The March 2014nor'easter was an extremely powerful extratropical cyclone that affected much of U.S. Gulf Coast, the eastern United States, eastern Canada, and Greenland. It was the most powerful winter storm of the 2013–14 North American winter storm season, being an unusually large winter storm as well, with its gale-force wind field becoming four times larger than that of Hurricane Sandy's extratropical remnant. The storm affected various parts of the Midwest, most of the Eastern Seaboard, as well as eastern Canada, bringing extremely powerful winds, and blizzard-like conditions.
Meteorological history
On March 24, an extratropical disturbance developed in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the coast of South Texas. Within a day, the developing storm crossed over Florida, before emerging off the east coast of the Southeastern United States on March 25. Late on March 25, the winter storm emerged off the coast of the Southeastern United States and began to undergo explosive intensification, becoming a bomb cyclone by March 26, and absorbing another weaker winter storm to the west in the process. However, the storm's path remained off-shore, which resulted in relatively minor impacts to most of the Northeastern United States. Despite the storm's distance from the coast, the system caused wind damage and blizzard-like conditions across New England and eastern Canada. Powered by moisture coming from the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the opposing air masses, the storm quickly became a superstorm with a gale-force wind field four times larger than that of Superstorm Sandy, during the extratropical duration of the latter system, which was extremely unusual for a storm at that time of the year. Later on March 26, the massive nor'easter reached a peak intensity of, shortly before it made landfall on Nova Scotia. The storm also had peak sustained winds of, and maximum gusts up to, while unofficial records measured wind gusts up to. Early on March 27, the superstorm made landfall on Nova Scotia and weakened to a strong nor'easter. The storm continued to move towards the north, while gradually beginning to weaken. Later on the same day, the nor'easter weakened to a storm and moved northward into the Labrador Sea. On March 28, the storm stalled in the middle of the Labrador Sea. Early on March 29, the nor'easter weakened further to a disorganized extratropical storm, even resumed a slow eastward track. Later on the same day, the northern part of the system reached Disko Bay, even as it continued to deteriorate. Early on the next day, the storm's center of circulation collapsed as the system became elongated, due to its interaction with a ridge of high pressure over Greenland, even while the system's center of circulation remained off the east coast of Greenland and stalled, weakening to a low. Several hours later, the storm's remnants were absorbed into a frontal zone.
Impacts
Aside from the impacts in eastern Canada, the Northeastern United States was battered with areas of snow and hurricane-force winds, with winds gusting up to in Chatham, Massachusetts.
Snowfall totals
North Carolina
Highest snowfall total reported was 12.2 inches near Bleech Mountain.
