Stephani Teran
Express staff
On Feb. 7, 2026, the Plympton Town Properties Committee held the first open-to-the-public meeting concerning the ongoing, but delayed, project to provide the town with a new, up to code, fire station. The meeting was opened by the Town Properties Committee Chair, Pierre Boyer and fellow board members Kaitlin Johnson and Keelin Smith. This meeting was to be the first in a four-phase initiative to present factual data on current operations, EMS response times, and facility needs while being transparent with the public and focusing on tax impacts for the residents of Plympton.
Boyer began by explaining that they had been working closely with the Fire Chief, Cheryl Duddy, on gathering data about how the fire department works within the town and surrounding areas. Boyer assured that, “We are going to use this data to help find the right solution for the town as we continue to move forward with the project.” He also reiterated that there would be no votes taken, no decisions made, and was purely to present data and engage in a feedback-based conversation with town members in attendance.
The first operational topic that was discussed concerned how the fire station responds to calls. All emergency calls go through the Regional Old Colony Communications Center in Duxbury. Plympton emergency services are then dispatched -both on calls within town boundaries as well as surrounding towns that have mutual aid agreements with our town.
The fire station staffing was reviewed by the Chair as well. Currently, there are six full-time employees at the fire station -the Fire Chief, the Administrative Fire Prevention Captain, and four firefighter paramedics. The chief and captain have a traditional five-day work week, while the paramedics work in rotating 24hr shifts. The Plympton Fire Department provides services and coverage 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Next, the daily staffing needs were discussed with weekdays having three to four personnel with two on call overnight. The impact shifts, meaning the hours likely to present the highest frequency of calls, is Monday through Thursday 3-9 p.m., and Friday 3-7 p.m. During the weekends, the fire department staffs three personnel during the daytime, and three overnight, with impact hours being Saturday’s entire 24 hours and Sunday’s from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
In addition to the full-time staff at the fire station, there are five part time employees that work up to 24 hours a week, 20 members that are certified to work EMT shifts, and seven fire fighters who are fire-response only and on call from home, as well as four probationary fire fighters who are awaiting academy training, as well as 35 on-call firefighters.
Once the shifts and personnel status of the fire station was presented, Boyer moved into presenting facts about the apparatus and what is currently available. This includes one tanker, two engines, two ambulances, two brush trucks, one command vehicle, and one support vehicle. Boyer noted, “The next apparatus we need to replace in the town is ambulance #2.” He then explained that all these vehicles would need storage in the bay.
Another area of data collected by the Town Properties Committee concerned call volume. Call volumes from 2021-2024 were analyzed and compared. The total number of emergency responses were presented as: 2021 at 750 calls, 2022 at 759 calls, 2023 at 785 calls, and 2024 at 808 calls. The number of fires responded to in 2021 came in at 11, in 2022 at 14, in 2023 at 12, and in 2024 at 12. This was presented with the much higher numbers of EMS based responses which tallied at 454 for 2021, 513 for 2022, 542 for 2023, and 541 for 2024.
The next points of data presented by the committee concerned mutual aid activity -given and received. Mutual aid is collaborative responses of our fire department to assist in surrounding towns as well as other towns assisting with responses in our town if needed. Mutual aid given in 2021 totaled 89 responses given and 14 received. In 2022, 124 responses were given and 19 received. In 2023, 138 responses were given and 6 were received. In 2024, 172 responses were given and 10 were received.
All data provided by the Town Properties Committee shows that the Plympton Fire Department is an EMS service driven entity with a steadily increasing number of calls and services rendered in ours and surrounding mutual aid towns. In addition to the numbers of responses presented, Boyer also displayed a heat map that showed the frequency of calls from inside Plympton do not have a specific, concentrated origin -meaning calls were pretty evenly dispersed throughout the town with a few exceptions. “Sysco is a high-volume call area as is Center Street and Palmer Road where there are a lot of car accidents,” Boyer pointed out.
