Things have gotten Wilder out here in the west! Avalanches made the news all last week. Then warnings of an impending storm that could bring high winds and blizzard conditions took the stage. If you live here, you know all about Wild Weather, but no one has ever used the term, Bomb Cyclone in this fine state until this morning. We seem to be running through the ABC’s of Colorado weather.
I wondered what the heck that was and clicked to find out.
This was the calm before the storm at 6:14 AM. Avalanche warnings were still the main concern.
But Mother Nature, being a show stopper, had to add letters B and C!
BOMB CYCLONE. Sound ferocious? It is!
I knew something strange was in the air when I couldn’t hold my head up this morning. This cyclonic weather pattern dropped barometric pressure to all time lows of 975 mg, similar to hurricane measurements. Hurricane Sandy measured 940. Without normal pressure everything expands causing head and body aches. No wonder I traipsed back to bed. I took a nap during the worst of it at 11:00 AM.
Winds howled and gusted up to 91 MPH at DIA. Wind blasting the house finally woke me up.
The L for low pressure is to the right of the front range in Colorado.
The electricity went off and on all morning and has started pulsating again this afternoon. It has randomly turned on the TV which is super creepy when the weather is breaking news and forecasters are talking about the storm every time. So far, the electricity has always turned on again. Fingers crossed.
Five years ago, torrential rain dumped seventeen inches, flooding many parts of Boulder county.
A few months later, we were hit with a snowstorm and the gas stopped working. Temperatures inside my house dropped to the 40’s! Luckily our pipes didn’t freeze, but some of my friends weren’t so lucky.
I braved the wind to retrieve a garbage can and found a dazed and confused robin. Poor thing must have flown into something. I left him to chill out and get his bearings. Looks like we all are doing that today, hopefully without hurting ourselves.
The wind is still blowing in gusts. Everything is shut down. DIA cancelled most flights. Tomorrow the sun will shine and the snow will melt. That’s Wild Colorado Weather!
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Susie Lindau's Wild Ride 
I learned…wow, fourteen years ago, now?…that fires can cause power surges that can cause televisions to turn on. My mom used to have a fire lieutenant living next door (I believe he’s landlord only now), and one morning, he happened to come home to get his checkbook. He realized he couldn’t see through my mom’s diningroom window, broke it and smoke came pouring out. When his coworkers arrived and he unlocked the front door, they heard the television running in my mom’s room and thought I was still there, because the lieutenant hadn’t seen me leave the night before. (I guess he also didn’t realize I hadn’t been living there for four months, either.) Based on the condition of the kitchen, I would’ve had to have been deaf and without a sense of smell to miss the burgeoning fire, but they wouldn’t have thought of that in (pardon the pun) the heat of the moment!
If there was any lightness to be had in the day, I learned later that the firefighters were very disappointed that their lieutenant had a key and that they couldn’t break down the front door! 😂
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LOL about the front door. Wow. Fires are nothing to mess with. So scary!
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By the way, it was a dishwasher fire. I guess there was a recall on the motor and my mom (or whoever sold it to her) didn’t get the letter and…you know the rest. Lesson: ALWAYS register electronics and appliances! (That may have been the source of my mom’s missing letter.)
Plus, you can occasionally get fun stuff out of it! There were still registration cards in my car, so I sent one in to Chrysler and got three months of Sirius for free. (Unfortunately, they’ve taken to nagging me to come back periodically. 😛)
Oh, and other lesson: probably not a good idea to run the dishwasher while you’re at work. x_x
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I do worry about running dishwashers and dryers. Good to know! 🙂 Glad no one was hurt.
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Bomb cyclone is all the news here (with ski patrol avalanche effort images).
Actually tuned in to your ch7 news and got a cam view of snow, Denver, river running through it – with a few brave drivers.
Your first pix looks like a finely made lace.
Looks like a good day for a fireplace and a nap. Take care!
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Thanks, Phil! Most of us laughed this morning when ALL of the schools were closed, there was a light breeze, and it was raining. By 10:00 it was a different story!
Yes, the avalanches are still a worry, but it’s always wild in Colorado. This year it’s a lot wilder. LOL!
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Good Lord, Susie! I’m sorry this weather just won’t give you folks a break. It’s so disruptive to daily life and you can’t even hit your slopes can you? Be safe and warm, guys! 😮🌴🌵☀️
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Thanks, John! I don’t think anyone made it up to the mountains unless they left really early. It’s been so crazy. I LOVE IT! 🙂
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Oh, my goodness – my head would really explode is the pressure dropped like that. Ouch. I can almost feel it. Stay warm and good luck!
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Thanks so much, Jan! it’s still howling out there but the snow has tapered off. I’m glad I’m not traveling. Roxy is laying by my side!
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That must have been scary. I feel sorry for all the little animals that get caught up in natural disasters.
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Me too! I’m sure the robin flew away as soon as the world stopped spinning. The storm has moved to the east. I wonder if it will sustain its intensity. We’ll find out tomorrow!
Thanks, Anneli!
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Stay safe!
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I’ll try! LOL!
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Wild weather indeed, scary stuff. Stay warm and dry! 🙂
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Thanks so much! It has calmed down, finally.
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‘Oh my’, ‘frozen pipes sounds like a highland piper caught out in a blizzard.:( The New Wave Punk Shock hair color – ‘Bomb Cyclone’. 🙂
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Hahaha! Hahahaha!
