Bombogenesis

Last week we had a bombogenesis of a storm.

The New London Day reports:

Meteorologists have a word to describe the snow, rain, thunderstorms and wind that hit southeastern Connecticut.

A bomb.

Wednesday's storm, while not technically a blizzard, was instead a "classic scenario" of a weather phenomenon called bombogenesis, said Gil Simmons, meteorologist for Channel 8. A bombogenesis is a rapid drop in atmospheric pressure - 24 millibars or more - in 24 hours.
 

A week later, there's still tons of snow everywhere . . .

. . . and Mistah and I went for a walk in it yesterday morning, hunting for icicles.

Ooh! Look at that one!

"When a storm 'bombs out,' " Simmons said, "the pressure drops dramatically over a short time."

Wednesday's storm was energized, the result of a storm barreling in from the Midwest and merging with one from the South: bitter cold air colliding with warmer air from the Gulf Stream.

"When you get thunderstorms with snow, that's a heck of a process," Simmons said. "It's kind of like saying you need this electric jolt to get this process going. It was pretty maxed out right over us."

Thunderstorms with snow! Imagine that! There was no signs of thunderstorms yesterday morning, though, just bright sun and sparkling, blinding white stuff.

Eugenie's house looks lovely in the snow . . .

. . . and so does the river.

Another icicle!

Nutmeggers took the storm in stride, this time, and got themselves and their cars dug out right away.

Well, except for this guy . . .

. . . and, well, this guy too.

Now that is a self-respecting icicle.

Despite appearing worse than last month's blizzard, Wednesday's storm did not classify as such, Jacquemin said.

For the storm to be a blizzard, three hours' worth of winds of 35 mph is required, with heavy, blowing snow that reduces visibility.

Blizzard? We don't need no stinkin' blizzard.

We've got a bombogenesis.