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Winter Storm Draco: A Dragon of a Blizzard?
Learn more about the blizzard's unusual name
This map depicts the spectrum of severe weather warnings, including blizzard and high wind warnings, spread across the central United States. (NOAA)
As the season's fourth winter storm churns its way across a huge swath of the Rockies and Upper Midwest over the next two days, storm watchers needn't call it a generic "blizzard." This wintry mess has been coined "Winter Storm Draco" by the Weather Channel, which announced earlier this year that it has incorporated its own winter storm naming system.
So, why call a storm "Draco"?
Draco is the Latin word for "dragon," a fierce and fiery beast, and is also the name of a constellation visible in the far northern sky.
Winter Storm Draco has some notable namesakes, including the cargo ship USS Draco, and the wicked character Draco Malfoy in JK Rowling's "Harry Potter" book series.
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24 Comments
Agree! The weather pattern on the map does look like a dragon. Way to go!
December 20 2012 at 11:46 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyIf they named every storm that hit tthe West Coast they would run through the alphabet QUITE quickly. 3 a week in winter is not uncommon
December 20 2012 at 10:54 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyBut since the large majority do not hit Chicago or the East Coast, they don't count
It's all about insurance paying claims. Damage caused by a named storm has a higher deductible than un-named storms.
December 20 2012 at 10:42 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThe name should be HYPE because naming storms is just that.
December 20 2012 at 10:10 AM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down ReplyYOU CAN ALWAYS RELY ON THE MEDIA TO COOK UP STUPID NAMES & EXPRESSIONS!!!!!!
December 20 2012 at 9:47 AM Report abuse Permalink +2 rate up rate down ReplyI named it Bumble. I like that better.
December 20 2012 at 9:32 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI named it Bumble yesterday, which I think is a much better name.
December 20 2012 at 9:31 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyActually, the map on this page makes it look like a penis. Maybe we should call the storm "Big Willie."
December 20 2012 at 9:29 AM Report abuse Permalink -2 rate up rate down ReplyOr "Big Stick" after Barry per Biden!
December 20 2012 at 12:45 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThe Weather Channel no longer has local weather. Such a pity. They can name the storms whatever they like, but without local weather there's really no reason to watch.
December 20 2012 at 9:28 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI used to be a Weather Channel fan but since NBC took over it's value as a viable commodity for serious weather information has declined. The naming of winter storms is absurd !! Choice to name a winter storm is arbitrary(unlike naming of huuricanes)
December 20 2012 at 9:13 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyIn severe weather events such as tornado outbreaks (Dr. Forbes is terrific) and hurricanes they still do a good job (although since Dr. Steve Lyons departed they seem to have no dedicated single tropical storm expert)
Obviously NBC is counting on the entertainment value of weather to increase their profit