For the first time in 27 years, the New York Stock Exchange trading floor will be closed due to weather as the nation's financial heart braces for the expected onslaught of Hurricane Sandy. Although electronic, the Nasdaq is also closing, and the CME Group, parent company of the Nymex commodity exchange, won't be trading commodities, either.
In an older article called 5 Ways to Avoid Getting Creamed by Falling Markets, I told you the best defense against unexpected events is to only own assets that you would be happy to hold for years and pay for them with cash instead of debt. I even used the example of the stock exchange closing. These things happen. This is one of the reasons you do not put money in stocks that you might need in the short-term (3-5 years or less).