A Nor-Easter is a storm system that typically develops along the East Coast during the late fall through early springtime months. What starts as a low-pressure system off the coast of Georgia or the Carolinas is swept up the coastline, and typically strengthens into a bigger storm that can bring heavy rain, snow, strong winds, and coastal erosion or flooding to the Northeast.
A few Nor-Easters of note include the "Ash Wednesday" storm of March 1962 and the March 1993 "Superstorm." And no doubt, this Nor-Easter and resulting blizzard conditions from Delaware to Massachusetts will also go down in history. And interestingly enough, there is a Houston connection to how this storm came to be.
The strong cold front that moved across the South, including southeast Texas, last Saturday, paved the way for this weekend's Nor-Easter. As this front moved offshore Saturday into Sunday, a weak area of low pressure began to form along the front. Once this surface low was over the Atlantic Ocean, it quickly began to deepen and intensify. This was thanks to the warmer, moist waters of the Atlantic and the colder air behind the front coming in behind the front. A trough, or dip in the jet stream, then carried this system to the Northeast, producing heavy snowfall and wind gusts upwards of 80 mph as the storm system continued to strengthen.
One reason why this Nor-Easter had such a big impact was because of its positioning and track. Since the low-pressure center was able to stay over water, the ingredients were there to allow for the system to strengthen and keep the Northeast on the system's colder, snowier side. This led to snowfall rates of 1-2 inches an hour at times, with states like Rhode Island, New Jersey, and New York staying within the storm zone for over 24 hours.
So it's no surprise that some of the snow totals from this Nor-Easter are record-breaking. As of 1 p.m. ET on Monday, Providence, Rhode Island picked up over 32 inches of snow, breaking the previous snowfall record for an event. Other snow totals from around New York City, including Central Park, range between 19 inches to upwards of 30 inches of snow along Long Island. Philadelphia also picked up 14 inches of snow, the most the city has seen since 2016. This was also the first Blizzard Warning to be issued for New York City in nearly 10 years.
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