Since the 1950s, hurricanes have been given names, but what’s stopping us from doing the same for winter storms?

Naming weather events is a tradition that has lasted for centuries, generally attributing names based on locations, dates, saints, or the effects of the storm.

The Weather Channel stands out for its practice of naming major snowfall events this winter, a tradition it has maintained for 13 years. The network claims that this practice is intended to help raise awareness and create social media engagement surrounding these storms, even though it faces pushback and indifference from other weather organizations like AccuWeather and the federal government.

‘No plans to consider it’

In a recent email response to YSL News, the National Weather Service stated, “The National Weather Service does not name winter storms, and there are currently no plans to change that policy. Winter storms differ greatly in nature and can develop in varying conditions throughout their duration. Therefore, our alerts, forecasts, and warnings focus on specific risks like wind, snowfall, ice, temperatures, visibility, and other impacts.

“Conditions can change significantly from one community to another and across large regions, so it is vital that people understand how a storm could affect them in their locality or destination,” they emphasized.

Why does the Weather Channel name winter storms?

The Weather Channel asserts that it names impactful winter storms that bring significant snow and/or ice across at least one or more regions of the nation.

“This initiative aims to create awareness about the dangers associated with winter weather, such as hazardous driving conditions, possible power outages, and damage to trees,” the Weather Channel stated. “This strategy resembles the initial reasons for naming tropical storms and hurricanes since the mid-20th century.”

However, they clarify that “lake-effect snowstorms and severe arctic cold snaps are not given names.”

One notable example of a named winter storm that gained widespread attention was Winter Storm Nemo in 2013, but such instances appear to be rare.

Is it important to name storms?

A 2017 study—the most recent research on this subject—indicated that naming winter storms does not significantly enhance public awareness. Individuals are likely to stay informed about a storm irrespective of whether it has a name. The lead author of the study, Adam Rainear, hinted in 2017 that the weather industry might be “overthinking” the matter.

In a recent email, Rainear mentioned that, to his knowledge, there hasn’t been any new research on naming storms since his 2017 findings. “I’d suggest that there is limited evidence for or against the need for naming storms, but any new program would ideally need some backing to indicate its usefulness (which we currently lack),” he elaborated via email.

The 2017 study appeared in the peer-reviewed journal Weather, Climate and Society, which is published by the American Meteorological Society.

What is AccuWeather’s stance?

AccuWeather has stated that naming winter storms tends to cause confusion rather than providing crucial safety and planning information to the public. “AccuWeather has analyzed this issue over many years and found that there is no benefit to those relying on our forecasts from the naming initiative recently introduced by The Weather Channel,” they declared in a statement back in 2012, a policy they continue to uphold today.

“Winter storms can behave unpredictably and can affect different areas in vastly different ways,” AccuWeather explained. “They can form, vanish, and re-emerge with multiple centers, potentially delivering snow to only a small region while nearby areas might see rain, fog, or nothing at all. Consequently, the public may not understand how to respond to a ‘named’ storm or might take inappropriate actions.

“Moreover, severe winter events can frequently impact small areas, such as lake-effect snow or ice storms, which do not necessarily relate to any anticipated storm center,” AccuWeather noted. “Under the Weather Channel’s naming system, these events might go unnamed, even though they can cause significant harm.”

Why are hurricanes named?

According to the National Hurricane Center, “evidence shows that using short, clear names in both written and spoken communication is quicker and less prone to mistakes than the previous latitude-longitude system. This is particularly important when sharing detailed storm information across numerous stations, coastal bases, and vessels at sea.”

Additionally, the hurricane center explains that “having names that are easy to remember reduces confusion when multiple tropical storms occur simultaneously. For instance, one hurricane could be moving slowly west in the Gulf while another is rapidly tracking north along the Atlantic coast.

“In the past, confusion and misleading rumors have arisen when alerts broadcast from radio stations were misinterpreted as warnings for completely different storms located hundreds of miles away.”