The October 2017 North American storm complex 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 cyclone, extratropical cyclonic low-pressure area. The change in pr ...

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 a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

and

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundlan ...

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 ...

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 coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

, 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 state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

surpassed the Ice Storm of 1998.

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) – a Category 1 hurricane that stayed out in Atlantic Ocean * Hurricane Philippe (2011) – a Category 1 hurricane that never impacted a ...

moved northeast over South

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

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 of low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropical cyclone (to the west in the Norther ...

, 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 comprising 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 to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. 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. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

area as well.

Hunter, New York Hunter is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town located in Greene County, New York, Greene County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 2,732 at the time of the 2010 census. The town contains three Administra ...

sees the most rain at , with falling in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

New England

, over 400,000 power outages were reported, some lasting over a week. Surpassing the Ice Storm of 1998, 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 is bordered by 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. Damage in New Hampshire totalled $4.1 million. In

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, 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 mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

. In the state, damage amounted to $350,000.Storm Events Database: Massachusetts
NOAA

Eastern Canada

Heavy rain fell in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, resulting in power outages and travel problems. The

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

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 p ...

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