by Michael Bastasch
A powerful winter storm is bearing down on the U.S. East Coast, threatening a 1,500-mile-long area with freezing weather and brutal winds.
Schools and businesses are closing, and officials are issuing warnings for cold air and brutal winds over the next two days. Officials are asking residents to stock up on supplies and prepare for possible power outages.
Thursday – Aside from the snow, our greatest concern is the strong wind and potential power outages given bitterly cold air to follow Friday into Saturday. Best to plan ahead and stock up your winter disaster kits. Check out https://t.co/y3UIoOMgtz for more information. pic.twitter.com/1bamuziunl
— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) January 3, 2018
The storm, called Winter Storm Grayson by the Weather Channel, will bring snow to southern states on Wednesday morning. Americans living in Georgia and the Carolinas can expect anywhere from 1 to 3 inches of snow when they wake up to go to work.
By Thursday, the storm will be off the New England coast where it’s expected to dump up to a foot of snow over the region. The National Weather Service forecasts 11 inches of snow for Boston by Friday, but those numbers are subject to change.
The snowfall totals may seem small for a “bomb” winter storm. Weather.us meteorologist Ryan Maue noted while the “bomb” storm may not bring substantial snowfall, it would bring intense wind and cold air.
https://twitter.com/RyanMaue/status/948402534221303808
Mid-Atlantic states could see 3 to 6 inches of snow when Grayson hits. It’s just more bad news for residents already grappling with freezing temperatures brought on by a blast of Arctic air.
But Grayson won’t even be the end of it for the northeast. Another blast of Arctic air is expected to hit on Friday and drive temperature down even further.
Upstate New York could see temperatures plummet to 50 degrees Fahrenheit below zero on Saturday. Below zero temperatures are expected all along the Mid-Atlantic, forecasters say.
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Winter Storm Grayson? What gave you the impression that this snowfall had a name? Hurricanes have names given to them by the National Hurricane Center, but who named the snow? The Weather Channel is a TV channel, not a government agency.
I used to watch The Weather Channel. A LOT. But after they were purchased by NBC/Universal, they went into a nosedive, focusing more on giggly morning talk shows, “personalities” rather than meteorologists, and cheesy reality shows. The last straw was when they started naming the snow.
One Facebook user posted THIS criticism: “Naming winter storms is the dumbest idea ever. Why hasn’t NWS or any other reputable weather reporting source joined in the naming? Oh, maybe they still feel their role is serious reporting – instead of sensationalizing, dramatizing and commercializing.” It’s pretty much how I have always felt.
TWC’s Tom Niziol attempted to deflect the criticism: “One reason we’re doing this, simply put, is we can. We cover weather on a national scale. By ascribing a name to a weather system that’s gonna create those types of impacts, we can follow it right across the country.”
THAT’S their answer? “We do it because we CAN”?? And the only way the personalities at TWC can keep their eye on a weather system is to give it some kind of cute name? That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard.