Bomb cyclone

Another powerful storm, known as a bomb cyclone, is hitting the California coast and the National Weather Service in the Bay Area is warning residents that ...

Police in Montgomery, Alabama, were dispatched throughout the night to “multiple locations” in the city in response to “reports of damage due to (a) possible tornado,” the city said Wednesday. The storm also brought heavy rain, with much of the South seeing 48-hour rainfall totals between 2 to 4 inches. Another possible tornado struck just south of Atlanta, in the same neighborhood that was hit by a powerful As a result, the influx of water is running off, leading to major flooding in places. Heavy rain could also produce flash flooding in parts of the Southeast. And the stormy weather isn’t going to let up anytime soon. Northern California and the Bay Area will see the worst impacts through the day Wednesday and Thursday as heavy rain and hurricane-force wind gusts move onshore. “If the storm materializes as we anticipate, we could see widespread flooding, mudslides, and power outages in many communities.” “I’m urging folks to comply with the evacuation,” said Das Williams, First District Supervisor in Santa Barbara County. The strongest winds and heaviest rain with this storm will continue to move onshore this evening. Widespread rain totals of 2 to 4 inches are likely, with greater amounts in the higher terrain. In Santa Barbara County, which is expecting 4 to 8 inches of rain, mandatory evacuations are in place in some burn scar areas where previous wildfires burned between 2017 and 2021.

The powerful system was seen "undergoing bombogenesis" off California's coast, the NWS office in Sacramento said, referring to its rapid intensification.

In 2017, one of the storms [toppled](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/09/508919216/iconic-sequoia-tunnel-tree-brought-down-by-california-storm) the legendary "Pioneer Cabin Tree" sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. "The most intense part of this weather event will occur later this evening and last through noon Thursday," the NWS office in Los Angeles said. [NPR has reported](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/20/515838078/new-research-shows-how-atmospheric-rivers-wreak-havoc-around-the-globe). To people asking, "Where's the storm?" Forecasters are urging people to show particular care in areas where fires recently burned vegetation, citing the heightened risk of flash flooding and mudslides. But they also predicted it would move slowly; as of late Wednesday morning, the system was still approaching the West Coast. What is a "Bomb Cyclone"? [Los Angeles](https://www.weather.gov/wrh/TextProduct?product=afdlox) to [Eureka, Calif.,](https://www.weather.gov/wrh/TextProduct?product=afdeka) and [Medford](https://www.weather.gov/wrh/TextProduct?product=afdmfr) and [Portland, Ore.,](https://www.weather.gov/wrh/TextProduct?product=afdpqr) alerted people to the threat of damaging winds, with peak gusts expected to top 60 and 70 mph in some areas. As California is poised to absorb its third hit from an atmospheric river since Dec. [NWS office in Sacramento said on Wednesday](https://twitter.com/NWSSacramento/status/1610691574895382528), referring to the rapid intensification of a [midlatitude cyclone](https://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Bomb). "We anticipate that this may be one of the most challenging and impactful series of storms to touch down in California in the last five years," said Nancy Ward, the new director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, at a 26, the National Weather Service is warning people to prepare for a major storm with high winds, snow, and "heavy to excessive rainfall, flooding with debris flows and landslides."

Heavy rain and strong winds began to lash central and southern California Wednesday evening as a powerful 'bomb cyclone' washed ashore.

Also, why the massive storm bearing down on California is worsened by an "atmospheric river."

Be sure to stay tuned to the latest information in the coming days," the discussion concluded. On Friday, there may be a break in rainfall, but an extension of the storm is expected to continue intermittently through Tuesday -- and could possibly stretch until about Jan. [timeline](https://www.weather.gov/wrh/TextProduct?product=afdmtr), the organization believes the storm's high winds will diminish early Thursday morning, but rain showers and thunderstorms will continue through much of the day. "Of course, timing and details of subsequent systems will be subject to change. The bomb cyclone will more or less be "dragging" the atmospheric river in. The risk of shallow landslides, rockslides and mudslides in hilly or mountainous regions will persist. [Atmospheric rivers](https://www.noaa.gov/stories/what-are-atmospheric-rivers) are essentially narrow currents, or rivers, in the air that carry lots of water vapor across the world. And why are they worrisome enough to prompt organizations like the NWS to urge residents of the West Coast to prepare for a " And there are two culprits behind the forecast devastation: a major storm known as a "bomb cyclone" and an airborne phenomena called an "atmospheric river." [giant, rising columns of air](https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/what-is-a-bomb-cyclone/433474), form when a mass of low-pressure air meets a mass of high-pressure air. On higher terrain, according to the NWS, their speeds may even reach a staggering 80 miles per hour. But bomb cyclones happen when the [pressure suddenly and starkly drops](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/23/climate/bomb-cyclone.html) in the low-pressure-mass section.