Bombogenesis

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Grammarist

The term bombogenesis comes from jargon first used exclusively among weathermen or meteorologists. Within the past decade, it has moved into mainstream English. We will examine the definition of the word bombogenesis, where it came from and some examples of its use in sentences.

A bombogenesis is a storm that grows very strong, very quickly. It is most often used to describe a storm that forms when a cold mass of air moves over warmer ocean waters, but it may refer to a clash between cold polar air and a mass of warmer air. American east coast autumn and winter storms are often said to be a result of bombogenesis. The word bombogenesis is a portmanteau of the words bomb and cyclogenesis. A portmanteau is a word that is composed by blending the sounds and the meanings of two different words. Weathermen have referred to intense coastal storms as bombs since the 1940s, due to the sudden, explosive nature of their formation. Cyclogenesis is the process of the formation of a cyclone. Currently, bombogenesis is listed in very few dictionaries, but the more the word is used in news stories and weather forecasts, the faster it will become an official word. Bombogenesis has been used to describe the process of forming such a storm, and as a term for the storm itself.

Examples

The system could undergo a process called “bombogenesis,” in which a rapid deepening of pressures leads to a swift increase in wind speeds near the center of the storm, the National Weather Service said. (The New York Daily News)

During that transformation, it’s possible the system undergoes a ‘bombogenesis,’ Feltgen said, when air pressure drops 24 millibars in 24 hours, Feltgen said. (The Miami Herald)