Welcome to winter. If you’re on the east coast of the United States, your ‘bomb cyclone,’ aka winter storm Grayson, has arrived. A state of emergency has been declared in New York City and surrounding areas as a massive winter storm is bringing heavy snow and high winds to the region. Boston residents are experiencing widespread flooding.
But what is a ‘bomb cyclone?’ It sounds pretty ominous but basically, it’s when the barometric pressure in the center of a big winter storm drops rapidly, intensifying the storm. And Grayson is a big one. Satellite pictures look remarkably like a hurricane with a central ‘eye’ and counter-clockwise rotation. The Washington Post has a good explainer here.