This year’s hurricane season ended last week and Delaware came out unscathed.
But First State residents should now prepare for nor’easters.
The 2022 season was unusually calm early on as wind shear and dry air limited storm development.
However the season - which ended November 30, 2022 - did produce three destructive hurricanes striking Florida and Puerto Rico toward the end - including the strongest of the group, Ian.
But while Delaware saw limited impact from those storms and their remnants, National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Dodd says nor’easters can cause just as much trouble - and this is when they can start becoming a factor.
"That’s really the bigger threat through the late fall and winter months. So from this point forward really, they tend to be more likely as we head through the Winter months of December, January and February,” he said.
Dodd says nor’easters can bring heavy snow, but can also cause significant damage through coastal flooding and high winds.
He says Delaware sees its fair share of nor’easters and First State residents need to be prepared.
Dodd notes it’s not just snow that makes these storms dangerous between now and February.
“Not just precipitation in the form of heavy rain, but coastal flooding and strong winds can be big concern with any sort of coastal storms, especially the stronger ones that might spin-up over the Gulf Stream off North Carolina's Outer Banks; it's kind of a prone spot for low pressure development,” said Dodd.
He adds that it's tough to say how many nor'easters we could see this year, but notes there are signs the upper-level pattern in December could be more conducive to their development.
