Internet Culture

A ‘bomb cyclone’ is hitting the East Coast, and the internet is scared

2018 is off to an apocalyptic start.

Photo of Tiffany Kelly

Tiffany Kelly

Winter storm Grayson from weather satellite
GOES/NOAA (Public Domain)

The East Coast experienced unusually cold temperatures the last week of December, and conditions are projected to only get worse during the first week of January. Yesterday, after everyone began recovering from the holidays and heading back to work, weather reports said a storm is heading for the region. Should we all be worried? Well, forecasters are calling it a “bomb cyclone,” which definitely doesn’t sound scary. Nope, not at all. Just the words bomb and cyclone put together.

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https://twitter.com/RyanMaue/status/948255400851378176

The Washington Post called out the panic-inducing term in a tweet about the storm.

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Reading “bomb cyclone” in headlines unsurprisingly caused many people to freak out. Other people joked about it.

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https://twitter.com/tomgvellner/status/948309081244274688

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https://twitter.com/Remy_Anne/status/948579123840143360

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Forecasters have previously used the term “bomb cyclone” to describe a system that rapidly drops in pressure. That definition doesn’t sound as scary as the actual term. It’s just a winter storm, right? We’ll find out tomorrow.

 
The Daily Dot