Boyer moved in to the data behind population and expected population in the coming years. The data presented indicated a minimal decrease in population for Plympton from 2025-2050. The current population of 2928 residents was divided into the focus-age groups of 60+, 60-69 years, 70-79 years, and 80+. According to simulated runs of data, the 60+ age group had 890 residents in 2025 vs a projected 779 60+ residents in 2050. For the age group of 60-69 the 2025 population was 435 vs a projected 401 for 2050. For the age group of 70-79 the population was a drastic decrease from 303 in 2025 to a projected 170 in 2050. Lastly, the 80+ age group was presented as 152 in 2025 and expected to increase to 208 by 2050. None of this data included the pending developmental projects that will increase town population significantly such as the Ricketts Pond Estates. It was noted that population increases were possible and unpredictable and that additional demands on the fire department might include increased storm-related activity and aging infrastructures around town.
One of the biggest concerns with the project of the new Fire Station is the tax implications on residents. This was a driving reason to cause the town to vote down the previous plans that had taken years of research and work to come to fruition and be formally presented. The new Town Properties Committee is looking to present tax mitigation strategies beginning as soon as Phase One of the project. Boyer stated, “We are going to approach the fire station project with the goal of minimizing the tax impact on residents -though we can make no guarantees at this stage. The Town Properties Committee is deliberately evaluating multiple financial strategies to reduce, offset, or smooth a potential tax burden.”
Boyer stated that the Town Properties Committee was committed to a disciplined, data-driven approach that prioritizes fiscal responsibility and focuses not only on the cost to construct a new station, but on the long-term financial impact on the town over the next several decades. The currently proposed mitigation strategies include a debt roll-off and timing strategy, grants and outside funding opportunities, ambulance fund review as a source of revenue, and studying long-term cost control.
The debt roll-off strategy would include looking at the towns debt schedule to see which debts are to roll off in five years, then time any potential borrowing so that the new debt replaces the old rather than layers upon it. Boyer than explained that the grant and outside funding opportunities are being evaluated by the committee to see what the town is eligible for on a federal and state level. “We are actually in contact with a senator and other fire stations to see what opportunities they found for funding,” Boyer assured.
The ambulance fund review would look at the revenue generated by ambulance services rendered by Plympton and the committee would take a close look to see if generated funds from this service could offset any of the fire station costs. Long-term operating cost control is also a strategy the Town Properties Committee is using to keep costs down. Boyer stated, “There is tax impact often driven by construction costs and long-term operating expenses. We are looking at evaluating staffing assumptions, overtime trends, utilities and maintenance, and life cycle costs to ensure the solution is affordable long term.”
In addition to these strategies, the Town Properties Committee assured they are committed to transparency concerning the budget context. Lastly, Boyer added, “It is important to note that at this phase there are no final decisions made. Phase One is to gather data, listen to residents, ensure future recommendations are noted in fiscal responsibility, and to get community input.” Upon conclusion of the data presentation the meeting was opened to the public for comments.
With 22 residents in attendance there were many questions and concerns shared with the committee. The nature of running the project based on a more EMS-supportive model as opposed to a fire station-focused, operational model was brought up. The importance of providing mutual aid to surrounding towns was also discussed, with Chief Duddy adding, “When we go for mutual aid, we bill the patient no differently than we normally do and we collect that revenue. So, it actually generates revenue when we go out of town with the ambulance. It is important for us to keep our mutual aid agreements in place, because if we do have a large structure fire, we need to bring mutual aid in. It’s a reciprocal system. So, the ambulance does bring revenue to the town.”
Justin Shepard commented that the ambulance is a “cash cow” for the town and pointed out that with a new, large residential structure in Halifax as well as the 60-unit development via Ricketts Pond in Plympton, there would likely be an increase in demand for emergency services rather than a decrease. “We also have a lot of single-family homes right now with one or two occupants, turning over into families with two or three kids -I can’t imagine that with the aging population we have that our population will decrease.” Boyer responded that the population-decrease data was based off of the current numbers and data but did not account for pending projects and possibilities that would undoubtedly increase the town population.
