I thought this National Geographic article looking back at Hurricane Sandy two years later had some interesting points.

For example, I had no idea that the National Hurricane Center basically became unable to forecast and provide information about Sandy as it neared NYC--its systems just could not do it. At that point, the NHC handed off responsibility to local weather centers. The emergency managers in NYC were caught off guard because all of their plans assumed steady info from the NHC regarding the progress of the hurricane and suddenly it was cut off.

From the article:

Quote:
The thing of it is, Mother Nature plays to win—and she wins every time.