What is a weather bomb and can it occur in the Mediterranean and Levant?

Arab Weather - Several weather reports have been received around the world that included the term weather bomb, or bomb cyclone. This term was widely used and common in storms that occur in the North Atlantic and North America. What is this phenomenon, how does it occur, and can it form in the Mediterranean and Levant?

What is a weather bomb and can it occur in the Mediterranean and Levant?

Weather experts at the Arab Weather Center said that a bomb cyclone or weather bomb is a weather phenomenon that occurs when the atmospheric pressure at the center of a storm drops suddenly and rapidly, at a rate of 24 millibars or more within 24 hours. This phenomenon usually occurs during the winter in the Atlantic Ocean and the countries bordering it, in addition to North America, especially in areas where lakes are located.

This phenomenon is characterized by producing severe weather patterns that include strong snowstorms, heavy rains, and strong winds that can reach speeds of more than 130 km/h in some cases. This phenomenon is called a "bomb cyclone" because it resembles a powerful explosion in the atmosphere, where the sudden drop in pressure leads to an increase in the strength of the winds. According to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), this phenomenon occurs especially when the jet stream overlaps with cold and warm, moist air masses.

Could it happen in the Mediterranean and Levant?

The answer is no, it is very difficult for a "bomb cyclone" to occur in the Mediterranean and Levant. This is due to several reasons related to the characteristics of this region. A bomb cyclone requires the presence of large bodies of water, such as oceans, which provide the necessary amount of wet energy for the cyclone to form. The Mediterranean is much smaller than the oceans and does not have the same ability as oceans to feed these storms with the energy needed to turn them into weather bombs, which depend largely on the availability of large warm waters, which is difficult to find in the Mediterranean.

A bomb cyclone also requires a large temperature difference between cold air masses coming from the north and warm air originating from warm water bodies. In the Mediterranean and Levant, although there are temperature fluctuations during the winter, the temperature difference between cold air and the relatively warm Mediterranean is not large enough to create the conditions for this type of storm. Temperature differences are one of the main factors that help bomb cyclones form in areas such as the Atlantic Ocean.

And God knows best.