And you must not forget the “snowmageddon” storm. And yes, they are so devastating that they have gained nicknames that they look like catastrophic film titles
The next “storm of the century” can be even more intense, new study reveals
Stronger storms – stronger and often deadly phenomena that reach the east coast of the US with rainfall, nevions and paralyzing floods – are being intensified by the effects of climate pollution, a new study revealed.
Nor’easters, which are usually formed between September and April, are fed by the contrast of temperatures between the cold air from the north and the hot and humid air of the Atlantic Ocean.
They represent a significant threat to the densely populated cities on the east coast. In recent decades, several of these storms have been so devastating that they have gained nicknames that they look like catastrophic film titles.
The “storm of the century” in March 1993 was one of the deadliest and most expensive recorded. It had winds over 160 km/h, left almost meters and a half of snow in some zones and caused death to more than 200 people.
Snowmageddon in 2010 dumped more than 50 cm of snow in parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, killed 41 people and left hundreds of thousands without electricity.
Michael Mann, a climate scientist at the University of Pennsylvania and one of the study’s authors, was trapped in a hotel room in Philadelphia for three days due to Snowmageddon. This experience aroused your interest in realizing how these storms could be influenced by global warming.
Fifteen years later, he believes he has some answers.
There is a widespread consensus that there will be fewer nor’easters in a warmer world because the Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the northern hemisphere, which reduces the temperature contrast needed to feed these storms.
But, according to Mann, the issue of intensity of these storms, which tend to be little studied, was still uncertain.
To answer this question, scientists resorted to historical data and a cyclone follow -up algorithm to analyze Nor’Easters between 1940 and 2025, creating a digital Atlas of these storms.
In total, they analyzed 900 storms and found that the maximum wind speed of the most intense Nor’easters increased by about 6% since 1940, according to the study published in the journal -“Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”
It may seem little but significantly increases the damage that a storm can cause. A 6% increase in wind speed translates into a 20% increase in the storm’s destructive potential, Mann explained. “It’s a considerable value.”
Rain and snow precipitation rates also increased about 10%, according to the analysis.
The intensification of nor’easters is due to “basic physics,” said Mann. Oceans and warmer air cause more evaporation and more moisture in the atmosphere, which then breaks free in the form of more intense rain or nevons.
Given the level of destruction these storms can cause, it is essential to better understand how they will evolve in a warmer world, Mann added.
The storm of the “Ash Wednesday” in 1962, for example, caused massive destruction along the east coast, causing economic losses equivalent to tens of thousands of millions of euros in today’s values. He did “as much damage as a large hurricane to reach Earth,” said Mann.
The study also suggests that the risk of flooding in many cities on the east coast may be underestimated. “Nor’easters have been neglected and this contributes to an added coastal risk to which we have not given enough attention,” said Mann.
Jennifer Francis, senior scientist at Woodwell Climate Research Center, who did not participate in the study, says the conclusions underline the importance of better preparation.
“The coastal communities of the Northeast of the US, where the Nor’easters occur, must be attentive. Preparatively preparing is less expensive than dealing with damage after the storm,” he says to CNN.
The conclusions are also important because they show how the climate crisis can manifest in unexpected ways, underlines Judah Cohen, mit climatologist, who was not involved in the study either.
The effects “may be contraindicative, including the idea that climate change can lead to occasional increases in severe winter phenomena,” he tells CNN.
Even with global warming and the reduction of snow season in many US areas, periods of intense neats and extreme cold will continue to occur, Mann explained. “Individual events can be stronger.”
