Winter Storm Gianna barrels toward New York with brutal cold snow and fierce windsThe East Coast is bracing for a massive winter assault as Storm Gianna threatens to bring bomb cyclone blizzard conditions from the Carolinas to Virginia, with potential heavy snowfall reaching from Washington to Boston. Experts indicate the available resources should prove adequate to prevent major interruptions to winter storm response operations, at least for the near term. East Coast predicted to be hit with snowA bomb cyclone is a rapidly intensifying storm system that resembles a winter hurricane. Typically, a bomb cyclone is fueled by a clash of air masses. Article continues belowThis extreme temperature contrast creates massive instability, which acts as high-octane fuel for the storm to rapidly develop and "bomb out."