Arctic Freeze Ahoy!
What is a Bomb Cyclone?
A bomb cyclone is very rare and a cocktail of three things Meteorologists look for. First is a warm front of tropical moisture from the Caribbean. Second, a sub-zero air mass coming from the artic. Third, cyclone force winds. We know that a cyclone has strong winds rotating. A bomb cyclone is when there is a sudden drop in atmospheric pressure, with damaging winds, freezing temperatures, snow, and ice. Watching different weather sites they had an ice storm show first. Roads and vehicles had a thick layer of ice over them. Then comes the snow with the wind. In the East Coast of the US, humidity is higher. So the air has more moisture to freeze.
How is it affecting?
Source: NASA via Wikipedia Commons
On Mike’s Weather Page, he went to parts of Florida to show the different effects. The first was a thick layer of ice over the roads and vehicles. Roads had been closed because of the icy conditions. On the Weather Channel, a reporter was showing the palmetto trees with snow on them and the roads with a couple of inches of snow.
Here in the Rocky Mountains, we are used to seeing lots of snow. When we get icy roads it is usually because of a slushy storm or snowmelt that froze. When we see other states have trouble dealing with the small amount of snow, we tend to laugh. In reality, if a state doesn’t ever have to worry about snow storms, they might not need to invest in that equipment. Places that have 70-degree weather in January, will not have the equipment that places that have – 18-degree weather need.
Why is it historical?
The last time there was snow in Florida was in Central Florida in 1977. Also, this ‘bomb cyclone’ drops such a sub-zero air mass from the artic which is the coldest air along with category 3 hurricane forces. This may be a meteorologist dream but regular people it may be a nightmare.
Resource: https://www.facebook.com/mikesweatherpage/, https://www.facebook.com/TheWeatherChannel/
Image Resource: Featured Image Source https://www.nasa.gov/content/satellite-picture-shows-snow-covered-us-deep-freeze, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:November_2014_Bering_Sea_bomb_cyclone_peak,_on_November_8.png