The reason, said Alex Sosnowski, senior forecaster for the private Accu-Weather service, was that until Saturday winds had been blowing off the land.

Stephen Davenport, senior forecaster with MeteoGroup, said: "It wouldn't take long for hypothermia to set in at that kind of temperature in the sea.

"It probably won't be of the caliber of rainfall that we just had, but more rain is on the way," said John Gresiak, a senior forecaster with AccuWeather.

"The snow's going to leave quickly, although we'll stay on the cold side," said Mark Ratzer, a senior forecaster at the National Weather Service in Romeoville, near Chicago.

We definitely love storms like this," said Patrick Walshe, a senior forecaster for the Weather Channel.

"Those are the times when you have the most skill," said Jim Wagner, a senior forecaster and analyst at the Climate Analysis Center.

"When the dollar comes back from 120 yen to 135 yen, that raises everybody's eyebrows," said David C. Munro, senior corporate forecaster at the General Motors Corporation.

The senior forecaster in Miami picked up the telephone and called the computer programmer on the floor above him.

"Perhaps it will be a relatively stable environment with some depreciation," said David C. Munro, the senior corporate forecaster for the General Motors Corporation.

At the center's key unit Richard Anthony, a senior forecaster, was sitting surrounded by electronic screens.