Are you learning or complaining? The naming of storms.

This blog will be a little out of character for our company, but hey, if you have a blog…why not use it?

Over the last few months there has been a trend in social media and that trend, unfortunately has not been surrounding the discussion of how to be better prepared for the unreal winter storms that we have experienced.  It has been people complaining about the naming of these storms.

There is nothing more frustrating than the ignorance of people and the inability  to read or learn throughout this country.  It is absolutely amazing to see the number of people that will post on the Weather Channel’s FaceBook page asking why they are naming storms and saying it is “stupid” while never even attempting to understand why.

TWC and many national agencies have posted explanations as to why they name storms, but of course, these explanations were in paragraph form, well written essays and explanations that would take time to read.  America prefers to stay ignorant and so the ignorant continue to post their one sentence opinions with mis-spelled words and bad grammar complaining about the naming of storms.

While our research is not profound, we have done a little looking into these people that continue to post their hatred of naming storms. It appears that other than bitching at The Weather Channel, they also play online games all day, complain about their spouses on FaceBook and every once in a while re-post a picture of cats that cannot spell any better than they can.

For those of you that actually will take a few moments to read and learn, God Bless you.  Perhaps someday we will outnumber the loud and ignorant.

The 2012-2013 storm season brought the naming of winter storms for many reasons…

The goal was to better communicate to the public that each storm system was different and the significant impacts that each storm would have over the other.  The purpose was to be able to better COMMUNICATE with people that really don’t know HOW to communicate, thus the uproar.

I will use this example:  To say on television during a forecast “The low pressure system moving Southeast from the Rockies will significantly impact the lower region of the Ohio River Valley” assumes that the audience has ever bothered to know where the Rockies are in relation to the Ohio River Valley, that they understand what a low pressure system is, how it moves and what winter weather usually accompanies one.  Let me text my response to this for you: ROFL!

I just spoke to yet another school administrator three days ago that admitted that his school district had cut weather science from the curriculum to allow for the new mandated testing sequences…

What percentage of the American public do you think knows this stuff when the same public runs OUTDOORS when tornado sirens are sounded???

And so comes the name.

To meet the public on a simple intellectual level, The Weather Channel turned the above warning into: “Winter Storm Edith will arrive in Ohio on Thursday bringing with it heavy snow and wind”.

Did they get a thank you?

Nope. People screamed and criticized as they always do when you try to help them.

The idea was that a storm with a name is easier to follow, which will mean fewer surprises and more preparation.  The reality is that we are reverting to a FaceBook form of cave dwellers and in reality The Weather Channel should deal in nothing but pictures carved on a wall.

Here is some further explanation...

  

Hurricanes and tropical storms have been given names since the 1940s. In the late 1800s, tropical systems near Australia were named as well. Weather systems, including winter storms, have been named in Europe since the 1950s.  Important dividends have resulted from attaching names to these storms:

• Naming a storm raises awareness.
• Attaching a name makes it much easier to follow a weather system’s progress.
• A storm with a name takes on a personality all its own, which adds to awareness.
• In today’s social media world, a name makes it much easier to reference in communication.
• A named storm is easier to remember and refer to in the future.

I enjoyed reading the story of Saxby’s Gale, the story of the great storm in the mid-1800’s that was similar to Hurricane Sandy… one of the first named storms here in the United States. The bottom line is, naming storms makes sense.

Not every storm mind you, but the ones that need special attention and impact major populations…

Naming every summertime thunderstorm does not make sense,  however, winter weather is different. Winter storms occur on a time and space scale that is similar to tropical systems which we already name.

Tom Niziol, Winter Weather Expert at The Weather Channel has said, “Naming winter storms will raise awareness, which will lead to more pro-active efforts to plan ahead, resulting in less impact on the public overall.”

For all of you out there posting your “This is stupid” FaceBook opinions, let me point out that Tom is the recipient of awards like the American Meteorological Society - Francis Reichelderfer Award, the National Weather Association - Group Operational Achievement Award, the National Weather Association - Research Achievement Award, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce Silver Medal, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce Bronze Medal, the National Weather Service - National Diversity /EEO Award, the National Weather Service - National Aviation Program Award and, well, you get the point…

Go play Candy Crush and shut up.

  

Why did The Weather Channel take it upon themselves to do this and not some agency?

Because there is not one.

The  National Hurricane Center is the agency that will coordinate and communicate information on a multi-state scale to cover big events like hurricanes and tropical storms. The National Centers for Environmental Prediction’s Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC) does issue discussions and snowfall forecasts on a national scale but it does not fill the same role as the NHC in naming storms.

It was an amazing contribution to the world of meteorology by The Weather Channel to be the forerunner in this effort.  The Weather Channel, unlike The National Weather Service, is NOT undergoing budget cuts at the hands of political players and the network has the influence, meteorological ability, support and technology to do what nobody else could.

In addition to providing information about significant winter storms by referring to them by name, the name itself will make communication and information sharing in the constantly expanding world of social media much easier.

  

And it has, despite the loud and the ignorant overloading every online post with their rants.

The names have definitely made a difference for those that utilize Twitter, especially for professionals in the field and those that actually utilize social media for purposes other than posting their dinner plate.

Hash tagging a storm based on its name will provide a one-stop shop to exchange all of the latest information on the impending high-impact weather system.

All this to say, before you go slamming The Weather Channel again, take a moment to look at the amazing history of people like Benjamin Franklin, Stephen Saxby and the folks at The Weather Channel that have busted their rear ends to make for a safer American community.

Read people. For God’s sake… get smarter.

Read people. For God’s sake… get smarter.