The movie The Perfect Storm, the book by Sebastian Junger that preceded it, and the actual event that inspired both works share the same name. There was an electricity that ran through the office.
Many meteorologists are in the field because it is an excitement and a passion.
Anytime something like this is forecast, there is going to be that excitement. What Case and his NWS colleagues were observing was a seldom seen meeting of natural forces 1,000 miles to the east, in the Atlantic Ocean. The storm forming there off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, was nothing remarkable in itself. But the enormous high pressure system and unusually cold Canadian air pushing down behind the storm front was setting the stage for a rare event. For starters, the high pressure kept the developing storm far away from any coastline that could diminish its power.