February 24, 2019: Michigan ‘bomb cyclone’
About noon on Saturday I considered going flying after checking ASOS (the Automated Surface Observing System) and noting the conditions then were doable if marginal. Not quite feeling the weather was going to hold out I went to the FBO before going to the hanger and getting the bird out.
Remember, FBO stands for “Fixed-Base Operator’ and their office facilities. That area has a small lounge, computer area to check the weather and do flight planning, personnel to fuel your aircraft (if not using the Self-Service pumps) and, at ours, it even has a pool table. 😊
Checking the wind speed and direction indications at the FBO indicated the wind was blowing a steady 15 mph and gusting 28 mph. So that ended any plans I might have had about getting in some engine time. As always it is much better to be on the ground wishing one were up there flying, rather than being in the air wishing one were on the ground. If you have been flying awhile its highly possible you know what I mean and do not “ever” intend to be in that position again!
So off to Wolf’s Marine & Dive shop for my obligatory Saturday Popcorn & (todays) cookies. Then off to Tiscornia beach to check out the wave action. With the wind now gusting at +28 mph, the waves were mounting and the lake getting very turbulent. Not to mention how cold the air was getting.
Usually I have a camera handy but not today, so I did not get any photos of the building lake conditions but planned on coming back when the wind was stronger and had been blowing awhile.
Now to preface why the wind was increasing.
It sounds worse than it really was, but forecasters at the National Weather Service predicted a “bomb Cyclone” to rush through southern Michigan on late Saturday ending Monday morning.
It was expected that the storm could generate sustained winds in the 30 to 40 mph range with gusts up to 60 mph. In addition, it was anticipated that there was the possibility of one or two inches of snow here in SW Michigan which would cause whiteout and other problems.
Forecasters said a warm low-pressure system was rushing at us from the southwest and it would be pulling a cold high-pressure system down from the north and the resulting differences in pressure that will cause the windy conditions. The technical term is explosive cyclogenesis, shortened to “bomb cyclone”, and could mean whiteouts and power outages.
With all that in mind, it was recommended that everyone charge up their cell phones and laptops, buy some food that doesn’t require cooking, make sure you have a portable radio and fresh batteries with a flashlight, and then hope the power stays on and you don’t have to use them.
With the expected high winds, it was strongly suggested that people move their vehicles from under trees, and make sure you are ready to cope if you lose power for a while. Michigan has seen all kinds of different weather phenomena this Winter Season and the bomb cyclone is another to add to the list.
Just as a side note, the average sustained wind speed over the weekend was ~45 mph and it generated a damn cold wind chill factor.
Here are a few pictures of Lake Michigan in a blow!