East Coast Winter Storms (ECWS) are also known as Nor'easters. These storms typically mmove from southwest to northeast along the U.S. East Coast. The definition of ECWS adopted here comes from Hirsch et al. (2000). Storm must:

1) Have a closed circulation

2) Be located within the quadrilateral bounded at 45N by 65W and 70W and at 30N by 85W and 75W.

3) Show general movement from the south-southwest to the north-northeast

4) Contain winds greater than 23 mph.

These conditions must persist for at least a 12 hour period.