There she blows: What is a noreaster and what makes them so powerful?

Winter is here and so are nor’easters. A nor’easter is a powerful low-pressure system that forms along the East Coast of North America.Named after the direction in which the strongest winds blow, this powerful coastal storm mainly impacts states along the Eastern Seaboard in New England, the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, are especially vulnerable due to proximity to the coast. Nor’easters are most frequent from September through April when the jet stream is at its strongest but can occur any time of the year.

They cause high wind gusts, snow, rain, rough surf and occasional coastal flooding. These powerful storms begin to form 100 miles off the coast between Georgia and New Jersey, which is the perfect spot.There must be a dip in the jet stream that blows cold air southward out of Canada and sends it eastward toward the warm Atlantic Ocean.Once the warm water and the cold Arctic air meet, a low-pressure system forms, fueling a nor’easter. The contrast between the warm water and the cold air provides enough instability and energy that is needed for these storms to develop. Nor’easters then move northeastward toward New England and Canada in order to reach their maximum intensity. Wind direction plays a huge factor in defining a nor’easter.During a nor’easter, winds blow from the northeast off the Atlantic Ocean.

If winds are coming from the east or southeast during the storm, then that system is not considered a nor’easter. This type of storm is also associated with a strong low-pressure system off the East Coast. As long as the storm has all the right ingredients, a nor’easter can start at any point of the year. If the systems end up bringing northeasterly winds to the East Coast during the fall and temperatures are in the 50s, then the precipitation would fall as rain.But if the system formed in the...