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[KEK Inc.]

In the lowlands of the Pacific Northwest, we only get one big snowstorm a year (if that), so we just call it the snowpocalpse of 2012. 

[vtk]

People still talk about the Blizzard Of '78 here.

Really though, while 6" of snow is a pain in the neck and doesn't happen every winter, it's still just bad weather.  Wind and/or ice that knocks out power for days at a time is more memorable.

[kkt]

Trivia:  Naming of storms comes from the English professor and novelist George R. Stewart in his 1941 novel Storm, about a storm named Maria hitting California.  A fictitious weatherman named the storms on his weather map, because he was tired of thinking of them as "that storm that yesterday was centered at 127 degrees W, 45 degrees N."  He was somewhat embarrassed when a co-worker learned of his storm-naming habit, thinking it just a little bit unprofessional.

Road geeks will enjoy his travelogue books U.S. 40: Cross Section of the United States of America and N.A. 1: The North-South Continental Highway, that have interesting text and many photographs from the 1950s.

[tdindy88]

Indianapolis media today's been calling the most recent snowstorm the Blizzard of 2012 (by meteorological technicality it was a blizzard,) so TWC's usage of Euclid has not been effective at all. Here too we always hear about '78, but I was born soon after so I will never have the personal experience of that storm. Even with that, today's storm may not even reach my own top five, in other words the media was being a bit over-the-top, but at least we weren't calling it Euclid!

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Trivia:  Naming of storms comes from the English professor and novelist George R. Stewart in his 1941 novel Storm, about a storm named Maria hitting California.  A fictitious weatherman named the storms on his weather map, because he was tired of thinking of them as "that storm that yesterday was centered at 127 degrees W, 45 degrees N."  He was somewhat embarrassed when a co-worker learned of his storm-naming habit, thinking it just a little bit unprofessional.

I don't think so. In late 19th century, some people already named tropical cyclones that hit Australia. But it is true they started giving names to typhoons (And later to Atlantic hurricanes) soon after that novel.

In Europe all highs and lows are named by the Free University of Berlin, with different acceptance throughout the continent: For example in Spain names are unheard except if a low results to be an European windstorm (A type of extratropical cyclone, I remember Xynthia and Klaus). However, some days ago I read about Nicky, which was a really deep low over North Central Atlantic. So the TWC naming winter storms is like this: Is not unheard of, but not widespread.

[Scott5114]

In Europe all highs and lows are named by the Free University of Berlin, with different acceptance throughout the continent: For example in Spain names are unheard except if a low results to be an European windstorm (A type of extratropical cyclone, I remember Xynthia and Klaus). However, some days ago I read about Nicky, which was a really deep low over North Central Atlantic. So the TWC naming winter storms is like this: Is not unheard of, but not widespread.

Naming highs and lows seems like overkill. In the US, most people don't even know what the Hs and Ls on the map mean or why they should care.

[Alex]

In Europe all highs and lows are named by the Free University of Berlin, with different acceptance throughout the continent: For example in Spain names are unheard except if a low results to be an European windstorm (A type of extratropical cyclone, I remember Xynthia and Klaus). However, some days ago I read about Nicky, which was a really deep low over North Central Atlantic. So the TWC naming winter storms is like this: Is not unheard of, but not widespread.

Naming highs and lows seems like overkill. In the US, most people don't even know what the Hs and Ls on the map mean or why they should care.

That is because the weather channel and the local meteorologists stopped informing their viewers of what such a concept means...

[Scott5114]

You're telling me. Not to mention that high school level classes don't really cover atmospheric science all that well. I remember the lightbulb going on over my head whenever they were explained in college.

[US71]

You're telling me. Not to mention that high school level classes don't really cover atmospheric science all that well. I remember the lightbulb going on over my head whenever they were explained in college.

I remember the storm this past weekend up north was Winter Storm Gandolf. My first reaction was "can't they spell Gandalf'? Then I read their reasoning.