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Oh boy, it does sound like it’s been pretty wild out there! Hope you are nice & cozy & can just stay put.
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Thanks, Lynn! That’s the plan. It has finally moved to the east. What a crazy storm!
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Living where I did and where I do, I know a bit about cyclonic wind, which really just means spinning wind. Altho media is calling it cyclone bomb, cyclones only appear on the other side of the world — Asia — as they spin backwards from a hurricane just as water in a toilet bowl does after flushing. When Hurricane Katrina struck, the air pressure was down in the 800s millibars.
Funny thing,if media called it a cyclonic bomb, they’d be correct.
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It’s all in the name these days. I heard someone say Ameriscam or something like that today. Some of the words they make up are cringeworthy, but I like Bomb Cyclone. It was massive and crazy since the snow blew sideways in high winds.
800 mbs would have been so hard to endure! My head would have felt like it was going to split open!
Thanks for stopping by, Ray!
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It was like 829, but remember that much of NOLA is below sea level. That matters. If that happened in The Rockies I’m pretty sure that weak ancient buildings might be crushed.
Does Ameriscam refer to the college entrance cheating? if so, that doesn’t even make sense.
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Wow! Along with my brain!
No, I couldn’t remember the term or what it referred to. It was something with America in it. See? That low pressure system really wrecked me!
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Hahahahahaha…
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🙂
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When I was a kid, I believe they called those weather patterns blizzards. But then again, sticking the name “bomb” onto anything will guarantee viewers/readers to multiply. Nevertheless, no matter what you call it, I’m glad you’re safe and sound. We had a rain and wind storm with a horrendous gust right around Christmas that took out a hundred foot fir tree (that’s still waiting to be cut and split – we’re waiting for dryer weather).
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Hey Susan! The storm was literally shaped like a hurricane. CRAZY! The winds were super high in some places but it finally passed to the east. Yay!
I hate losing trees. Mother nature can do a lot of damage durning these storms. Ours could have been worse. It could have started snowing last night. We would have gotten feet of the white stuff!
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Thanks for so much information. Haven’t been able to extract much from son in Golden except to let us know school was cancelled!
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Oh! I bet he experienced high winds and a lot more snow. It was the craziest storm. It has passed by, finally… Whew!
Thanks, Audrey!
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Looks like ‘bomb cyclone’ is about the best description of the conditions there. You made me feel the entire drama through the powerful narrative. The promise of the following sunny day tucked in towards the end is a nice touch.
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Thanks so much, Uma! It was sort of a whim when I started writing it since it was all over the news. I live in what was the eye of the storm!
I slept like a baby last night and wonder if the the pressure had something to do with it. I’m sure it’s still on the low side. *yawn*
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Mother Nature is on a tear lately – geez! I heard Bomb Cyclone this morning on the news and I stopped in my tracks. A What?!? I think I am in the best place for weather right now; FL. Hang in there – be safe and stay warm.
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You are in the safest place! It’s gray here so far, but I bet the clouds burn off later. In the meantime, I’ve got to kick it into high gear after dragging through yesterday. 🙂 So much to do!!!!!!
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Yeah, this year’s winter is all over the map! 😀
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I’ve been seeing the reports. Not a good scene over there right now. We dodged a bullet here in Vicksburg. We’ve been under tornado warnings for 2 days now. But nothing other than strong gusting winds and a few rain showers. Scary weather everywhere this spring.
Stay inside and stay safe.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
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I’ve been cooking all day! Lol. I’m glad you are safe in your neck of the woods. The weather is getting so extreme. From drought to deluge!
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Interesting times we live in, eh? 🙂 … glad you’re all snug and warm and safe. 🙂
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They are so very crazy! The weather has become so unpredictable. When I checked last weekend, forecasters only saw a chance for snow. That low pressure system really wrecked me!!!
Thanks so much, Widderwoman!
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Susy! That sound like a storm only a Wild Rider could survive. Whoa. It rains over here and people go crazy with the storm watch 🙂 Glad that you’re safe at home. Maybe cooking up some nice soup to keep you warm. Glad that eventually the sun will shine your way.
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It passed and left lots of sunshine to warm everyone up! What was super weird was the low pressure. Apparently, all the cows dropped their calves a few days early in the middle of the storm. I wonder how many women went into labor early. My brain needed another day to recuperate! I don’t know how they deal with Nor-easters and hurricanes!!
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That’s crazy about the cows. I had never heard of anything like that. Dude. I can’t even imagine early labor in a storm. I’m glad you recuperated though. It seemed like a serious one. Dude and hurricanes … Florida is not happening during storm season.
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Or the east coast.
I’ve been making up for it this week. I’m skiing in Utah and have been sleeping in like a teenager. LOL!
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Bet you keep a well filled hip flask and a ready pair of electric socks for these harsh winter storms. 🙂
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Absodanglutely!!! 🙂
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Of course, we here in warmer weather have heard all about the bomb cyclone, but I am so intrigued by your description. I find it hard to imagine, quite frankly. Regardless of the barometric pressure I think I’d be in bed with the covers pulled up over my head until it passes. 🙂
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It was the only way to go! I’m glad it passed. If we dealt with that kind of pressure daily, I’d get nothing done!
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