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Winter storms to be named by Weather Channel


I85Greenville

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I've never started a discussion before, but this seemed like a worthy topic to lose my virginity with. I'm not even entirely sure how to respond to this.

Winter storms to be named by Weather Channel

During the upcoming 2012-13 winter season, The Weather Channel will name noteworthy winter storms. Our goal is to better communicate the threat and the timing of the significant impacts that accompany these events. The fact is, a storm with a name is easier to follow, which will mean fewer surprises and more preparation.

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Do you remember the North American blizzard of February 4, 2010? No? Well, do you remember Snowmageddon, the massive February 2010 Nor'easter that dumped up to 38" of snow in the mid-Atlantic, and killed 41 people? The two storms are the same, but having a simple name for the snowstorm like "Snowmageddon" helps us identify and remember the impacts of the storm.

-Dr. Jeff Masters

So now, we get a name 3 days in advance. Imagine the hype. The publicity. The fear of the storm not coming together last minute. This winter is going to be interesting media wise.

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I think it is an innovative and IMO a fantastic idea. My only concern is no criteria is established that would determine if a storm should be named or not. The current proposal is too subjective in it's current format.

I read Dr. Master's post today.

"According to the criteria, only one storm would have been named last winter". Check his thread I think there is some vague criteria defined in there somewhere if you are interested."

:sled:

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I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. It seems so weird. My big question is when will the name a storm and when will they not? We don't really know if they will go by amount, area, or both. Like if New England was expected to get 5 inches it would be no big deal, but if the south were to get 5 inches, it would be a big deal. Plus, winter storms accumulation predictions can change so easily. They might expected a blizzard, go ahead and name the storm, but accumulation amounts drop significantly. I really don't know, I'm very confused right now. This winter will be very intresting...

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I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. It seems so weird. My big question is when will the name a storm and when will they not? We don't really know if they will go by amount, area, or both. Like if New England was expected to get 5 inches it would be no big deal, but if the south were to get 5 inches, it would be a big deal. Plus, winter storms accumulation predictions can change so easily. They might expected a blizzard, go ahead and name the storm, but accumulation amounts drop significantly. I really don't know, I'm very confused right now. This winter will be very interesting...

They have (some) criteria. They wait until 3 days before the storm hits. And snow or ice accumulation amounts are a factor according to the video on weather.com.

Interesting indeed.

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hype hype hype. Bastardi is more than pissed about this because he said he did it first in the 90's. :whistle:

Oh well, think of it this way: This forum will soar in users when the first storm is named, and so will any met's blog or website...

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They have (some) criteria. They wait until 3 days before the storm hits. And snow or ice accumulation amounts are a factor according to the video on weather.com.

Interesting indeed.

lol Six hours out we never know IF we are going to get snow much less how much. Just go back and reread any of our winterstorm threads. Names work for tropical systems for more than one factor that winter storms do not posses.

Lead time. Sometimes 10 or more days as a named storm before landfall. Yes, there are storms that develop close in but they tend to be lessor events. A week from landfall a major hurricane is real. A name works. A week from a winter storm it only appears on computer models. Name what?

Visibility. This one sounds dumb, but for the general public that hurricane icon way out there all by itself in the middle of the ocean slowly moving toward them is a big deal and represents something real. Video as it hits the leewards or Caribbean islands also increase interest. A name works.

The need to take action. Possible hurricane evacuations also spike interest for those along the coast and inside the cone. I don't remember evacuations for a winter storm. Again, a name works because it makes what you are running from more real.

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This whole thing is pretty bogus. They might name storms 3 days before they hit? That's crazy.

  • How many storms looked big 2 or 3 days out and then nothing happened?
  • They would name a storm that was going to hit a major metropolitan area, but not a more rural area? That's nonsense. I'm sure it would effect the people much the same that were in the rural areas as the metro areas. As a matter of fact, it would probably impact the rural areas more. Wouldn't you think that if it met a certain criteria, that it would be named? Could you imagine naming a tropical system that was going to hit Miami but not the one that was going to hit the south Texas coast?
  • I tend to think of storms as low pressure areas that bring snow/ice. However, what about big lake effect outbreaks, or the stalled front that runs from Dallas to Richmond? No real "storm" lp, just alot of frontal precip.

TW

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This whole thing is pretty bogus. They might name storms 3 days before they hit? That's crazy.

  • How many storms looked big 2 or 3 days out and then nothing happened?
  • They would name a storm that was going to hit a major metropolitan area, but not a more rural area? That's nonsense. I'm sure it would effect the people much the same that were in the rural areas as the metro areas. As a matter of fact, it would probably impact the rural areas more. Wouldn't you think that if it met a certain criteria, that it would be named? Could you imagine naming a tropical system that was going to hit Miami but not the one that was going to hit the south Texas coast?
  • I tend to think of storms as low pressure areas that bring snow/ice. However, what about big lake effect outbreaks, or the stalled front that runs from Dallas to Richmond? No real "storm" lp, just alot of frontal precip.

TW

Well, 3 days is better than the 7 days when a thread is created on here about a "possible storm". I think they could simply use the name for the next system after stating it did not materialize as some models indicated. No big deal.

We don't need every clipper named bringing 1-2 inches of snow for rural areas. They already stated only 1 storm last winter would have been named. So, it looks like it will need to have a large scale impact of snow or ice accumulation.

Lake effect episodes are actually named by the National Weather Service. Just never really hear about them here.

anaconda.GIF

copperhead.GIF

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I would argue that it would help me remember storms of the past if they had a name.

Dates are just plain boring going back and researching. I would remember this if it was called Winter Storm Nemo. This was a epic storm but "18-19 December 2009 Event" is meaningless to me by name. I would have to dig for that everytime if I was looking to draw comparisons or analogs.

accum.20091218-19.gif

I am not big on reviewing or documenting a database collection of Winter Storms. I think Robert may be. It would be interesting to hear from him if naming would help him.

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And the argument that people would evaluate the same storm differently because of different locations getting different amounts, is irrelevant to me. I think Accuweather is completely jealous after reading some of their articles criticizing them.

For example, a hurricane is not going to hit "everyone" with its inner eyewall or north-east quad. But it will still be named and hyped across the media abroad regardless of varying impact.

A winter storm is not going to dump the same amounts at every location either obviously.

That's all from me tonight.

800th post!

:snowing:

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What the big deal? Congrats they are naming storms. Everyone is acting like its the end of the world. Thats them wanting to try something new. Lol its not that serious. If you don't like it then thats good for you. Accuweather can't talk because they have those 25 day forecast. Not sure why they are complaining. Let them try something new.

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If TWC hadn't already jumped the shark, I would say they have jumped the shark with this. Just silly. The problem with this is you don't really know what is going to happen with a winter storm. It could end up being nothing. That is why it is named AFTER it happens, becuase you never know if it will happen or not, especially around here. Naming a tropical system makes sense. It's already there. You can see it coming. This is just going to end up making more people ignore the forecast if a winter storm is named and nothing happens, and people will be caught offguard when a huge winter storm really does happen.

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I think we'd all agree that winter storms tend to be less threatening to life and property than tropical systems. So, by naming winter storms, will people begin to pay less attention to tropical systems due to the "busts" of named storms the previous winter?

TW

Not really. Heck, I doubt most people pay attention to the named storms impacting the Azores, Mexico, or recurving east of Bermuda to affect nobody but the fish.

Let's be honest, most will just remember Isaac. And maybe another 2 storms at most if they were directly impacted by it.

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