Over the past weekend, the New England states got hit by a Nor’easter. The word, as you can likely figure out, is a combination of the words north and east. If you watched the Patriots-Titans game on Sunday, you saw quite a bit of snow falling. Nor’easters can bring a lot of rain or snow (depending on temperatures…but since they tend to happen during the cold months it’s snow), strong winds, and cold temperatures. It gets the name “Nor’easter” because of the counter clockwise rotation. In other words, the winds come from the northeast (this is the area that gets the snow and cold weather).
So what is a Nor’easter? Basically it’s a low pressure system that sets up residence just off the coast of New England. They can form further south, but the “classic” Nor’easters happen north. The systems tend to form in the south in the Gulf of Mexico and then move up along the east coast. While it’s in the gulf, it picks up a lot of moisture which it holds onto as it moves north.
Example of rotation.
Once it gets far enough north, it maintains it’s moisture thanks to the Gulf Stream. The Gulf stream is a current of warm water that flows from southern Florida to the north Atlantic. Since low pressure systems spin counter clockwise, the moist and warm air from the gulf stream is sent to the coast. The system also brings in cold air from northern Canada to mix with the moist air coming in. When those two things mix…BOOM…snow. Lots of snow. It’s a similar concept to the lake effect we feel here in Michiana. The main differences are the fact the snow from a Nor’easter is much more wide spread and the winds make for blizzard like conditions.
Nor’easter Blizzard of 1978.
There is a lot more to these system, but I have given you the very basic info on them. I know we will never get a Nor’easter here in Michiana, but I thought I would pass along a little info on what is going on. I’m sure there will be more as we move further into the cold season.
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This post was written by Ken on October 20, 2009
I was watching TV and someone mentioned “hoarfrost”.What is that?
Yes, hoarfrost is real. It’s a form of radiation frost. It forms at night when heat from the day is radiating from the Earth’s surface. When that happens, an object cools and becomes colder than the surrounding air. Hoarfrost is what forms as water is evaporating off an object. The gas becomes a sold.
I lived in NJ during the one pictured in ‘78. It was quite the storm and even though we didn’t get the snow that they did further north, we had well over a foot and there were huge drifts. We actually got more snow out of a storm a few years later but it didn’t pack the winds that the ‘78 storm did.