Bomb Cyclone
2022 DEC 20
Preliminary >
Geography > Climatology > Climatology
Why in news?
- Recently, a Bomb cyclone hit the United States and Canada, which triggered road accidents those results in the death of more than 30 people.
About Bomb Cyclone:
- A bomb cyclone is a large, intense mid-latitude storm that has low pressure at its center, weather fronts and an array of associated weather, from blizzards to severe thunderstorms to heavy precipitation.
- Bomb cyclones put forecasters on high alert, because they can produce significant harmful impacts.
Reasons for the Formation:
- 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 strengthening weather system is a process called bombogenesis.
- It occurs when a midlatitude cyclone rapidly intensifies, dropping at least 24 millibars over 24 hours. A millibar measures atmospheric pressure.
How does a Bomb Cyclone differ from a Hurricane?
- Hurricanes tend to form in tropical areas and are powered by warm seas. For this reason, they’re most common in summer or early fall, when seawater is warmest.
- Bomb cyclones generally occur during colder months because cyclones occur due to cold and warm air meeting. During the summer, there’s generally not much cold air across the atmosphere; this means a bomb cyclone is much less likely to occur.
- Hurricanes form in tropical waters, while bomb cyclones form over the northwestern Atlantic, northwestern Pacific and sometimes the Mediterranean Sea.
PRACTICE QUESTION
Which of the statements is/are correct regarding Bomb Cyclone?
1. It is a large, intense mid-latitude storm that has high pressure at its center
2. Bomb cyclones generally occur during colder months
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer