All You Need To Know About Nor'easter Winter Storm Plaguing New York City

Heavy snowstorms on Tuesday engulfed the Northeastern region of the United States, causing over a thousand flight cancellations and shutting of schools. Called a Nor'easter, the storm has resulted in extreme weather conditions, wreaking havoc in New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut and other neighbouring regions.

More than 1,220 US flights have been cancelled by the airlines, news agency AFP reported. About 43 per cent of the flights were cancelled at New York's LaGuardia airport and 28 per cent of services were hampered at New Jersey's Newark airport.

Citing aviation tracker Flight Aware, the report stated that almost one in five flights had to be cancelled at New York's main air hub JFK.

What is a Nor'easter?

A Nor'easter or Northeaster is a storm that originates from the East Coast of North America. These storms may occur at any time of the year, but Nor'easters are more frequent and most violent between September and April. 

Earlier in 2015, a Boston snowstorm also occurred between January and February. Before that, a Superstorm occurred in March 1993, while the New England Blizzard in February 1978. The record of Nor'easter goes back to 1888 when the region witnessed the notorious Blizzard.

A report in the National Weather Service said that the past Nor'easters have resulted in damage to property worth billions of dollars. 

Meanwhile, the PowerOutage.us website, which is responsible for tracking power connections, revealed that more than 40,000 properties had no power in the northeast region.

How is the Nor'easter formed?

Nor'easters usually develop in the latitudes between Georgia and New Jersey before progressing northeastward and attaining maximum intensity near New England and The Maritimes in Canada. Nor'easters almost always result in heavy rain or snow, besides strong winds, rough seas and sometimes even coastal flooding in the affected regions.

According to the National Weather Service, it's the US East Coast that provides fertile ground for Nor'easters. In winter, the cold Arctic air moves southward across the plains of Canada and the US, followed by a movement towards the Atlantic Ocean encountering warm wind from the Gulf of Mexico. "The warm waters of the Gulf Stream help keep the coastal waters relatively mild during the winter, which in turn helps warm the cold winter air over the water," says the National Weather Service on its website.

And then the difference in the temperature of the warm air over the water from that of the cold Arctic air over the land feeds Nor'easters.

Snowfall in NYC

For the first time in two years, there was enough snowfall in New York that it necessitated the use of ploughs in America's most populous city, authorities claimed.

"Four to eight inches (10-20 centimetres) of snow and wind gusts up to 40 miles (64 kilometres) per hour are expected. Avoid unnecessary travel. If you must travel, use mass transit," the city's emergency notification system said in an alert.