When did we start naming Nor'easters?

[brooklynite]

Yesterday was apparently "Winter Storm Athena", and NWS is now tracking "Winter Storm Brutus".

[The Straight Story]

1. Weather Channel Announces Plan to Name Winter Storms:

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/weather-channel-plans-to-name-winter-storms-15073

The Weather Channel announced Tuesday that it is going to assign names to winter storms during the 2012-13 winter season, in much the same way tropical storms and hurricanes are named. Starting with Athena and ending with Zeus, the media company said the winter storm names will improve communications of storm warnings and help reduce storm impacts.

The effort is a first for TWC, and the move was not made in coordination with the National Weather Service (NWS), which is charged with protecting lives and property from severe weather and other natural hazards, or the World Meteorological Organization, which controls the naming convention for hurricanes. The announcement was met with social media backlash as a number of meteorologists and the public took to Twitter and Facebook, among other outlets, to question the move.

[redwitch]

2. Pretty sure Athena is the first. nt

[Berlum]

3. Athena is a Protectoress

so seems strange to see a damaging storm given her name...

[theKed]

10. Also a warrior-goddess. She's not all that innocent.

[Berlum]

12. Only a Trojan (R) would say something like that...

[theKed]

14. Whatcha got against Apollo??!

[Cal Carpenter]

4. My understanding is that NWS is *not* on board

with this. It is a TWC (The Weather Channel) thing. NWS does not approve and will not be using these names in any official work they do.

[FSogol]

5. Yes, they are against it.

"After The Weather Channel named the Nor’easter affecting the upper East Coast today and tomorrow “Athena,” the National Weather Service issued the following note to forecasters:

TWC has named Nor’easter “Athena..” The NWS does not use name winter storms in our products. Please refrain from using the term Athena in any of our products."

and

"As you may recall, The Weather Channel announced the decision to name winter storms last month. However their criteria for naming the storms is qualitative — for example a large storm hitting a lightly populated area won’t be named, but a smaller storm hitting a metro area would be."

More at:
http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2012/11/federal-forecasters-wont-use-winter-storm-names/

[yellowcanine]

7. "The NWS does not use name winter storms in our products." "Products?" Who knew?

The NWS has products? You mean like boots and mittens. T shirts with storm names?

"I survived Tropical Storm Sandy and all I got was this T Shirt."

[FSogol]

8. Their "produts" are weather reports, studies, analysis, etc. Here's a list of them:

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/view/validProds.php

[yellowcanine]

6. Apparently "WE" didn't. It is the Weather Channel and they just started.

National Weather Service is not on board with this but it's a free country. Maybe we could start naming heat waves in the summer also. "Heat Wave Henry" has a nice ring to it......

[Tommy_Carcetti]

9. I name my flus and colds.

Hey, why not?

[yellowcanine]

11. Mine are pretty much all named "Bummer"

As in, "Bummer, I feel like shit."

[KurtNYC]

13. It is more hyperbole -- just like wind chill and humidity = "feels like"

a bunch of hand wringing, fear mongering crap.

How come they only use wind chill when it is cold and humidity when it is warm but never both at the same time? I think the answer is because they love to exaggerate.