What is a bomb cyclone, which is taking over America and Canada?

According to reports, weather forecasters are calling the chilling storm a ‘bomb cyclone’.

Hyderabad: Extreme snow and heavy winds are jolting holiday plans for people in the United States of America and Canada. According to reports, weather forecasters are calling the chilling storm a ‘bomb cyclone’.

Though it is not a rare occurrence, the intensity this time seems to be more. But what exactly is a bomb cyclone?

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What is called the bomb cyclone, and what is it?

Simply put, a bomb cyclone is a rapidly intensifying storm. It is formed when the atmospheric pressure falls very quickly, at least 24 millibars within 24 hours.

As meteorologists have compared the sudden drop in pressure to a bomb going off, words like ‘bombogenesis’ were used to describe the storm’s formation process, and thus the name – bomb cyclone.

What are its effects?

Although most times bomb cyclones are like every other winter storm, sometimes they can cause extreme weather conditions like gusty winds, heavy floods, extreme snow, or conditions similar to a hurricane.

What is the condition now?

As a result of the cyclone and extremely cold conditions, at least 28 people have died in the US, reported ‘Sky News’.

As temperatures plunged well below freezing in the area, almost 3,00,000 homes and businesses were without power, and more than 3,000 flights were cancelled, they added.