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Record-Breaking Blizzard

Winter storm Grayson whipped through the entire East Coast with strong winds and heavy snow

January 5, 2018
By Cici Zhang
Adam Gray / Barcroft Images / Barcroft Media via Getty Images

People play in a park during winter storm Grayson in Manhattan, New York.

This week, Winter Storm Grayson hit the East Coast strong and hard, setting records from Florida to New England. The storm brought hurricane-force winds, near-record coastal flooding, and whiteout blizzards on Thursday.

More than 40 million people were affected by the storm. Schools were closed, more than 4,000 flights were cancelled, and thousands lost power. Tallahassee, Florida, saw 0.5 centimeters (0.2 inches)—the first measurable snowfall in the city since 1989. Areas in New England, received more than 40 centimeters (15.7 inches) of snow.

“It's a classic nor’easter,” says Art DeGaetano, a professor of meteorology at Cornell University in New York. A nor’easter is a storm that usually occurs in the winter and moves up along the East Coast. A nor'easter is born when temperatures change very quickly over a small area. Rapid temperature drops lead to rapid decreases in air pressure. Extreme differences in air pressure create strong winds. Soon after, precipitation like rain and snow begin to fall.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Snow covers the beach in Ocean City, Maryland.

THE BOMB CYCLONE

But Grayson is more than an average nor’easter. “This storm is very unique because it got very strong very quickly. We call it a ‘bomb cyclone',” says Marshall Shepherd. He's an atmospheric scientist at the University of Georgia and the former president of the American Meteorological Society.  

First coined in the 1970s, the phrase “bomb cyclone” describes a storm system that drops in air pressure very rapidly—at least 24 millibars (the unit of air pressure)—over a 24-hour period.  “The lower the air pressure, the stronger the storm,” Shepherd says.

According to the Weather Channel, Grayson's air pressure had dropped 59 millibars in 24 hours through 10 a.m. Thursday. That's the fastest drop in air pressure in the region since 1976!

JOHN CETRINO/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Firefighter Justin Plaza rescues a motorist during flooding in Boston, Massachusetts.

CLIMATE CONCERNS

Climate change might be contributing to what the East Coast is experiencing this week, says DeGaetano. This gradual change in Earth’s average temperature and weather patterns can make many types of storms more severe.

Over time, climate change is making Earth warmer on average. People sometimes think that blizzards like Grayson mean this warming isn’t happening. But that’s incorrect, says Shepherd. “Just because there's a cold day or cold week, or because it is snowing, that does not mean global warming is not happening or that climate change is not real,” says Shepherd.

Both Shepherd and DeGaetano say that it’s important to understand the difference between weather and climate. Weather is what happens over a short period of time—like a snowstorm or a sunny day. Climate is the average of an area’s weather over at least three decades.

DeGaetano compares weather to a person’s moods, which can change from day to day. Climate, on the other hand, is like that person’s overall personality. It stays more consistent over time. “Even though you might be generally a very easygoing person, there are some days when you are really angry or down in the dumps,” says DeGaetano. Similarly, even though the climate is getting warmer overall, super cold weather events like Grayson will still occur.

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