(Photo by: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
With the recent passing of Nemo (I’m talking about the winter storm here ;)), many meteorologists have had a flurry of discussion over The Weather Channel’s naming of winter storms.
The concern comes from the meteorological tradition of naming hurricanes and tropical storms. The L.A. times interviewed George Wright, a meteorologist and the founder of Wright Weather Consulting in New York, who said, “A named storm should be a hurricane, and only a hurricane. A hurricane is something that’s more unusual and devastating. If you start naming other storms, people will suddenly think this might be a hurricane.”
What do you think about the issue? Is The Weather Channel qualified to take upon themselves the duty of naming winter storms, or should they leave it alone? I have created a new poll on the right hand sidebar where you can cast your vote.
In our neck of the woods, The Weather Channel wouldn’t waste their time trying to name any storm systems that blow onshore because, well, they would run out of names. But for the heck of it, let’s see how it sounds!
Pacific storm “Rambo” will slice its way onshore early Wednesday morning, providing a steady, ruthless stream of rain all day. Highs will be in the mid 40s.
Pacific storm “Batman” will swoop into the region early Saturday, but this band of precipitation will be small and harmless. Like a bat.
And then there’s Pacific storm “Sherlock”, which will suavely maneuver its way onshore Monday, only to disappear by the afternoon. Highs will remain in the mid 40s.
Ok, ok, I’ll admit it. Naming weather systems is kind of fun. If anything, this makes Western Washington weather sound really cool 😉
Have a great evening,
Matthew Leach
Forecasting Kitsap
Questions? Comments? E-mail me at: forecastingkitsap@live.com
