From space, the third nor'easter in 2 weeks is seen pummeling Boston

The nor'easter that has shut down much of New England on Tuesday is reaching its great arms into regions over both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic, sucking moisture into the powerful storm.

In a technical forecast discussion on Monday night from the National Weather Service forecast office in Boston, meteorologists said the storm was even importing moisture from as far away as the Pacific Ocean.

The result -- aided by the storm also drawing in cold air from Canada -- is a blizzard wherein enough moisture and freezing temperatures can create copious snowfall and high winds.

SEE ALSO:Did a nor'easter whip a puffer fish into a tree? An investigation

Satellite images captured by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) weather satellite GOES-16, shows what exactly is going on with the storm from high above.

Three nor'easters March 2-13,
2018. #noreaster (Imagery: RAMMB/CIRA) pic.twitter.com/LinDXrlx3B

— Chris Dolce (@chrisdolcewx) March 13, 2018

GOES-16 orbits more than 22,000 miles above Earth, allowing it to capture such wide-field images of the planet.

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Its high-resolution cameras can also see detailed images of the nor'easter, including the eye-like feature near the center of the storm.

This is the third nor'easter -- which is broadly defined as a winter storm with strong winds blowing from the northeast -- to hit New England in two weeks.

An artist's rendering of the GOES-16 satellite orbiting above Earth.Credit: NOAA

The previous nor'easters, while bringing high winds and coastal flooding, lacked the right combination of cold air and high winds to result in a true blizzard, which has a strict meteorological definition.

Specifically, a blizzard is a storm that has sustained 35 mph winds (or greater) and enough blowing snow to reduce visibility to under a fourth of a mile for at least 3 consecutive hours. And that's what's happening for some parts of the Northeast today, including Boston.

Whiteout conditions in #GloucesterMA pic.twitter.com/nk6XrN92sI

— Jessica Reyes (@jessicamreyes) March 13, 2018

Winds gusting over 70 mph at Nantucket Island, MA as nor'easter intensifies! Very heavy snow band hammering west suburbs of Boston right now. Here is Plymouth Harbor #blizzard #storm #weather @breakingweather pic.twitter.com/qG7NFVzYzf

— Reed Timmer (@ReedTimmerAccu) March 13, 2018

This storm is also far from from finished, and it could become Boston's second-largest March snowstorm storm on record.

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