Nearly 500,000 without power after bomb cyclone hits west coast

The storm blew into the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday, felling trees and triggering massive power outages, according to PowerOutage.us. The storm killed at least two people and injured at least two more as it continued moving down through eastern Washington, Oregon, and the northern California coast. 

What kind of damage and injuries have already occurred? Local media outlets report fallen trees from heavy winds and rain causing damage to homes and powerlines. A woman in her 50s died late Tuesday night when a tree fell on a homeless encampment, emergency responders north of Seattle reported. An emergency department outside Seattle confirmed that another woman died when a tree struck her home Tuesday night. Another fire station near Seattle reported two more people hospitalized when a tree crushed their trailer on Tuesday night.

Where is the storm moving? The National Weather Service warned of powerful back-to-back storms battering the West Coast with heavy rain, strong winds, and life-threatening floodings through Friday. Meteorologists expected up to 16 inches of rain across the northern California coast through the week, which will move across inland mountains and pose a risk of mud and rock slides, the weather center added.

What makes it a bomb cyclone? Meteorologists describe a storm as “bombogenesis” when the storm’s central atmospheric pressure drops by 24 millibars or more within 24 hours. The current storm dropped by more than 48 millibars in a 24-hour period, according to the Weather Channel.

Dig deeper: Read Lynde Langdon’s report on an atmospheric river that drenched California in 2021 marking the area’s lowest pressure recorded in 50 years.