What would qualify as a winter storm noteworthy enough to be named? I have a feeling that these names will be used mostly for winter storms in TWC's pet region, the East Coast, and winter storms in the Interior West, the Plains, and northern New England will be largely ignored. Case in point: the one-footer hitting Minnesota right now. Sometimes the noteworthiness of a storm isn't known until after it's passed, sometimes even after the whole winter has passed. The January 12, 2012 stormwas the notable event of the 2012 winter season, but in a season like 2010-11 it would've just been part of the background, a nuisance snow. We don't know at the time how the rest of the season will shape up.
I also don't even care for the naming of hurricanes. I've always found that the usual procedure with winter storms was better, with a descriptive name being attached to it, most of the time given after the fact. It's sort of like naming a baby - it often pays to observe its characteristics before deciding on an appropriate name. The "Labor Day Hurricane of 1935" or the "Great Gale of 1815" to me is more evocative than "Hurricane Isaac". Likewise, "The Pre-Christmas Blizzard of 2010", the "Great Snow of 2013", the "Groundhog Day Blizzard", the "Superstorm of 1993", and the "Carolina Crusher" evokes more than "Winter Storm Athena" and "Winter Storm Nemo". Also, it's quite unnecessary, since winter storms are already adequately cataloged, with the exception of the usual East-Coaster shenanigans.
I prefer a system where winter storms or hurricanes are just numbered, with noteworthy ones receiving descriptive or evocative monikers. In fact I'd like for the descriptive names to be used more often than they are now, but I don't care for using a list of preselected names.
