The British Isles are hit this Friday by Storm Éowyn. Wind gusts reached more than 180 km/h. This phenomenon is a weather bomb. What does that mean?
Weather bomb is a term that can be a little scary, but behind which hides another somewhat barbaric scientific name. This is “explosive cyclogenesis”. In short, we are talking about depression, a very intense and very violent super depression.
In weather, when we talk about depression, we are talking about a mass of warm air that meets a mass of very cold air. This generates very strong winds, a “whirlwind”. And at the center of the vortex is a drop in pressure. This is why we speak of depression, quite simply.
-When does this depression become a weather bomb?
The more the pressure decreases at the center of this phenomenon, the more potentially violent the storm will be. Atmospheric pressure is measured in hectopascals. There is a very precise reference for scientists.
As soon as this drop in pressure reaches 24 hectopascals in 24 hours, we are talking about a meteorological bomb. With the consequences that we can currently see in Ireland. These winds which are of rare violence with these squalls, these gusts reaching 183 km per hour.
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