Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). Taken from Gizmodo.
Topic
Hurricanes
Date
November 19, 2024
Location
Across the Pacific Northwest of North America
Why was it on the news?
This week’s bomb cyclone was a super-sized mid-latitude cyclone and was designated as a “bomb cyclone” because the storm’s central pressure dropped by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours (Mashable). In this case, the pressure dropped by seven millibars per hour, which had the potential to be record-breaking. Besides the bomb cyclone, there was also an atmospheric river, which is a long, narrow river of water vapour in the lower atmosphere (phys.org). When an atmospheric river meets with a bomb cyclone, the bomb cyclone will push the atmospheric river inland, and it creates uncertainties for weather forecasts. On landfall, the cyclone knocked down trees and power lines, leaving around 30,000 people in BC without power according to BC Hydro (Gizmodo). At least two people were killed, both by a fallen tree: one was showering in her home in King County and another was in a homeless encampment in Lynwood, according to the Bellevue Fire Department and the South County Fire Department respectively (CNN Weather).
Sources
- https://phys.org/news/2024-11-atmospheric-river-cyclone-result-hose.html
- https://mashable.com/article/bomb-cyclone-atmospheric-river-storm-west-coast
- https://gizmodo.com/satellite-image-reveals-staggering-bomb-cyclone-hammering-the-pacific-northwest-2000527546
- https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/20/weather/bomb-cylone-west-coast-washington-climate/index.html