Evidently the media adults in the room -- excluding The Weather Channel -- are going out of their way to underplay the big winter storm hitting the East Coast this weekend. The Times and the Post are not putting it on top of the front page and are avoiding calling it by TWC's name. Meteorological services too are emphasizing the caveats. Not to mention complaining about the The Weather Channel's exploitation.
Said the Atlantic Wire:
AccuWeather and other services don't play along with the new name game, says [senior meteorologist Tom] Kines, because the practice "confuses people." Unlike a hurricane, which affects everything in its path, a winter storm's wrath doesn't have the same certain doom. "The National Weather Service does not name winter storms because a winter storm's impact can vary from one location to another, and storms can weaken and redevelop, making it difficult to define where one ends and another begins," National Weather Service spokesperson Susan Buchanan told The Wire.
But when does avoiding panic become an over-reaction itself? Maybe when a newspaper sets out to remind us of how it compares to a blizzard from the 19th century. Even if it is the Great Blizzard of 1888.
If this is the worst winter storm in 125 years, isn't it pretty serious?
[pic from NYC, before Nemo arrives, via Stormgram at NBC]
