It shares many attributes with tropical hurricanes, along with a unique twist of cold and yuck.
A ferocious storm centered off the coast of New England is forecast to bring a foot or more of snow to the Boston area and blizzard conditions to coastal areas.
You may be most familiar with the term „Nor’easter,“ but this weather event could also be called by other scary names — including bombogenesis, bomb cyclone or weather bomb — all of which describe a rapidly deepening extratropical cyclonic area of low pressure.
For these terms to apply, the pressure has to drop 24 millibars in 24 hours. This rapid intensification is often called „bombing out.“
Essentially, this can be thought of as a winter cyclone.
Thursday’s storm will share many of the same attributes as a hurricane, including the center of low pressure, rotation and dangerous winds. The obvious differences are the north Atlantic location of the storm, the cold and the snow.
Hurricane-force winds are defined as 74 mph or higher. Forecasts for Thursday’s storm call for gusts of 70 mph, which could lead to power outages – especially along the coast.
Winds will also contribute to coastal flooding Thursday, with high tides running up to 2 feet above normal.
