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Saturday, November 3, 2012

WSJ: Microsoft testing homegrown handset designs with suppliers, may not see mass production

WSJ: Microsoft testing homegrown handset designs with suppliers, may not see mass production

Until very recently, Microsoft wasn't known for making hardware. Sure, it put out the occasional Zune, but most of the tech running Redmond's desktop and mobile operating systems traditionally comes from its partners -- the Surface being the exception, of course. According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft might consider making that exception a rule: some of the firm's part suppliers say that the company is experimenting with a smartphone design of its very own. Folks familiar with the matter say the device in question is between four and five inches, putting it in a sweet-spot that's larger than the iPhone 5, but not quite as daunting as a Samsung Galaxy Note II. Don't get too excited, however, sources aren't sure the if the device will go into mass production, and Microsoft is expectantly tight-lipped about the rumor. Still, we wouldn't scoff at a smartphone with a build quality to match the Surface -- though it might rub some of Redmond's hardware partners the wrong way.

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WSJ: Microsoft testing homegrown handset designs with suppliers, may not see mass production originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Nov 2012 01:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/02/wsj-microsoft-testing-homegrown-handset-designs-with-suppliers/

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Self Development | Birmingham Life Coach Hypnotherapist and NLP ...

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Friday, November 2, 2012

Breast Cancer Awareness Month | HealthStatus ? How is your health?

Think pink! October is National Breast cancer awareness month, and although it is nearing the end of the month that doesn?t mean you should forget about breast cancer.

Each year nearly 250,000 women are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and another 63,000 women will be diagnosed with CIS (carcinoma in situ), which is a non-invasive early form of breast cancer. Unfortunately nearly 40,000 women yearly succumb to the ravages of breast cancer.

Detection is the key

On the brighter side, 2.9 million breast cancer survivors are a testament to early detection being the key to survival. All women are at risk regardless of family history, and as you get older the risk becomes greater. Regular mammograms and clinical breast exams are the key to early detection.

Some types of cancers cannot be detected by the mammogram and so a clinical breast exam by your doctor is necessary, just as some forms of cancer cannot be detected by the clinical breast exam and so the mammogram is necessary. Having both of these procedures performed regularly gives the greatest chance of early detection.

How often should you get a breast exam or mammogram? Well, women over forty years of age should have the procedure performed every 1-2 years, more often if they have a history of breast cancer or a family history of breast cancer. Women under forty years of age with history of breast cancer or a family history of breast cancer should also have the examination every 1-2 years; women under forty with no history or family history of breast cancer should consult their physician to determine when to have an examination and the frequency of examination.

What to look for

While self examination is not recommended as the sole means of examination, it is advisable to perform regular self exams to become familiar with the way your breasts look and feel, this way if you notice anything out of the ordinary you can bring it to the attention of your physician. Some things to raise concern are;

Lump, hard knot or thickening inside the breast or underarm area

The breast swells, is warm, is red, or darkens

The breast changes in size of shape

The skin dimples or puckers

The nipple becomes itchy, scaly with sores or rash

The breast has a pulling in of the nipple or other parts

Sudden onset of nipple discharge

Focused pain in one part that doesn?t recede

Where to get a mammogram

Your physician can give you a clinical breast exam as well as arrange for a mammogram, but for those with no regular physician this may pose more difficult. Some places offer discounted or even free mammograms, but there are so many it is impossible to list them all here. You will need to do a little research to find a location in your area, a quick search with a popular search engine yielded several results. Merely enter ?free mammogram near (your city)? and you will see results that may assist you. Good luck and remember early detection is the key to survival.

HealthStatus

Source: http://www.healthstatus.com/health_blog/2012/11/02/breast-cancer-awareness-month/

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Sunday, October 28, 2012

NASA satellites see Sandy become a hurricane again and strong winds expand

ScienceDaily (Oct. 27, 2012) ? Sandy weakened to a Tropical Storm and strengthened back into a hurricane early on Saturday (Oct. 27), and its pressure was dropping, meaning that the storm is intensifying as it becomes an extra-tropical storm. NASA's TRMM satellite identified heavy rain falling within the system and NOAA's GOES satellites provided a picture of Sandy's massive size.

NASA's TRMM satellite identified a huge span of moderate rainfall with heaviest rains happening north and east of Sandy's center. NOAA's GOES satellite imagery clearly shows the extent of Sandy's massive cloud cover and the long line of clouds associated with the cold front that stretches from Maine to the Gulf coast.

Sandy continues to merge with a cold front and is creating a monster storm with a massive reach. The combination is expected to bring heavy rainfall and tropical-storm-force sustained winds for a couple of days to the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern U.S. beginning late Sunday. Sandy is truly the "bride of Frankenstorm" because the storm's circulation is over 2,000 miles and the wind field of tropical-storm-force winds is hundreds of miles in diameter. The Weather Channel cited a concern for power outages from Maine to Virginia as a result of this storm.

