On Tuesday, November 17th, a bomb cyclone, also known as a bombogenesis, hit western Washington with wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph and even stronger winds of over 100 mph near the coast. In western Oregon, they had gusts up to 60 mph, and northern California endured gusts up to 80 mph.
A bomb cyclone happens when atmospheric pressure drops at least 24 millibars over a 24-hour period. This can occur when cold air mass collides with warm air mass, similar to air over warm ocean waters. The intense pressure creates heavy winds and blizzard conditions such as heavy snow, rainfall, and extreme winds.
Many students and staff from Hazen High School experienced various situations caused by the cyclone. Due to the storm, many schools were shut down, Hazen High School being one, so many students spent their free time adapting to the cyclone’s impact.
We asked Hazen students and staff to share their experiences during and after the storm. If they did anything in particular that was interesting or to keep them entertained.
Oliver Rees (11) – “I had no power for 1 and half day so I was playing golf during the storm. To keep myself entertained, I played football the day after and board games.”
Jacob Ingalls (11) – “I went on a run during the cyclone and I had power the whole time. During the nights, I slept in with my dog.”
Chloe Nguyen (10) – “During the storm, I had Wi-Fi and power so nothing affected me. I just went to Qdoba with my friends.”
Madison Pham (10) – “My power and Wi-Fi went out so I just slept through the cyclone. I also stayed at my cousin’s house till Saturday when the power came back.”
Leah Chasey (11) – “I was at home then went to a friend’s house during the storm. My power went out for 1 and a half days. Because of school being canceled, I stayed at my friend’s house and went to the landing 5 times after the storm.”
Ivy Nguyen (11) – “I was in Lynwood during the storm so I was jealous of other people experiencing the cyclone since there was no power outage there. But back at my house, I lost power for 7 days. I just played Block Blast, went to the landing, did side quests, and saw friends.”
Ashley Martinez-Vargas (11) – “I stayed home during the cyclone and my power didn’t even flicker. A tree fell on a neighbor’s house and everyone came to help. It showed how helpful the community is even with people you don’t know.”
Archer Sprunger (11) – “I was working at Starbucks, Factoria, then the power went out so I had to drive home with trees all over the road. The power did not go out at my house and I went snowboarding with friends the day after.”
Mandell Walker (11) – “During the cyclone, I was driving home and all the streets were closed so I had to take a lot of detours. When I got home my power went out so I had to stay at my friend’s house. Went to the track the day after the cyclone hit.”
Mrs. Leick – “At home with my daughter when the first hit. The power flashed for up to 10 seconds on and off until I lost power at around 1 Am. The day after I went to look for food, went to Jack in the Box and got food. Went to check on my mother-in-law. Visited sister in Issaquah really bad damage to Issaquah trees in most houses.”
Samantha Whiteker (11) – “The night of the storm, I stood out on the porch watching it all happen. In Maple Valley, there was no power, no Wi-Fi, and no service. I had to drive to Starbucks to get Wi-Fi.”
Adrian Pivoda (11) – “I played 2v2 Ultimate Football on Roblox with my friend during the cyclone when my power went out. I just went to places where there was power until I got my Wi-Fi back then I stayed home.”
Via Ho (11) – “I spent the week chilling in my bed because I had power the whole time. I went to Olympia to see if my grandparents had power. I have no friends so I was by myself the whole time.”
Brayden Chhay (11) – “I didn’t lose power so I slept through the bomb cyclone.
I went to a friend’s house after. Went to the Southcenter and then Bellevue Square. Friend had no power so was in the car calling.”
Aldo Plascencia (11 ) – “While I was in the living room my power went out and stayed out for 2 days. I went to my uncle’s house after and stayed until my power came back.”
Michael Curry (12) – “I was at home studying for my calc final when I lost power. I was heading out the door when I saw that my car got hit by my basketball hoop causing a big dent.”
Tyler Hoang (11) – “I was at home when it first hit and my power went out for 2 days. I just spent the days studying for finals after the cyclone. One day I went to Marshall’s and the cashier thought I was Korean, I’m Vietnamese. I got Crumbl Cookie one day but it dropped on the floor.”
Jaylen Smith (11) – “I slept through the cyclone when I woke up my power was out. I stayed home because it was dangerous and wasn’t driving around.”
Ms. Garcia – “My experience was good, no trees fell in my area. I didn’t get light until Saturday (4 days). The first two days were fun, I camped out, but after that, I was over it. I had to cook outside and it was cold, I had no heater and just slept through it all.”
Angel Rangel-Solis (10) – “I was at home when the storm happened and I had no power for 3 days. I remember the experience being cold and I mainly went out. I didn’t do any activities, I was just outside with my friends.”
Lua De Paula (9) – “It was windy, a tree fell in my backyard so I stayed downstairs where no one could get hurt. I lost power for 5 days so I spent a lot of quality time with my family.”
Lyncee Nguyen (10) – “My power went out for 2 days so I slept through the cyclone to survive. I had to take 5-minute showers because the water was freezing. Some days I went to my aunt’s house to do homework.”
Amy Le (9) – “My power went out during the storm so I just stayed in my room with flashlights and played Block Blast. I made fun of my friends who mocked me from the storm.”
