Explosive cyclogenesis
Explosive cyclogenesis (also referred to as a weather bomb,
History
In the 1940s and 1950s, meteorologists at the
By the 1970s, the terms "explosive cyclogenesis" and even "meteorological bombs" were being used by MIT professor Fred Sanders (building on work from the 1950s by Tor Bergeron), who brought the term into common usage in a 1980 article in the Monthly Weather Review.[5][10] In 1980, Sanders and his colleague John Gyakum defined a "bomb" as an extratropical cyclone that deepens by at least (24 sin φ / sin 60°) mb in 24 hours, where φ represents latitude. This is based on the definition, standardised by Bergeron, for explosive development of a cyclone at 60°N as deepening by 24 mb in 24 hours.[15] Sanders and Gyakum noted that an equivalent intensification is dependent on latitude: at the poles this would be a drop in pressure of 28 mb/24 hours, while at 25 degrees latitude it would be only 12 mb/24 hours. All these rates qualify for what Sanders and Gyakum called "1 bergeron".[10][13] Sanders' and Gyakum's 1980 definition, which is used in the American Meteorological Society's Glossary of Meteorology, said that the "bomb" was "predominantly" a "maritime, cold season event".[10][12]
In early 2014 in the North Atlantic, fourteen wind events out of twenty that had reached hurricane-force, underwent bombogenesis, the process that creates a bomb cyclone, according to
A bomb cyclone developed near the
In the last week of December 2022 through the first week of January 2023, a bomb cyclone hit the American West Coast, leading to the death of at least two people in California.[26][27]
Formation
Baroclinic instability has been cited as one of the principal mechanisms for the development of most explosively deepening cyclones.[28] However, the relative roles of baroclinic and diabatic processes in explosive deepening of extratropical cyclones have been subject to debate (citing case studies) for a long time.[29] Other factors include the relative position of a 500-hPa trough and thickness patterns, deep tropospheric frontogenetic processes which happen both upstream and downstream of the surface low, the influence of air–sea interaction, and latent heat release.[30]
Regions and motion
The four most active regions where extratropical explosive cyclogenesis occurs in the world are the Northwest
In the Northern Hemisphere the maximum frequency of explosively deepening cyclones is found within or to the north of the Atlantic Gulf Stream and Kuroshio Current in the western Pacific,[10] and in the Southern Hemisphere it is found with Australian east coast lows above the East Australian Current, which shows the importance of air-sea interaction in initiating and rapidly developing extratropical cyclones.[32]
Explosively deepening cyclones south of 50°S often show equator-ward movement, in contrast with the poleward motion of most Northern Hemisphere bombs.[30] Over the year, 45 cyclones on average in the Northern Hemisphere and 26 in the Southern Hemisphere develop explosively, mostly in the respective hemisphere's winter time. Less seasonality has been noticed in bomb cyclogenesis occurrences in the Southern Hemisphere.[30]
Other uses of "weather bomb"
The term "weather bomb" is popularly used in New Zealand to describe dramatic or destructive weather events. Rarely are the events actual instances of explosive cyclogenesis, as the rapid deepening of low pressure areas is rare around New Zealand.[33][34] This use of "bomb" may lead to confusion with the more strictly defined meteorological term. In Japan, the term bomb cyclone (爆弾低気圧, bakudan teikiatsu) is used both academically and commonly to refer to an extratropical cyclone which meets the meteorological "bomb" conditions.[35][36]
The term "bomb" may be somewhat controversial. When European researchers protested that it was a rather warlike term, Fred Sanders, the coauthor of the paper which introduced the meteorological usage quipped: "So why are you using the term 'front'?"[37]
See also
- Cyclogenesis, extratropical cyclones
- Extratropical cyclone, formation
- Notable non-tropical pressures over the North Atlantic
- Superstorm
References
- ^ a b "Fierce 'weather bomb' batters Britain". The Telegraph. 9 December 2011. Archived from the original on 9 December 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ "The worst storm in years?". Met Office Blog. 28 January 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ Edwards, Tim (9 December 2011). "Scotland storm: what is a weather bomb?". The Week. London, United Kingdom: Dennis Publishing. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ O'Hanlon, Larry (25 February 2013). "Look out -- 'meteorological bomb' is on the way!". NBC News. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ a b Williams, Jack (20 May 2005). "Bomb cyclones ravage northwestern Atlantic". USA Today. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ Feltman, Rachel (3 January 2018). "What the heck is a bomb cyclone?". Popular Science. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- ^ "Ryan explains Bomb Cyclogenesis". WBRZ News 2 Louisiana. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ Freedman, Andrew (1 March 2013). "Meteorological bomb explodes over New England". Washington Post. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ Rodman, Kristen (23 January 2014). "What is Bombogenesis?". Accuweather. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
- ^ .
- ^ Chelsea Harvey (November 10, 2014). "Here's What Caused The 'Bomb Cyclone' That's About To Freeze The Northern US". Business Insider. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
- ^ a b "Bomb". American Meteorological Society. Glossary of Meteorology. 20 February 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ a b "The Bomb". blog.ametsoc.org. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- .
- ^ Baker, Laura (2011). Sting Jets in Extratropical Cyclones (Ph.D.). University of Reading.
- ^ a b c Government of Canada (16 December 2010). "Freak Canada-U.S. 'Weather Bomb'". Environment and Climate Change Canada: Weather and Meteorology. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ a b "What is bombogenesis?". US Department of Commerce and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. n.d. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Fountain, Henry (23 December 2022). "What Is a 'Bomb Cyclone'?". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ a b Ahn, Ashley (23 December 2022). "A huge storm brings icy temperatures and canceled flights to a majority of Americans". NPR. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
- ^ Kohli, Anisha; Espada, Mariah (24 December 2022). "A Deadly Storm Could Hit More Than 50 Million People". Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ @NOAASatellites (December 22, 2022). "It's so chilly this morning, that @NOAA's #GOESEast can 'see' the temperatures in parts of the U.S. As #Arctic air plunges southward, dangerously cold temperatures ranging from -20 to -40°F are showing up as a blue shading over Montana and Wyoming" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 December 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "US bomb cyclone: At least 59 dead as North America gripped by devastating winter storm". Sky News. UK. 27 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ "Bomb Cyclone To Pack Snow, High Winds, Blizzard". The Weather Channel. December 21, 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ Donegan, Brian (2023-01-06). "Parade of storms will pound California through next week following deadly bomb cyclone". FOX Weather. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
- ^ Vera, Nouran Salahieh, Holly Yan, Allison Chinchar, Amir (2023-01-05). "The cyclone that killed a child in California is battering the state with ferocious winds, mudslides and even more flooding". CNN. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
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- . Retrieved 2 June 2013.
- ^ .
- .
- .
- ^ Kreft, Peter (4 March 2012). "The Bomb". Metservice NZ blog. Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ "New Zealand's media doesn't understand what a 'Weather Bomb' is". WeatherWatch.co.nz. 27 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ^ 爆弾低気圧とは. Bomb Cyclones Information Database (in Japanese). Kyushu University. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
- ^ Milner, Rebecca (3 December 2012). "Japan's top 10 buzzwords for 2012". Japan Pulse Blog. The Japan Times. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
- ^ "Meet the Canadian who helped coin the term 'weather bomb'". CBC News. 5 January 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
External links
- "What is a weather 'bomb'?"—BBC Weather
- Bomb Cyclone Data of the Northwest Pacific Ocean (in Japanese)
- Lorenz Energy Cycle - Linking Weather and Climate (MET 6155)