A superstorm is a large, unusually-occurring, destructive
storm
A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...
without another distinct meteorological classification, such as
hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depe ...
or
blizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling ...
.
Origin and usage
Before the early 1990s, the phrases "
storm of the century" or "
perfect storm" were generally used to describe unusually large or destructive storms. The term "superstorm" was employed in 1993 by the
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...
to describe a
Nor'easter
A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use ...
in March of that year. The term is most frequently used to describe a
weather pattern that is as destructive as a
hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depe ...
, but which exhibits the cold-weather patterns of a
winter storm.
Examples
*
Hurricane Patricia, strongest tropical cyclone by wind speed, with sustained winds at least 20 mph faster than its runner-up.
*
Great Gale of 1880, northwest United States.
*
North Sea flood of 1953, A powerful system that triggered severe flooding in the British Isles and
Netherlands
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.
*
Columbus Day Storm of 1962, Pacific Northwest windstorm.
*
Great Storm of 1975, central and southeast United States.
*
Braer Storm of January 1993
The Braer Storm was the most intense extratropical cyclone ever recorded over the northern Atlantic Ocean, as well as the strongest recorded worldwide. Developing as a weak frontal wave on 8 January 1993, the system moved rapidly northeast. The ...
, North Atlantic.
*
1993 Storm of the Century, eastern North America.
*
Hanukkah Eve windstorm of 2006, Pacific Northwest windstorm.
*
Great Coastal Gale of 2007
The Great Coastal Storm of 2007 was a series of three powerful Pacific storms that affected the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia between December 1, 2007 and December 4, 2007.
The storms on ...
, a series of three powerful Pacific Northwest storms.
*
January 2008 North American storm complex, Pacific extratropical cyclone over North America.
*
October 2009 North American storm complex, extratropical cyclone over western North America.
*
January 2010 North American winter storms, a group of unusually-powerful extratropical cyclones that affected California and the Contiguous United States.
*
October 2010 North American storm complex
The October 2010 North American storm complex is the name given to a historic extratropical cyclone that impacted North America. The massive storm complex caused a wide range of weather events including a major serial derecho stretching from the ...
, extratropical cyclone that impacted North America
*
November 2011 Bering Sea cyclone, cyclone that affected Alaska.
*
Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds span ...
(informally referred to as a "superstorm" by the media), an Atlantic hurricane that became an extremely powerful extratropical cyclone over the Eastern United States.
*
January 2013 Northwest Pacific cyclone, extratropical cyclone.
*
March 2014 nor'easter, an extremely powerful extratropical cyclone that acquired a wind field four times the size of Hurricane Sandy's.
*
November 2014 Bering Sea cyclone, extremely powerful extratropical cyclone in the Bering Sea
*
January 2018 North American blizzard, one of the most powerful extratropical cyclones recorded off the East Coast of the United States, brought blizzard conditions to much of the Eastern U.S.
*
March 2019 North American blizzard, a powerful extratropical cyclone in the United States that drew comparisons to the 1993 Storm of the Century.
*
Hurricane Dorian, an Atlantic hurricane that degenerated to an extremely powerful extratropical cyclone south of
Atlantic Canada.
See also
*
ARkStorm
*
Hypercane
*
Perfect storm
*
Bomb cyclone
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...
*
Storm of the Century (disambiguation) The Storm of the century is a term usually applied to a particularly damaging or notable weather event (such as a blizzard or hurricane) during a specific century. It may refer to:
Weather events
* Eastern Canadian blizzard of March 1971 - Nicknam ...
References
{{Cyclones
Storm
1990s neologisms