WEATHER RUCKUS
What is a bomb cyclone?
FREEZING cold temperatures and ferocious weather combine to form a bomb cyclone.
Heavy storms, wind, and precipitation define a bomb cyclone.
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What is a bomb cyclone?
Meteorologists define a bomb cyclone as a winter storm that is transformed by explosive cyclogenesis.
A bomb cyclone occurs when the central air pressure of a mid-latitude storm falls at a rate of one millibar per hour for at least 24 hours.
The process where the central air pressure falls is known as explosive cyclogenesis.
The cyclogenesis is considered explosive because the air pressure falls to one millibar compared to the normal air pressure of 1,010 millibars.
Where did the name originate from?
The term 'bomb cyclone' was first coined during the 1940s.
The Weather Channel's Mike Bettes explained to : "It's called a bomb cyclone because a low pressure (or cyclone) undergoes 'bombogenesis,' which refers to the quick rate at which the low pressure develops.
"In the winter, you can experience intense snowfall as well as extreme winds.
"It usually leads to very hazardous travel conditions with blowing and drifting snow and poor visibility.
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"Airlines will often cancel flights as the conditions are too risky to fly."
He added: "High winds can often lead to widespread power outages."
What happens during a cyclone?
It occurs when a midlatitude cyclone rapidly intensifies, dropping at least 24 millibars — A millibar measures atmospheric pressure — over 24 hours.
This can happen when a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass.
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When drastically different air masses collide, it's a recipe for a bomb cyclone.
An example is when chilly air moves over warm ocean waters.
The formation of this rapidly strengthening weather system is a process called bombogenesis, which creates what is known as a bomb cyclone.
Where do bomb cyclones occur?
Bomb cyclones occur most frequently along coastlines where warm water is.
The warm water creates a strong temperature gradient from its surface to the atmosphere just above it.
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