Sandy still on disastrous course

Hurricane Sandy remains on a collision course with the Philadelphia region and the rest of the densely populated Midatlantic and Northeast.

Sandy is expected to cause widespread flooding and potentially massive power outages, public officials and meteorologists warned.

The "rare and dangerous storm" could affect 60 million people and "lead to billions of dollars in damage," wrote AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski late this morning.

Forecast updates at 11 a.m., 2 p.m.,, and 5 p.m. reinforced local concerns. Gov. Corbett declared a disaster emergency, and emergency centers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey were activated.

Although the precise path still wasn't certain, the National Hurricane Center was calling for the storm to make landfall somewhere near the Delmarva coast and move just to the west of Philadelphia.

A rainfall prediction map suggests, that by Wednesday morning, a foot of rain will have fallen in southern Delaware, 6 to 8 inches from Chester County to Philadelphia and across South Jersey, a bit less to the north.

A day ago, forecasters thought Sandy would have diminished into a tropical storm after passing by North Carolina.

Although the storm, churning north out of the Caribbean, could make landfall anywhere from North Carolina to Maine, Sandy is so big it could deliver heavy rain and tropical storm strength winds more than 100 miles from the eye.

The Philadelphia area seems likely to feel some of the fury of what some are calling a "Frankenstorm."

Uncertainty remains, of course.

Gov. Christie, who ordered the state's coastal communities to evacuate as Irene approached in late August last year, directed his cabinet today to develop a "coordinate response" and urged residents to take common-sense precautions.

"I encourage all families to stay informed, get ready, and reach out to those you know who may be isolated, or in need of extra assistance," Christie also tweeted early this afternoon.

Sunday afternoon's home Eagles game against the Atlanta Falcons could be wet and windy. Such conditions are more conducive to turnovers than a cancellation.

Rain could linger into Wednesday - Halloween.

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