An atmospheric river is threatening to rush into the eastern United States on Wednesday, bringing torrential rain, strong winds and significant disturbances.

The storm, which is forecast to strengthen into a “bomb cyclone,” will hit areas from the Southeast to New England, causing widespread travel delays, flooding and power outages.

The storm began producing severe thunderstorms and heavy rain in the Southeast early Tuesday and is expected to intensify quickly as it moves up the East Coast.

Bombogenesis is expected by Wednesday – a rapid drop in air pressure of at least 24 millibars within 24 hours. This process creates a vacuum-like effect that attracts strong winds and rain, creating an atmospheric flow.

“The main impacts of the atmospheric river event to the east today will be in the form of heavy rain, strong to damaging wind gusts and even a defined line of thunderstorms that can become severe,” AccuWeather meteorologist Bradon Buckingham said Newsweek.

“This may result in deep flooding, river and stream rises and numerous travel delays. Taking into account the risk of wind and thunderstorms, there is also a risk of power outages from this storm.”

The storm’s central pressure will drop dramatically, producing gusts between 50 and 70 mph from eastern North Carolina to southeastern Maine.

According to AccuWeather forecasts, isolated gusts could reach speeds of 85 miles per hour, similar to a strong tropical storm or hurricane.

The storm will cause 2.5 to 10 cm of rain across much of the East, with locally up to 20 cm of rain in the Northeast.

Rainfall will cause flooding in cities and cause river and stream levels to rise. Areas with significant snowpack, particularly in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, are at increased risk of flooding due to rapid snowmelt.

“Atmospheric rivers, fast-moving currents of moist air, are known to produce heavy rain along the West Coast, often resulting in significant flooding,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said in a media release Tuesday.

“They may also occur along the East Coast of the United States, as will be the case with the storm Wednesday into Wednesday night.”

According to Porter, this atmospheric river will be “unusually strong” and rich in moisture. The tropical moisture dumped on the East Coast is about 2,000 miles from the Caribbean Sea.

Flat or flat roofs laden with snow could also collapse under the added weight of rainwater, meteorologists warned.

Major transportation hubs along the Interstate 95 corridor, including Philadelphia, New York City and Boston, are expected to experience delays due to heavy rain, poor visibility and localized thunderstorms.

Severe thunderstorms could produce isolated tornadoes in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. The National Weather Service has issued a “low risk” warning for damaging wind gusts across eastern North Carolina and southern New England.

Strong winds accompany the storm, even outside of thunderstorms. Coastal areas in the Northeast must prepare for widespread power outages and possible damage to property and infrastructure.

Residents are urged to secure outdoor Christmas decorations, trash cans and other items that could become dangerous projectiles.

Further inland, wind gusts between 30 and 50 mph will sweep through the central Appalachians and extend to the Atlantic coast by Thursday.

According to poweroutage.us, more than 12,000 people in Connecticut, New York State, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are already without power, although it is not immediately clear whether this is due to the storm.

Unlike the West Coast atmospheric rivers, which Buckingham says are more common than their East Coast cousins, this river is aligned in the sky parallel to land.

Conversely, the similar storms that struck the Pacific Northwest last month struck perpendicular to the coast.

“Due to the orientation of moisture and mountainous terrain along the west coast, events can often be more extreme than on the east coast,” he added.

Relationship between the atmospheric river and the bomb cyclone

When atmospheric rivers and bomb cyclones join forces, they create an exceptionally powerful weather system that can intensify storms.

The atmospheric river, a high-altitude stream of concentrated moisture, serves as the fuel, while the bomb cyclone, characterized by rapidly falling atmospheric pressure, acts as the engine for the system.

As the bomb cyclone’s pressure drops sharply, it creates a vacuum effect that sucks in large amounts of moisture from the atmospheric flow.

This interaction triggers a feedback loop: the cyclone becomes stronger as it absorbs more moisture, and its increased intensity in turn allows it to suck in additional moisture, often from thousands of kilometers away.

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