The Nor'easter is usually a major winter storm for the East Coast states. This storm starts out as a weak low pressure system in the Southern States but then intensifies explosively once it reaches the North Carolina Coast. We often refer to this rapid strengthening as "Bombing" or "Bombogenesis." The now-formidable storm system then tracks northward near or along the Atlantic Coast.
Nor'Easters pick up lots of moisture from the Atlantic Ocean and dump heavy snow, often 10 to 30 inches or more, from North Carolina trough Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania and New England. The Great Blizzard of 1993 was a Nor'easter.
Ohio is normally on the western fringe of these major winter storms. So, for us, its usually just a glancing blow: A few inches of snow...mainly east of Interstate 77.
- Mark Johnson