India, Jan. 30 -- A powerful and rapidly intensifying winter storm, expected to develop into a formidable "bomb cyclone," is preparing to impact the U.S. East Coast this weekend, bringing hurricane-force winds, blizzard conditions, and extreme cold from the Carolinas to New England. Forecasters warn the storm may trigger life-threatening dangers, including coastal flooding and widespread power outages.

A bomb cyclone is far more than a severe winter storm; it is a mid-latitude storm system that goes through bombogenesis, or explosive cyclogenesis. This process begins when the storm's central atmospheric pressure plunges sharply-at least 24 millibars over 24 hours. A powerful "vacuum" effect is created by such a quick reduction in pressur...