The Folly of Naming Winter Storms
As I write this, a blizzard of potentially historic proportions is bearing down on the Northeast United States. While we are seeing only some light rain here in the metro D.C. area, I do sympathize with all my Connecticut friends who will be digging out from this storm tomorrow evening and into Sunday morning. I could say "wish I were there," but as a child, I was taught not to lie.
In any event, I am once again struck by the "naming" of these storms by various, and completely unofficial, weather-related businesses. As I watch TV and sit by my computer, here's what I find.
The Weather Channel, which was bought out last year by NBC-Universal, decided to jump on the bandwagon and began naming winter storms this season. They have named this major blizzard "Nemo," for reasons I'm not completely familiar with. While this may seem insignificant for most, if you are living in the Hartford, CT area, and watching a certain local TV weather outlet, you'll find that they have named this storm "Blizzard Charlotte." This particular TV station has been naming winter storms for well over 20 years. In fact, this past Wednesday, Feb. 6th, was the 35th anniversary of "Storm Larry," which dumped well over a foot of snow in Connecticut and prompted then-Gov. Ella Grasso to completely shut down the state and ban all road travel. Both of the other major TV networks in the Hartford/New Haven market are just referring to this storm as "Blizzard (of) 2013."
So, how are we to refer to this blizzard when it becomes a thing of the past? Some will call it Nemo. Others will call it Charlotte. Others will talk about the February Blizzard of 2013. All of us will be confused when no one knows exactly which storm is being referred to. Are they the same storm? Are they different? Which storm are you talking about?
There is, of course, no such confusion when talking about hurricanes and tropical storms. Only the National Weather Service gives such storms their names, and they've been doing so since the 1950s. When one refers to Hurricane Katrina, or Hurricane Sandy, we all know what storm is being talked about.
What is important is to remember that these winter storm names are not official. They are provided by the various TV stations and networks as a form of "entertainment," done solely to improve ratings. In fact, it wasn't until The Weather Channel became more of an "entertainment" network than an "information" network that this practice started there.
Maybe in the future, the National Weather Service will begin naming winter storms just as they do with hurricanes and tropical storms. Only then will the confusion of what storm was named by what TV meteorologist finally come to an end. That day can't come soon enough for me.
