What exactly is a “bomb cyclone?”
The ominous name "bomb cyclone" comes from a process called explosive cyclogenesis, or bombogenesis, in which a weather system undergoes a rapid drop in pressure.
Bombogenesis occurs "when a midlatitude cyclone rapidly intensifies, dropping at least 24 millibars over 24 hours," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Think of it as a winter hurricane.
[ >> Read more trending news ]
A millibar measures atmospheric pressure. A drop in pressure in a system equals strengthening of the system.
Such weather systems in the northern hemisphere are centers of low pressure. When the pressure drops, the storms get stronger. When they drop in such a dramatic fashion over a short period of time, the results are equally dramatic.