One common concern was about the $978.000.00 loan taken out to conduct the usability study -half of which was already used for the project. Marilyn on Elm Street asked, “I would like to know if you have decided to totally disregard the plans that were already developed for the fire station. I also want to know if you have looked into making modifications for those plans. Debt-wide, the Dennett debt will roll off this year and that is why we had looked to get the fire station started.” In addition to this concern, another resident stated, “It cost a lot of town money to fund the previous fire station proposal, and if I am hearing correctly, we are not going to use that. So that is close to a million dollars that we have authorized and it is not cast to the wind. I don’t understand why you would start with something new unless you felt it wasn’t researched well. From what I read, I know the previous committee did a lot of hard work.”
Justin Shepard added a posed question to the committee asking if there came a point when the new research aligned with the previously done research, would the committee, in fact, go back to the original plans presented by the previous committee. Boyer replied, “Absolutely we are open to that,” he explained, “If the data leads us in the same direction, then that previous plan is what we are coming back with.” He noted that this would be in addition to presenting other options to the town, including a possible proposal to renew and remodel the current fire station.
Some of the residents in attendance wanted to know where the previous plans and studies were available for viewing, to which Jon Wilhelmsen -previous Town Properties Committee Chair, provided the previous architects contact and said that if anyone reached out to them, the first feasibility study could be obtained. Another resident asked about the line of authority in terms of final decisions being made about the project. Boyer answered that the committee would present the plans to the Board of Selectmen, town administrator, and residents via a town meeting.
Vicki Alberti expressed her view on the flaws in the current population projections depicted in the data presented. First, she thanked the committee members for stepping up to such a monumental task. She then explained that she did not agree with the projections at present. “There is a lot of pressure to develop this town from the state. And the possible 40B Complex will add 60 families to the town. So, I disagree with the state numbers you have presented. I am on the Open Space Committee and I know the town is pressured to develop anywhere it can, so I think we are cutting ourselves short looking at a decrease in population.” Boyer responded again that he would only use the current data when formulating a plan.
Kathryn Shepard invited the committee members to attend a Finance Committee Meeting. “I invite you to join a meeting to learn about some other areas in town that we are getting polls from that require funds as well as doing this project.” Boyer thanked her for the offer and noted that he had not had the time to attend any town council or committee meetings aside from the Board of Selectmen meeting days prior which was his first time attending any meeting of that nature. He also reminded the residents that the current Town Properties Committee had only been in place since November and they were still learning things and trying to manage their own time and energy with their personal lives and the fire station project.
Resident Mark Wallace asked the Chair why a meeting between the former Town Properties Committee and the new one could not take place to exchange information and reach a better understanding of what had already been done. Boyer quickly said he would take that into consideration. More concern about the debt roll-off strategy was expressed by residents as well as confusion as to why the previous costly plans were not being consulted to enhance or add to current data. There was also concern over the site location potentials for a new station and worry over the wasted money to install wells in the area previously designated for the project.
Wilhelmsen spoke up about his insight with the timing of the project and the tax mitigation strategies. “You have the debt that’s rolling off this year, that $50,000.00. Silver Lake, as you mentioned, over the next two years is $700,000.00, and then following $600,000.00, so that’s 1.3 million. Plympton is about 10% of that, so $130,000.00 -that’s a total of $180,000.00 over the next three years going off. We ended up paying for some projects that, perhaps in hindsight we should have bonded to leave some extra money to pay for things… That is unfortunately a challenge.” Wilhelmsen added that there were also a few things on the horizon such as the $50 million in repairs needed for Silver Lake Middle and High Schools and a new roof needed in the town. He also noted an increase in students coming into Dennett at about 250 new students and the need for increased space in the school. In addition, Wilhelmsen noted that Plympton’s financial struggles were not unique in the state. “Based on news articles about town meetings posted all around the South Shore, every town sounds like this. It’s an absolute crisis. The state is not giving the money that it needs to in order to offset the cost of public buildings.” Lastly, Wilhelmsen noted that when a fire station is planned, there is a minimum that must be met regardless of the number of residents served. “If you have 3,000 residents, that station is not going to be fundamentally different than 6,000 or 9,000 residents. You might add a couple of bedrooms and a bit more space, but things like decontamination and storage -all of that is a bare minimum. If the fire department went out on 12 calls or three, or a big house or structure fire -you are still coming back contaminated.” Wilhelmsen thanked the committee for the work they are doing and referred to his many years serving on the board and offered access to all previously obtained and conducted studies and data.
