Winter storm whips eastern USA by Susan Powell
Heavy snow, driving winds and ice have brought large sections of the East Coast of the USA to a standstill - and there is more to come!
A deep area of low pressure is currently lying across eastern states of the US, slowly rolling eastwards towards the Atlantic.
Areas worst hit by this storm so far have been North Carolina, Virgina and Pennsylvania. Conditions have been appalling for travellers - roads transformed into sheets of ice and many flights delayed. 25cm (10") of snow has already fallen at North Carolinas Mount Mitchell, and 20cm (8") covers much of western Virgina.
The storm is known as a 'Nor'easter' by those that live in this part of the world. The name stems from the wind direction around the low pressure system - northeasterly of course!
A 'Nor'easter' rotates anti-clockwise as it moves along the coastline, sucking moisture from the Atlantic Ocean, freezing it and dumping it as sleet, freezing rain and snow on the land.
'Nor'easters' are notorious for dumping large amounts of precipitation! They are also known for generating hurricane-force winds and big surf - these eventually leading to beach erosion and flooding.
As the storm continues to plough across the Eastern Seaboard, stretching towards eastern Canada, more heavy snow is forecast. 15-25cm (6-10") is likely for New York before the storm lets up later today, with 35cm (14") possible in northwestern New Jersey and up to 60cm (24") possible for the mountains of West Virgina!
The low pressure will finally clear the East Coast late Wednesday local time. This however, will not be the end of the winters tale - following on behind it will be icy northerly winds. New York's temperatures are set to hover just around freezing on Wednesday (the March daytime average is 7C (45F)), but with a 25mph northerly wind this will feel more like minus 19C (-3F)!!!
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