Should Canada start naming winter storms?

Canadians love talking about the weather. Last week, I chatted with colleagues about various weather topics, including the naming of tropical cyclones and if we should name our winter storms.

You might be surprised that this is already happening outside of Canada.

The Weather Channel stateside started naming winter storms during the 2012-13 winter. A winter storm must meet specific land coverage or population requirements to receive a name, which they say helps communicate and prepare people for significant winter storms.

The U.K. Met Office also started naming major winter storms in 2015.

While there hasn’t been much talk of this in Canada, I’ve noticed people are increasingly asking if a named winter storm in the U.S. will impact us.

So, it begs the question – should we name our winter storms in Canada?

The government agency in the U.S., The National Weather Service, has spoken publicly against the naming of winter storms as the evolution and impacts of a storm can vary significantly and don’t always produce winter weather everywhere.

There is the argument that we name tropical storms and hurricanes and that naming a winter storm could bring the same awareness and be used for past referencing.

But tropical cyclones are often easier to track, with the impacts usually confined near the centre. Winter storms often have more widespread and varying effects.

The naming of a winter storm in the U.S. also relates more to population. In contrast, the criteria for naming a tropical cyclone must meet scientific requirements relating to wind speed, circulation and cloud structure.

The criteria and names for winter storms in the U.S. are entirely media based. The World Meteorological Organization committee sets agreed-upon names and criteria for hurricanes.

Of course, we have given unofficial names to significant past storms – White Juan in 2004 and eastern Newfoundland’s Snowmageddon in 2020.

But at this point, naming impending winter storms here in Canada doesn’t seem necessary.

What do you think?