'Bomb Cyclone' May Cause Migraines, Aches, Pains, Even Early Labor
DENVER (CBS4) - If your body is sensitive to migraines, aches and pains when there is low barometric pressure then prepare now for the intense winter storm expected to develop over Colorado on Wednesday. It threatens to challenge some of the lowest pressure readings ever recorded in eastern Colorado and western Kansas.
I did find a lower one: 975.8 mb at La Junta, 13 March 1973, from this storm that looks a lot like the developing one. Daily Weather Map from NOAA library has a hand-written note at the top about a record for Nebraska! But the 1973 storm was a bit warmer and mostly had rain (2/3) pic.twitter.com/kovAsCrF2A
— Russ Schumacher (@russ_schumacher) March 12, 2019
The standard that we calibrate our barometers to is sea level pressure, which is 1013.25 millibars. Current forecast models show the central pressure of the developing storm potentially dropping as low as 975 millibars. To put this into perspective that is roughly as low as a Category 2 hurricane.
The result of pressure this low could be crippling for those who suffer from migraines, body aches and joint pain due to conditions such as arthritis. Many healthcare professionals, including labor and delivery nurses, also believe that extremely low barometric pressure readings can cause spontaneous delivery for woman near the end of their pregnancy.
Several studies, including this one, have come to a similar conclusion.