What do you mean
new? The term weather “bomb” is from the 1940s, and is an official meteorological term from the AMS. Bomb Cyclone was first used in the 1970s and was studied and defined in insane detail in this 1980 paper about “bombs” from MIT.
Abstract By defining a “bomb” as an extratropical surface cyclone whose central pressure fall averages at least 1 mb h−1 for 24 h, we have studied this explosive cyclogenesis in the Northern Hemisphere during the period September 1976–May 1979. This predominantly maritime, cold-season event is...
journals.ametsoc.org
This reminds me of people thinking “Polar Vortex” is a new media scare tactic!!! Nope, also from the 1940s.
earth.stanford.edu
And you say the new name “up north” yet here’s the Columbia, SC NWS office also using the phrase “bomb cyclone”. Page 9
Yes...
I have read about the " polar vortex" in WPC discussions for 20+ years.. . Nothing new to me either.
A normal phenomenon that happens every year just about. Some years the polar vortex is stronger than others. And yes some years it moves farther southward than other years.
Like January 1985.... Or December 22- 25, 1983.... Or in Jsnuary 1994 .. . Or like a couple of years ago.... Nothing really unusual about that either.
Heck go back and look up what happened in the winter of 1899 I think it was off the top of my head... Incredible... Or in 1940....
I thought it was quite funny hearing moron media talking heads acting like this was a " new" weather phenomenon.
And yes it has been known about going back since the 1940s....
And yes a storm " bombing" put has been in NWS lexicon for decades.... I have read that bomb term for 20+ years too. There are actual defining characteristics in terms of dropping of atmosphere pressure in 6, 12, and 24 hours that would classify a storm has " bombing out". Like the big east coast one in January 2018 that went from 1010 mB or so down to 949 mB in less than 24 hours.. .
Another example... January 24-25 East coast snowstorm where it bombed out too.... This giving NC it's biggest snow event on record in the Raleigh and Hendersonville areas with 22 inches.
Fun side note to that event.... No one and I mean no ONE... NWS or local weather stations even predicted that storm 24 hours ahead of time. The forecast models were all wrong.... NC State did a post study that basically stated.... If models are not verifying with real world observations.... Look at your radar and satellite pictures instead.
In NWS forecast discussions I have read the bomb terminology at times... In WPC discussions I have read that term has well. Nothing remotely new there....
However.... Media talking heads started using these " inside weather " terms to either a) HYPE their stories about regular weather events or b) try to scare the beegeezees out of people.
That's true as well.
And having read and looked at thousands and thousands of GFS and NAM computer model runs.....
Amazing how many times they show a massive "bomb" type storm 6-14 days out....
That never ever happens....
The only good thing these forecast models can reasonably predict 6 to 16 days out is the overall longwave jetstream pattern... They get that right 70-80 percent of the time.
I have looked up NAO and PNA forecast patterns accuracy in forecasting..... And it's typically between 70-88 percent day 6-10.... More than that it is only 50-65 percent at best. Reason why I look up those patterns is that a negative North Atlantic Oscillation pattern typically leads to a higher than average potential for East coast snowstorms... That -NAO typically correlates with a positive Pacific North American west coast pattern.... -NAO with a + PNA is a typical set-up for East coast storms in winter.
It is the real fine details that make a big big difference in what happens in terms of sensible weather.
If a upper level shortwave drops into a developing trough and a surface low pressure inflection starts to form on a cold front... And if that upper level energy can meet up with the developing surface low pressure center... Then it will "bomb out". If that doesn't happen... Then the sensible weather is far far different.
Which by the way for the southeast states... Keep an eye out for a possible... Possible winter storm either Thursday, or Friday into Saturday....
Things could get very interesting again for this region.
