The "cyclone bomb" that strikes the United States and forced to cancel more than 3,000 flights – 14/03/2019

More than 3,000 flights have been canceled in recent hours due to the "cyclonic bomb", the new meteorological phenomenon in the central region of the United States (Texas to Minnesota), consisting of hurricane, thunderstorm, heavy rain and snow, as well as isolated floods.

Most of the cancellations took place at Denver International Airport, the ice and poor visibility caused by the intense winter storm they forced to close all tracks. And the same thing happened with the highways surrounding the scene, scenario for the same reason of several car accidents in the evening of Wednesday night.

After distributing blankets to pbadengers forced to spend the night at the airport, authorities said Thursday that four of the six terminals had already been reopened. However, more than 500 flights have not been reprogrammed yet Waiting for better weather conditions.

And the forecasts are not encouraging. In fact, wind gusts of 80 to 112 km / hour are expected in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. This is why air transport is not the only one concerned. The Regional Transportation District (RTD) has announced the cancellation of its services because the snow does not allow the circulation of buses or trains. "All the roads that cross the state, from north to south, as well as from east to west, are closed and will remain so until the Ministry of Transport staff can reopen them", said at a press conference Tamera Rollinson, spokesman for this institution.

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"The message is clear: do not go out, stay home," Rollinson added, noting that 100 snow removal trucks working simultaneously were unable to clear the streets because "the wind is very strong, the snow is too strong and visibility is zero".

Despite the recommendations, many tried to escape into their vehicles and were trapped. This Thursday, there were still 1,100 stranded people who were stuck in their cars for one to seven hours. The weather is so bad that Sam Albretch, director of Elbert County, has acknowledged that "We are about to save the rescuers."

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What is a cyclonic bomb?

It occurs when there is a rapid drop in pressure, with a decrease of at least 24 millibars (a measure of atmospheric pressure) for 24 hours. This storm fell to 33 millibars from Tuesday to Wednesday. The situation is also called bombogénesis, a term that results from the sum of "bomb" and "cyclogenesis" (formation of cyclones). And this happens when a cold air mbad hits a mbad of warm air.

The formation of this powerful front can bring hurricane winds over more than 100 kilometers on time, as well as very unstable weather conditions in the form of snowfall and generalized frost. Bombogenesis occurs in winter in mid-latitude regions, according to LiveScience, as in the United States, but can also occur in areas such as the Southwest Pacific and the South Atlantic.