The October 2017 nor'easter was a major

explosive cyclogenesis Explosive cyclogenesis (also referred to as a weather bomb, meteorological bomb, explosive development, bomb cyclone, or bombogenesis) is the rapid deepening of an extratropical cyclonic low-pressure area. The change in pressure needed to class ...

storm, also called a ''bomb cyclone'', in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

and

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...

from October 29–31, 2017. Forming from an

extratropical cyclone Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...

on October 29 the system moved rapidly up the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

, bombing out with a minimum pressure of on October 30. It brought heavy rain and extremely strong winds, and power outages, over 1.3 million customers being without power in the Northeast. Hurricane-force wind gusts resulted in downed trees, power lines, and widespread damage to buildings. The number of power outages in the state of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

surpassed the

Ice Storm of 1998 The North American Ice Storm of 1998 (also known as the Great Ice Storm of 1998 or the January Ice Storm) was a massive combination of five smaller successive ice storms in January 1998 that struck a relatively narrow swath of land from eastern ...

Meteorological history

On October 29, an

powered partially by leftover moisture from

Tropical Storm Philippe The name Philippe has been used for four tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean. * Hurricane Philippe (2005) The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a record-breaking, devastating and deadly Atlantic hurricane season. It is the second-costliest ...

moved northeast over South

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and began to move up the U.S. East Coast. The moisture from the system soon began to feed into a

cold front A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface Trough (meteorology), trough of Low-pressure area, low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropica ...

, resulting in rapid intensification of the low pressure as it moved up the coast. On October 30, the storm underwent

, deepening from to a peak intensity of over

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. After maintaining its intensity for some time, it then began to rapidly weaken, before dissipating on October 31.

Preparations and impact

Mid-Atlantic states

Tropical storm-force wind gusts affected much of the Mid-Atlantic, and rainfall totals of were recorded in interior areas. Wind gusts of were reported along the coast. Downed trees and power lines were reported as a result of the storm in the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

area as well.

Hunter, New York Hunter is a town located in Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 3,035 at the time of the 2020 census.U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 census results. https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Hunter%2 ...

recorded the most rain at , with of rain falling in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

. The

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...

was briefly suspended due to the storm.

New England

, over 400,000 power outages were reported, some lasting over a week. Surpassing the

, the storm became the largest weather-related power outage event in

history. There was widespread tree damage across the state, and some roads in coastal regions of the state were impassable for over a week. In

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, nearly 300,000 power outages were reported, and the storm was the fourth-largest power outage in New Hampshire history. Numerous roads throughout the state were closed by washouts from heavy rain or from fallen trees, slowing initial damage assessment response. Gusts on

Mount Washington Mount Washington is an ultra-prominent mountain in the state of New Hampshire. It is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorio ...

reached . Damage in New Hampshire totalled $4.1 million. In

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, a wind gust of was recorded at the Burlington International Airport. Approximately 50,000 customers lost power in the state, and most had power restored within the next five days. Many schools were closed throughout the state, and the state's largest utility reported that over 500 field crews were restoring power on October 30. Damage amounted to $3 million. A wind gust of occurred in

Cape Cod, Massachusetts Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

. In the state, damage amounted to $350,000. 170,000 power outages occurred in the state of

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

.Biggest Storms of the Decade
NBC Connecticut, December 26, 2019

Eastern Canada

Heavy rain fell in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, resulting in power outages and travel problems. The

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

area recorded up to of rain on October 30.

References

External links

Archive of Storm Summaries
from the

Weather Prediction Center The Weather Prediction Center (WPC), located in College Park, Maryland, is one of nine service centers under the umbrella of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), a part of the National Weather Service (NWS), which in turn is ...

{{United States winter storms 2017 meteorology Nor'easters Extratropical cyclones Floods in the United States