Nor'Easters-Purple

Nor'Easters Olivia H. and Neda S. Purple Class

Introduction A Nor'Easter is a cyclonic storm that moves along the east coast with winds blowing from a northeasterly direction.(1) They are also a type of mid-latitude cyclone.(2) Depending on the storm, a Nor'Easter can bring violent weather and great amounts of precipitation. Nor'Easters can even become blizzards when winds reach 35 miles per hour and can continue for 3 hours.(9) Typically, these storms form around along the Atlantic Coast.(8) Nor'Easters usually occur between the months of September and April,(1) but can happen anytime during the year.(7) With a Nor'Easter comes heavy snow or rain, high tides, and high winds that can exceed 58 miles per hour,(1) especially in New England, since it is on the north-western side of the low-pressure center.(3) The counter-clockwise winds of the cyclone create winds that blow from the northeast to the southwest, hence the storm's title as a "Nor'Easter."(6)

Dangers Nor'Easters can be extremely dangerous and destructive. The heavy snow or rain lead to power outages and severe flooding. Roads can be hazardous due to freezing, resulting in traffic accidents.(1) In fact, it is very important to be cautious on the roads during Nor'Easters, because the source of the most deaths during these storms are transportation accidents.(10) In addition, high tides form from intense winds causes coastal flooding and beach erosion.(1) Furthermore, Nor'Easters can cause road closures and airport cancellations.(2) High winds can also cause trees and other large objects to fall onto cable lines, which can cause power outages, and even possible electrocution. In addition to fallen power lines, winds can cause property damage to houses, cars, and windows.(1) Wind-induced high tides are hazardous for people to be involved in out on the ocean. Otherwise, fatal incidents such as the deaths of fishermen and rescuers in the Perfect Storm can occur.(1)

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In this video coastal flooding, high waves, and winds are displayed.

Conditions of Formation Nor'Easters are the result of cold and warm air masses interacting as a stationary front.(2) Arctic air moves south along the jet stream from Canada, while warm air from the Gulf of Mexico travels up the east coast of the US. The storm begins as a low-pressure disturbance, caused by convergence off the coast of North Carolina over the oceans where the cold Labrador Current and warm Gulf Stream Current meet.(6) Here a mid-latitude cyclone grows. Convergence forces air to rise, thus the air adiabatically cools to dew point, enabling condensation (clouds and precipitation). Meanwhile a cold high pressure anticyclone in Canada dips down into the Northeastern States, creating suitable conditions for snow.(6) The slower the movement of a Nor'Easter, the more moisture it will obtain from the ocean than a fast one, creating more precipitation.(7) Furthermore, the Appalachian Mountains create orographic lifting; the Nor'Easter is trapped east of the mountains, increasing precipitation amounts along the eastern coast.(6) This is because the air is forced to rise up the mountain slopes, making the air adiabatically cool and causing precipitation to form as explained above.(7)

For example, during late October and November the Continental Polar (cP) air masses from Canada begin to sink towards the Midwest regularly, bringing cold air. The Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, however, cool down slower than land, so the air above the water is warmer and also more humid and eventually the air mass moves up the east coast; this is a Maritime Tropical (mT) air mass. When these two contrasting masses of air meet (the cP and mT masses), the air converges, creating a stormy low pressure center conditions for a Nor'Easter. If the cP air mass is cold enough, precipitation take the formation snow, and if not, rain. This is the reason why the snowy Nor'Easter in 2011 near Halloween was possible.(4)

For futher information, here is a website with a widget that can help: http://www.usatoday.com/weather/tg/wnoreast/wnoreast.htm



Historical Examples

A Nor'Easter happened in New England in late October 1991 known as the "Perfect Storm" or also as the Halloween Storm, which inspired the novel //The Perfect Storm// by Sebastian Junger//,// and later the movie.(1) A storm started off on the Atlantic Ocean and became a category one hurricane, named Hurricane Grace, which was formed on October 27th. On October 29th, an extratropical cyclone developed along a cold front and moved toward the Northeast Coast. Low pressure deepened on October 29th, and Hurricane Grace also helped add to the severity of the storm.(4) This Nor'Easter included hurricane winds, erosions, and high waves.The waves were about 30 to 50 feet tall, and unfortunately, six fisherman died and six people from Air National Guard died trying to rescue the fisherman. The cost of the storm was nearly 1 billion dollars.(1)

