Jerry twirls in the Atlantic. Priscilla churns in the Pacific. It’s the time of year when named systems — tropical storms and hurricanes — can dominate the weather along the coasts.
But this weekend, it’s a storm that won’t get a name that is very likely to cause a stir up and down the East Coast, as forecasters warned on Wednesday that it could bring significant effects to the coastline.
Key highlights
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How certain is the forecast? Although much remains to be deciphered about the storm’s track and intensity, forecasters are relatively confident that it is likely to cause significant coastal flooding. Where, exactly, it might do that is still unknown.
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What is the timing? The storm isn’t expected to form off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina until Saturday, and it could linger off the East Coast through the middle of next week. But coastal flooding could begin as early as Thursday from the prevailing wind direction and astronomical tides.
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What are the main hazards? The timing of this storm coincides with the “king tides,” which occur every fall when astronomical tides are at their highest, potentially increasing the flood threat. They’ve been occurring along the Florida coast already this week, causing some damage.
Forecasters also warned of the potential for strong, damaging winds and enough rain to cause flooding.
What to call the storm
In the United States, the only storms that get official names are tropical systems. This storm is technically a nor’easter, because the winds will be out of the northeast. But because it won’t be accompanied by the snow that many people typically associate with nor’easters, some forecasters will avoid calling it that so as not to confuse people.
“You know, this is going to be an instance where this thing isn’t necessarily going to be named, but it’s still going to be pretty impactful, maybe more impactful than any kind of event that we’ve seen this season, at least up here,” said Matthew Wunsch, a forecaster with the New York City office of the National Weather Service.
The severity of the storm — and the language used by Weather Service offices — will depend on the eventual strength and track of the storm system. Nelson Vaz, a Weather Service meteorologist in New York City, said his office will call it a coastal storm, but if it looks like it is becoming unusually strong, then “nor’easter” will become more appropriate because he thinks it will help people immediately understand its intensity.
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The post Storm Is Expected to Bring Wild Weekend Weather Along the East Coast appeared first on New York Times.
