Winter Storm Quinlan path LIVE – Bomb cyclone hits east coast with heavy snow & winds leaving thousands without power
THOUSANDS on the east coast faced power outages after a "bomb cyclone" storm brought wind, snow, and freezing rain to the Northeast.
Winter storm Quinlan, named by the , brought heavy snow to Pennsylvania and gale-strength winds to New Jersey, New York, and Delaware.
The highest expected snowfall totals were in upstate Maine, where some will see up to 13 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
"This storm is only going to intensify as it travels to the east," Jennifer Gray said on Friday. "We could see the potential for severe weather as we go through tonight and even tomorrow, with the threat of very gusty winds, large hail, and even tornados."
"Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories stretch all the way from Northern New England down to the deep south," Gray warned.
A bomb cyclone, also known as bombogenesis, "occurs when a mid-latitude cyclone rapidly intensifies," according to the
Read our Winter Storm Quinlan path tracker blog for the latest updates...
Thousands of flights canceled
Storms caused travel chaos in the air over the weekend.
1,444 flights were canceled Saturday and a further 8,433 delayed, according to the website .
On Sunday, 804 flights were canceled and 3,149 were delayed.
Winter storm causes massive pile-up
Severe conditions from Winter Storm Quinlan caused a massive 73-car highway smash.
The huge pile-up occurred in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania State Police said, leaving Route 581 closed for hours.
The crash was reported shortly after 2pm March 12, on 581 east between exit 5 to Gettysburg/Camp Hill (Route 11/15) and exit 6 to Interstate 83 south toward York.
Trooper Megan Ammerman said on Twitter there had been multiple injuries but none were life threatening and warned people to stay away from the area.
Spring is just a week away
Winter Storm Quinlan dissipated from most impacted regions by the morning of March 13.
The storm's end comes just one week before March 20, the official first day of spring.
Aerial footage shows Arkansas snow
Breathtaking footage from the University of Arkansas campus shows the university's grounds covered in snow.
The National Weather Service reported that across the state, communities saw between two and four inches of snow.
Northwest Arkansas was impacted by heavy snowfall Friday night, and many roads re-froze overnight.
What is a winter weather watch?
A winter weather watch indicates that there is potential for severe winter weather.
If a winter weather watch is issued, prepare for dangerous weather conditions.
Keep your pets safe, continued
Follow to keep your pets safe and healthy during and after a winter storm:
- Keep pets indoors
- Provide outdoor shelter for outdoor pets
- Care for your pets’ feet
- Provide extra food and water
- Use leashes when walking near water
- Don’t leave pets locked inside a car
- Keep antifreeze out of reach of pets
- Check vehicles before starting cars to avoid hazards involving pets
Keep your pets safe
In the days after a winter storm, make sure to keep your pets safe in freezing temperatures.
Chapped paws and itchy, flaky skin can result from exposure to the dry, cold air of winter, as well as chilling rain, sleet, and snow, but these aren’t the only problems that dogs face.
If chemicals from ice-melting products are licked off of bare paws, winter walks can turn harmful.
revealed experts’ suggestions to help avoid cold weather hazards from hurting your pet’s health.
Winter storm names
These are the during the 2021 to 2022 season:
- Atticus
- Bankston
- Carrie
- Delphine
- Elmer
- Frida
- Garrett
- Hatcher
- Izzy
- Jasper
- Kenan
- Landon
- Miles
- Nancy
- Oaklee
- Phyllis
- Quinlan
- Rachel
- Silas
- Tad
- Usher
- Vega
- Willow
- Xandy
- Yeager
- Zion
Comparisons to 1993 blizzard
On Twitter, some meteorologists made comparisons between Winter Storm Quinlan and the 1993 "Storm of the Century."
The superstorm was a similar cyclone that formed on March 12.
Video captures Tennessee snowfall
One Twitter user in Rogersville, Tennessee shared video of the "four inches of snow" they woke up to.
"The wind is making it difficult to see at times," they wrote.
Highest snowfall totals in Northeast
After Winter Storm Quinlan touched down on the East Coast, the National Weather Service shared each state's highest snowfall totals.
Vermont saw the highest total overall, with 11 inches falling in Derby Center.
Five states – Pennsylvania, New York, Tennessee, West Virginia, and New Hampshire – saw 10 inches or more.
Delaware missed the worst of the storm, with only 0.3 inches falling in Wilmington.
