naming storms

[Duffy]

in light of some discussion this morning about naming storms before the official call by the NHC, i've started a Poll to see how folks felt

[dhweather]

Yes, without exception. Misinformation can be extremely dangerous!

[southerngale]

Yes, of course. And we've asked members not to do it on here.

[Swimdude]

NHC should say it first. Heck, we all thought TD#5 would be Emily the 11 a.m. advisory at the latest - and now the 5:00 advisory is out... and we STILL have TD#5!

[x-y-no]

I voted "yes" but on second thought I think we can name storms ahead of time, as long as we name them all George Foreman.



Jan

[P.K.]

So we are currently looking at George Foreman 1 and George Foreman 2 then Jan?

[vbhoutex]

It is a STORM2k policy that we ask that storms not be called before they are named. It is fine to discuss "the future Emily or whoever" or to say " I think this tropical cyclone will be named Jack at 5pm" etc. but we do not want people saying "This is Tropical Storm Jack" until NHC has named it. There are legal issues involved, believe it or not.

PLEASE DO NOT FORGET THE DISCLAIMER which is stickied at the top of the talkin' tropics thread if you are going to post any sort of forecast on these systems.

[jimvb]

Don't call storms by Cindy, Dennis, Fabian, and so forth until the NHC calls it that. The reason is that the 99L or whatever Invest is out there might not become Emily. If 99L drags its feet on developing and some other hotshot storm comes up somewhere and reaches 40mph winds, THAT storm becomes Emily. You could be calling a storm Emily when it will be known in weather history as Franklin. You could say "probable Emily", perhaps, but you need to apply the adjective until NHC names it.

[caribepr]

It's kind of interesting to watch who *names* the unnamed storms - usually the not professional, or those seriously worried about the potential of a storm coming near them...
People tend to personalize lots of things and scary storms, for some, - need - names. But when you know there is a lot of weather going on out there, it really helps when weather systems are called correctly, just for the sake of keeping track of what is really going on.
Here in the islands, it matters a LOT if something is a TD, TS, or a named storm - long before it comes close to the US mainland. I am nowhere close to being as meterologically educated as so many people on this board, but I do pay very close attention, here and otherwise (otherwhere)...because when you live in a very small place with nowhere else to go, it becomes critical to know what is going on to the half hour. A *wobble*, a *fish* a *direct hit* all take on huge significance when there is no evacuation route to worry about - and I truly feel horrible for people in that situation (many are my friends and family in the US). So...blah blah, on she rattles, but I give 100% support to keeping with the reality of what is going on. A weather system called what it is until it is something different.

[x-y-no]

So we are currently looking at George Foreman 1 and George Foreman 2 then Jan?

Yes! You've got it!

Jan