Will We Get "Bombed" Out?

 Weather forecasters say they have always had these terms, but it seems lately we have justed started to hear of "Atmospheric Rivers", and now "Bomb Cyclones".  Apparently bomb cyclones like to feed off atmospheric rivers, so they are indeed a basket of deplorables. We are just recovering from a bomb cyclone that struck two days ago, causing our apparently frail power system to go out early and stay out for over 24 hours. BC Hydro reported something like 150,000 customers out of power at the peak. There are only 300,000 households on our island, and half live in the relatively secure city of Victoria. So it would be safe to say the weather knocked out basically the whole island.  Our previous post was done with generator power, but only after the internet provider recovered sufficiently.

We are somewhat used to wild winter weather, and so this event would normally be soon forgotten, as we look ahead to flying to the warmer and maybe gentler climate of Costa Rica. But as you see from the headline below, I seem to be taking the opportunity to post this while I can.



Although I am saying we are used to this kind of thing, surviving the weather is usually just a matter of hunkering down in the house, enjoying the wood heat, and especially staying out of the forest, where trees and branches could be flying. But if you want to travel, watch out. The ferries usually shut down at the least sign of some waves or wind. In our case this time we will try to fly out, on some kind of smallish plane. It should be ok, even great, because our flights could happen between storms. It's worrisome enough, though, to be making this post - something to remember in future years.


Update: The forecasters have trotted out yet another "new" term, the "Fujiwhara Effect". This seems to be when two bomb cyclones spin around each other, getting a boost from the action. From KOMO. Washington news: "Low pressure that dropped so low it may be a record is going to perform a Fujiwhara effect by spinning north and west and then shoving in another low pressure up the Washington coastline Friday.

The new spinning low will not drop to 942 mb like Tuesday, but it will be near 978 mb when it deepens. This will happen while it tracks from our south coast up to Vancouver Island by the end of the day Friday."

I am writing this early Friday evening, and all is calm!

Comments

  1. Gregory S. GarceauNovember 25, 2024 at 12:42 PM

    Before I ever heard the term "bomb cyclone" I think I experienced one a decade ago while visiting my son in Seattle. A Pacific hurricane was still 80 miles offshore, but the winds were such that we had to brace ourselves to stay upright. It was kind of fun, actually.

    My son is here in Minnesota for Thanksgiving. The power went out for a while at his home, but he managed to get on his flight the next day.

    Have fun in Costa Rica.

    ReplyDelete

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