You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

Hey Shortwaveers, Emily Quank here.

So I'm staring out my window and I am scanning for signs of spring.

And I see a few.

You know, there's some crocuses popping up.

The sun is shining in places, but there's plenty of times I walk outside with no coat

and the best of intentions only to turn right around.

It is not spring yet.

And if you flip on the weather channel,

a powerful nori-ster is dropping heavy snow across parts of the northeast,

where more than 100,000 homes and businesses were without power Tuesday morning.

In some places, it's straight up winter.

States like New York must choose it's got a lot of snow.

This is not spring weather.

This is the kind of weather that makes you want to stock up on toilet paper and drink hot chocolate.

Driving conditions are already treacherous.

Across parts of the state.

But for one group of scientists,

they have spent the past few winters eagerly awaiting snowstorms like this one,

so that they can fly right into the storm clouds on border research plane loaded with instruments

to understand what's going on.

And NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfield boys recently joined them

...