Winter storm to strengthen into ‘bomb cyclone’—a third of US covered in snow, weather warnings stretch 1,500 miles

The third winter storm to hit the US in a week is set to strengthen rapidly into a bomb cyclone on Tuesday, with widespread snowfall expected in the northeast and in New England.

As of writing this, over one-third of the US (33.4%) had been covered by snow, marking the start of meteorological winter from 1 December.

According to a report by CNN, the last time there was this much snow on 1 December was six years back in 2019, when 41% of the US was covered in snow.

As the storm continued to move up the East Coast, 27 states released weather advisories, stretching 1,500 miles.

While parts of the northeast declared winter storm warnings, states from Montana to Maine issued winter weather advisories.

What is a bomb cyclone?

A rapidly strengthening storm that undergoes a significant drop in pressure in a short time, usually in 24 hours or less is referred to as a bomb cyclone.

Technically speaking, a storm's pressure must drop at least 24 millibars in 24 hour or less for it under undergo 'bombogenesis' and meet the bomb cyclone criteria.

With regard to the present storm, models forecast its pressure drop between 27 and 29 millibars in 24 hours from Tuesday to Wednesday, reported CNN.

Current status of snowfall

As of 2.50 pm Central Time, the National Weather Service reported 14 inches of now in the southwest Colorado Rockies.

Kansas City, meanwhile, received two to four inches of snow across its metro area, while St. Louis saw 2.3 inches of snow.

As of writing this, the St. Louis police were responding to "numerous calls for crashes" in the metro area, with crashes being reported along highways and intersections.

Authorities in St. Louis also warned of rapidly deteriorating road conditions and urged commuters to use “extreme caution” while travelling.

Omaha and Lincoln in Nebraska, meanwhile, saw 1.5 inches of snowfall.

Chicago, which saw 8.4 inches of snowfall on Saturday, also witnessed a fresh batch of snowfall, with both of the city's airports reporting light snow. Reports said that only an inch or two of snow was expected on Monday night.