The Northeastern United States (NEUS) and the adjacent Northwest Atlantic Shelf (NWS) have emerged as warming hotspots, but the connection between them has remained unexplored. Here we use observational datasets to disuse the role of oceanic and atmospheric processes in driving rapid warming trends along the NEUS coast, test the fidelity of climate models to capture the observed warming pattern, and discuss the need for more nuanced climate assessments to understand the impacts on human and natural systems. This talk will draw from an article Karmalkar and Horton recently published in Nature Climate Change.