Nor'EastersTan

Nor'easters
Juyon L. & Molly M.  Tan Class Introduction 

Nor'easter is the storm that moves up to the coast in the northeast. It gets its name from its continuously strong northeasterly winds blowing in from the ocean ahead of the storm and over the coastal areas, causing massive waves that crash on the beach causing beach erosion (2,7). Winter conditions make the nor'easter a normal occurrence, but only few gather the force and power to cause problems inland (1). Also, It typically lasts about 24 to 36 hours (3). In addition, nor'easter usually occur between November and April, bringing heavy rain, snowfall, and blustery winds from Carolinas to Maine (3). It is often compared to a hurricane because of the strong wind and heavy precipitation that occurs with it (3). Similar to the hurricanes, there are names for nor'easters to differentiate between them (3).

Dangers A large nor'easter can damage people and th eir property. When it dumps a lot of snow, the roads and highways become impassable (3). It can also bring travel to a standstill, closing down the cities (1). Since nor'easter produces heavy snow, rain, and oversized waves that crash onto Atlantic beaches, it often causes beach erosion and structural damage (2). When a nor'easter is near the ocean, there should be no one in there because they can be caught in the big waves that could bring death (4). In addition, the flooding and snow caused by a nor'easter can damage houses and buildings from Maine down through Carolinas (4). The damage could worth more than one billion dollars (4).

Conditions of Formation There are two main components to a nor'easter: a Gulf Stream low-pressure system and an Arctic high-pressure system (1). The nor'easter generally forms during a cold outbreak in the Deep South, when a weak storm crossing the Appalachians meets Gulf Stream-fed warm, moist air just off the Southeast Coast, causing a low pressure system (3,7). The storm undergoes rapid strengthening, drawing the moisture into the storm (3). As this moisture rotates around the low into the colder air northwest of the system, clouds and precipitation develop (3). As the storm gathers strength along the East Coast, winds rotate in a counter-clockwise direction around the north side of the storm, blowing from the northeast (3). In addition, there are two types of the nor'easters: an offshore forming and an onshore forming (1). The offshore forming is a news-worthy and powerful storm that moves east of the East Coast cities and it dumps a lot of heavy snow (1). Then it moves far enough north that the cold, arctic Canadian winds (jet stream) that blow around a high pressure system, pushing it off the coast (1,7). The onshore forming nor'easter is less exciting than the offshore forming. It moves west of the East Coast cities with gusting winds and mostly rain (1). In places like New York City and Boston, if wintertime low tracks up to the west of these cities, wintry precipitation will often change to rain (2). If the low moves slightly off the coast to the east of these cities, assuming there's enough moisture and cold air accompanying the storm, Boston and New York City will typically get snow or a mixture of precipitation types (2). Some low pressure systems associated with the nor'easters develop tropical storm characteristics such as an eye in the center of the low (2). However, the presence of the fronts and drop in the temperature at higher levels of the troposphere keep the storm from being classified as the tropical (2).

Historical Examples The most widely known example of a nor'easter would be the Halloween nor' easter of 1991 called [|"The Perfect Storm"] (4). Three large weather systems collided in late October 1991 in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coasts of New England, Nova Scotia, and Newfondland (4). The result was apocalyptic. It claimed 12 lives including the six that were on board of the "Andrea Gail", a commercial swordfishing boat based off Gloucester, Massachusetts (4). The boat was caught out at sea 500 miles from the port (4). It could not retreat to safer waters due to its highly perishable cargo and supposed ice machine failure (4). Therefore, it could not safely forge ahead. It was met by 40-foot waves and winds howling at more than 50 mph (4). There were even higher waves reported by passing ships (4). Along with the boat damage, there was a collateral damage. The stalled cold front in the Midwest produced blizzard in the eastern Minnesota, dumping 28 inches of snow on the Twin Cities and a record 37 inches on Duluth (4). With temperatures warmer in southern Minnesota, it became a major ice storm there, causing traffic and shutting down public transportation (4). Even though the worst of the storm stayed offshore, it was estimated to have about $1 billion in damage(4). In addition, more than one thousand homes from Maine down through the Carolinas were damaged (4). Other nor'easter was caused in Ash Wednesday of 1962, mauling the northern coast for five days (4). Also, a storm shut down the nation's capital in President's Day of 1979 (4). In 1993, tornadoes, flooding, and snow damaged homes and business from Maine to Alabama that worth more than a billion dollars (4).

Safety The best thing to do during a nor' easter would be to stay inside but if you must leave your house, to be sure a safe travel it is important to prepare your car in case anything goes wrong (6) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">. Here are just a few ways of preparing your car for travels: <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">~Make sure you have a spare tire and the equiptment and knowledge to change the tire (6). <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">~Keep a shovel, rubber studed mats, a tow rope, a flashlight, jumper cables and a snow/ice scraper in handy in case you get stuck in snow (6). <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">~be sure to be wearing or have somewhere in the car warm clothes in case you have to get outside for a while (6). <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">You may also want to take some extra precautions when actually driving such as: <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">~Drive slowly (6). <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">~keep at least 3 times the normal space in front of you for stopping (6). <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">~Stop slowly (6). <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">~Put your car in a lower gear when going down a hill for traction (6).

<span style="color: #5b59e3; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 24px; line-height: 22px;">Sources <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">1) //What is a Nor'easter?//. HowStuffWorks., <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Mar. 2001. Web. 18 Nov. 2010. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/question595.htm> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">2) //Nor'easters//. The Weather Channel., <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">N.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. <http://www.weather.com/encyclopedia/winter/noreast.html> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">3) //Nor'easters: The Winter Monster//. WeatherBug., <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Feb. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. <http://weather.weatherbug.com/weather-news/weather-reports.html?story=5724> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">4) //Real Perfect Storm//. United States History., <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">N.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2010. <http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h2133.html> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">5) //Nor'easter//. HowStuffWorks., <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">N.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010 <http://www.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">parent=question595.htm&url=http://www.gettyimages.com> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">6) Phil. //What is a Nor'easter...and What to Expect//. ExploreMassachusetts., <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">2009. Web. 17 Nov. 2010 <http://www.explore-massachusetts.com/noreaster.html> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">7) //Nor'easters//. Wheeling Jesuit University., <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">2005. Web. 21 Nov. 2010 <http://www.e-missions.net/weather2/h17.html> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">8) //The Perfect Storm October 1991.// National Climatic Data Center., <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">20 Aug. 2008. Web. 30 Nov. 2010 <http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/satellite/satelliteseye/cyclones/pfctstorm91/pfctstorm.html> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">9) "Satellite Observations of a Strong Nor'easter." //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">CIMSS Satellite Blog //<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">. The University of Wisconsin-Madison., <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">N.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. <http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/archives/3796>