Seven Cities That Will Be Hit Hardest By Bomb Cyclone

An unusually sudden and violent storm will hit part of the Atlantic Coast this weekend, with the worst weather expected from Virginia to South Carolina. It comes one week after a larger storm blanketed almost two thirds of the US.

The new storm is nicknamed a “bomb cyclone.” The actual term used by meteorologists is Bombogenesis. This “occurs when a midlatitude (the latitudes between the tropics and polar regions) cyclone rapidly intensifies, or strengthens, over a 24-hour period,” according to the National Weather Service. 

The Washington Post wrote of the new storm system, “Across the United States, around 190 million people were under alerts related to frigid temperatures and/or snow early Friday. Of that number, about 33 million people in the southern Appalachians, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast were covered by alerts related to hazardous weather from the incoming storm.”

As for the target area of the storm, Accuweather reports, “As the atmospheric pressure crashes along the Atlantic coast from Friday to Saturday, a bomb cyclone will be born, winds will dramatically increase, and snow will fly. The main focus of the snow will extend from the Carolinas to southern Virginia, northern Georgia, and just barely along the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts this weekend.”

The change in temperature is also notable. Temperature swings have become more extreme. Last year, in Phoenix, there were more than 100 days with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees, the longest such stretch since record-keeping began in 1896.

The average daytime high temperature in New York City in January is 39 degrees F. The average low is 27 degrees F. Temperatures have been between 10 and 15 degrees below that for a week and will be for several more days. Judson Jones, a New York Times meteorologist, recently wrote, “This is the thing we’ve talked about with climate change: The extremes are going to be more extreme.”

Climate Crisis 247 looked at the relatively large cities likely to be hit by the storm. We have also listed their populations, and the square mileage each covers. Forecasts are from the National Weather Service, Accuweather, and The Weather Channel. 

Population figures are from the Census City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2024. Square mileage is also from the Census

• Raleigh, NC — Currently forecast for potentially the biggest snowstorm in decades → forecast 6–10+ inches, very high impact Population: 499,825 (2024 est.) Land area: 149 square miles
• Charlotte, NC → 4–8+ inches, could be one of the largest snow events in decades for the city. Population: 943,476 (2024 est.) Land area: 310 square miles
• Greensboro, NC → 6–10 inches expected Population: 307,381 (2024 est.) Land area: 130 square miles
• Norfolk / Virginia Beach / Virginia Tidewater area → 7–12 inches possible, plus blizzard conditions, extreme winds (gusts up to 70 mph), and significant coastal flooding Norfolk, VA — Population: 231,105 (2024 est.) Land area: 53 square miles, Virginia Beach, VA — Population: 454,808 (2024 est.) Land area: 245 square miles 
• Wilmington, NC & eastern/coastal North Carolina → 5–12 inches, very high risk of blizzard-like conditions near the coast, strong winds dropping visibility Population: 125,284 (2024 est.) Land area: 51 square miles
• Asheville, NC & southern Appalachians → 5–12 inches in higher terrain Population: 98,270 (2024 est.) Land area: 45 square miles
• Richmond, VA → 5–10+ inches possible (wide range, but major impact potential) Population: 233,655 (2024 est.) Land area: 60 square miles

Other Areas With Likely Notable Effects;

• Columbia, SC, and parts of central/eastern South Carolina → 4–8+ inches possible Population: 144,788 (2024 est.) Land area: 137 square miles
• Cape Cod / Islands (MA) → Potentially 6–12 inches in the Northeast’s bullseye (No single city equivalent; regional area with variable populations.)
• Washington D.C. / Baltimore / Philadelphia / New York City → Mostly lower totals (0–4 inches) and more uncertainty — many models keep the heaviest band just offshore, so these cities should escape with only light snow or mainly wind/rain 
• Boston and much of the rest of New England → Lower totals expected (mostly 1–6 inches), except possibly higher on the far eastern side (Regional; not a single individual city)

Washington, Philadelphia, Boston, and New York City will have dodged a bullet compared to last week.