The March 13 bomb cyclone — the term is shorthand for explosive cyclogenesis, aka bombogenesis, a phenomenon characterized by a swiftly deepening low-pressure area capable of producing heavy winds — produced legitimate blizzard conditions that resulted in widespread power outages, with thousands left without electricity for days.
So when forecasters predicted that the phenomenon would smack Denver again on April 10 using scary graphics showing sky-high snow totals, plenty of locals expected the worst. The included the folks at Denver International Airport, where more than 700 flights were canceled in advance of the flakes.
In the end, though, panic was unnecessary. While some places in Colorado got a considerable amount of the white stuff (though nothing even close to historic amounts), and Interstate 70 has actually been closed on the Eastern plains due to adverse conditions, most of the metro area saw accumulation in the one-to-two-inch range and winds that were downright modest compared to the previous iteration.
True, the roads are lousy this morning, but mostly because plowing has been difficult given that so little snow fell in many places.
The response to this scenario on Twitter has been hilarious, with plenty of commentators aiming barbs at TV meteorologists who were once again left to explain why a supposed snowpocalypse turned out to be a minor spring storm — with CBS4's Chris Spears being a notable exception. At 4:37 p.m. on April 9, he tweeted, "Ok y’all I keep seeing and hearing #bombcyclone2019 thrown around. I know it’s sexy and all, but this isn’t quite that this time though extremely strong. Let’s call this one the ugly 3rd cousin from mama’s side of the family."
Count down our fifteen favorite tweets below.
Number 15:
Epic failure for meteorologists in Denver Metro....#weather pic.twitter.com/8YPb4yJkc8
— CO golf (@COgolf1) April 11, 2019
Number 14:
Blizzards meant 3+ feet of snow when I was growing up. Now we call everything a fucking bomb cyclone. Denver has gotten so soft!
— Teflon John (@TheNickWhiteFTW) April 11, 2019
Number 13:
Sure will! But if it helps any, I'm in Denver and this thing has been nothing like the 1st bomb cyclone. Blizzard warning started at noon, but no blizzard & little snow. A lot of emergency crews are being sent back home.
— Kelly Quinn (@SenderaGypsy) April 11, 2019
Number 12:
Our blizzard never materialized here in Denver. I think we have about 1? of snow on the ground.
— Pailhead (@ZombieGirI) April 11, 2019
Number 11:
Not so much a Spring blizzard but a dusting of snow and inconvenient cold.. Mother Nature: “Oh, it’s almost 80 in Denver on Tuesday? Psych...Today you get rain, then snow, then 25… https://t.co/aNOyQ1DsuD
— x- LoveMyAvalanche (@goavs925) April 11, 2019
Number 10:
I live on eastern plains. We got zero snow. Not any. Supposed to get 13 inches. How much snow is in Denver? Enough to cancel 1400 flights 15 hours in advance?
— Troy Schultz (@tschultzcolo) April 11, 2019
Number 9:
The snow came in Denver like........ pic.twitter.com/E3MkIjPUX9
— Ranesha (@N3sha) April 11, 2019
Number 8:
You heard it here first. People of the greater Denver area freak out way more than they should with snow. https://t.co/2HufgD0nur
— Hunter De La Cerda (@DrDeLaCerda) April 11, 2019
Number 7:
Not even two inches of snow has accumulated, and yet many businesses closed down and sent employees home.
— Smelton “Familia” Longmired (@tommythefamily) April 11, 2019
In Denver. In Colorado.
Smdh.
Number 6:
When does the blizzard start? #BombCyclone #Denver #Wesley
— RL Media Services (@FoodBevMedia) April 11, 2019
Number 5:
This is the most boring #blizzard or #BombCyclone or whatever you want to call it. Barely snowing, light breeze... Getting cold though. Hope everyone is safe and warm to the NE #COwx #Denver
— geoffdmiller (@geoffdmiller) April 11, 2019
Number 4:
Since I don’t think we reach blizzard conditions in the Denver Metro area for this storm, I’m making my own blizzard! #cowx #BombCyclone #bombcyclone2019 #wxtwitter pic.twitter.com/thvM0hu2ZJ
— Sam Ng (@DocWX) April 11, 2019
Number 3:
So odd seeing all these weather reporters acting like this is a big storm for Denver. They must be noobs. LoL #cowx #barelyworthmentioning https://t.co/wEeIgIfvVA
— Stephen Felt (@sfelt) April 11, 2019
Number 2:
Let the record show that this Denver storm was a goddamn dud
— paj (@pagekemna) April 11, 2019
Number 1:
Rough night to be a weather caster in Denver... Keep your chin up champ, we'll get 'em next time!
— loumull (@louis_mullen) April 11, 2019
