"The disturbance is causing a second spot of low pressure to develop off the mid-Atlantic coast. This other low is expected to intensify as it moves north toward Cape Cod over the course of today but will likely stay just shy of bomb cyclone territory, says Ashton Robinson Cook, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Prediction Center."
"A bomb cyclone occurs when a storm in the midlatitudes rapidly drops in pressure within 24 hours. The precise pressure drop depends on the latitude: For example, at 40 degrees latitude (roughly that of New York City), the pressure must drop by about 18 millibars in 24 hours, according to NOAA. The cyclone moving north off the East Coast will still intensify impressively, Cook says, and will bring strong winds to parts of Maine to go along with the snow."
A rapidly intensifying low-pressure system off the U.S. East Coast is producing the region's first significant winter blast, with snow totals up to a foot expected in parts of New York State and southern Maine. The storm evolved from a low that moved eastward from the Midwest through the Ohio Valley and mid-South and spawned a secondary coastal low off the mid-Atlantic. The coastal low is deepening as it moves north toward Cape Cod and will likely intensify impressively without meeting bomb cyclone thresholds. Strong winds are expected in parts of Maine alongside heavy snow. Bomb cyclones are defined by rapid pressure falls.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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