Scary 'Bomb Cyclone' Can Happen In The Pacific Northwest

SEATTLE, WA - While we're getting balmy temperatures in the 50s here in the Pacific Northwest, millions of Americans in the Midwest and Northeast (and some in the South) are experiencing sub-zero temperatures. Forecasters are also beginning to talk about the possibility of a very scary-sounding weather event called a "bomb cyclone."

What's a bomb cyclone? It's basically an intense low-pressure system that gains strength rapidly, similar to a hurricane. You might've heard the term "bombogenesis" before. It describes an extreme drop in atmospheric pressure that creates a bomb cyclone.

Here's how the National Weather Serice describes bombogenesis:

Bombogenesis, a popular term used by meteorologists, occurs when a midlatitude cyclone rapidly intensifies, dropping at least 24 millibarsover 24 hours. A millibar measures atmospheric pressure. This can happen when a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass, such as air over warm ocean waters. The formation of this rapidly strengtheining weather system is a process called bombogenesis, which creates what is known as a bomb cyclone.

And yes, bombogenesis can happen here. You might remember the October 2016 Typhoon Songda, the remnants of which was supposed to (but didn't) bring catastrophic winds to Puget Sound. Weather models showed Songda going through bombogenesis before making landfall, according to University of Washington meteorologist Cliff Mass.

In 2015, a bombogenesis hit the San Francisco area, and the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. According to the National Weather Service, places that experience "contrasting air masses," which the Pacific Northwest does, are more likely to experience bombogenesis.

Here's more on the "bomb cyclone" from the National Weather Service:

Photo by Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press