A monster snowstorm known as Winter Storm Hernando has brought the US Northeast to a standstill, dumping up to three feet of snow in some states, cancelling over 10,000 flights, and knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of people.
Experts have deemed the storm historic with a fierce intensity and consequences for the residents.
But what exactly turned a regular storm into this explosive weather beast?
WHAT IS A BOMB CYCLONE?
A bomb cyclone forms when the central pressure of a storm drops by at least 24 millibars (mb) in 24 hours. This is a process meteorologists call bombogenesis.
Think of it as a storm on steroids.
The faster the pressure drops, the more violent the storm becomes.
Winter Storm Hernando officially “bombed out” with a central pressure of 988 mb, triggering hurricane-force winds and intense snowfall across one of the most densely populated regions on the planet.
WHAT TRIGERRED THE STORM?
The particular storm started far from the East Coast.
Originating from a shortwave trough that moved ashore on the West Coast of the United States on February 20, the system swiftly moved eastward before a new surface low developed off the North Carolina coast on February 22 and began moving north.
The actual intensity was born when two powerful atmospheric forces clashed.
A powerful subtropical jet streak collided with a sharply displaced Arctic air diving south from Canada, rapidly intensifying the low-pressure system overnight and pushing it into bomb cyclone territory.
Once the storm “bombed out,” it resulted in accelerating winds and more intense snowfall, unleashing 2–3 inches of snow per hour in isolated zones.
More than 30 inches of snow fell across the region, with two feet reported in at least five states, making it the biggest snowstorm on record for Providence, Rhode Island.
And now, the entire East coast of the nation is blanketed in layers of snow, facing intense, chilly winds, and watching life freeze temporarily.
Thundersnow and coastal flooding further added to the chaos.
DID POLAR VORTEX CAUSED THE STORM?
In a way, the polar vortex did influence the historic storm.
A polar vortex is a massive, swirling mass of cold air that sits high up in the atmosphere and wraps around both of Earth’s poles. When it stays intact and tight, that cold air stays locked up near the poles where it belongs. But when it wobbles or weakens, it spills frigid air southward, straight into populated regions like the US Northeast.
And here’s where climate change enters the picture.
Scientists increasingly believe that a warming Arctic is making the polar vortex less stable, causing it to buckle and break down more often. A warmer Arctic means a weaker temperature difference between the poles and mid-latitudes, and that difference is what keeps the vortex spinning strong.
Disrupt that balance, and you’re essentially leaving the freezer door open for the rest of the world.
In the case of the storm in the US, the same kind of disruption triggered this explosive bomb cyclone event, essentially allowing frigid Arctic air to spill much further south than usual.
When that cold mass met warm, moist Atlantic air, the atmosphere became highly unstable.
Extreme winds and heavy, wet snow caused power outages for hundreds of thousands of customers, and several regions suspended transit service or issued bans on road travel. Broadway went dark. Schools shut. And 40 million people were under blizzard warnings as the storm swept through.
This storm of 2026 is a stark reminder that when the atmosphere decides to throw a punch, it doesn’t hold back.
