On definitions

[pecunium]

There was a big storm arcross the East last week. Watching the Weather Channel, of all places, it was mis-called.

And Fred Clark yesterday, made the same miscall.

It wasn't a Nor'easter, but rather a Sou'wester.

A nor'easter gets its name from its continuously strong northeasterly winds blowing in from the ocean ahead of the storm and over the coastal areas.(Weather.com

Nor'easters can occur in the eastern United States any time between October and April, when moisture and cold air are plentiful. They are known for dumping heavy amounts of rain and snow, producing hurricane-force winds, and creating high surfs that cause severe beach erosion and coastal flooding. A Nor'easter is named for the winds that blow in from the northeast and drive the storm up the east coast along the Gulf Stream, a band of warm water that lies off the Atlantic coast. (How stuff works)


It's really pretty simple, winds are called after the direction from which they come, not the one to which go. A north wind comes from the north, pushing boats to the south.

The oddity is on/offshore, which are descriptions of what happens to a ship driven before them, onshore winds will end up with the boat beached, offshore winds will keep it from making port.

Comments

[anna-en-route.livejournal.com]

We know this first hand...our southerly comes directly from the South Pole, no landmasses in the way...

[silmaril.livejournal.com]

You know, this explains what got me all confusedly blinking at NOAA's wind-direction map last week.

("They keep saying nor'easter... but these little flags all point up... um...")