Explained: What is Bomb Cyclone, one of the deadliest meteorological disasters?

 

The storm, which is wreaking havoc across the United States and Canada, is being dubbed by meteorologists as a 'bomb cyclone'.

Western New York is still reeling from one of the deadliest weather-related disasters in its history, and the death toll from a blizzard in the Buffalo area has risen to 27. Severe winter weather affected a large portion of the rest of the US. The storm, which is wreaking havoc across the United States and Canada, is what meteorologists refer to as a "bomb cyclone."

To be considered a bomb cyclone, the amount of pressure loss within the low pressure mass over 24 hours must be at least 24 millibars. As a result, the gradient between the two air masses, or pressure difference, increases rapidly, strengthening the winds. This process of rapid intensity is named bombogenesis. Despite the fact that this type of storm is not particularly uncommon, it is extremely powerful and has strong winds that are causing heavy snow or rain in many areas.

The rotation of the earth and the movement of air create a cyclonic effect. It is counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere when viewed from above. All the ingredients for a bomb cyclone were present over the Great Lakes, as a rotating polar vortex collided with unusually warm air to the east.

As a severe storm weakened near the Great Lakes, it created blizzard conditions including intense winds and snow due to a rapid drop in atmospheric pressure.

From the Canadian Great Lakes to the Rio Grande on the Mexican border, extreme weather can occur. About 60% of the US population was under a winter weather warning or warning, as temperatures from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians fell sharply below average.

Eventually, as Arctic air warms and covers much of the Americas, the pressure difference will become smaller. The strength of the storm will be less. Additionally, predictions point to above-average temperatures for much of the country next week.