Weather conditions across the U.S. means bomb cyclones are possible. What are they?

Cars slowly travel through an intersection after a second round of snow storm passed through northern Minnesota Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Duluth, Minn.

Holden Law / Holden Law

Extreme winter weather, such as subzero temperatures, wind chills and heavy snow, is impacting much of the U.S. this holiday weekend, and is expected to heavily impact travel and mail deliveries, and could even be deadly in some regions.

The intense conditions are piquing interest in the meteorological term “bomb cyclone.” Google searches for the term over the last seven days peaked Wednesday.

What is a bomb cyclone?