SCARBOROUGH, Maine — An unexpected nor’easter is anticipated to impact New England on Thursday, arriving just before the Memorial Day weekend. The storm is expected to bring weather conditions more typical of fall and winter, including considerable rainfall.
Traditional nor’easters generally occur at the end of autumn and throughout the winter months, characterized by strong winds, turbulent seas, and precipitation in the form of rain or snow. This particular storm could feature wind gusts surpassing 40 mph (64 kph) and rain amounts reaching up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) in certain regions. Snowfall might also occur at higher elevations.
Residents in New England are bracing for a potentially disruptive couple of days, a time of year usually set aside for sunshine and barbecues. A nor’easter is defined as a significant storm affecting the East Coast, named due to the typical northeastern wind pattern along the coastal areas, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). While they can arise any time of the year, they are most common and severe between September and April.
In previous instances, these storms have led to billions in damages, primarily in New England and eastern Canada, disrupting traffic and power grids and causing significant damage to infrastructure.
“We are seeing a stronger jet stream that is energizing a low-pressure system traveling up the coast, which is why it is classified as a nor’easter,” explained Kyle Pederson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boston.
Rhode Island and southern and eastern Massachusetts are likely to receive the heaviest rainfall, as noted by Pederson. Although localized flooding and difficult driving conditions may occur on Thursday, substantial flooding is not expected.
The storm is predicted to taper off, leaving light rain and intermittent drizzle by Friday. “It’s going to be a useful amount of rain for the area without much flooding anticipated,” Pederson mentioned. Snow accumulations are possible, but will be restricted to mountainous locales.
Nor’easters in May are unusual since these weather systems are typically associated with winter. They form mainly when large temperature disparities exist between the west and east, typically during the winter months when cold air covers the land alongside relatively warm ocean temperatures.
Currently, an area of high pressure in the Canadian Arctic is causing an atmospheric block, directing unusually cold air down over the Northeast. A low-pressure system just off the East Coast is being fueled by a jet stream positioned further south than usual.
“It’s akin to a winter weather pattern that’s unusually late in appearing this year,” remarked Judah Cohen, who specializes in seasonal forecasts at Atmospheric and Environmental Research.
If the current atmospheric conditions had occurred two months earlier, “we’d be staring down a major snowstorm across the Northeastern U.S., rather than just a damp start to the holiday weekend,” Cohen indicated.