Bomb Cyclone(!), such a cool and scary name for snow.
I think Bomb Cyclone is a term The Weather Channel made up to increase ratings. I wonder if this means Jim Cantore will be broadcasting live from Chatham, MA (on the elbow of Cape Cod) on Saturday.
A Noreaster/Bomb Cyclone is just a winter hurricane. A LOW front develops, turns in a counter clockwise motion. As it travels in a north easterly direction it pulls in moisture off the Atlantic Ocean. The moisture becomes snow because of the freezing temperatures. Depending on the northeasterly track the amount of snow can vary greatly in 50-100 mile area and changes in elevation.
Many times in the past CT, RI and most of coastal MA would get rain and it would snow here in southern NH. This one looks like ME is going to get hit pretty good.
A noreaster is similar to lake effect, except the lake is the Atlantic Ocean.