STORM2K

Over the years I've noticed a group of phrases that the media and people use for weather events that are just so annoying, that its now cringe-worthy. I'm not sure if this is a relatively recent trend or not but I read/hear them all the time and it drives me nuts. Here is a small list of the ones I can think of so far with my comments in brackets:

" *Insert place or group* really dodged a bullet" - (Probably the worst one out of all of them. First of all, I LITERALLY hear this cliche used for every single tropical cyclone that has ever hit landmass in the United States or Canada...I cannot stress that enough, every single one. It doesn't matter how strong it is, how bad it was, or how many people perished or damage was caused, it is mentioned without fail (Hurricane Andrew, Opal, Lilli, Floyd, Isabel, Katrina, Charley, Frances, Ivan, Dennis, Rita, Wilma, Ike, Gustav, Irene,,,yes every bad one!!). Now with that said, in weather there really is no such thing as dodging the bullet because that event was going to happen exactly like that no matter what as far as I'm concerned and with weather its a very large scale system that effects large areas (except a few))

"It could have been worse" - (The 2nd worst one. Some could argue this is actually the worst one since fundamentally...it makes zero sense. This goes along with pretty much all the TCs, Tornadoes, Blizzards, and Floods. No it couldn't have been worse because it always could have been worse. No matter how bad a weather disaster was, it could have been worse so imagine the worst possible scenario; well there is probably something that could be worse than that. Let me put this out there, the worst case scenario is that the Universe is annihilated from existence.

" *Weatherman on TV talking about a major weather event such as heavy snow, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.* , as for us here in *insert place*, nothing like that will occur (or some variant)" - (I've must of heard this a billion times now. It's a huge insult to the viewer's intelligence and overused.)

"The, some, which is good news" - (Interchange the words. It's a matter of opinion whether or not some change or outcome of any particular weather event is "good news" considering almost every time it's uttered I disagree. I don't consider missing a huge lake effect snow event "good news" so stop saying it!)

"Cars and trucks tossed around like Children's/Kids toys" - (Used after tornadoes mostly. This is so overused its not even funny, oh wait it is. This year was pretty bad for this cliche.)

"All good things must come to an end" - (One of the most hated quotes in general, this one is used sometimes in weather patterns changing and/or the start of snow falling. The reason I hate it so much is because some good things don't come to an end .)

"It lost/gained some speed/steam" - (Referring to tropical cyclones. Not used as often but really confusing and inproper. They must not use speed when talking about strength.)

"Our good friend Mr.Shear" - (I can already see this becoming annoying quick as it's mostly used on weather discussion boards on the Internet. Shear is not your friend if you don't like tornado formation and I didn't know you could befriend a difference in vectors.)

These are the ones I have thus far. If there are others that get under your skin post them.

I selected #3. Heard that during Irene. Yes it could've been much more and we did dodge a BIG BULLET, but the people that kept saying it wouldn't be bad or nothing big would happen around NJ REALLY annoyed me.

You forgot "I'm due" or "x place is due". I soooo dislike "due".

#3 gets people killed.

I think people are getting the wrong interpretation for #3 (Nothing like that will occur here though). That actually could be another cliche entirely like people thinking something can't happen to them like being immune. My original cliche was a weatherman on TV doing the normal broadcast and right after talking about a non-local weather event that was large, turns the attention back to your local weather and starts by saying this; "Nothing like that is expected here though".

I never thought about it but yes a lot of this phrases are really annoying.

If you want weather change, wait 5 minutes.....or What a difference a day makes...LOL

Well on April 3 the media and others doubled downed on the weather cliches, its getting even worse now...and I thought March 2 was bad enough!

The main offenders for both March 2 and April 3's outbreaks were 1. We dodged a bullet, 2. It could have been worse, and 3. We got lucky. Notable mentions include "Cars and trucks tossed around like Children's/Kids toys", and "In a disaster like this, everyone really comes together to help/community spirit". That last one is really ramping up and seriously, its used everywhere now to such an extreme. Is there ever a community that doesn't come together to help others in need? I doubt it. I did hear something once on the Internet that some victims of the 1974 Super Outbreak had NO help and people just toured and gawked at the destruction. Not today.

In reference to the April 3 Texas tornadoes, the mayor of Dallas even used "We dodged a bullet" as the main "banner message" of the event. No, I would say the main banner of the event has 3 things: 1. Heavy on the damage, 2. Tons of footage from an event that lasted only 7 hours, and the biggest one...3. Weather Cliche Feast. CNN has also used that as a title twice within a month. The media was unbearable that day. A bunch of highly damaging tornadoes that hit over 1300 buildings in 7 hours is not dodging a bullet and with multiple hits within city limits, the statement becomes a joke. People do not need to parish in these to make them significant.

In another plane, I should have switched out "Our good friend Mr.Shear" with "It only takes one". This one is the worst, its become insanely overused and every thread about the tropics has it now. Its much worse during seasons that are expected to be below average in the Atlantic basin. So far its been brutal and its just the start .

I agree about the "due" comment. It does nothing to advance the cause of the science.

Get ready for more annoying weather cliches in the coming days, maybe though this time there won't be the typical "Dodged a bullet" or "Could have been worse" lines but every event typically has them. I expect "Toys and trucks tossed around like children toys" to be used again.

Or Tonka Toys....or

"Look at that, wow, that is amazing. Good thing that does not happen here".....

Cyclenall wrote:Get ready for more annoying weather cliches in the coming days, maybe though this time there won't be the typical "Dodged a bullet" or "Could have been worse" lines but every event typically has them. I expect "Toys and trucks tossed around like children toys" to be used again.

Yep, I was right, way more this weekend but the disappointing part is they weren't from the media but from online sources . No "Toys and trucks tossed around like children toys" yet that I know of. Two things: I'm noticing every time I predict an over-performing tornado event it always busts, I think I'll stop doing that now. The other point is there has been a sharp uptick with the use of "Good News" for non-events (yesterday). I'm puzzled by this because I don't think we're all on here to track clear and average weather 365 days a year.

Tireman4 wrote:Or Tonka Toys....or

"Look at that, wow, that is amazing. Good thing that does not happen here".....

Never heard of Tonka Toys before but the second one is another form of "It can't happen here".

Cyclenall wrote:

Cyclenall wrote:Get ready for more annoying weather cliches in the coming days, maybe though this time there won't be the typical "Dodged a bullet" or "Could have been worse" lines but every event typically has them. I expect "Toys and trucks tossed around like children toys" to be used again.

Yep, I was right, way more this weekend but the disappointing part is they weren't from the media but from online sources . No "Toys and trucks tossed around like children toys" yet that I know of. Two things: I'm noticing every time I predict an over-performing tornado event it always busts, I think I'll stop doing that now. The other point is there has been a sharp uptick with the use of "Good News" for non-events (yesterday). I'm puzzled by this because I don't think we're all on here to track clear and average weather 365 days a year.

Tireman4 wrote:Or Tonka Toys....or

"Look at that, wow, that is amazing. Good thing that does not happen here".....

Never heard of Tonka Toys before but the second one is another form of "It can't happen here".

Yeah, Sam Champion at GMA used it for the Dallas Tornado when it hit a tractor truck trailor yard.

I'll add a couple of more oft heard ones:

The temperatures the next few days (in the middle of summer) will be unseasonably hot. Or "the temperatures here the next few days (in the middle of winter) will be unseasonably cold."

After every major hurricane some news reporter will state, "It looks like a giant hammer came out of the sky and smashed every home again and again."