What is a bomb cyclone? How does it differ from a blizzard and a snow storm?

Summer is long gone, Halloween is over, and preparations are being made across the United States for Thanksgiving and Christmas, among other celebrations. The days are slowly dragging themselves longer, when the US is actually at its coldest.

Winter, as the Starks warned, is coming, and there is plenty of adverse weather around. But despite the increasing regularity of this, not everyone is completely clear on the terms used to describe winter storm and what they mean in practice, especially with many hitting the road for the holidays. Let’s aim to resolved some of that...

What is a blizzard?

The NWS defines a blizzard as snowfall while there are also higher than 35 mph winds. Alongside this it has to last three hours or more. What makes the blizzard unique is the wind as a blizzard without high wind is not a blizzard at all.

Did you know? When was the worst winter storm in US history?

A ground blizzard is when there is already snow on the ground, neutralizing visibility.

What is a snow storm?

A snow storm is a heavy fall of snow with strong winds. It’s more of a general term without a real scientific definition so any snowfall can be counted as a snowstorm as the precipitation is falling as snow and not rain.

What is a bomb cyclone?

A bomb cyclone is a term that has been used to describe a quickly intensifying storm. This has been due to air pressure falling which leads to thunderstorms and heavy rainfall.

Now you know what to look out for as we prepare for the winter conditions that have already begun.