The committee reiterated that this was an entirely volunteer based effort and that everyone in town has specific qualifications and abilities and they invited anyone who feels so inclined to offer their expertise, insight, and support. Boyer assured that no prior experience in town boards or politics is needed to volunteer in any way and that the committee was doing their best to deal with a steep learning curve and designated as much time to the project as the feasibly could. The meeting was adjourned and the following meeting will be Phase Two of the Education and Listening Initiative.

One of the first things people learn when they take an interest in gardening, is that it is never-ending. If you aren’t actively doing it, you are thinking about it -and that is entirely necessary to have a successful garden adventure. Bloom season hardly ends with the first frosts -if anything, the most prolific blooming that occurs in a garden is done in the mind of the gardener in the winter months because that is the only time the garden is entirely successful and goes perfectly to plan.
Lofty ideas of perfect, disease-free roses that cascade with abandon over archways, and behemoth, crinkly-green cabbages straight out of a children’s storybook easily occur in the January garden because it is all in the mind (at least it is here up north where our zone calls for a long period of growth dormancy). Our optimistic zest while planting the first spring peas as soon as soil can be worked, and the surprisingly consuming anticipation of watching the first daffodil and tulips poke their green, lipstick-tube heads through the thawing earth can lead us into a spring-fever-frenzy where we begin to over-plant, over-plan, and overspend on ideas that are, perhaps lacking, a specific plan.
This lack of logic in favor of only fantasy can lead to discouraging phrases such as, “I guess I don’t have a green thumb”, and “I kill everything I plant” to follow the equinox-fueled hopes for Eden. The experts, however, know the remedy for this cycle of hopes vs mishaps, and it involves keeping expectations realistic, and starting each year with the basic foundations of gardening: Know your zone, know your light, know your soil, know yourself, know your goals.
Perhaps the most crucial thing to understand when planting or starting a garden is to know your zone. Our country is divided into thirteen zones -from 1A to 13B. Each zone is determined by the average annual minimal winter temperature, frost dates, humidity levels, and average annual rainfall that occur there throughout the year. All plants, trees, shrubs, all produce, fruits, and flowers have specific thresholds for what zones they can tolerate. When you purchase a seed packet or a plant, the information for its zone hardiness is usually provided on the packaging or tag and it can certainly be researched on the internet, via books, or from the experts at the gardening center where you are purchasing the item.
It is crucial to understand that just because a plant can survive in a specific zone, that doesn’t mean it will thrive there. For example: You can grow peonies in Florida, but they won’t be prolific or thrive there because they need a dormancy period of frost, snow, and cold to produce large and numerous flowers. Make sure that when you are purchasing seeds, seedlings, or plants that they are hardy to your zone (hint, we are 6b for the most part here in southern New England). Furthermore, you need to learn what is an annual and a perennial in your zone. Annual plants are things that are planted at the beginning of the growing season in your zone, but will die back once it gets cold enough or with the first frosts. Perennials are plants that go dormant in your zone’s cold months, but regenerate in the spring without you having to replant them. Biennials are plants that take one year to establish their leaves, and then the next year they bloom and die. These often self-seed before they die their second year so that there is a random, albeit consistent, supply of the plant at all times. Most foxgloves are an example of a biennial plant in our northern zones.
An equally important factor to consider when drawing up your vegetable or cutting garden dreams is to know your sites’ light. Just as with zones, plants and trees and all growing things have specific lighting needs and tolerances. There is a big difference between shade and full sun and even partial shade and full shade. Some plants are very forgiving when it comes to lighting needs. For instance, I continually push the shade limits in my container gardens on my front farmers porch where it is nearly full shade with a roof, but I have found which hardy plants indicate they need partial shade, but actually tolerate the near darkness I foolishly subject them to.
Then there are, say, roses. Roses are the divas of the garden and have a very specific list of demands that, even when met, are sometimes not enough to convince them to thrive. Roses absolutely need full sun or you are headed for trouble -aka mildews, black spot, funguses, and weak blooms. And if you think full-sun alone will give you a happy rose -well, you have not properly met a rose plant. Just as the zoning information can be found on your seed packets and plant purchases, so can the lighting conditions -often indicated by easy-to read graphics or sun images shaded to show how little or much a plant prefers.
