Category: Posts EN

Nor’Easter Pounds New England on 25th Anniversary of a Superstorm

Written by Team Morecast

 

Folks in the Northeast U.S. need look no further than their own front yards for a heavy blanket of snow and scenes of a winter wonderland. Accumulations of up to two feet (see map below) combined with high winds have led to hundreds of thousands of homes without power. It’s the third time in two weeks that a blizzard-like storm has wreaked havoc across this region – some communities are buried under several feet of heavy, wet snow. While snow is diminishing across parts of the region, portions of Maine and Maritime Canada will see additional accumulations well into tonight and early Wednesday morning.

 

 

Ironically, today (March 13th) is the twenty-fifth anniversary of one of the most intense and impactful winter storms in recent history, one that dropped several feet of snow in one storm! The March ’93 Superstorm (satellite image below) plastered a swath all the way from Alabama to eastern Canada with feet of snow, setting records up and down the Eastern Seaboard and Appalachians. It also produced a severe derecho across portions of Florida and Cuba with widespread damaging winds. It even produced a hurricane-like storm surge over the Gulf coast of Florida that measured up to twelve feet, costing dozens of lives in Florida!

 

 

 

Cyclone Linda Weakening, But Tropical Threat Looms for Top End

Written by Team Morecast

 

Tropical Cyclone Linda (see satellite image below) is moving close to coastal Queensland. Some gusty onshore winds are occurring over southeast sections, up to 70-80 kph on the Cape and outer islands. However, that’s about the extent of impacts as Linda is weakening rapidly and will eventually turn away from the mainland.

 

 

The next tropical threat we’re watching could target Northern Territory and Western Australia later this week. Model guidance has been pretty consistent signaling the development of a tropical low or cyclone in the Arafura Sea by Thursday or Friday. The system is likely to move south towards the north coast of Northern Territory before turning west and skirting Western Australia later this weekend or next week. Heavy rainfall and high winds would accompany any cyclone developing in this region. Rainfall amounts locally up to 300 mm will lead to serious flash flooding. Wind gusts to 120 kph could lead to scattered power outages and minor tree or structure damage.

 

Watching Two Potential Cyclone Threats for Coast of Australia

Written by Team Morecast

The weather is generally quiet to start off the week across much of Australia, however, there are two tropical cyclone threats to watch.

Tropical Cyclone 13

Tropical Cyclone 13 developed on Monday in the Coral Sea about 1,500 km northeast of Brisbane.

The cyclone is expected to strengthen some through Wednesday morning as it tracks southwestward across warmer waters. Steering winds will take TC 13 toward the south-central QLD coast on Thursday, however, the storm will encounter colder waters and increased wind sheer. Consequently, a weakening trend is expected beginning later on Wednesday.

Beyond Thursday, the TC 13 is expected to take a more southerly turn. The south track should keep the cyclone just off shore for the end of the week and this weekend.

Despite some weakening later in the week, gusty winds in excess of 60 kph are expected to develop Wednesday across coastal southeast QLD. Winds will remain gusty on Thursday as the storm nears the coast. Showers and perhaps a steadier rain could impact southeast QLD beginning Wednesday night and continuing into Friday.

Second Cyclone Threat

The second potential cyclone looks to form close to the coast of Northern Territory later this week. This development would mean potential rain and wind impacts along the coastline from Darwin to perhaps northern WA through the weekend or early next week.

It’s too early to specify intensity and landfall information this far out. However, the ingredients are in place for a strong cyclone with very warm sea surface temperatures and weak wind shear. We’ll keep a close eye on these potential headline-makers and have updates later in the week.

Tropical Cyclone Climatology

March is historically the most active month for tropical cyclones to threaten Australia. Data collected from the Bureau of Meteorology shows that there have been 14 coastal crossings from tropical cyclones in March from 1970-2008.

Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) graph depicting TC coastal crossing points (landfalls) between the 1970-1971 and 2007-2008 tropical cyclone seasons.

The most likely areas to experience a hit from a tropical cyclone is the northern-central coast of WA. However, tropical cyclone coastal crossings have been observed as far south as near Perth and Brisbane.

Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) map depicting TC coastal crossing points (landfalls) between the 1970-1971 and 2007-2008 tropical cyclone seasons.

A Third Nor’easter To Pummel New England with Snow, Wind

Written by Team Morecast

Another powerful nor’easter will batter New England with heavy snow and wind on Tuesday.

Parts of the region are still cleaning up from the first two storms earlier this month, with hundreds of Northeast residents still without power.

Storm Details

Low pressure will track northeastward from the Carolina coast Monday night toward Nova Scotia by Tuesday night.

A mixture of rain and snow will push northward up the Mid-Atlantic coast Monday night and transition to a heavy wet snow across New England Tuesday.

Snowfall rates will increase to between 1-3″ per hour in the heaviest snow bands. This is most likely to occur across southeast Massachusetts to southeast Maine. It is in this corridor that the heaviest snow totals are expected.

Nor’easter snow and wind impacts Monday night into Wednesday.

 

Boston is expected to see around a foot (30 cm) of snow, while some communities in southeast Massachusetts and Maine are likely to approach 20 inches. Farther south and west, New York will be on the back edge of storm with 1-3 inches of snow expected.

In addition to the snow, strong winds near the coast will create blizzard-like conditions at times Tuesday and Tuesday night. The combination of heavy wet snow and wind gusts over 30 mph is expected to cause some additional power outages.

 

Travel will be hazardous to near impossible at times Tuesday into Tuesday night from southeast New England to Maine.

The snow will taper off and end in most places from south to north later Tuesday night and Wednesday.