It’s a term that’s been spread around a lot lately: bomb cyclone.
But what does it actually mean?
First of all, it’s not a new term at all. Its origin goes back to a long standing meteorological term known as "bombogenesis."
Bombogenesis is a fancy term for a storm that rapidly intensifies. A storm has to drop 24 millibars in 24 hours for the "bombogenesis" threshold to be met.
Millibar is a measure of pressure that’s used by scientists, as opposed to the more commonly used "inches of mercury."
So, if a storm undergoes "bombogenesis," it can be classified as a "bomb cyclone."
The storm impacting New England Wednesday night will likely hit this designation, or come very close.
U.S. & World
These type of storms are most common during the fall and winter, when powerful batches of energy rotate through New England and organize into potent storms.