Once you have established your zone and your lighting conditions in the area you want to plant in, you need to get to know your planting medium: The soil. Soil is a loaded word in the gardening world because it sets the stage for nearly everything you plant. Soil is a very complex topic that many gardeners spend their lives trying to understand, amend, and maintain, but for the sake of the length of this newspaper, I will give the most basic advice. Keep your soil alive. This means no harsh, inorganic chemicals, weed killers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc.
Microbes make or break your soil -and if you kill them off, you will spend the rest of your days, money, and time trying to put back the naturally occurring life force you stripped out when you dumped toxins into it. Just as your gut needs good bacteria to promote overall health, the soil needs its intricate and complex systems of biodiversity and organic matter that not only sustain life and growth, but act as a natural preventative for disease and pests in the garden. The best way to keep your soil healthy is to make, or purchase and use, compost. Compost, compost, compost! NOT fertilizer or plant food -COMPOST. Added each spring and fall, and incorporated into your native or added soil, it will be the reason your garden is a success story.
That said, how do you know how much and what to add to keep your soil alive and active? The most effective way to get to know your soil and what it is lacking or has too much of, is to do a soil sample test. These are easy to use, inexpensive tests that you can purchase at garden centers or you can request them from your local gardening extension. The results of these soil tests will tell you the pH, nutrient levels, and heavy metals in your soil. If you order a soil test from your local extension, you are often provided with a detailed breakdown of what is found in your soil and how to amend it depending on what conditions you are hoping for. These tests are inexpensive and accurate. If you are planting in multiple sites that are spread out in your yard, it is a good idea to do a test for each are, a as soil varies a great deal -even on a relatively modest-sized property.
Once you have learned about your intended site or existing plot, you need to ask yourself: How much work do I want to/am I willing to put into, not only planting, but maintaining this garden and everything I put in it? There is no shame in whatever answer you give yourself because even toying with the idea of growing and nurturing something is a worthy cause. That said, it is crucial to learn about your style and wishes for a garden versus your allotted time to dedicate to it. If you are strapped for time and energy, certainly do not spend time and money planting an intricate English cottage garden, or a structured Italian-style garden -both of which would require a lot of daily attending.
If you are, perhaps, gifted with some extra time on your hands and an accompanying itch to be in the garden daily, perhaps skip the low maintenance perennials and succulent-based groundcovers which would grow if the garden was not visited for a decade and are actually worse for ware with interfering hands. Some plants require a great deal of effort the season long with dead-heading, pruning, and pest control, and some are demanding feeders who want compost and water frequently. Other plants grow in horrid, rocky soil with a few rainstorms a season and nothing more. It is important to research your plants before you spend money on them. Nothing in gardening is worse than spending a good deal of time and money establishing a garden that gets beyond your control and becomes a burden to keep up with instead of a therapeutic outlet. Ask me how I know…
Lastly, when you are planning a garden, it is imperative to ask yourself what you want out of your garden. Are you hoping for fresh food? Daily fresh-cut flowers? A purely visual treat to look at but not interact much with? A shade garden to fill that empty dirt patch by the porch? An engaging space to develop or cultivate a serious hobby or passion? Perhaps you want to better the environment and local ecosystems with a native plant garden. Or you may wish for a statement in landscape architecture on your property or even an herb garden in a pot on a city apartment patio. Gardens can be so many things, and when you ask yourself what you want out of the garden, you already have a much higher chance of getting it because you can make a plan. Again, there is no shame is how simple or extravagant your ideas are because gardens are really extensions of us and our lives. They are the visual result of our interaction with the earth and our relationships with nature. A mentor of mine said, “Gardens are the symphony we see when souls and soil meet.” Audrey Hepburn said it best when she said, “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Perhaps, especially right now, there is no better time to cultivate a little hope wherever and however we can. The trick is to meld vision with direction and once you can do that, your thumb will be green enough to prove gardening an encouraging sort of venture rather than a daunting one. Here are some resources to help you with your January gardening:

