I may be the only few who actually like this idea. I don't think TWC should be doing it, I think officially naming a storm should lie in the hands of the NWS though. One
major reason why I support naming winter storms is because winter storms are
hugely underrated compared to lets say your average named tropical storm or even a Cat. 1 hurricane. For example, such power storms like the Post-Christmas blizzard of 2010, had such major impacts and statistics here in the northeast. I'm saying this not because what impacts it makes, but the statistics of the storm as well. MSLP dropped to 964mb in the storm, similar to a Cat 3. hurricane. Winds gusted up to 94mph with that blizzard in Nova Scotia (highest wind gust on Long Island was 70mph). Those are some pretty intense winds! Also, some major coastal storms can bring major storm surge and coastal flooding, something hurricanes can do as well. Precipitation is major as well, some storms dropping 2' of snow can cause grid lock in many cities and high amount of rain can cause serious flooding, and ice can create problems too. My alternative argument is why not? Europe has been naming storms since 1954, and Europe can get some pretty intense storms as well with very high winds, high amounts of precip. etc. I agree with Dr. Jeff Masters' in this quote.
Quote from Dr. Jeff Masters' Wunderblog:
Do you remember the North American blizzard of February 4, 2010? No? Well, do you remember Snowmageddon, the massive February 2010 Nor'easter that dumped up to 38" of snow in the mid-Atlantic, and killed 41 people? The two storms are the same, but having a simple name for the snowstorm like "Snowmageddon" helps us identify and remember the impacts of the storm. Naming a major winter storm makes even more sense if it is done before the storm hits, to aid in raising awareness of the storm, and to reduce the risks the public faces
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I'm not a fan of seeing someone wasting precious time trying to decide if a highly uncertain and complex winter storm should be named before it happens. The public only wants to know what's going to happen, how much will fall, when will it start and end, and what should they do. Besides, what would we define as the naming criteria for a developing winter storm? Pressure and winds alone won't work. You have to consider so many other factors.
