Nor’Easters – The Good, the Bad and the Snowy

There’s nothing quite like a Nor’easter  (NorthEaster) to start off our coldest season.  These big, low pressure storms — so named because their direction of rotation brings winds, precipitation and cold artic air across the land from the Northeast — are famous throughout New England for their power and the amount of rain or snow they can bring.  Nor’Easters blow in with a serious cold bite and are different from other large storms because of their intensity.  The recent storm that knocked out power for thousands, damaged buildings and brought trees down across many a road, was such a storm.  Powerful winds and heavy weather can do a lot of damage. 

Famous, if extreme, examples of Nor’easters include "The Perfect Storm" of 1991 (Combined Nor’easter and Hurricane) and the "Storm of the Century" in 1993 which buried most of the eastern United States under several feet of snow.

For those who love Maine snowmobile adventures, skiing, snowboarding or snowshoeing, the happy up-side to a Nor’Easter is often lots of snow.  Those who spend the winter riding and skiing appreciate the dig dumps of snow these storms can bring.  

So stock up on firewood for the fireplace or woodstove, tune up the snowmobile engines, wax the skis and break out the mittens.  Watch the weather for Nor’easters and be ready to get out and play when the next one brings its bounty of the whitestuff.