Seed Companies Worthy of Your Attention:
Seed Savers Exchange
Johnny’s Select Seeds
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
High Mowing Organic Seeds

Gardening Catalogues and Companies to Trust:
White Flower Farm
K. Van Bourgondien
Breck’s
Gardeners Supply
Brent and Becky’s Bulbs
Bluestone Perennials
Jackson and Perkins
Prairie Moon Nursery

Gardening Books:
A Way to Garden by Margaret Roach
Monty Don The Complete Gardener by Monty Don
Floret Farm’s A Year in Flowers by Erin Benzakein
Blooms and Dreams by Misha Gilligham
The Complete Guide to Gardening with Annuals and Perennials by Richard Bird and Kathy Brown
The New Gardener by Pippa Greenwood
The Natural Garden by Ken Druse

Local Gardening Centers That Know Their Stuff:
The Gardeners’ Choice, Pembroke
Morrisons Home and Garden, Plymouth
Crystal Lake Garden Shop, Plymouth
Sunshine Gardens, Kingston
Every Bloomin’ Things Garden Center and Nursery, Scituate

Gardens to Learn From:
Garden in the Woods, Framingham
Heritage Gardens, Sandwich
New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, Boylston
Alan C. Haskell Public Gardens, New Bedford
Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston

We have all seen it before -the “bread and milk” index displayed on local news forecasts and store shelves emptied of non-perishables, while “Winter Storm Warning in Effect” flashes on electronic screens along the highway. Any seasoned New Englander knows to fill the tub and grab the generator fuel and have the snow shovels and blowers at the ready. They also often have the familiar cold-weather New England “yard-sculpture” -a perfectly curated log-pile stacked neatly somewhere near the house. Winter storms are obviously common events mastered by New Englanders for generations, but perhaps it might be worth taking a look as to what exactly cooks up these infamous storm’s we call nor’easters.
The term nor’easter is fairly common in winter weather vernacular and refers to strong areas of low pressure along the U.S. East Coast featuring winds that move in from the northeast off the Atlantic Ocean. These storms are most usually associated with winter and snowstorms as they are most common and strongest between September and April, but nor’easters are possible year-round, as long as a low-pressure system fits the criteria. Just as no two snowflakes are alike, no nor’easters are exactly alike, but they can usually be sorted into categories, named after the researcher who came up with the system in 1946, J.E. Miller. Although not every nor’easter is a Miller System storm, the majority of them can be classified as such. There are five categories of Miller System storms, Types A-B-C-D-E, but the majority of storms fall into the Miller Type-A and Type-B categories.
To over-simplify and provide a quick visual of what pressure systems do, consider that high pressure is literally that -downward gravitational pressure that suppresses storm development -a lid, if you will, keeping things contained. Storms need the ability to ascend into the atmosphere and interact, with little restraint, with moisture and air masses to become significant. High pressure keeps all of that fun in check. Low pressure, however, means the “lid” is off and the atmospheric mayhem is allowed to commence and storms develop. The placement of high-and-low pressure systems also act as buffers that create pathways to guide and set the track for storms -much like the bumper pads on a bowling lane. Now that you have a visual of pressure systems, let’s talk about the Miller Systems.
The first Miller category, Type-A, includes nor’easters that primarily develop near the Gulf Coast or East Coast along an old cold front or the boundary between marine and land air masses. These types of nor’easters are considered “classic” nor’easters. For a Miller Type-A system to develop, high pressure must be in place near the eastern Great Lakes and a stationary boundary of low pressure is usually stationed off the southeast coast. This low-pressure line allows the cold, northern air mass to travel down and mix with the warmer air mass from the coast. This causes a system to develop. This growing storm system will then ride the buffered track up the east coast. By the time it reaches New England it is usually a significant system with a lot of moisture which usually falls as heavy snow.
Miller Type-B nor’easters are a bit more flamboyant with their wintry party as they tend to gift the inland states with blizzards and ice storms that make headlines and give headaches. Low pressure develops over the plains and rushes eastward. These systems approach the Northeast from the west, often through the Ohio Valley, bringing precipitation and ice to the Midwest on their journey. As with Miller Type-A storms, there is a delineation between rain and snow, but this time it’s more of a north-south split, rather than an inland-coastal split.
