A powerful storm has left one person dead and hundreds of thousands of customers without power in the northwestern United States. The element brings gale force winds and heavy snow and rain. The forecast for the next few days is not optimistic.
Cyclone bombs rapidly develop low pressure systems in which the pressure drops by at least 24 hectopascals per day. This phenomenon is accompanied by heavy rains and strong winds.
In recent days, such a phenomenon is developing on the northwest coast of the United States. The storm made landfall on Tuesday, causing widespread destruction in Washington state, parts of California and Oregon, and British Columbia, Canada.
In a decade
One person was killed and hundreds of thousands of residents were left without electricity. According to American meteorologists, this year's hurricane bomb is the strongest in years. According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Oregon, such a severe storm occurs in the region only once in a decade.
A low pressure system is forecast to bring heavy rain, snowstorms and blizzards through at least Friday. According to the NWS, the storm could still intensify and become a so-called “triple bomb cyclone,” three times more than what should be considered a bomb cyclone.
A devastating streak
The atmospheric front, which moves for many hours, wreaks havoc in many American and Canadian cities. Hurricane winds break trees, some of which fall on houses. In Seattle's Linwood, one of them crashed into a homeless center and killed a 50-year-old woman, local news reports said.
“If you can, get to the lowest floor and stay away from windows. If you can avoid it, don't go outside,” the Bellevue fire department, east of Seattle, wrote.
Unfavorable weather conditions caused the power grid to fail. About 650,000 people were without power in Washington state on Wednesday as winds gusted over 120 km/h. 140,000 residents of British Columbia, Canada, and tens of thousands of people in California and Oregon are also struggling with power shortages.
Several school districts in western Washington state will be closed or have classes delayed Wednesday because of the storm.
– Due to widespread power outages, downed trees and high winds in some areas, all school buildings will be closed and all extracurricular activities canceled on Wednesday, Nov. 20, Eatonville School District, located about 60 miles south of Seattle.
A wave of rain and snow
According to the forecasts, there will be a heavy wave of rain and snow on the front in the coming days. All thanks to so-called atmospheric rivers, that is, vast wind tunnels that transport large amounts of water vapor from warm ocean waters to the mid-latitude lands of the atmosphere.
Heavy rain is expected to begin on Wednesday and peak on Thursday in northwestern California, where up to 400 liters of water per square meter will fall. There is the highest level of flood risk.
Heavy snowfall and sleet are expected in higher elevations.
– Travel can be very difficult and even impossible. The NWS Seattle office warned that strong winds could cause significant damage to trees and power lines.
US forecasters say conditions will improve over the weekend, but less rain could continue into next week.
Bomb storm in NOAA satellite imagery
Main image credit: NOAA
