What is a Nor'Easter?

From cancelling school to shutting down wall street, nor'easters are powerful storms that can bring huge impacts. They can dump feet of snow and lash the northeast coast with high winds and large waves.

Why are they called nor'easters? It's because they usually hit New England and the northeastern U.S., right? That's actually not the reason.

Nor'easters get their name from the direction of the wind. That same wind can lead to coastal flooding and widespread power outages. Here's how it starts. Energy from a storm moving towards the east coast, transfers to a developing area of low pressure off the coast. Because of the warm gulf stream current, the Atlantic stays pretty temperate even during the winter, while the land stays cold. That difference in temperature fuels these storms.

Nor'easters are notoriously difficult to forecast. To get a big snowfall in cities like D.C. Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, the storm has to come close enough to the coast to give the area plenty of moisture. but, it can't come too close. Otherwise, warm Atlantic air will be pushed onshore. That push of warmth can make snow change to freezing rain, sleet, just plain rain, or a mix of everything. And sometimes, the impacts are felt hundreds of miles inland.