Even though bomb cyclones sometimes share characteristics with hurricanes, it is important to note that they are not hurricanes as the two storms also have several differences. Bomb cyclones have cold air and fronts. Cold air rapidly weakens hurricanes while it is an essential ingredient for bomb cyclones. Bomb cyclones form under strong upper-level winds. Strong high altitude winds associated with intense upper-level disturbances would destroy a hurricane, but are a necessity for bomb cyclone development, also known as bombagenesis.
Bomb cyclones form during winter.
Hurricanes form from late spring to early fall while bomb cyclones form from late fall to early spring. Bomb cyclones form at higher latitudes. Hurricanes form in tropical waters while bomb cyclones form over the northwestern Atlantic, northwestern Pacific and sometimes the Mediterranean Sea. Many of the famous blizzards and northeasters that battered the East Coast and sank ships in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean throughout history were bomb cyclones.