# Climate change is making nor'easters fiercer

> A slow-moving nor'easter floods the U.S. Northeast this weekend, and scientists say warming is intensifying the strongest storms.
- Title: Climate change is making nor'easters fiercer · TIME | Shortify
- Summary: A slow-moving nor'easter floods the U.S. Northeast this weekend, and scientists say warming is intensifying the strongest storms. A major nor'easter is…
- Keywords: nor'easter, climate change, coastal flooding, extreme weather, northeast united states, michael mann, mathew barlow, Climate, change, making, nor'easters, fiercer
- Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/09/25/climate-change-nor-easters
- Author: Simmone Shah
- Published: 2026-09-25T19:32:05+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: nor'easter, climate change, coastal flooding, extreme weather, northeast united states, michael mann, mathew barlow
## Nor'easter sweeps the Northeast
A massive nor'easter is hitting the U.S. Northeast this weekend with heavy rain, flooding, and wind gusts over sixty miles per hour from the Midatlantic to Maine.
## Coastal flooding reaches Sandy levels
Coastal flooding has submerged roads in New Jersey, including Atlantic City, where water levels reached heights unseen since Superstorm Sandy.
## What makes a nor'easter
Named for northeast winds, nor'easters derive energy from ocean heat like hurricanes but have cold cores and linger longer over areas.

> A nor'easter, like a hurricane, derives some of its energy from the heat of the ocean.
## Warming intensifies the strongest storms
Climate scientists say human-caused warming allows the atmosphere to hold more moisture, making intense nor'easters bring heavier rainfall and stronger winds.

> Human-caused warming is leading to higher precipitation totals with these storms.
## Storm count stays same, intensity rises
The total number of nor'easters is not increasing, but the strongest ones are becoming more extreme with greater storm surge and wind damage.

> Not every storm is becoming more intense, but the intense storms are becoming more intense.
## Billion-dollar disasters accelerating
Billion-dollar weather disasters now strike every ten days in the U.S., down from once every eighty-two days in the nineteen eighties, and will worsen until emissions stop.

> Until we stop increasing the amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, the intensity of rainfall, the intensity of these storms, will continue to increase as well.
## Key takeaway

A major nor'easter is flooding the U.S. Northeast, and climate scientists say human-caused warming is making the most intense storms even more severe.