Allee Ham (9) – “My experience was pretty okay, my power did not go out and I didn’t do anything, nothing happened. I just texted my friends and played Block Blast.”
Shiloh De Leon (9) – “The day of, I went to the mall, and the mall lights were flickering, and when I came back there was no power. I just napped during the cyclone. To survive I stayed indoors and lit up candles”
Vina Nguyen (11) – “I thought it was great, I got to stay inside and I had Wi-Fi and power. I just slept all day, ate, and watched Netflix”.
Mr. Magana – “I was out on the road the night it happened, and I swear I almost got trapped because trees were all down, and the roads were closed. I had no power until Friday night, no Wi-Fi, and no cell service. To survive, I slept through it, I didn’t open my fridge/freeze for a couple of days to preserve food. The second day, my family and I stayed in Renton at my in-law’s house since they had power.”
Kayle Nguyen (10) – “I had no power so I spent my week listening to music and talking to my siblings. My experience overall was awful. I had no food, no hot water, no internet to do homework. Me and my siblings had to go to another room together and just talk because it was so boring. Had to go to another house for power, and when I went to Costco, it was so crowded.”
Ruth Amaha (12) – “I thought the cyclone wouldn’t be anything but when I saw school getting canceled. Overall I was bored and cold. I didn’t have power and I wasn’t ready for my finals so I got extra time to study.”
Ayda Lemma (11) – “My experience was not that bad, I had Wi-Fi and power. I watched a lot of shows and did all my homework.”
Reilan Jackson (12) – “I went outside during it to see what’s up. I was staring out my window and then the whole sky turned blue and pink all of a sudden (lightning). I didn’t experience a power outage so I played video games and went outside for a little while.”
Lily Nguyen (9) – My experience with the bomb cyclone wasn’t as extreme as others; my house had power with the minor inconvenience of occasional bad internet. We had backup portable chargers and cases of water bottles. I did have some friends stay over at my house where we made food and watched movies to pass the time.
Kenyon Andrews (11) – “The night of, I was at basketball practice and drove my friend home, but then a tree fell on the road. I had power so my friends ended up just staying at my house. I worked out every day, I used a hotspot every day.”
Jeffrey Basilio (12) – “During the cyclone, I was on a train going from Vancouver Washington to Renton. When I got to the train station and drove home, I ran over quite a few sticks, and a lot of lights were out so it was super dark, and I had to make a big detour to go home. Once I got home, I had power, but my TV in the living room broke so I didn’t have Netflix. I just had Wi-Fi to do my Bellevue College and Key Club work.”
Ms Machado – “My experience was so great! I felt bad for others but supported my friends as much as I could. I had them come over to my house but we couldn’t do much because a lot of roads were shut down. Very lucky to have had a good experience but sincere for others who didn’t.”
Camie Konma (10) – “My power went out so I had to do homework with a candle. I took multiple walks to fill the time until my power came back”
Ella Nishio (11) – “I was in my room drinking hot chocolate when my power went out. I had to relocate to my grandma’s home in Seattle and I brought my best friend with me. We studied for finals, went to a park, and went cafe hopping in Bellevue to fill the time.
Emily Nguyen (11) – “I was studying for my French final when my power went out and I heard explosions outside from the power lines falling. I had to stay in Seattle because I had no power and didn’t return home for 5 days.”
Elliott Perman (10) – “I went out with friends and the fences fell in the neighborhood. I also had some people come over to use power.”
Alexa Powers (11) – “My power went out and I just played Roblox. I went outside and a tree fell and nearly died but is still alive now.”
Emilia Quitco (9) – “My power stayed on even though my neighborhood got trashed, but didn’t have Wi-Fi.”
June Aguilar (9) – I survived by going to other people’s houses, the experience was upsetting without power. I hung out with friends to keep myself entertained.
Brayden Hansen (9) – “I slept the entire time the power was out.”
Midori Gospel (10) – “I power went out and I used that time to just do school work and spend time with my friends at their houses.”
Mr. Sanders – “I was prepared for my power to go out and used candles. I spent my time with my fiancee and dog.”
Donald Karfureka (9) – “My power went out so I played board games. I had no phones and trees fell nearby.”
Annet Mejia (10) – “I did not have power or Wi-Fi so I was freezing inside; with no warmth at all. I spent all my time reading.”
Emma Yoshida (11) – “I was driving home when the bomb cyclone started to happen and it was really scary because the rain was heavy and there was a lot of lightning. I survived the bomb cyclone because I had my friend’s power. To keep myself entertained, I went out because I couldn’t stay home without power; Hazen, friends’ house, mall.”
Katelyn Schroeder (11) – “My experience was bad, I lost power for 3 days and I couldn’t go to my teeth cleaning appointment. I survive by driving around with my dog to find service and watch TikTok.”
Kendall Sezto (11) – “ I was studying for my calc final when my lights flickered but didn’t go out. I went to the mall the next day and it was really busy.”
From just one high school community, the bomb cyclone has had various impacts in just one week. Many students and staff shared their different experiences during the bomb cyclone, opening our perspective of the numerous obstacles that we all had to endure within such a local area. Hopefully, this winter season will bring more warmth and joy as we are still adapting to the new conditions the environment has brought to us.
