Record cold temperatures are affecting much of the U.S. The weather may be brutal, but it can also be beautiful. (Taylor Turner/The Washington Post)

The unusual winter storm that pasted parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina with ice and snow Wednesday explosively intensified Wednesday night becoming one of the strongest East Coast winter storms in modern history.

The monster storm is plastering the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast coast with heavy snow and potentially damaging winds.

[Winter storm crashes into East Coast as ‘bomb cyclone’ arrives with snow and blizzard warnings]

Blizzard warnings extend from the Virginia Tidewater region up the coast to eastern Maine, including Ocean City, Atlantic City, eastern Long Island, Boston and Portland, Maine. These areas can expect or are already witnessing snowfall rates of up to 3 inches an hour, thundersnow, and wind gusts of 50 to 80 mph.

The storm strengthened at an astonishing rate since Wednesday, surpassing the meteorological criteria to be considered a so-called “bomb cyclone.” A storm is classified as such if its pressure falls 24 millibars in 24 hours. This storm’s pressure tanked 53 millibars in 21 hours, which puts it into the upper echelon of the most explosive East Coast storms ever observed — and perhaps even at the top.

[No need to duck and cover — this is the ‘bomb cyclone,’ explained]

As the storm blossomed Wednesday and early Thursday with thunderstorms erupting around its comma-shaped center, forecasters expressed pure awe at the meteorological marvel. “Jaw, meet floor,” tweeted Sam Lillo, a meteorology PhD student. The storm expanded over enormous territory, even drawing moisture from deep in the Caribbean.

The National Weather Service warned the storm’s howling winds would likely result in power outages. Already, Thursday morning, a wind gust of 76 mph was clocked on Nantucket.

“This storm is intense,” tweeted the National Weather Service office in Boston. “Expect the unexpected.”

At the coast, areas of flooding were predicted as the ocean swelled ashore. Offshore New England and Nova Scotia, models predicted wave heights up to five stories tall.

The fast-moving storm is expected to pass by Thursday night but, in its wake, the mother lode of numbing cold is forecast to crash south — likely to be the last but most bitter in brutal blasts since Christmas Eve in the Northeast.

A "bomb cyclone" is moving along the East Coast and it's expected to bring more bitter cold and dump some snow. This is how the weather event originates. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)

The storm: How much snow and wind, and where


HRRR model simulation of the storm.

On Thursday morning, the sprawling storm was hammering the coast from Virginia Beach to southeast Maine with punishing winds and blinding snow.

Virginia Beach witnessed several hours straight of moderate to heavy snow and winds gusting to 50 to 55 mph, but the snow was predicted to taper off by midday.

Similar conditions were observed in Ocean City.

A massive winter storm known as a "bomb cyclone" crawled up the East Coast on Jan. 4 with blizzard conditions. (WUSA9)

In Atlantic City, meteorologist Joe Martucci reported snow “blowing and drifting at its finest” and amounts up to 8 inches in South Jersey.

Moderate snow and winds gusting from 20 to 30 mph were moving into New York City, under a winter storm warning. The Big Apple is expecting 4 to 8 inches of snow, which will be whipped around by gusts up to 45 mph.

On Long Island, conditions were more severe, with heavy thundersnow and “whiteout” conditions reported. Islip airport reported 3-inch per hour snowfall rates and wind gusts to 45 mph.

In Boston, the snow was just beginning Thursday morning. The Weather Service is forecasting up to 14 inches of snow through Thursday evening, along with 65 mph wind gusts strong enough to bring down branches and cut power. “Travel will be very dangerous to impossible,” the Weather Service warned.

As the wind and waves slam into the shore in eastern New England, coastal flooding is forecast Thursday late morning and afternoon, raising seas 2 to 2.5 feet above normal, with “moderate to major impacts,” according to the Weather Service, inundating shore roads and basements. “In a few spots, sea ice chunks may exacerbate damage,” it said.

The Weather Service has said it is particularly concerned about the power outage threat in eastern New England, especially considering the bitter cold predicted to follow the storm.

Capital Weather Gang's Jason Samenow tells us how much snow the bomb cyclone could dump and its expected impact on the already bitter temperatures. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)

The cold in its wake: record-breaking


Temperature difference from normal forecast Saturday morning by American (GFS) model. Note these are deviations from average, not actual temperatures.

The storm’s enormous circulation will help draw several lobes of the polar vortex, the zone of frigid air encircling the North Pole, over the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast by Friday and Saturday. Wicked cold air sourced from Siberia, the North Pole and Greenland will all converge on the region.

Temperatures are forecast to be 20 to 40 degrees below normal, the coldest of the winter so far.

Most locations in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast are predicted to set records for cold temperatures Friday, with highs in the single digits and teens.


Forecast highs on Friday from the National Weather Service. Those circled are forecast to be within a degree of a record low. (WeatherBell.com)

On Saturday morning, subzero cold is forecast over almost all of New England, with single digits in the Mid-Atlantic.


Forecast lows predicted by National Weather Service Saturday. Those circled are predicted to within a degree of the record low. (WeatherBell.com)

Winds, gusting to 30 mph, will make these areas feel 10 to 20 degrees colder.


Top wind gust is forecast for Friday evening from the American (GFS) model.

Finally, after one of the most intense cold spells of such duration on record in parts of New England — including Boston — temperatures are forecast to gradually thaw by early next week.

Storm hits the South

The storm took shape off the coast of Florida on Wednesday, unloading hazardous snow and ice in locations not accustomed to such weather.

On Wednesday morning, as many as six inches of snow and 0.5 inches of ice caked portions of north Florida, southeast Georgia and coastal South Carolina. In Tallahassee, it was snowing for the first time in 28 years.

Meanwhile, in Savannah, ice changed over to snow, offering a rare coating on the region’s palmetto trees. More than an inch accumulated, one of the snowiest days in the city’s history.

The Weather Service issued a rare alert for “heavy freezing rain” along the entire South Carolina coast Wednesday morning before the precipitation turned over to snow during the afternoon. In Charleston, the Weather Service reported the snow was “pouring”. Ultimately, it piled up to 5 inches, making Wednesday the city’s third snowiest day on record.