What is ‘bomb cyclone’

28/12/2022

Table of Contents

Weather ‘bomb cyclone’

One of the deadliest weather-related disasters in its history has been faced by USA especially for western New York. The death toll due to deadliest weather in the Buffalo area has risen to 27.

The storm, which is wreaking havoc throughout much of the United States and Canada, is what meteorologists refer to as a “bomb cyclone”.

What is bomb cyclone?

The amount of pressure loss within the low-pressure mass stood at least 24 millibars in 24 hours is called a bomb cyclone.

As a result, the gradient between the two air masses, or pressure differential, hikes quickly, strengthening the winds.

This process of fast intensification is known as ‘Bombogenesis’. This type of storm is not particularly uncommon but current one is highly powerful and has high winds which are causing heavy snow or rain to fall in numerous regions.

A cyclonic effect is made by the earth’s rotation and the wind’s movement. It moves anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, when viewed from above.

All of the elements for a bomb cyclone were occurred over the Great Lakes, as the meandering polar vortex clashed with unusually warm air to the east.

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

Affected regions and population:

The extreme weather faced from the Canadian Great Lakes to the Rio Grande at the Mexican border.

Winter weather warning has been given to around 60% of the US population as temperatures drops sharply below average from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians.