Atlantic storm, March 27. (CIRA/NOAA)

A gigantic ocean storm has explosively developed offshore New England, this time staying far enough away to keep its wind, rain and snow from blasting the coast.

[This map shows every inch of snow that fell on the lower 48 this year]

But it is a beast, its northern fringe nearly brushing Nova Scotia and its southern tentacles extending practically to the Caribbean. At its core, its pressure dropped about 24 millibars between Sunday night and Monday night, matching the criteria of a “bomb cyclone.”

The storm is a massive wave-generator, producing offshore swells up to 42 feet high, according to the National Weather Service Ocean Prediction Center. Along the Atlantic beaches, waves are forecast to be in the five- to nine-foot range.

“The low delivers solid, overhead to well overhead+ swell back to the East Coast that tops out around the middle of the week for most,” posted Surfline.com, a website for surfing enthusiasts.


Wave projection. (Surfline)

Peak winds are projected to be near hurricane force near the storm’s core.

The storm blew up as disturbances along streams of flow from the north and south converged over the Atlantic Ocean between Sunday and Monday. The northern stream disturbance came from eastern Canada, while the southern stream disturbance was the same one that unloaded up to a foot of snow  Saturday night in Southwest Virginia.

The storm formed in similar fashion to the four nor’easters that slammed the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast earlier in the month, but just far enough offshore to mercifully spare the coast from anything other than big waves.

For the next day or so, the storm is forecast to meander offshore, sending back big swells toward the East Coast before scooting off to the north, potentially brushing Newfoundland on Thursday.

“Make sure you get your [surfing] fill before this memorable March becomes just a memory,” Surfline advised.

Here are some more dramatic views of the storm…


Close-up of March 27 ocean storm. (NASA)

(Ocean Prediction Center)

(CIRA/NOAA via Jonathan Erdman at weather.com)