The northwest US was hit by a significant storm system known as the ‘bomb cyclone.’ The bomb cyclone resulted in widespread power outages, intense rains, and flash floods. In California and the Pacific Northwest, authorities issued warnings for high winds, flash floods, and extreme rains. The storm destroyed trees, resulting in the deaths of at least two persons. Schools have even been forced to close as a result of this.
What Is Bomb Cyclone?
A bomb cyclone is a particular kind of cyclone that strengthens quickly between the tropics and the polar regions. It frequently happens during strong storms like the one that is brewing this week in northern California and the Pacific Northwest.
As the #BombCyclone churns off the Pacific Northwest coast, the atmospheric river to the south unfurls into a firehose, dousing Northern California and Oregon with non-stop precipitation. pic.twitter.com/NBq8g7h1tS
— Zoom Earth (@zoom_earth) November 20, 2024
A bomb cyclone is caused by the collision of warm and cold air masses. The National Weather Service uses a rapid drop in air pressure, expressed in millibars, to classify a bomb cyclone. A storm may be classified as a bomb cyclone if its pressure drops by 24 millibars or more during a 24-hour period, as reported by AP News.
Latest Updates On The Cyclone In California & Pacific Northwest
Due to the overwhelming impact of the strongest atmospheric river this season in California and the Pacific Northwest, the Weather Prediction Centre issued hurricane-force wind warnings and extreme rainfall hazards through Friday.
Crazy night in my neighborhood in Seattle – wind storm, bomb cyclone – lost power for hours and lots of cleanup.
Oh, and the fire department visited us at midnight, turned off our gas because a branch caused a gas leak. Could have been very, very bad.
It was fixed by 3am by… pic.twitter.com/bqkuEGE8cq
— Brent Brookler (@brentbrookler) November 20, 2024
The California Weather Service extended a flood watch for northern San Francisco through Friday, predicting up to 16 inches of rain in southwestern Oregon and Northern California, increasing the risk of flash flooding, rock slides, and debris flows.
Forecasters alerted the public to the possibility of a blizzard or whiteout. These conditions make travel at a pass level nearly impossible owing to wind gusts of up to 65 mph. In western Washington, falling trees have destroyed houses and left roads in ruins. A woman died in Bellevue, and another in Lynnwood, as reported by the New Indian Express.
By Wednesday afternoon, the number of power outages reported in Washington had dropped to about 460,000. 2,800 consumers in Oregon, 38,000 in California, and 10,000 in the Carson City and Reno, Nevada, areas were without electricity.
High winds forced the closure of three Reno schools. The weather service posted on social media sites X to warn West Coast residents about the dangers of trees during strong winds and to advise them to drive carefully.
Due to severe winter weather in northern California, an 11-mile section of southbound Interstate 5 between Ashland, Oregon, and the California border was blocked. Strong winds and seas in northwest Washington stopped a ferry service. Parts of southwestern Oregon are under a flood watch through Friday night, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.
Cover Image Credit: X/@JamesMcDaniel
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