NOAA's GOES satellite clearly shows the extent of the monster merging of systems. A hybrid image of NOAA's GOES-13 and GOES-15 satellite created on Oct. 27 by the University of Wisconsin's Space Science and Engineering Center, Madison, provided a full view of the cloud cover from Hurricane Sandy interacting with the long line of clouds associated with the cold front approaching the eastern U.S. The composite image was created using SSEC's McIDAS software and NOAA's GOES imager satellite imagery.

Sandy's Effects from the Nation's Capital to the Big Apple

Washington, D.C. is in the southern end of the bullseye area of Sandy's huge center, and that target area stretches all the way to New York City. That's just the bullseye area, according to the National Hurricane Center. Because Sandy is thousands of miles wide, the storm's powerful effects will be felt all the way to Maine and include strong winds and flooding rainfall. Coastal flooding a very serious concern along the coasts especially in the vicinity of New York City and Raritan Bay, according to the Weather Channel.

Washington, D.C. and New York and all areas in between, including Philadelphia, can expect heavy rain and damaging winds over a couple of days. Because Sandy is coming from the south, the conditions will deteriorate from south to north, with Washington, D.C. feeling the worst effects first.

In the Nation's Capital, a flood watch was already posted along the D.C. and Baltimore corridor west to Frederick County, Md. and south to southern Maryland beginning Sunday night, Oct. 27 and extended through Tuesday, Oct. 30. Rainfall will depend on the speed and track of the storm, but heavy rainfall can flood rivers and streams through the rest of the week. Like the heavy rainfall, damaging winds of tropical-storm-force are expected over the same period. Tropical-storm-force winds range between 37 mph and 73 mph. In addition, coastal flooding is a serious concern because of the easterly winds pushing the ocean waters against the shoreline, and this is coupled with higher than normal tides by the current full moon.

NASA's TRMM Satellite Gets a 3-D Look at Sandy's Power

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite flew above hurricane Sandy on Friday, Oct. 26 at 1509 UTC (11:09 a.m. EDT) and gathered data on rainfall and cloud heights, revealing the power within this monster storm.

Hal Pierce of NASA's TRMM Team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. created rainfall and 3-D imagery of the storm that revealed the rate at which rain was falling throughout the mammoth storm, and the heights of the thunderstorms within, which are a clue to the storm's power. The higher the thunderstorms that make up a tropical cyclone, the stronger the overall storm, and the heavier the rainfall in those areas of highest cloud tops.

TRMM data showed that rainfall was very heavy in some bands north of Sandy's center of circulation and that Sandy's surface center of circulation is exposed south of the main area of convection. The TRMM rainfall analysis was created using data from two instruments on TRMM: TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR).

Pierce created a 3-D view of Sandy, also using TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR) data that showed that the thunderstorms north of Sandy's center of circulation reached heights of a little above 11km (~6.8 mile). Radar reflectivity values of a little over 45.8dBZ were found in these storms indicating that there were moderate to heavy rain showers in that area.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) indicated that there was significant movement of cold air over the southwest side of Sandy's circulation on Friday, as a result of the cold front moving in from the west. This is expected to speed up Sandy's change to a post-tropical low.

Where is Sandy on Saturday, Oct. 27?

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the Florida East Coast from Sebastian Inlet to Saint Augustine, South Santee River to Duck including Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, and Great Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands. A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the Savannah River to South Santee Rive, the Florida east coast from north of Saint Augustine to Fernandina Beach and Bermuda.

On Sat. Oct. 27, at 8 a.m. EDT, Hurricane Sandy's maximum sustained winds were near 75 mph (120 kph). Sandy is a category one hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane wind scale, and regained hurricane strength after weakening to a tropical storm earlier in the day. Sandy was centered near latitude 28.8 north and 76.8 west. Sandy is moving north-northeast near 10 mph (17 kph) and is expected to turn northeast then north on Oct. 28, while slowing down. The center of Sandy will continue moving away from the northwestern Bahamas this morning and will move parallel to the southeast coast of the United States through the weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Storm surge is expected to be big factor as Sandy approaches the Mid-Atlantic coast. Very rough surf and high and dangerous waves are expected to be coupled with the full moon. The National Hurricane Center noted that the combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters. The water could reach the following depths above ground if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide.

Powerful Winds Have Already Expanded

As happens when any storm becomes extra-tropical, Sandy will go from a warm to cold core center and the strongest winds spread out and the storm will expand. According to the National Hurricane Center, hurricane force winds have expanded on Saturday, Oct. 27 and now extend outward up to 100 miles from the center. On Oct. 26, those hurricane-force winds were only 35 miles out from the center. Tropical-storm-force winds have also expanded over a huge area on Sat. Oct. 27 and now extend 450 miles from the center! Just a day before, those tropical storm force winds extended outward up to 275 miles (445 km). The wind field of Sandy will contine to grow in size during the next couple of days. The storm's circulation now reaches more than 2,000 miles.

NASA satellites will continue to provide forecasters at the National Hurricane Center with infrared, visible, cloud height, temperature and rainfall data as Sandy closes in on the U.S. East Coast. Updates on Sandy are available from the National Hurricane Center at: www.nhc.noaa.gov.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA. The original article was written by Rob Gutro, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/HCy54yPixC0/121027120535.htm

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