What is a bomb cyclone?
1:02
(CNN) --
A rapidly intensifying storm known as a bomb cyclone could bring crippling winter weather to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic this weekend.
Snow, ice, high winds and flooding are on the cards, creating potentially dangerous travel conditions in those regions.
"There is growing confidence that a significant winter storm will create significant impacts Friday through the weekend from the Mid-Atlantic to the Northeast," the Weather Prediction Center said Tuesday morning.
The storm is expected to move up the East Coast this Friday into Saturday;
its location relative to the shoreline will determine what form it takes.
Unfortunately, forecast models disagree on exactly where the low pressure system is next and how strong it will become by the end of the week.
It is important to note that forecast models change daily, and there is no reason to believe that the newest model runs are any more reliable than yesterday's runs.
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But despite ongoing uncertainties, it "is increasingly likely to bring heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain to the region, including metro areas off I-95," the Weather Prediction Center added.
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The National Weather Service office in Philadelphia also reiterated Tuesday that current forecasts for this storm are similar to other 3-5 day forecasts of past significant storms, a reason to watch this closely in the future.
Snow and ice accumulations could become significant.
The weather service office in Boston also noted Tuesday that some of the models have the low-pressure system just above a forecast sweet spot known as the "70/40 Benchmark."
Low pressure systems moving over this location, the intersection of 40 degrees north latitude and 70 degrees west longitude, are known to be significant in the Northeast and often bring large amounts of snow to the area.
If this happens on Friday, there will most likely be an 8- to 12-inch swath of snow over areas in southern New England.
While the focus of nor'easters is typically to the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic can also be heavily impacted by this system.
"This system is not a piece of cake by any means," the Baltimore office said Tuesday morning.
"However, the general pattern for the event appears to be a snowy fix for much of the area."
As the storm moves up the East Coast, it is expected to rapidly strengthen and possibly become a bomb cyclone with strong, even damaging, winds that could cause coastal flooding and beach erosion.
Astronomical high tides will combine with winds along the Atlantic coast and may cause significant coastal flooding.