Bomb cyclone: Harsh winter storm brings snow, flooding and power outages across US northeast

Nearly 80 million Americans will feel the effects of the storm on the east coast alone

The US east coast has been hit with the “bomb cyclone” bringing floods, travel delays, and cold.

Boston, New York, and Washington DC are the hardest hit at the moment with relentless rain and snow and one in four Americans - or 80 million people - will feel the effects of the storm.

Nearly 3,000 flights have been cancelled all along the eastern seaboard, in part due to high-speed winds.

“March is coming in like a lion,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

The storm is considered a ‘nor’easter’ - which occurs when the atmospheric pressure of the storm drops below 24 milibars in 24 hours.

The lower the pressure, the more powerful the storm. The current ‘bomb cyclone’ has dropped 30 milibars in 24 hours.

Snowfall is nothing the northeast cannot handle, but this particular snow will be heavy, wet, and could bring down power lines, roofs, and construction cranes.

A “life and death” warning has been issued for the US state of Massachusetts as wind gusts reached speeds of 80 to 90 mph (129 to 145 kmh) in the popular holiday spot, Cape Cod.

Tides at the Boston harbour could reach up to 15ft (4.7 meters) three times during this storm.

That has only happened to the harbour twice in the last 100 years.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has activated 200 members of the state’s National Guard to help with evacuations in certain parts of the state.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said: "This is one of the more extreme storms in recent memory in terms of coastal flooding and damaging wind potential along the coast, but also includes heavy wet snow and heavy rain as important factors”.

Maryland has also declared a state of emergency due to the windstorm.

Amtrak has cancelled all of its northeast corridor services as well due to fallen trees, flooding, and winds.

Federal government offices and schools were also closed throughout the northern Virginia, Maryland, DC area, too.

The late-winter storm has not spared other parts of the country either. There are reports of heavy snow from northern Ohio to western and upstate New York.

The cold front of the storm reaches across 2,500 miles - all the way to central Mexico.

The ‘bomb cyclone’ has also left electric companies scrambling as nearly 1.7 million homes have been left without power due to downed lines and flooding.

Storms sweeping across California provided some long-deferred rain and snow to a state that has been bracing for another drought amid scant precipitation.

Officials in southern California were on guard for the possibility that heavy rainfall could unleash mudslides in areas scorched by devastating wildfires. In Santa Barbara County, where 17 people died last month when torrential rain sent water and debris cascading down hillsides, sheriff’s officials announced mandatory evacuation orders affecting between 25,000 and 30,000 people.

By the next morning, those orders were lifted, although flooding and mudslides had temporarily closed some roads. Heavy snow buried northern parts of the state, with two to four feet reported in mountainous areas and the National Weather Service predicting in a winter storm warning that Lake Tahoe could see up to 15 inches more.

The storm is supposed to let up by the end of the weekend with snowfall turning drier and lighter as it progresses on the east coast.