Hampton Roads is no stranger to hurricanes raging up the Atlantic coast, and most natives feel they are savvy enough to deal with the Tropical Storms and Nor’easters that ultimately come on shore.
But Sandy is different. She is either a phenomenon or an historical freak of nature, when systems from the west collide with a system and unique circumstances from the East.
Luckily, most Hampton Roaders are taking this storm seriously.
On Sunday afternoon, grocery stores and BJs and Sams parking lots in Virginia Beach were unusually full with last minute shoppers stocking up.
Lowes on Virginia Beach Blvd ran out of generators earlier in the week. One employee said they had 20 in the store, and within 1 hour of the weather forecast, they sold out of all of them.
Boats throughout the area are moved out altogether or secured in one fashion or another.
For the most part, drivers were staying off the roads Sunday evening on the main routes, #264 and #64, which is unusual for this area.
With the stinging rain driven by high winds, decreased visibility, and the ponding on roads saturated with days of rainfall, it’s difficult to see, especially when other cars are nearby.
The Elizabeth River overflowed its banks in Chesapeake, and waterfront homes were dangerously close to being flooded by rising waters as rain continued and will continue to fall during the evening and beceome even heavier tomorrow.
Leaves continue to fall prematurely with the frequent wind gusts, and there seems to be as many leaves and pine needles on the ground as are left on the trees.
The farther west you travel across Virginia, the more evidence of Fall you see, but meteorologists expressed concern that heavy wet leaves will cause branches to fall, and the high winds will increase danger to homeowners and automobiles as Sandy moves north closer to the coast then officially slams onto land.
Rain and windy conditions continued west as far away as Windsor, VA as the enormous and relentless Sandy crept farther north and closer to the Virginia coast Sunday night.
Finally in Courtland, Virginia the rain slowed but windy conditions continued and despite a brighter sky and dry roads there, winds seemed to increase in Emporia, Virginia shortly after 6:30 PM.
Apparently it’s a short reprieve, even as far west as Emporia. At the time of this posting, forecasters predict stronger wind and rain when Sandy moves westerly into Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and the east coast to begin her relentless path north tomorrow.
A cold front is moving into western Virginia, so the two may collide, but at the very least they are teaming up to make things very treacherous for Halloween, election day, and the entire state of Virginia.

UPDATE on MONDAY:

If you haven't taken this storm seriously yet, it's time to rethink.

The entire state of Virginia is currently under some sort of weather advisory.

Full moon is Monday night and her huge girth is being felt over 100 miles inland in Virginia.  As of midday on Monday, rain moved farther inland and had been falling all night in South Hill, VA 82 miles south of Richmond and 155 miles west of Hampton Roads in the southern part of the state.

Conditions are predicted to worsen as winds increase and this huge storm turns northwest and encroaches closer to the east coast.  Temperatures are predicted to drop into the 30's in South Hill at night as Virginia and West Virginia cities only a short distance west prepare for snow.

Meteorologists have estimated Sandy to be from 800-1,000 miles wide during their watch, and are calling this treacherous and wide spreading weather along the coast that precedes her official "landfall" by days,  "wind bands."

Not only are fronts from the east and west colliding in this storm, but full moon will create even more havoc tonight, Monday and create dangerous storm surges on the coast which will affect Virginia's many waterways far inland as well.

As of noon on Monday, meteorologists are predicting Sandy will officially hit landfall in New Jersey around 8:00 PM tonight.

As she's taking her time coming up the coast, North Carolina's narrow outer banks are still feeling her affects with high winds, power outages, homes sliding into the Ocean, and flooding on her eastern side at the Pamlico Sound.

Cancellations and evacuations north of Virginia are also popping up now, though Sandy's still a Cat 1 at the time of this posting.

Virginia Beach has canceled schools but key personnel, such as the Alpha 1 city employees will be in their offices and on the roads today to handle emergencies.