What Is a Nor’easter and Why is Everyone Talking About It?

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So you heard the weather woman say “Nor’easter” on the television.

You might be wondering what that fancy term means and if it’s a warning that you may have to dig your car out of six feet snow the next morning.

Nor’easters are notoriously known for causing huge weather impacts such as delays from the snow, torrential rain, or power outages from high winds.

However, a storm is only defined as a Nor’easter if the storm’s winds blow from the northeast off the Atlantic ocean.

Not to mention these types of storms are typically seen during the months of September and April and are stronger during the winter season.

What makes a Nor’easter strong is the clash between temperatures from the warm ocean water near the Gulfstream and the Arctic air from the north.

These temperature differences provide “the fuel that feeds Nor’easters,” mentions the NOAA on their website.

Now that you know what a Nor’easter is, it’s also important to note that these storms commonly affect Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Canada’s maritime provinces.

However, as the world continues to face a climate crisis, Nor’easters may become worse as the Artic warms, according to a study in the scientific journal Nature Communications by Atmospheric and Environmental Research, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Rutgers University.

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