US: 'Bomb cyclone' to slam East Coast, could be most intense in decades

After one of the most intense cold spell that punished the eastern third of the United States for the past 10 days, the East Coast is bracing for a "bomb cyclone," that has the potential to make 2018 one of the worst winters in the US.

A bomb cyclone, scientifically known as an explosive cyclogenesis, typically brews over the water where drops in barometric pressure can make it an extra forceful weather event.

It is a winter weather storm that will torment a region from Florida to Maine with sleet, snow, and winds.

The responsible storm is forecast to begin taking shape off the coast of Florida Wednesday, unloading hazardous snow and ice in highly unusual locations not accustomed to such weather.

The National Weather Service said Wednesday a mix of snow and freezing rain was expected to move across along the East Coast from Florida to North Carolina before rapidly strengthening at sea.

It has already posted winter storm watches from Lake City, Florida, to Norfolk, Virginia. It is then expected to explosively intensify, buffeting the Mid-Atlantic beaches and eastern New England, where winter storm watches have also been hoisted.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, bomb cyclone "occurs when a midlatitude cyclone rapidly intensifies, dropping at least 24 millibars over 24 hours. A millibar measures atmospheric pressure."

The bomb cyclone has the potential to make 2018 one of the worst winters in the US yet, and it's only the first week of January.

OneIndia News