Every time Winter rolls around, people begrudgingly dust off their winter coats and trudge through snow, hail, sleet and rain every day until Spring arrives. Some Winters are mild and others are horrendously freezing. The latter is currently happening in the US - so much so that parts of Niagara Falls has frozen over.
However, as Americans are huddled together to retain warmth, they're about to experience a rare weather phenomenon known as a 'bomb cyclone'.
Also called a 'weather bomb', the official name for the event is explosive cyclogenesis. According to the BBC, it's when a low-pressure system forces the air pressure down by 24 millibars in as many hours.
To put things more simply, it brings horrifically strong winds which essentially are similar to a hurricane.
The storm, which is forming off the east coast of America, is expected to track northward once it hits. National Weather Service meteorologist Gregg Gallina has told the Guardian: "It's definitely the polar vortex of this year.
"There will be a huge impact from the wind and coastal flooding. It will be brutally cold. We really hope people will hunker down and stay indoors.
"This storm will be dangerous but people shouldn't panic. Actual explosives are more of a panic."
A polar vortex struck North America between 2013 and 2014, bringing savagely cold temperatures and fiercely strong winds.
Lower states in America, like Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, have even been getting snowfall for the first time in decades. But further up the landmass, temperatures have plunged well below freezing and have stayed there for the last few days.
New Hampshire is expected to get to -35 degrees Fahrenheit (-37 degrees Celsius), according to CNN. Coastal areas are expected to be absolutely battered by winds and flooding with Boston and New York expected to get a few inches of snow.
Twelve people have died in the last week in cold-related deaths, with six in Wisconsin, four in Texas, one in North Dakota and another in Missouri.
There have been warnings or advisories issued for 15 states, which includes 40 million people, as the winter storm approaches. But as the temperatures across parts of the US are undoubtedly freezing, there have been more records highs set than record lows.
Thankfully, temperatures are expected to get a tiny bit higher next week, which will hopefully end the spell of freezing conditions.
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Topics: Winter, America, hurricane, News, US News, cold, temperature
