Why in news? Deaths are reported in with brutal storm that have created havoc in many parts of Canada and USA  due to   Monster storm

Highlights

• The scope of the storm has been nearly unprecedented, stretching from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico.
• Temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians
• The main reason is bomb cyclone had been met over the Great Lakes, where frigid Arctic air from the meandering polar vortex met very warm air to the east

What is Bomb Cyclone?

• This kind of storm is not exceedingly rare, and it is very strong, with high winds that are bringing heavy snow or rain to many areas.
• Storms can form when a mass of low-pressure air meets a high-pressure mass and air flows from high pressure to low, creating winds.
• Bomb cyclone  is defined by how rapidly the pressure drops in the low-pressure mass by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours.
• This quickly increases the pressure difference, or gradient, between the two air masses, making the winds stronger.
• This process of rapid intensification has a name: bombogenesis.
• As the winds blow, the rotation of the Earth creates a cyclonic effect. The direction is counter clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere

Great Lakes

• They are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River.
• Basin countries: Canada, United States
• Five lakes: Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario
• The Great Lakes Waterway enables modern travel and shipping by water among the lakes.
• Lake Superior or Lake Michigan-Huron is the second-largest lake in the world and the largest freshwater lake.
• Lake Michigan is the largest lake that is entirely within one country.
• Straits of Mackinac: Connect Lake Michigan to Lake Huron
• Niagara River( Niagara Falls): connects Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.
• Welland Canal : Bypassing the Niagara River, connects Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.
• Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, the largest island in any inland body of water in the world