What is a 'Bomb cyclone': 10 points
Friday, January 5, 2018 IST
HIGHLIGHTS
A bomb cyclone walloped the US East Coast on Thursday with heavy snow and freezing cold that made for treacherous travel conditions and bone-chilling misery. But what exactly is this kind of cyclone. Here's a 10-point explainer:
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1.Bomb Cyclone is a nickname given to a phenomenon called "bombogenesis," in which a weather system experiences a sharp drop in atmospheric pressure and intensifies rapidly, unleashing hurricane-force winds.
2.These strong winter systems are notorious for packing big winds and waves to go along with heavy snow - possibly resulting in downed trees, power outages and coastal flooding.
3.It happens after the pressure inside a storm cell falls so quickly that it gives the storm explosive strength.
4.The cyclone has currently dumped freak snow on the Southeast coast of US, all the way up the coast to Maine, and delivered some blistering winds.
5.Four people were reported killed in the southeastern states of North and South Carolina, where icy roads sent vehicles skittering.
6.Thousands of flights were cancelled, and schools were closed in many localities as snow piled up and blizzard conditions began taking hold in the northeast.
7.With up to a foot (30.5 centimeters) of snow expected in parts of New York, accompanied by powerful wind gusts, schools were closed. More than a foot of the white stuff was expected in Boston.
8.An advisory has been issued to New Yorkers by their mayor to stay off the roads and take the storm "very seriously."
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