Tens of millions of people are bracing for the widespread storm Sandy to devastate the American East Coast.

Sandy is right over the southern New Jersey area as of 2:30pm, and is expected to lead to a 4-8 foot coastal storm surge there, with a scary outlook for the next 24 hours.

The 90 mph hurricane is slated to hit the Atlantic City and south New Jersey shore area — ground zero for the hurricane — between 5-7pm Monday evening.

No matter where the storm makes landfall, the entire southern New Jersey region will feel the affects once Sandy hits the shore.

The fast moving Sandy is expected to knock down trees and power lines along the Jersey coast with the U.S. coast from North Carolina up to Massachusetts predicted to experience “extreme” coastal conditions related to the storm.

Sandy makes landfall around 5-6pm in the Atlantic City, New Jersey area, where there are already extreme conditions, including flooded streets and damage to the Boardwalk.

Over the next three to five hours, reported NBC 40’s Dan Skeldon just before 2:30pm, there will be more frequent gusts of up to 60-80 mph winds as the storm makes landfall. There are already more than 5,000 without power in Atlantic County, and more power outages are expected this afternoon.

By Tuesday, the forecast calls for gusty winds but not Hurricane strength. The clean-up crews and power crews are expected to need days to get to all the affected areas of the storm on the southern New Jersey coast alone.

The A.C. area is expected to get 6-10 inches of rain along with river flooding, causing area roadways to be closed.

Officials encourage those on barrier islands to wait out the storm at this point.

Flooding is expected to continue in the A.C. area through the evening into tomorrow. New York and Philadelphia may suffer serious impacts from Sandy as well.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is expected to make another public storm briefing at 5:30pm.

As the winds ramp up, the power is still on in many shore communities, but the force of the wind is expected to get greater as the hurricane comes closer and this is just the beginning according to meteorologists.

CLICK: AC WEEKLY’S HURRICANE SANDY COVERAGE

Flooding on Route 40 in Atlanticx County near Mays Landing Tuesday after Irene

Atlantic City Weekly has received word that Route 40 and Route 322 are flooded on Tuesday with detours and heavy traffic throughout Cumberland County and Atlantic County.

Traffic is moving at a snail’s pace at 11:45am, according to one driver who says it has taken him more than two hours to get east on Route 40 from the Buena turn-off to right outside of Mays Landing.

There are reportedly no police on the scene directing motorists and many riders do not know what is going on and/or have run out of gas and have left their cars on the side of the road as the traffic snakes for miles on Route 40 before getting into Mays Landing.

According to a post on a TripAdvisor.com forum:

If you are coming into AC on the Black Horse Pike or route 40 you should detour to the AC Expressway. Due to the Greater Egg Harbor river flooding route 322 is closed between route 54 and route 50. Route 40 is also closed in the area of Mays Landing. The river is still rising slowly and is expected to crest soon.

Check here for more updates.

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According to the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center, “This graphic shows the overall chance that storm surges will be greater than 2 feet above normal tide levels during the next 3 days. The graphic is based upon an ensemble of Sea, Lake, and Overland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH) model runs using the current National Hurricane Center (NHC) official hurricane advisory. Storm surge probabilities depend on the historical accuracy of NHCs forecasts of hurricane track, and wind speed, and an estimate of storm size.”

Click here for live photo feed and latest regarding Hurricane Irene and southern New Jersey shore area.