Bombogenesis

01/04/23

“How are bomb cyclones created?”

Bomb cyclones are ferocious storms. Their intensity can total infrastructure and shut down public services. But how exactly are they created? Well, let’s start by thinking back to our fundamental science. When a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass, they both rapidly rise and form a low-pressure system. These low-pressure systems are essentially vacuums that suck up air, leading to storms. When the central pressure of this storm system drops a certain amount depending on its latitude (24 millibars at a latitude of 60 degrees) then it will be classified as a rapidly intensifying bomb cyclone. Meteorologists have termed this phenomenon Bombogenesis, and its impacts are awestriking, to say the least.

• Earth/Climate science