A historic blizzard is raging Saturday from the northern Mid-Atlantic to New England, with forecasters warning that Boston may set a record for its heaviest snow event on record.
The snowstorm is energized by powerful jet stream winds and a contrast in air masses as Arctic air pours in from Canada.
The storm itself is undergoing a meteorological process known as bombogenesis, which is why it is referred to as a bomb cyclone.
Bombogenesis occurs when the minimum central air pressure in a non-tropical storm drops by 24 millibars in 24 hours.
As the low intensifies throughout the day, it will continue pushing intense bands of snow featuring whiteout conditions north-northwestward, into Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.