Thursday, November 21

At least two people are dead and hundreds of thousands of people are out of power as a dangerous bomb cyclone pummels the northwestern United States and western Canada, bringing substantial rain, strong winds, and heavy snow.

A bomb cyclone is a large storm that occurs when a system of low-pressure undergoes bombogenesis. Explosive cyclogenesis, also known as bombogenesis, is a term used to describe when an extratropical system -- a tropical storm outside the tropics -- rapidly intensifies, with a pressure drop of 24 millibars or more in 24 hours. Bomb cyclones usually occur in mid-latitude regions as winter approaches, and they can be quite dangerous. Bomb cyclones carry different weather conditions, ranging from severe blizzard conditions to heavy rain to booming thunderstorms. However, bomb cyclones require upper-level winds to form and also benefit from wind shear, while hurricanes need lower-level winds and can be destroyed by wind shear-- due to this, bomb cyclones and hurricanes usually do not form at the same time.

Nevertheless, bomb cyclones can coincide with atmospheric rivers. These rivers are long, thin regions in the atmosphere carrying a large amount of condensed water vapor, and there are around four to five atmospheric rivers moving around Earth at any given time. When these rivers in the sky arrive on land, they deliver significant rainfall and snowfall to the areas that they pass over, making them a crucial part of the water cycle. Due to this, some bomb cyclones can form alongside atmospheric rivers, strengthening the system with stronger winds and more precipitation.

The bomb cyclone arrived on Wednesday with a vengeance, slamming the state of Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia with destructive, hurricane-force winds, pouring rain, and heavy snow in other regions. Gusts in Vancouver were recorded at over 100 mph, with power outages in British Columbia hitting 140,000 in just a few hours after the storm arrived. Trees are down all over cities and suburbs, blocking roads, hitting homes, and sparking the closures of schools and offices. One person was killed when a tree fell onto a homeless shelter north of Seattle, and and another woman was killed east of Seattle when a tree fell onto her home.

Officials in the state of Washington advised locals to move to the lowest floor of their homes and shelter in place, as the winds and falling trees were more of a threat than flash flooding. Over 750,000 homes and businesses lost power early in the day, but electricity was restored to many areas throughout the day. By the end of Wednesday, the number of reported power outages had gone down to around 400,000, but power company Puget Sound Energy, which has around 500,000 customers, has announced that their clients may experience an outage lasting several days.

Meanwhile, California is experiencing the opposite of the Pacific Northwest-- while the center of the bomb cyclone is impacting Washington and British Columbia, the outer bands of the storm, which are carrying heavy rain, are moving over California. Precipitation totals in San Francisco are expected to reach as high as 8 inches, with some areas in northern California possibly receiving up to 16 inches of rain, leading to flash flooding, mudslides, and rockslides. Power outages in California are also topping 23,000

Parts of the Sierra Nevada Mountains are also expected to see as high as 15 inches of snow over the next few days along with winds of over 75 mph, creating blizzard conditions. The dangerous weather, dropping primarily heavy, wet snow, is also expected across the Cascades in Washington and Oregon and into Canada.

This bomb cyclone is a dangerous storm that will most likely last over multiple days, posing a serious threat to the Pacific Northwest and the states around it. Anyone in the path of this storm should shelter immediately, as falling trees pose a large hazard and the impending rain and snow is sure to disrupt traffic, spark other natural disasters, and do more damage to local buildings.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Some cat species are primarily only one gender. For example, calico and tortoiseshell cats are almost always female, while around 80% of orange tabby cats are male.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. (Seneca)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Snivel (verb)- To snivel is to speak or act in a whining, sniffling, tearful, or weakly emotional manner. The word snivel may also be used to mean "to run at the nose," "to snuffle," or "to cry or whine with snuffling."

In a Sentence: She was unmoved by the millionaires sniveling about their financial problems.