Last year the Weather Channel unilaterally decided to start naming winter storms, a decision met with ridicule and concern from weather professionals. Now, with a storm TWC calls ‘Janus’, we very graphically can see another reason why the naming of these storms may not be a good idea.
The list the Weather Channel created for winter storms during the 2013 – 2014 season range contains everything from Latin words and Roman governors to mythological figures.
The channel is calling the current storm pounding the Northeast ‘Janus.’ Janus comes from Roman mythology and was considered the god of beginnings and transitions.
Setting aside the fact the naming of winter storms is ridiculous and only serves to confuse people in potentially dangerous situation, the display of the name during broadcasts has brought further ridicule.
Many graphics showing the word ‘Janus’ on TWC were partially obscured by their on air personalities and even their own imagery. The end result has been the appearance of the name without the ‘J’.
See the screenshot top right and below.
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