What is a Bomb Cyclone?

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The US East Coast is bracing itself for a “bomb cyclone” that is on course to barrel in from the mid-Atlantic.

What is Bomb Cyclone?

A bomb cyclone is a winter cyclone. It occurs through the process known as bombogenesis.

Note: The word “bombogenesis” is a combination of cyclogenesis which describes the formation of a cyclone or storm and bomb, which is self-explanatory.

A bomb cyclone occurs when a mid-latitude cyclone rapidly intensifies or quickly drops in atmospheric pressure, marking the strengthening of the storm.

It occurs when a storm’s central barometric pressure drops at least 24 millibars in 24 hours. A millibar is a way of measuring pressure. The lower the pressure, the more powerful the storm.

Some storms have intensified as rapidly as 60 millibars in 24 hours. A few bomb cyclones even develop “eyes,” similar to the centre of a hurricane.

How is Bomb Cyclone different from Hurricanes?

Bomb cyclones have cold air and fronts: Cold air rapidly weakens hurricanes, while it is an essential ingredient for bomb cyclones.

Bomb cyclones form during winter: Hurricanes form from late spring to early fall, while bomb cyclones form from late fall to early spring.

Bomb cyclones form at higher latitudes: Hurricanes form in tropical waters, while bomb cyclones form over the northwestern Atlantic, northwestern Pacific and sometimes the Mediterranean Sea.

Source: This post is based on the article “What is a Bomb Cyclone?” published in Yahoo on 1st Feb 2022.