See what it looks like from space – lipidzentrum-nordrhein

A “bomb cyclone” hit the Pacific Northwest earlier this week, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands in Washington state, killing two people and injuring two others.

A bomb cyclone is akin to a winter hurricane, with wind gusts of up to 70 mph, and it brings a slew of dangers. Besides downing trees and causing widespread power outages, the high winds have blocked roads and smashed homes.

Following the bomb cyclone, the region faces days of rain, “life-threatening flooding” and snow at higher elevations from another Pacific storm, the National Weather Service said Wednesday. That’s part of an “atmospheric river” that could bring up to 16 inches of rain to areas of Northern California and southwest Oregon, the service said. Rock slides and debris flows are also likely.

Satellite footage captures bomb cyclone from space

According to AccuWeather, a bomb cyclone, or bombogenesis, is a storm that undergoes rapid strengthening over a 24-hour period. A “vast majority” of these storms occur over the ocean, and they can be tropical or non-tropical in nature.

The National Ocean Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says bombogenesis can happen when a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass, such as air over warm ocean waters.

Satellite footage captured from space showed the bomb cyclone swirling off the Pacific Northwest. Watch it below.

Bomb cyclone swirls off Pacific Northwest coast

Satellite footage captured an impressive bomb cyclone swirling off the Pacific Northwest. The storm had caused widespread power outages in Washington.

The central pressure in Tuesday’s storm fell 1.71 inches, or 58 millibars, according to AccuWeather, representing more than double the intensity criteria required to classify as a bomb cyclone.

“The ‘bombing out,’ or rapid intensification, is important because the faster that the pressure drops in a storm, the faster that new air must rush in to take the missing air’s place. This movement of air is the wind,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist said Thursday.

Atmospheric river brings heavy rain to Northern California

The NWS said Thursday the “strong atmospheric river” currently impacting Northern California is forecast to remain “relatively stationary” over the next few days and produce an additional 6-12 inches of rainfall over regions with “already saturated terrain.” The atmospheric river is forecast to peak in intensity Thursday, the weather service said, but with “moderate bouts of rain lingering through much of Friday.”

The NWS in Eureka, California, issued a Flood Watch late Wednesday night for a portion of northwest California, including the Mendocino Coast. The weather service said there will be an “increased risk of rock and land slides along roadways,” along with a possibility of flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and other “low-lying and flood-prone locations.”

A separate low-pressure system is forecast to strengthen off the Northwest coast Friday, bringing another round of high winds, amplifying the effects of the atmospheric river and exacerbating the risk of flooding.

“As precipitation lifts northward and inland along a draped stationary boundary stretching from the northern Rockies to British Columbia, heavy snow is possible from the Washington Cascades to the western Montana, Idaho and northwestern Wyoming mountain ranges through early Sunday,” the NWS said in its Thursday forecast.

Sometimes called “rivers in the sky,” atmospheric rivers are a major factor in extreme rain and snowfall in the West. They function much like rivers on the surface but can carry considerably more water than the Mississippi River.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].