Though it might not sound like it, a “bomb cyclone” is a legitimate scientific term, so named because the rapid formation of the storm is like a bomb going off.
Millions of Americans have been warned to brace for a bomb cyclone with blizzard conditions, wind chills and temperatures plunging as low as -45.6C (-50.1F) – cold enough to get frostbite in less than five minutes.
A bomb cyclone or “weather bomb” is a term used to describe a rapidly deepening area of low pressure.
“More correctly, it should be called explosive cyclogenesis, which is when the central pressure of a low pressure system falls dramatically – by 24 millibars in 24 hours,” Sky News weather presenter Kirsty McCabe said.
“These intense storms bring heavy precipitation and very strong winds. In the US right now, very cold Arctic air is being pulled in, with the freezing weather causing further complications.”
How does a bomb cyclone form?
The sudden change in pressure is due to interactions with a powerful jet stream, McCabe said.
“This is the fast-moving ribbon of air high in the atmosphere that steers our surface low pressure systems around.
“The contrast between cold, Arctic air in the north and warm, tropical air in the south has strengthened the jet stream, which in turn deepened the area of low pressure.”
Overnight lows from Friday night into Saturday morning (temperatures in Celsius)
Why is it called a bomb cyclone?
Meteorologists have likened the sudden drop in pressure to a bomb going off, using words such as “explosive cyclogenesis” and “bombogenesis” to describe the storm’s formation process.
The term specifically refers to the speed at which a storm forms, Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, said.
“It doesn’t necessarily refer to the absolute strength of the storm system,” he said.
Does the UK get bomb cyclones?
The UK has experienced weather bombs, most famously the Great Storm of 1987.
Wrapping up as snow begins to fall in St Louis, Missouri. Pic: AP
How does a bomb cyclone differ from a hurricane?
“All bomb cyclones are not hurricanes,” Mr Swain said. “But sometimes, they can take on characteristics that make them look an awful lot like hurricanes, with very strong winds, heavy precipitation and well-defined eye-like features in the middle.”
Hurricanes tend to form in tropical areas and are powered by warm seas. For this reason, they’re most common in the US in summer or early autumn, when seawater is warmest.
In contrast, bomb cyclones don’t need balmy ocean waters to form.
They can appear over land as well as the sea and are most common between late autumn and early spring, when warm tropical air bumps up against frigid Arctic air.
“They have to occur at a time of year when there is some possibility of both warm and cool air at the same time,” Mr Swain said. It’s the difference in temperature that fuels the drop in pressure.
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Are bomb cyclones dangerous?
It depends. Sometimes, bomb cyclones behave like conventional winter storms.
But sometimes they produce heavy flooding, blizzard conditions and wind speeds comparable to a Category 1 hurricane.
“Fundamentally, the impacts of a bomb cyclone are not necessarily different from other strong storm systems, except that the fast strengthening is usually a signature of a very powerful storm system,” Mr Swain said.
Much of the danger lies in the fact that bomb cyclones can take people by surprise, he added.
The severity cannot be overstated, if an additional 50% tariffs are levied on all Chinese goods it will decimate trade between the world’s two biggest economies.
Remember, 50% would sit on top of what is already on the table: 34% announced last week, 20% announced at the start of US President Donald Trump’s term, and some additional tariffs left over from his first term in office.
In total, it means all Chinese goods would face tariffs of over 100%, some as high as 120%.
It’s a price that makes any trade almost impossible.
China is really the only nation in the world at the moment that is choosing to take a stand.
While others are publicly making concessions and sending delegations to negotiate, China has clearly calculated that not being seen to be bullied is worth the cost that retaliation will bring.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
The real question, though, is if the US does indeed impose this extra 50% tomorrow, what could or would China do next?
It has said it will “fight to the end”, but what does that mean?
In reality, there are few good options.
There are some obvious measures that China will almost certainly enact.
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Further export controls on rare earth minerals (crucial for the development of high-tech products) are one example. China controls a huge proportion of the world’s supply, but the US would likely find workarounds in time.
Hiking tariffs on high-impact US products such as agricultural goods is another option, but there is only so far this could go.
The potentially more impactful options have significant drawbacks for Beijing.
