3-Jan-2018: 'Bomb cyclone' hits the east coast of United States

A massive winter storm called a “bomb cyclone” is hammering the eastern US, from northern Florida all the way to New England, bringing snow, ice, flooding, and strong winds.

The term is used by meteorologists to indicate a mid-latitude cyclone that intensifies rapidly. A bomb cyclone happens when atmospheric pressure in the middle of the storm drops at least 24 millibars over 24 hours, quickly increasing in intensity. The lower the pressure, the stronger the storm.

This sort of winter hurricane formed because of the serendipitous convergence of several factors, including a blast of freezing air from the North Pole that, right off the southeast coast of the US, has come into contact with warm ocean waters carried by the Gulf Stream. That strong temperature contrast is what sparks and intensifies the storm so rapidly.