Wind and rain headed Northwest
The snow and rain are over for much of the Midwest and South.
However, over the next 24 hours, much of the Pacific Northwest will see rain, wind and snow.
Where is bombogenesis most common?
The Eastern Seaboard of the US is one of the areas where bombogenesis is most prevalent, according to .
Storms in the midlatitudes — a temperate zone north of the tropics that encompasses the whole continental US — get their energy from substantial temperature differences.
During the winter, there is a naturally significant temperature difference between the chilly land and the warm Gulf Stream current along the US East Coast.
What is bombogenesis?
Bombogenesis a midlatitude cyclone rapidly strengthens, falling at least 24millibars in 24 hours, according to meteorologists.
A millibar is a unit of measurement for atmospheric pressure.
When a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass, such as air over warm ocean waters, this can happen.
The phenomenon known as bombogenesis is responsible for the production of this rapidly intensifying weather system, which results in a bomb cyclone.
What is considered ‘blizzard conditions’?
Not every storm is considered to be a blizzard.
There are three conditions that must be met for a storm to be considered a blizzard.
Snow must combine with winds over 35 miles per hour.
On top of that, visibility must be less than a quarter-mile.
These conditions must last for more than three hours.
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.
Subfreezing temps continue through Southeast
According to the NWS, many Americans woke up to ice-cold Sunday temperatures.
Lows in Florida and along the Gulf Coast dropped into the 20s.
Snowstorms in full swing, winter ends soon
With less than in the winter season, this storm will have an impact on more than 150million Americans in the eastern third of the country, including areas along the Eastern Seaboard that began the week with record-high temperatures.
Where did the storm begin?
A powerful jet of cold air flowing south from Canada into the Plains and Rockies laid the stage for this storm, according to the .
A pair of powerful jet streams will spin up low pressure along a cold front in the lower Mississippi Valley on Friday, then intensify as it moves into the Northeast on Saturday and eastern Canada on Sunday.
High winds can reportedly trigger migraines
When it’s blowing a gale outside, the body can react as if it is under attack and produce so-called fight or flight reflexes, such as raised heart rate and heightened emotions.
And high winds can also trigger a migraine.
One reason is the effect on the hypothalamus, the area of the brain that monitors the body’s functions; it can lead to constriction or swelling of the blood vessels in the head which can cause the pain associated with migraine.
Scientists at the University of Calgary in Canada looked at the links between migraine sufferers having an attack and the occurrence of Canadian ‘Chinook’ winds – warm westerly winds specific to Alberta, Canada, which have a definite onset time and are an indicator of profound weather change.
Of 75 patients studied, 32 were more likely to have migraines during Chinook weather conditions than on days without them.
How winter storms cause deaths
Most who die from winter storms are not killed by the weather itself.
A majority of the deaths are traffic accidents on icy roads.
Some also die from heart attacks while shoveling snow, and hypothermia from prolonged exposure to cold weather.
Are bomb cyclones similar to hurricanes?
It all on how intensely the storm is growing, how fast the pressure is lowering, and how quickly the wind speed is increasing. These bomb cyclones can occasionally produce hurricane-force winds of 75 to 80 mph.
As a result, a bomb cyclone nor’easter snowfall in the winter may be very strong and hazardous.
Winter storm names
These are the during the 2021 to 2022 season:
- Atticus
- Bankston
- Carrie
- Delphine
- Elmer
- Frida
- Garrett
- Hatcher
- Izzy
- Jasper
- Kenan
- Landon
- Miles
- Nancy
- Oaklee
- Phyllis
- Quinlan
- Rachel
- Silas
- Tad
- Usher
- Vega
- Willow
- Xandy
- Yeager
- Zion
Why did the US start naming storms, continued
Established by the World Meteorological Organization, a list of names are now used to identify Atlantic hurricanes on a six-year rotation.
The only time that there is a change is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm is considered inappropriate.
In the event that more than twenty-one named tropical cyclones occur in a season, a supplemental list of names are used.
As for winter storms, The Weather Channel has been naming winter storms since the 2012-2013 winter season.
Why did the US start naming storms?
Tropical storms and hurricanes were tracked by year and the order they occurred until the early 1950s.
However, over time, it was discovered that distinctive names would be needed to reduce confusion and streamline communications when two or more tropical storms occur at the same time.
That came after storm advisories broadcast from radio stations were mistaken for warnings concerning an entirely different storm located hundreds of miles away.