A massive winter storm, classified as a rare “bomb cyclone”, is slamming the northeastern United States, burying cities under feet of snow and forcing tens of millions of Americans to shelter in place.
From Virginia in the south to Maine in the north, the storm is being described as one of the most powerful to hit the region in decades, and it is far from over.
WHAT IS A BOMB CYCLONE?
A bomb cyclone, known scientifically as “bombogenesis,” is a storm that intensifies at an extraordinary speed.
It occurs when a storm’s central pressure plummets by at least 24 millibars within a 24-hour period. When that happens, it’s a clear signal of an exceptionally violent storm.
In simpler terms, it is like a hurricane of winter: a rapidly spinning low-pressure system that draws in Arctic air, generates blizzard-force winds, and unleashes snowfall at a rate most cities are simply not built to handle.
To officially qualify as a blizzard, conditions must include gusts over 56 kmph, heavy snow, and visibility under a quarter-mile for at least three hours.
This storm has not only met but has exceeded all the thresholds.
HOW BAD IS THE STORM IN US?
The high-impact bomb cyclone is slamming the Northeast, bringing heavy snow to areas from Virginia to Maine and putting more than 40 million people under blizzard warnings.
Blizzard warnings extend across all of New York City, Long Island, the Lower Hudson Valley, most of New Jersey, and southern Connecticut, with coastal flood warnings in effect across all three states.
New York City officials warned the storm could rank among the city’s 10 worst in 150 years.
By midnight local time (10:30 am IST on Monday), a foot of snow had already been reported in Dongan Hills, Staten Island, with conditions still deteriorating.
The storm’s scope is vast, spanning from Virginia to New England, making it an exceptionally rare setup with all 29 counties in the New York viewing area covered under a Blizzard Warning, something not seen since the Blizzard of 1996.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a state of emergency, closing all streets, highways, and bridges for all traffic, including cars, trucks, and scooters, from 9:00 pm Sunday (7:30 am IST Monday) until noon Monday (10:30 pm IST Monday), with specific exemptions for essential and emergency movement.
“New York City has not faced a storm of this scale in the last decade,” Mamdani said, urging residents to avoid all non-essential travel.
The newly-elected mayor also took specific steps for the city’s most vulnerable residents.
Twenty-two warming buses were deployed across the five boroughs, with outreach workers canvassing 24/7 to bring homeless New Yorkers indoors.
“Every New Yorker seeking warmth and shelter will be able to find it in our city,” he said.
A Code Blue, activated only when temperatures drop below freezing, was declared to ensure no one is turned away from shelters.
Other states in the crossfire, like Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, and Massachusetts all declared states of emergency.
New York and Massachusetts governors have also activated National Guard troops to support residents.
More than 1,000 flights were cancelled at New York City’s three major airports, including LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark, with two-thirds of incoming flights at JFK scrubbed.
Rail services in the region were all cancelled.
Over 100,000 utility customers across the Northeast were without power, with the worst conditions still ahead.
IS CLIMATE CHANGE TO BLAME?
Scientists and climate experts have long warned that while a warming planet may produce fewer winter storms overall, the ones that do occur are growing more intense.
Disruptions to the polar vortex are increasingly linked to climate change. A polar vortex is a ring of cold air that normally stays locked over the Arctic.
When it weakens, it sends bursts of Arctic air and explosive storms spiralling into heavily populated regions.
This storm struck just weeks after the region had barely recovered from another devastating weather system linked to over 100 deaths, a pattern that climate scientists say is becoming harder to ignore.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul summed it up bluntly: “The worst is yet to come.”
