File:Snow in the northeastern United States (MODIS 2017-03-20).jpg

English: A late winter nor’easter pounded parts of the United States in mid-March 2017. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured a true-color image of the aftermath of the storm on March 16.

On March 13, forecasters at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC) advised that a low pressure system crossing the Midwest states and Ohio Valley was set to merge with another low that was positioned off the southeast coast. As a result of this clash, they predicted “A powerful nor’easter will bring very heavy snow, ice, strong winds and dangerous travel conditions from the Middle Atlantic to New England…Strong winds could down trees and cause power outages”.

On March 13, airlines that served the Mid-Atlantic region and Northeast began cancelling flights ahead of the storm. Stella’s fury began on March 14 with heavy icing in the southern part of the affected region. Baltimore airport reported ¼ inch (0.6 cm) of ice, while locations in New Jersey were hit with 0.4 inches (1 cm) of ice. Gusting winds combined with heavy ice downed powerlines and trees, and created dangerous driving conditions.

Further north, Stella dumped record-breaking snowfall totals in some areas. According to The Weather Channel, the Bolton Valley Ski Area in the Green Mountains of northern Vermont reported a storm total of 58 inches on March 16. They also report that Stella was the heaviest snowstorm on record in Binghamton, New York, with 35.3 inches (89.7 cm) of snow dumped in just two days. This pushed this winter to the snowiest on record for the town, with 131.7 inches (334.5 cm) logged so far.

A nor’easter takes its name from the northeasterly winds that blow in from the ocean ahead of the storm. Such storms form along the eastern of the coast as warm air blowing from the Atlantic Ocean clashes with frigid arctic air to the north and west. Nor’easters are most common in winter (September through April) and impact the northeastern part of the United States.