Impressed?

Photo Courtesy of NOAA/National Weather Service, GOES-16, January 2018

I am!

Intense (called a "Bomb" Cyclone) low pressure moving up the East Coast leaves a trail of new snow visible on the ground from SE Georgia to South Carolina, and eastern North Carolina. These storms are extra-tropical cyclones (meaning they are outside of the tropics). It has a well defined center located in the tight curl wrapped up off the east coast but these storms are NOT formed in the same way as hurricanes. In fact, strong winds aloft are part of the ingredients that cause these storms in the first place. Hurricanes (tropical storms) are ripped apart by strong winds aloft.