bomb cyclone

noun

plural bomb cyclones

meteorology

: a powerful, rapidly intensifying storm associated with a sudden and significant drop in atmospheric pressure

Tens of thousands of utility workers were working over the weekend after the muscular storm—known as a "bomb cyclone" for its rapid pressure drop—battered neighborhoods from Virginia to Maine.

—Rick Jervis

As incoming air rises around the center of the storm, it gets carried off by the jet stream and that increases the speed of the incoming air. The faster the air moves, the faster the barometric pressure drops. In a really severe nor'easter, the pressure can drop 24 millibars in 24 hours. This is known as a "bomb cyclone."

—Clay Thompson

compare bombogenesis

Examples of bomb cyclone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In some ways, then, the term heat dome is not unlike other meteorological phenomena that have gained prominence in recent years, including real terms such as atmospheric rivers and bomb cyclones, and more colorful terms such as firenadoes and hurriquakes. —Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2024

Advertisement The result is blustery conditions converging on the center of bomb cyclones. —Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2024

Fifteen minutes into the debut episode of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s podcast, the power is knocked out by a bomb cyclone. —Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024

Specifically, a storm must drop at least 24 millibars over a 24-hour period to qualify as a bomb cyclone, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. —NBC News, 13 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined above