In general, weather events are a part of life here for those of us who call the Crystal Coast home. And, when most people think of weather events along the coast of North Carolina, they mostly think of hurricanes. And, they would be mostly right. Hurricanes, oor tropical cyclones, are rotating, organized systems of clouds and thunderstorms that can interrupt our way of life from the beginning of June to the end of November. That’s because hurricanes are warm-core, low pressure systems. They depend on tropical or subtropical waters for their emergence, and they require the warmer air and waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and the southern Atlantic Ocean in summer for their growth and power.
But those of us who live along the Carolina coast also are familiar with another form of cyclone, known as a nor’easter. Nor’easters derive their name from the prevailing coastal winds coming from the northeast. Like hurricanes, nor’easters rotate in a counter-clockwise direction. Both hurricanes and nor’easters cause coastal erosion, flooding, and storm surges and are associated with high-level sustained winds, heavy rain and a threat for spawning tornadoes. Nor’easters differ from tropical cyclones or hurricanes in several ways. First, nor’easters are cold-core, low pressure systems that thrive in colder temperatures and waters. Second, they can occur at any time of year but are most frequent and most violent between September and April. Third, nor’easters usually develop only along the East Coast and in the latitudes between Georgia and New Jersey. That’s because, in winter, the polar jet stream transporting cold Arctic air rarely drops into Florida and warm air from the Atlantic Ocean, courtesy of the Gulf Stream, rarely makes it to New England. And it is this collision of the cold Arctic air over land and the warm air over water that creates a temperature gradient that spawns and fuels a nor’easter.
Fourth, in addition to rain, nor’easters may also include sleet, snow and blizzard conditions due to the colder air temperatures. And fifth,while the duration of a hurricane is measured in hours, the duration of a nor’easter often is measured in days. Some well known Nor’easters include the notorious Blizzard of 1888, the “Ash Wednesday” storm of March 1962, the New England Blizzard of February 1978, the March 1993 “Superstorm” and the Boston snowstorms of January and February 2015. Past Nor’easters have been responsible for billions of dollars in disastrous coastal flooding, transportation disruption, and loss of homes and life. Given that nor’easters can also produce dangerous conditions such as power outages, icy roads and fallen trees, people around here in Carteret County know to prepare for nor’easters in advance, by stocking up on necessities such as batteries, candles and extra food early, to avoid traveling during the worst of the weather.
Fortunately, winter weather in the form of a nor’easter is not a frequent occurrence in Carteret County. Most winter weather events in our area consist of snow flurries once or twice a year with an occasional light dusting of snow. Snow accumulations rarely exceed one inch during most winter weather events. That being said, Carteret County is having a stormy start to 2022. Indeed, we’ve experienced three significant nor’easters already since September. The first one occurred in mid November and the rain and high winds associated with that storm canceled many Veterans Day events. The second, right after New Year’s Day, resulted in heavy rain and serious coastal flooding especially in soundside areas adjacent to Core Sound in the Down East region of Carteret County. And this past weekend, severe weather occurred in the form of damaging winds with gusts up to 50-60 mph, heavy rain, and power outages. In addition, coastal flooding on the order of 1-3 feet above ground level was expected Down East along the Pamlico Sound and Core sounds. A high surf advisory also was in effect. I saw large breaking waves of 6 to 10 feet in the surf zone this morning just before dawn, Because air temperatures remained above freezing in Carteret County, rain did not change over to sleet and snow. That was not the case further inland, west and north of Interstate 95.
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There’s another kind of nor’easter, too: the Nor’easter cocktail. This libation is a mix of bourbon, maple syrup, ginger beer and lime juice. Simply combine one ounce of lime juice, four ounces of bourbon and one ounce of maple syrup in a small pitcher or cocktail shaker. Add ice and stir or shake until very cold. Strain the mixture into hi-ball glasses, add ice and top with ginger beer. Depending on the sweetness of the ginger beer, you may want to add a little more lime juice. Garnish with a lime slice.
To learn more about weather events and cocktails here along the Crystal Coast, go to my website, www.EmeraldIsleHomesforSaleNC.com and sign up for my blog. Ready to buy or sell? Call me at 919-308-2292. Explore the video tab for my weekly uploads to my YouTube channel. Subscribe to my YouTube channel and receive free donuts at my Flip Flops Donut shop. Text your email address to 919-308-2292 and subscribe to my newsletter. My book, "Live Where You Vacation" is available on Amazon.com.
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