Global Warming and Sandy: Heating of the Oceans Fuels Record Storm, Leaving Millions Without Power

[Kolesar]

2. it was charting through waters heading north in above-normal sea surface temperature,conditions

... and that allowed it to thrive as a hurricane. So by the time it made landfall on New Jersey, it was still a Category 1 hurricane, which means warm waters are fueling this hurricane so that it has much higher wind potential, which is far more damaging to people who have structures that are in the path of the hurricane.
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I suspected that warmer temperatures in the Arctic allowed an unusual positioning of the Jet Stream. Sandy would have been drawn northward into an existing low pressure area. I don't know, though.