Q: Since when have blizzards been given names and how are the names assigned?
—Kathy McDonough, Peachtree Corners
A: The Weather Channel began naming winter storms two years ago and compiles a list of names every fall to label storms that might occur.
“It’s simply easier to communicate about a complex storm if it has a name, which our naming program has demonstrated,” Bryan Norcross, the senior hurricane specialist at the Weather Channel, stated on the channel’s website in October. “Good communications benefits everyone.”
Many media outlets choose not to use the Weather Channel’s naming system, with the Washington Post calling it “a product plug” for the channel. “The National Weather Service does not name winter storms and there are no plans to consider naming winter storms,” it stated in October.
The Weather Channel’s winter weather expert Tom Niziol and senior meteorologists Stu Ostro and Jonathan Erdman form the three-person committee that decides whether or not to name a storm.
This year’s list of names mostly comes from mythology and includes Astro, Gorgon, Hektor, Linus and Thor, but Bozeman was chosen to honor a Bozeman High School Latin class in Montana that came up with last year’s list.
Nemo, one of the first named storms in February 2013, left 3 feet of snow in New England. Juno hit the same part of the country with winds of more than 70 mph and more than 2 feet of snow last week.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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