Winter weather storms get official names from the Weather Channel

Tropical storms and hurricanes get names – but what about blizzards and white outs?

While there isn’t a precedent for naming snowfall in the states, the Weather Channel is undergoing a winter storm naming project. The channel believes the names will help better communicate the timing and impact of storms as they move in.

According to the channel, winter storm naming is nothing new – in Europe winter weather systems have been named for quite some time.

Summer storms often go unnamed because they occur on such a small time and space scale that there would be little benefit – and additional confusion – to attaching a moniker.

On a similar note, winter storms occur on a time and space scale that is similar to tropical systems. So this year, like Hurricane Isaac, a possible winter storm bound for Seattle might get a name like, Xerxes, Iago or Walda.