One thing that is unique to Miller Type-B systems is that they get a bit jumbled when they hit the Appalachian Mountains. The change in elevation and flow of terrain causes the initial low-pressure system to weaken as the central pressure goes up to accommodate the mountains, but this sets the stage for the low to then redevelop on the eastern side of the mountain range. This process is also known as a “center-jump.” Regardless of this momentary hop over the mountains, Miller Type-B systems are undeterred in unleashing a bit of chaos as they travel.
Sometimes, a nor’easter comes in the package of an Alberta Clipper System. Alberta clippers are another common type of winter storm, but only occasionally fall into the category of a nor’easter. An Alberta Clipper is a fast-moving area of low pressure that moves southeastward out of the Canadian Province of Alberta, through the Plains and Midwest. This type of winter storm qualifies as a nor’easter *if* it follows the path of a Miller Type-B storm and eventually reaches the East Coast to cause the northeasterly winds coming off the Atlantic Ocean that are required to classify a storm as a nor’easter.
Each nor’easter system can have various types of precipitation depending on where it is on its developmental journey. Initially, all the precipitation from a nor’easter falls as snow due to the low pressure allowing high (freezing cold!) atmospheric development. It can stay snow if it does not encounter a warm air mass on its way down. If it does encounter warm air, a few things can happen. First off, if the warm air mass is dense and stretches to the surface of the earth, you will have rain. If the warm air mass over a part of land is less dense, and there is an underlying horizontal line of cold air again before the precipitation hits the ground, you can have refreezing which results in either freezing rain or sleet. For freezing rain, the cold air mass above the ground has to be thicker and a more intense temperature change, and for sleet the cold air mass above the ground has to be thinner and with less a temperature change so the freezing is less instantaneous.
Be it a Miller System or an Alberta Clipper, nor’easters have long been commonplace due to the natural weather patterns in this part of the world, but they have made headlines and become local lore since we started recording weather events and collecting data on them. Some of the most notable nor’easters (that many readers are sure to recall first-hand) are:
The Great Blizzard of 1888. This monster storm dropped up to 58 in. of snow in some areas and drifts as high as 50 ft. The blizzard lasted three days. The impacted areas were centered in New York City.
The Storm of the Century in 1950. This nor’easter slammed from New Jersey northward and caused $70 million in storm damage. Variants from 33-62 in. of snow were left behind as well as downed lines and trees from 60 mph winds.
The Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962. The Ash Wednesday Storm lasted from March 5-9 and left destruction from Florida to New England and some places, such as Ocean City, under 4 ft. of water. It also caused mayhem with 70 mph winds and 42 in. of snow.
The Northeastern United States Blizzard of 1978. This infamous, deadly blizzard left todays equivalent of $1.85 billion dollars in damage. Over 10,000 cars were left stranded after a two-day white-out buried the seaboard from Philadelphia to Boston in 27 in. of snow and reached hurricane-force winds.
Storm of the Century 1993. What started as a nor’easter in March 1993 ended as a disaster dubbed the “Storm of the Century.” This record-breaking nor’easter was the result of a rare catastrophe when three massive, and separate, weather systems unexpectedly mingled over the Gulf of Mexico. This combo from Hades affected states along the East Coast, from Florida to Maine, as well as interior states that didn’t often feel the effects of powerful nor’easters. $Six billion dollars in damage and up to 56 in. of snow in some areas.
The Nor’easter of 2016. This damaging weather event spanned two days across the mid-Atlantic and up into the Northeast and left behind 36-52 in. of snow in some areas. In addition to the heavy snow, there were 85 mph wind gusts and six tornadoes spawned as it traveled up the coast.
There are many more famous nor’easters to learn about and many more to come and experience first-hand. Given what you now know about the Miller System, perhaps you can spend your snowy days the next few weeks reading about the famous blizzards and figuring out which Miller-Type each of them was. You should also be able to identify the types of blizzards forthcoming. Don’t forget to make sure that in addition to learning about these weather systems, you are preparing adequately for them -but here in New England, where nor’easters are as much a part of life as lobster rolls and Dunkin’, you hardly need a reminder from this Utah-born and raised transplant. Stay safe and warm, readers!