When it comes to weather, it is hard to sound more frightening than to call a storm a bomb cyclone. But that is how weather experts are describing a huge winter storm that is hitting the U.S. East Coast this week. From the northern state of Maine to Georgia in the south, the storm has brought high winds and heavy snow. Schools and government offices have closed because of the weather and thousands of flights have been cancelled. But as fearsome as the storm is, it probably will not be as explosive as the name sounds. Weather experts, or meteorologists, have used the term bomb for storms for many years. The word has a clear definition for weather experts, says University of Oklahoma meteorology professor Jason Furtado.

What has the storm brought?
light rains
local flooding
heavy snow
bomb cyclone
The storm will probably not be explosive.
fearsome
explosive
a cyclone
deadly
What does hitting mean?
tropical cyclone
snow storm
wind and rain
causing harm