Editing Nor'easter (section)

{{Short description|Type of cyclone occurring in the northern Atlantic coast of North America}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2018}}
[[File:Early January 2018 Nor'easter 2018-01-04 1345Z.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Nor'easter off the New England coast of the United States responsible for the [[January 2018 North American blizzard]]]]
{{Weather}}

A '''nor'easter''' (also '''northeaster'''; see [[#Etymology and usage|below]]) is a [[Synoptic scale meteorology|large-scale]] [[extratropical cyclone]] in the western North [[Atlantic Ocean]]. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. Typically, such storms originate as a [[low-pressure area]] that forms within {{convert|100|mi|km}} of the shore between [[North Carolina]] and [[Massachusetts]]. The precipitation pattern is similar to that of other [[Extratropical cyclone|extratropical storm]]s, although nor'easters are usually accompanied by heavy [[rain]] or [[snow]], and can cause severe [[coastal flooding]], [[coastal erosion]], [[Beaufort Scale|hurricane-force]] winds, or [[Blizzard|blizzard conditions]]. They tend to develop most often and most powerfully between the months of November and March, because of the difference in temperature between the cold polar air mass coming down from central [[Canada]] and the warm ocean waters off the upper East Coast.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|author=Multi-Community Environmental Storm Observatory|title=Nor'easters|year=2006|publisher=Multi-community Environmental Storm Observatory |url=http://www.mcwar.org/articles/noreasters/NorEasters.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071009034304/http://www.mcwar.org/articles/noreasters/NorEasters.html |archive-date = October 9, 2007}}</ref><ref name="noaafeature">{{cite web|url=http://www.noaa.gov/features/03_protecting/noreasters.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214123432/http://www.noaa.gov/features/03_protecting/noreasters.html|archive-date=February 14, 2016|title=Know the dangers of nor'easters|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration}}</ref><ref name="disc2">{{cite web|author=How stuff works|title=What are nor'easters?|year=2006|access-date=January 22, 2008|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/question595.htm}}</ref> The susceptible regions—the upper north [[East coast of the United States|Atlantic coast]] of the [[United States]] and the [[Atlantic Canada|Atlantic Provinces]] of [[Canada]]—are generally impacted by nor'easters a few times each winter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Weather Service |url=http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/winter/noreaster.shtml |access-date=February 29, 2016 |website=[[National Weather Service]] |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=AccuWeather.com |url=http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-glossary/what-is-a-noreaster/5993525}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=L. Dove |first=Laurie |date=December 15, 2012 |title=What's a nor'easter? |url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/storms/noreaster.htm}}</ref>