This storm is bad, anyone saying otherwise is kidding themselves. Here's the deal:
This storm is 'only' a Category 1 right? Well, this Category 1 is producing storm surge equal of that of a Category 3, 9 to 11 feet, and has been exceeding storm surge forecasts along the coast. This is because the deep pressure in Hurricane Sandy has, instead of causing the storm to intensify, has caused its wind field to exponentially expand, the 35kt wind field extends at a diameter of 1040 miles, making this the second largest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. The larger the wind field, the more waves it will kick up, simple physics. So you're having an area of storm surge a thousand miles wide, and remember it only takes 6 inches of standing water to make cars float away. The news is failing to mention this, but this happened with Isaac in August, and Ike in 2008, and was a lot worse than the people were expecting, because the mindset was 'it was only a Category (insert number lower than 3)'.
The point is, it's very bad to be complacent with this one. Hurricane Irene, which caused 11+ billion dollars in damage along the coast, went in moving along side the coast, protecting the major cities from major storm surge. However, this one is moving in perpendicular, causing all the waves to pile up around Long Island, etc. Also, Irene was moving at 30-40mph, and was gone in a day, and was only a tropical storm by the time it hit the New England coast. Sandy will be strengthening due to baroclinic processes associated with a front, dumping cool air into the system, making it a hybrid system. The hurricane center recognizes however, that Sandy still has a warm cored structure, making it a hurricane instead of a non-tropical cyclone.
