UPSC Articles
Bomb Cyclone
Part of: Prelims and GS-I Geography
Context: Recently, ‘Bomb cyclone’ hit eastern US, which triggered transport chaos and power outages.
What is a Bomb Cyclone?
- A bomb cyclone is a large, intense midaltitude storm that has low pressure at its center, weather fronts and an array of associated weather, from blizzards to severe thunderstorms to heavy precipitation.
- Bomb cyclones put forecasters on high alert, because they can produce significant harmful impacts.
Reasons for the Formation:
- This can happen when a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass, such as air over warm ocean waters. The formation of this rapidly strengthening weather system is a process called bombogenesis.
- It occurs when a midlatitude cyclone rapidly intensifies, dropping at least 24 millibars over 24 hours.
Difference between Bomb Cyclone and a Hurricane
- Hurricanes tend to form in tropical areas and are powered by warm seas. For this reason, they’re most common in summer or early fall, when seawater is warmest.
- Bomb cyclones generally occur during colder months.
- Hurricanes form in tropical waters, while bomb cyclones form over the northwestern Atlantic, northwestern Pacific and sometimes in the Mediterranean Sea.
News Source: TH
