This winter storm is unquestionably one of the most impressive to hit North America in several decades. Although this continent is accustomed to such weather phenomena, Elliott differs from other storms by its speed and intensity.
Pascal Mormal, meteorologist at the Royal Meteorological Institute (IRM), explains the mechanism of this “cyclonic bomb”: “These extremely cold air masses, which come from the Arctic, fly over land areas. So they don’t really get a chance to warm up over large sea masses like an ocean or like the North Sea. It is really cold air of polar origin which arrives directly on these lands, in addition under a very dynamic flow. These are very violent winds, which also means that the cold felt with the wind effect is even greater than the temperatures measured. Here we are talking about temperatures of -30, even -40 degrees which are measured under shelter.