Thrill seekers go to the beach ahead of Sandy

New Jersey resident Bob Acquino decided to see the affects of the brewing super storm for himself.

"I was sitting around with my wife and my daughter and we said let's take a ride and see this water and it's really something to see," he said.

Forecasters are warning that the New York area could get the worst of the super storm moving its way towards the country and wreak havoc over 800 miles (1,300 kilometres) from the East Coast to the Great Lakes.

Officials have suspended all train, bus and subway services Sunday night because of the risk of flooding, shutting down a system on which more than five (m) million riders a day depend on, causing frustrations for many.

"I think it's ridiculous," said commuter Tiffany Sobers.

"New York City is the melting pot of people just going to work and trying to make a living and can't even get around publicly, I'm stranded right now, I don't even know what I"m doing," she said.

Sandy, a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 75 mile per hour (120 kilometres per hour) as of Sunday evening, was blamed for 65 deaths in the Caribbean before it began churning up the Eastern Seaboard.

As of 8 p.m (00:00 GMT)., it was centered about 485 miles (780 kilometres) southeast of New York City, moving at 15 mph (24 kph), with hurricane-force winds extending an incredible 175 miles (281.62 kilometres) from its centre.

It was expected to hook left toward the mid-Atlantic coast and come ashore late Monday or early Tuesday, most likely in New Jersey, colliding with a wintry storm moving in from the west and cold air streaming down from the Arctic.