This animation shows a northeaster moving up the East Coast.
Animation Courtesy of NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
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Northeaster
Northeaster in Action
This radar image shows a northeaster that moved through the east coast of the United States on April 15-17, 2007. Several areas in the Mid-Atlantic and northeast regions were flooded because of heavy rain that fell along with strong winds. 7.6 inches (1.92 meters) of rain fell in New York City on April 15th from this northeaster. Accumulations of as much as 17 inches (43 cm) of snow fell in high elevation areas of northern New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire. This animation helps demonstrate how a northeaster builds in intensity. As the storm moves from the Atlantic Ocean onto land then to the areas of higher elevation, you can see the strong spin of the storm and the change in color from blue to yellow. A northeaster starts to weaken when it moves onto the higher terrain. The blue color represents clouds that are closer to the ground while the yellow color is colder clouds higher in the atmosphere. This northeaster affected the runners of the Boston Marathon. Strong winds also caused power outages from South Carolina to Maine.
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