What is a ‘bomb cyclone’? Winter storm bringing snow & cold to South Carolina

As the Myrtle Beach area braces for extreme cold and snow, one particularly attention-grabbing term is popping up in East Coast weather forecasts: bomb cyclone. The intense storm is set to impact South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia this weekend.

“In terms of the precipitation and the wind and the cold, it’s affecting the Carolinas, especially,” said meteorologist Rachel Zouzias with the National Weather Service’s Wilmington office. “They’re probably the bullseye of the storm.”

Referred to as bombogenesis by meteorologists, bomb cyclones occur when a cyclone rapidly intensifies in a short period of time.

“As it’s tracking up the coast here, it’s deepening quite rapidly, and that’s what they refer to as a bomb, just a deepening, extreme, fast, rapid, deepening storm,” Zouzias said.

After the cyclone leaves the area, it’s expected to drop 24 millibars – a meteorological pressure measurement – in 24 hours, at which point it will officially become a bomb cyclone.

“It’ll be strong enough and formidable enough, as it’s coming through, to have significant impacts,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Bob Larson, “But won’t yet be considered a bomb cycle until it strengthens even further upon leaving the East Coast and over the waters of the Atlantic.

What the bomb cyclone is forecast to bring to Myrtle Beach

AccuWeather predicts the bomb cyclone will bring snow from the Carolinas up into part of the northeast coast. For the Grand Strand area, that means winter storm conditions this weekend.

“There’s going to be snow, brutal cold and winds,” said Zouzias. “For us down here, it’s a pretty big storm. Wind, cold, it may even feel like blizzard-like for us.”

Storm winds are expected to pick up Friday night and peak Saturday night after midnight through Sunday morning, which could be “very dangerous” for the coastal community.

Larson forecasts the Myrtle Beach area will see 3 to 6 inches of snow this weekend. A mix of snow and rain could start Friday night, but most snow won’t come until Saturday morning into the night. By Sunday morning, the sun should be back out.

Zouzias recommends keeping off roads and inside when possible, preparing home supplies and staying informed with reputable sources.

This story was originally published January 30, 2026 at 2:18 PM.