“Bomb cyclone” hit East Coast with heavy rain, strong wind

Lashing wind sent waves crashing over sea walls in Rhode Island, and downed trees in downtown Philadelphia.  Neighborhoods and roads are flooded in parts of Connecticut.

The National Weather Service in Boston warned of “very heavy rain” and “strong to perhaps damaging” winds. The National Weather Service said there could be rough surf and flooding in the northeast U.S. and New England through Thursday.

CBS News weather contributor Jeff Berardelli reported Thursday night that the storm had easily surpassed the threshold of bombogenesis, becoming a “bomb cyclone,” which is generally defined by a pressure drop of 24 millibars within 24 hours.

Wind gusts approaching 100 mph were recorded in Massachusetts. CBS Boston reports that the core of the strongest wind is now shifting across the Maine coast, as the rapidly intensifying storm moves northward. On the backside of this system, the wind has now shifted to the southwest and gusts will still range between 40-50 mph through the early evening.

More than 400,000 customers in the Northeast are without power. About 230,000 customers lost electricity across Massachusetts early Thursday morning after strong wind and heavy rain brought down power lines and trees overnight. Barnstable, Marshfield, Beverly, and Scituate are among the areas hit the hardest.