Day 53 (of 2024/25) atmospheric studied: bomb cyclone
Weather ain’t like it was as I remember learning about… my dad was a geography major so I learned too much about clouds to predict weather… but growing up in a rural community on the Fraser, weather was pretty predictable… but now living on the coast I have lately discovered what an atmospheric River is (a lot of rain comb friends aggressively) and today we are unpacking the term ‘bomb cyclone’ – Potential for downed trees and power outages, with gusts up to 100 km/h expected on Vancouver Island…
These storms are caused by a rapid drop in atmospheric pressure at the centre of a storm system that results in heavy rain and high winds. When I used yo teach weather mapping to my students, I used alliterations that helped by saying low pressure (seen on marks with shark fins) lead to lousy weather while high pressure (seen by marks that looked like the ogopogo) brought hot weather. Oversimplification, but a way that helped with forecasting… and when the two systems collide… expect a storm…
A cyclone develops over cold water – the incoming storm was May be strong as a Category 1 or Category 2 hurricane — except it didn’t develop over warm water (the way hurricanes are formed). Again, yes, an oversimplification of ‘weather’ – an entry point into a discussion of a PBL (project based learning) inquiry mindset. Who needs to go into depth over the equation: rsin(60°)/sin(ϕ), where r is the observed pressure fall (hPa h−1) and ϕ is the cyclone’s latitude? My friend Russ, that’s who – but admittedly, he is Senior Program Meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada . The others who watch my former student Yvonne Schalle (another meteorologist who probably understands that equation….) on global tv probably at most could use an understanding of the pressure systems and what they kinda mean – surface vs deep learning. Not everyone needs to dive as deep is one way to look at it, but also not everyone just needs to swim at the surface…
I anticipate real life events such as today’s cyclone bomb and expected winds are going to open up some learning curiosities – a great time to take advantage of a learning opportunity.
Go down a rabbit hole!
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/what-is-a-bomb-cyclone/433474
https://cheknews.ca/b-c-bomb-cyclone-1224619/
Or debate: is it better for a forecast to overstate or understate what might happen? My friend Russ once spoke to my class and helped reaffirm that forecasting gets less precise the further out you go timewise… but it is hard to get supplies and ready for climate events on short notice…
It can be fun (and educational) when we really talk about the weather (and the changing climate!)
Technolandy 
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