Some Places Hit by Sandy May See Another Big Storm Next Week

Following the destruction caused by hurricane Sandy earlier in the week, many residents along the northeastern coast are still without power or access to fuel. In some cases, they are even without homes.

Adding salt to the wound, says the Associated Press, is the possibility that a second strong storm may move in next week—a potential nor’easter that would bring snow and high winds to New England and New York.

NOAA explains how nor’easters form:

To the west, large fresh cold air masses from Canada begin to envelope the Midwest on a regular basis. To the east, the Atlantic Ocean is slower to lose its stored summer heat than the continent, and hurricanes sometimes form over the warm waters. The contrast between two very dissimilar air masses often results in massive storms just offshore of North America.

The storms have a reputation “for dumping heavy amounts of rain and snow, producing hurricane-force winds, and creating high surfs that cause severe beach erosion and coastal flooding.”

The Atlantic Wire says that the storm could be bad, but not so bad as Sandy.

Nor’easter sounds like something we’re not quite ready to deal with yet, but it will not be as monumental, it appears, as a Snor’eastercane. There may be a bit of snow, and some rain and wind, in the Northeast Wednesday and Thursday of next week, which is hardly ideal given the problems Sandy left the city and beyond, but it’s also NOT a Frankenstorm, as the meteorologists are careful to warn us.

The forecasting models leave a bit of uncertainty as to whether storm will take shape, and if it does, how strong it will be, says NBC News.

More from Smithsonian.com:
Why We May Not See the Next Sandy Coming
What Should New York City Do to Prepare for the Next Sandy?

Colin Schultz | | READ MORE

Colin Schultz is a freelance science writer and editor based in Toronto, Canada. He blogs for Smart News and contributes to the American Geophysical Union. He has a B.Sc. in physical science and philosophy, and a M.A. in journalism.