As Hurricane Sandy works its way north, it is possible that it will join with a nor’easter to form what meteorologists are referring to as a “Frankenstorm,” a superstorm that could slam into the US Northeast causing damage projected to be larger than that of last year’s Hurricane Irene, which totaled in the billions of dollars.  “We’re not trying to hype it,” National Weather Service meterologist Paul Kocin tells Bloomberg News. “What we’re seeing in some of our models is a storm at an intensity that we have not seen in this part of the country in the past century.” Hurricane Sandy has already killed 41 people as it passed across the Caribbean. Hurricane Sandy is expected to come ashore in the Northeast on Monday or Tuesday.

This weather pattern is the first seen since 1991, when a nor’easter and Hurricane Grace collided to form what meteorologists referred to as the “Perfect Storm.”   The storm did $200 million (1991 USD)in damage and killed 13. Among the dead were the crew of the swordfishing boat, Andrea Gail. An account of the sinking of the Andrea Gail would later become a book and a movie, both of which were tiled “The Perfect Storm.”