Winter: The one season of the year we get the one form of weather we get which comes every now and then, Snow, even when its in a form of a winter storm or a blizzard. For the longest time, we usually keep in track with winter storms through the years in formed. But, as of 2 years ago, all that changed because of one man. His name is Tom Niziol, the so-called winter weather expert on The Weather Channel, whose devilish smile speaks volumes. Before I get to the subject at hand, let me tell you about my history with The Weather Channel. As a kid, I use to watch it all the time because of their non-stop coverage of weather forecasting. But, ever since going High-Def, those days are over. Now owned by NBC, The Weather Channel is driven by few things that gives rating more than saving lives unless necessary, scientific gobbidy-gook (e.g. Cold Pocket Aloft) and reality shows that have nothing to do with the weather. And now, you could add naming winter storms to that list, which is the subject I will talk about now.
This winter storm naming thing was revealed two years ago and it give nothing but mixed results. Why? I mean, look at the names, some mostly based on Greek and Roman names. "And what's animation got to do with this?", you ask. Because some of the names, though they deny it, were taken from fictional characters, such as Gandolf from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Orko from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and of course, the pride and joy of Hanna-Barbera, Yogi Bear. And as of February 2, 2014, you could add Linus, the little boy with the blanket, who is best friends with Charlie Brown and is wise beyond his years, to that list of fictional characters who became The Weather Channel's scapegoats in their attempt to boost their ratings.
I tell you why this winter storm naming game is a bad idea. Because,
1. It will ruin the characters' name and character forever and those preachy moral guardian soccer moms will think names like Linus or Orko is bad for the kids. And...
2. There is a news station in Connecticut that is naming winter storms and that is WFSB, but their winter storm names are different than those of TWC and this cause confusion.
You see, this is why winter storms are better off unnamed. If one news organization names one winter storm and the other one names it another, this will give us mixed messages. Many people don't like this idea one bit, even the NOAA, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association agrees that they don't recognize naming winter storms either. Stick with naming tropical storms and hurricanes, those make perfect sense. This why we need to tell TWC and Tom Niziol to stop naming winter storms, before more fictional characters become more scapegoats for ratings. God forbid they name a winter storm after Elsa. Talk about the sign of the apocalypse right there. Until next time, Stay frosty, figuratively and quite literally. And...
LEAVE LINUS ALONE, TOM NIZIOL!!
(Linus and Lucy plays)
*Fade Out
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