Question: My dictionary defines a northeaster as a storm or gale blowing from the northeast and a southeaster as blowing from the southeast. Why do all you weather forecasters on TV (and newspapers too) refer to both of these as northeasters?

Answer: The references you see in this area (and much of the eastern U.S.) are not so much to a wind specifically as to a class of extratropical cyclone that forms or moves along the east coast. These storms do in fact produce strong northeast winds in areas to the north of their center of circulation, which is where the name is thought to derive from. A recent such storm that developed off the Carolinas coast as former hurricane Ida weakened to our south, for example, produced persistent winds from directions varying between north and east from 10-13 Nov 09 at Raleigh, Cape Hatteras and Elizabeth City, with gusts between 40 and 50 mph on a couple of those days over much of the NC coastal plain. You can find a concise definition for this type of storm at amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/search?id=northeast-storm1.