It could, for instance, target high-profile American companies such as Apple and Tesla, but this isn’t ideal at a time when China is trying to attract more foreign investment, and some devaluation of the currency is possible, but it would also come with adverse effects.
Other options are more political and come with the risk of escalation beyond the economic arena.
In an opinion piece this morning, the editor of Xinhua, China’s state news agency, speculated that China could cease all cooperation with the US on the war against fentanyl.
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This has been a major political issue for Mr Trump, and it’s hard to see it would not constitute some sort of red line for him.
Other options touted include banning the import of American films, or perhaps calling for the Chinese public to boycott all American products.
Anything like this comes with a sense that the world’s two most powerful superpowers might be teetering on the edge of not just a total economic decoupling, but cultural separation too.
There is understandably serious nervousness about how that could spiral and the precedent it sets.
US
Social media posts spark US markets upturn – before White House clarification sends them back into the red
A rumour on social media fuelled a brief upturn for struggling US stock markets – but they swiftly swung back down again after the claim was debunked by the White House.
Markets around the world have struggled since some of Donald Trump’s new import tariffs came into effect over the weekend.
Tariffs latest: Starmer sets out response to US levies
The US markets opened on Monday with a fall for the third day in a row but briefly rallied and showed growth of over 2% at 3.15pm UK time.
The upturn came after a social media rumour claimed a top Trump administration adviser had suggested the president could be considering a 90-day pause on tariffs.
The origin of the false report was unclear but it appeared to be a misinterpretation of a comment made by a White House employee during a Fox News interview.
Asked if the US president would consider a pause, Kevin Hassett, White House National Economic Council director, said: “I think the president is going to decide what the president is going to decide.
“There are more than 50 countries in negotiation with the president.”
Nearly two hours later, multiple X accounts posted identical messages claiming Mr Hassett said a pause – for all countries except China – was being considered.
The identical posts were picked up by some news outlets and stock traders, sending the markets skyrocketing.
However, when the White House said any talk of a pause was “fake news”, they were sent back into the red.
Mr Trump has remained defiant despite fears that his levies could be pushing the US towards a recession.
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The US president has insisted the taxes are necessary for rebuilding domestic manufacturing and resetting trade relationships with other countries.
“Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!” he wrote on Truth Social on Monday.
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What’s going on with the stock markets?
Mr Trump – who played golf in Florida over the weekend – has also threatened an extra tariff on China, after Beijing announced a retaliatory levy on the US.
He said if Beijing does not withdraw its retaliatory tax, the US will impose an additional 50% levy on China and “negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately”.
The Duchess of Sussex has spoken about medical complications she suffered after the birth of one of her children.
Meghan revealed she was diagnosed with postpartum pre-eclampsia, a condition similar to pre-eclampsia which affects women during pregnancy.
In the first episode of a new podcast, Meghan described the condition as “so rare” and “so scary”.
“You’re still trying to juggle all these things and the world doesn’t know what is happening, quietly and in the quiet you are still trying to show up for people,” she added.
“You’re still trying to show up, mostly for your children. But those things are huge medical scares.”
While Meghan spoke about suffering with postpartum pre-eclampsia, she did not reveal whether it happened after the birth of five-year-old son Archie or three-year-old daughter Lilibet.
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What we learnt from Meghan series
Postpartum pre-eclampsia is a serious condition linked to high blood pressure which occurs most commonly within the first seven days of a birth, but can be a risk up to six weeks after delivery, according to the charity the Preeclampsia Foundation.
The NHS says symptoms include severe headaches, vision problems, pain below the ribs, vomiting and sudden swelling of the feet, ankles, face and hands.
Without immediate treatment, it can lead to serious complications including, in rare cases, convulsions, liver and blood clotting disorders and strokes.
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Meghan’s podcast, Confessions Of A Female Founder, is the latest show she has produced since the release of her Netflix lifestyle series With Love, Meghan and her new brand As Ever.
She has promised the podcast will feature “girl talk” and advice on how to create “billion-dollar businesses”.
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Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder of dating platform Bumble, spoke to Meghan on her podcast about the impact of childbirth.
The first episode was released on the same day Prince Harry appeared at the Royal Courts of Justice in London for the latest stage in his legal challenge over the level of security he is given when he is in the UK.
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