--- title: What Is A Bomb Cyclone? An Expert Explains description: An expert explains what a bomb cyclone is as a powerful Nor'easter winter storm is expected to bring heavy snow to New York and Boston. canonical: https://time.com/6143488/bomb-cyclone-blizzard-new-york/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-01-28T22:49:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T10:45:55.974Z article:section: Climate og:title: What Is A Bomb Cyclone? An Expert Explains og:description: An expert explains what a bomb cyclone is as a powerful Nor'easter winter storm is expected to hit Atlantic coast og:url: https://time.com/6143488/bomb-cyclone-blizzard-new-york/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76e7e0b9e6ae194f/698a21ef86f68eb69d6f0d7b/new-york-city-snow-storm.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: General view of Times Square during heavy snow storm.New og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Is A Bomb Cyclone? An Expert Explains twitter:description: An expert explains what a bomb cyclone is as a powerful Nor'easter winter storm is expected to hit Atlantic coast twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76e7e0b9e6ae194f/698a21ef86f68eb69d6f0d7b/new-york-city-snow-storm.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Bomb Cyclone Threatens to Bring Blizzards Along Atlantic Coast. Here's What That Is. > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [BRIAN K. SULLIVAN AND NAUREEN S. MALIK/BLOOMBERG](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## BRIAN K. SULLIVAN AND NAUREEN S. MALIK/BLOOMBERG Contributor Jan 28, 2022 10:49 PM UTC  New York City when a heavy snow storm as a giant winter "bomb cyclone" walloped the East Coast of United States with freezing cold air and heavy snow on Jan, 4, 2018. New York City when a heavy snow storm as a giant winter "bomb cyclone" walloped the East Coast of United States with freezing cold air and heavy snow on Jan, 4, 2018. Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket—Getty Images by [BRIAN K. SULLIVAN AND NAUREEN S. MALIK/BLOOMBERG](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## BRIAN K. SULLIVAN AND NAUREEN S. MALIK/BLOOMBERG Contributor Jan 28, 2022 10:49 PM UTC A powerful winter storm has already grounded thousands of flights as it threatens to bring heavy snow to New York and Boston while raking the Atlantic coast with blizzard conditions. New York City is expected to get 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 centimeters) of snow, while Long Island may have as much as 18 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Boston could see two feet of accumulation. Snow will start in earnest in New York around 7 p.m. Friday and 1 a.m. in Boston, where Mayor Michelle Wu declared a snow emergency and opened 24-hour shelters. Eastern Massachusetts including Cape Cod may end up with 2 feet, the weather service said. New York State will be under a state of emergency beginning at 8 p.m., and Governor Kathy Hochul has told residents to stay home if possible. Public transportation could be affected, notably New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and outdoor parts of the subway. “Storms can be devastating, they can be deadly, they can be dangerous,” Hochul said Friday in a briefing. “We are on call right now.” New York City will also get buffeted by gusting winds of as much as 35 miles (56 kilometers) per hour starting Saturday and rising to 50 mph as the storm pulls away, said James Tomasini, a weather service meteorologist in Upton, New York. With temperatures expected to plummet to about 12 degrees Fahrenheit (-11 degrees Celsius) late Saturday, the wind will make it feel closer to -5 degrees or colder. “For the city, we’re expecting near blizzard conditions,” Tomasini said. City officials said 1,800 snow plows would be ready to keep New York’s streets passable, with 280,000 pounds of road salt available to melt accumulating ice. “If you have to go out, you will be able to drive in New York City—I strongly recommend you don’t,” Edward Grayson, commissioner of the city’s sanitation department, said at a press conference. Blizzard warnings stretch from Virginia to Maine, including the Delmarva Peninsula and Boston. This is Boston’s first [blizzard](https://time.com/5085306/bomb-cyclone-east-coast-weather-cold-winter/) warning since March 2018, said Rob Carolan, owner of Hometown Forecast Services. Widespread power outages are possible, with wind gusts near hurricane-strength of 74 mph. “We are very easily going to gust over hurricane force on Cape Cod,” Carolan said. “It definitely looks like it is going to be a doozie.” Snow will fall so fast and winds will blow so hard along New England’s coast that plows won’t be able to keep up, he said. The [nor’easter](https://time.com/5189312/what-is-a-noreaster/) will rapidly intensify as it comes northeast with its central pressure dropping at least 24 millibars in 24 hours, a process called [bombogenesis](https://time.com/5181214/noreaster-storm-bombogenesis-east-coast/) that forecasters dub “bomb cyclone.” More than 4,750 flights have been canceled around the U.S. from Friday through Sunday, with the majority out of Boston, New York, Newark, New Jersey and Washington, according to FlightAware, an airline tracking service. Delta Air Lines Inc. canceled 1,290 flights through Sunday due to the severity of snow and winds in the region, the airline said in a Friday statement. New Jersey is declaring a state of emergency starting at 5 p.m. in preparation for what Governor Phil Murphy is calling “a significant statewide snow event.” “Our advice to everyone is to be prepared to hunker down once you get home this afternoon and stay home,” Murphy said in a Friday briefing. “Stay home tonight and stay home tomorrow.” Winter storm warnings extend into Canada’s Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, as well as parts of Newfoundland and Labrador, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada. As much as 40 centimeters of snow could fall in Halifax, with winds gusting to 100 kilometers per hour through Sunday. ## Power Alerts PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. grid operator, told generators to ensure they have sufficient fuel supplies and asked them and transmission companies to cancel maintenance plans across the southern and Mid-Atlantic region. ISO New England, the six-state grid that serves 14.8 million people from Connecticut to Maine, issued an alert at 3 p.m. that abnormal conditions exist or are anticipated for the network. Electricity prices are climbing as the storm approaches. New England spot power jumped 35% to an average $234 per megawatt-hour as of 3:20 p.m., while New York City rose 30% to average $227 after briefly topping $600\. Earlier, prices in Maryland and Delaware soared to more than $1,500, according to PJM. Temperatures will stay below freezing across much of the Northeast until at least Tuesday, meaning not a lot of snow will melt for a few days, U.S. Weather Prediction Center’s Marc Chenard said. —With assistance from Skylar Woodhouse, Mary Schlangenstein and David R. 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