Another famous Nor'Easter was the Ash Wednesday storm of 1962, also known as "The Great Atlantic Storm of 1962." This storm lasted from March 6th to 8th, traveling all along the east coast from the Carolinas. 20 foot waves were reported, and the winds were higher than 70 miles per hour. The storm washed away beaches and barrier islands and destroyed many homes, changing characteristics of many coastlines in the east coast.(5)

If you want to learn about more historic Nor'Easters, here is a link: http://www.weather.com/encyclopedia/winter/history.html

Safety Getting prepared for Nor'Easters: -Check weather reports before hand so you can make preparations.(9) -Stock up food, water, flashlights, a first-aid kit, a knife, medicine, and other essentials before a Nor'Easter.(1) -Have a battery powered radio to receive important information.(10) -Make a flood plan with your family in case a Nor'Easter causes flooding to your town or home.(1) -Make sure everything that can be blown away is put inside and have your windows closed. The high winds can blow things away from your property and can damage other people's houses.(1) -If you have a pet, keep them inside at all times during the storm.(1)

Road Safety: -Keep off the roads as much as possible during a storm.(10) -Keep a winter survial kit inside the car: blankets, dried food, water, sleeping bags, booster cables, frist-aid, extra clothing, flashlights with extra batteries, shovels etc.(10) -Also keep a spare tire, and have proper tools to replace the tire, if needed.(9) -Keep the car tank full to pervent ice in the tank and fuel lines.(10) -Drive slower than normal.(9) -Use car brakes slowly to prevent skidding, espacially if you don't have anti-lock brakes.(9) -Keep car at low gear when going down hill.(9)

During power outages it is important to do these following things: -Have emergence heating source, like a fireplace, or a wooden stove, if the power goes out.(10) -Keep the refregerator and freezer closed, and as cold as possible. By doing so, you can keep the food cold if it is unopened for a few hours. -After four hours without power, throw away meat, poultry, fish, cheese, milk, eggs, deli, and leftovers, and do not try the food to determine if it is safe or not.(8) -Use dry or block ice for the refrigerator and freezer if there is a long power outage. (50 blocks of dry ice can keep a 18 cubic foot freezer cool for two days).(8) -Another way to keep food cool is a cooler. Before a storm put freeze gel packs into the freezer or get ice to keep it cool.(8) -Discard food without a water proof container if it touches flood water. If the flood water touches things that touch food, or go into the mouth, also discard it.(8) -Group food together and store it up high incase flood water touches it.(8)

Sources

1 .) NOAA. "Know the Dangers of Nor'Easters." //National Oceanic and Atmospheric// //Administration// . N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2012.  .

2.) Beidler, Aurae. "Winter Storm Weather Formation." //Suite101//. suite101.com Media Inc., 15 Nov. 2007. Web. 15 Nov. 2007. .

3.) Tarbuck, Edward J., and Frederick K. Lutgens. //Earth Science//. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc., 2009. Print.

4.) NCDC. "The Perfect Storm." //NOAA: Satellite and Information Service// . N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2012. .

5.) Baker, Carol. "The 1962 Ash Wednesday Storm." //The 1962 Ash Wednesday storm in// //Strathmere New Jersey//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. .

6.) "Nor'Easters." //Center for Educational Technologies//. Wheeling Jesuit University, n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. .

7. ) "Nor'Easters." //Storm E Weather Simulation//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2012.  .

8.)"USDA: Food safety guidelines in the wake of Nor'Easter." //nj.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2012. .

9.) "What's a Nor'Easter... and What to Expect." //Explore Massachusetts//. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2012. .

10.) "Nor'Easter." //National Weather Service//. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2012. .