The US is getting ready for the “bomb cyclone” – a phenomenon that officials said would arrive during a cold hit that has claimed at least 11 lives already.

Forecasters say a relentless pressure drop will lead to an explosive winter storm along the eastern US, and is already bringing snow to Florida. The United States is 10 days in of extreme low temperature recordings that began around Christmas.

But the predicted new storm has led meteorologists to create a new term. The National Weather Service (NWS) has warned that “Arctic air mass will remain entrenched over the eastern two thirds of the country through the end of the week”.”Very cold temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills expected,” the NWS added.

People on social media have asked a plethora of questions, including, “What is a ‘bomb cyclone’?” and “Where’s it gonna hit?” Well to start, a ‘bomb cyclone’, according to BBC Weather, is an unofficial term for what is known as explosive cyclogenesis, which is rapid acceleration of air caused by the jet stream high up in the atmosphere can remove air from the column, reducing its weight so causing pressure to fall at sea level. As for where it will hit, on Thursday and Friday, the major storm is expected to develop along the east coast of the US, bringing heavy winds, rain, sleet and snow, according to BBC Weather. The winds can be strong enough to bring down trees and cause structural damage.The Washington Post adds that the coming storm will “in many ways resemble a winter hurricane” which could be the eastern US’s most intense in decades.It comes as the average temperature across the continental US hovered around 9.1F (-12.7C) on Tuesday morning, according to CBS News

From personal observation, it will still be very cold and may get even colder, but nothing much will change here in western Kentucky, but as for parts of Florida, including the northern city of Tallahassee, have already seen their first snow settling in decades.Excited residents have been sharing photos of themselves playing in the snow, and school is cancelled in most areas of the state.

Another question, “Is it cold everywhere?” Surprisingly, no, on Tuesday it was actually colder in Jacksonville, Florida, than it was in Anchorage, Alaska! a couple of Alaska’s northern and central towns experienced some of their hottest months of December on record. On Tuesday, the Merrill Field Airport in Anchorage recorded a temperature of 48F (9C) – warmer than almost anywhere else in the Lower 48 states.

US meteorologist Dr Marshall Shepherd told the BBC that while it is colder than normal in parts of the US and Canada, most of the rest of the world is actually warmer than normal this week.

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