What Is A Bomb Cyclone And How Is It Different From Hurricanes?

As a massive winter storm blanketed the majority of the central and eastern United States with heavy snow, high winds, and dangerous wind chill temperatures, affecting millions of people in its path, a rare bomb cyclone formed. The northeast is being threatened by flooding at this time. The storm disrupts holiday travel plans and prompts authorities to issue cautionary statements.

What is a bomb cyclone?

Reuters

A bomb cyclone is a storm that grows rapidly in strength. Most of the time, a pressure drop of 24 millibars over 24 hours is required. However, that standard also takes into account the storm's latitude.

Therefore, the millibar may change depending on where the storm originates. Simply put, this indicates that a storm is growing rapidly, which can have more devastating effects than a weaker storm.

Why is it called a bomb cyclone?

Meteorologists used terms like "explosive cyclogenesis" and "bombogenesis" to describe how the storm formed, comparing the sudden drop in pressure to a bomb going off. The term "bomb cyclone" is actually a scientific term, according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, the American Meteorological Society's glossary, the term specifically refers to the rate of storm formation. It doesn¡¯t necessarily refer to the absolute strength of the storm system.

How deadly are bomb cyclones?

AP

Bomb cyclones function in a similar manner to typical winter storms. However, there are times when they cause severe flooding, blizzard conditions, and winds comparable to those of a Category 1 hurricane. Essentially, according to Swain, the effects of a bomb cyclone are similar to those of other violent storm systems, with the exception that the rapid intensification of a storm system typically indicates that it is extremely potent.

How is it different from hurricanes?

Instead of relying on the warm ocean waters of late summer as a catalyst, it basically amounts to a rapidly developing storm system. This makes it different from a tropical hurricane because it occurs over midlatitudes, where fronts of warm and cold air meet and collide.

Reuters

While cold air is a necessary component for bomb cyclones, it rapidly weakens hurricanes.

Bomb cyclones form from late fall to early spring, whereas hurricanes form from late spring to early fall. Bomb cyclones form over the northwest Atlantic, the northwest Pacific, and occasionally the Mediterranean Sea, while hurricanes form in tropical waters.

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