Arctic air and ocean warmth fuel Virginia bomb cyclone (Full Transcript)
[00:00:00] Speaker 1: As we wait for the snow to fall here in Virginia Beach, the number one ingredient in order for snow to fall is below freezing temperatures. And we clearly have that. Check out this frozen water fountain in front of our hotel encased in a thick layer of ice that some of the workers earlier today were throwing salt on the ice to help melt it and then using a blow torch to take away some of the larger chunks. You can also see how fast and strong the winds are right now. The water that actually is rushing off of this fountain starting to spray this way, kind of creating some interesting ice features. But when I say that the arctic air has really set the stage for this snowstorm to occur well as that air interacts with the relatively warm ocean waters off the Atlantic where we're located here, that's what's going to help cause this bomb cyclone, this strengthening rapidly strengthening low pressure system that's going to create potentially blizzard conditions and a significant amount of snow. Hopefully where I'm standing.
- Below-freezing temperatures are in place in Virginia Beach, setting up conditions for snow.
- A hotel fountain is heavily iced over; crews are using salt and a blow torch to remove ice.
- Strong winds are contributing to spray that freezes into additional ice features.
- Arctic air meeting warmer Atlantic waters can fuel rapid storm intensification (a bomb cyclone).
- The developing low-pressure system could bring blizzard conditions and significant snow.