Nemo, the powerful blizzard that is turning into a historic winter storm, has been captured on a satellite image by NASA’s NOAA's GOES-13 satellite on Feb. 8, 2013. NASA’s satellite image of Nemo was taken at 9:01 a.m. EST, and is showing the western frontal system as it is approaching the coastal low pressure area. NASA does not call the powerful nor’easter storm Nemo but “a massive winter storm.”
“A massive winter storm is coming together as two low pressure systems are merging over the U.S. East Coast. … The comma-shaped low pressure system located over the Atlantic, east of Virginia, is forecast to merge with the front and create a powerful nor'easter.”
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the merged winter storm is expected to move northeast into Pennsylvania, western New York and much of New England before tapering off by Saturday afternoon.
Nemo is anticipated to bring moderate to heavy snow up to three feet in parts of the northeastern United States. Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts coastlines are facing coastal flooding due to the powerful winter storm. San Diego's 10News broadcast on Friday night that 600,000 people are without power due to the powerful blizzard.
It is interesting to note that searching for “Nemo” on NASA’s website will not display any information about the powerful winter storm but rather display NEMO as an acronym for Nomadic Exploration Marine Observatory.
NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is a United States agency which is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research. As a scientific organization, NASA calls a winter storm for what it is; a “Powerful Nor'easter” or a “massive winter storm.”
Unlike NASA, the Weather Channel, which gave the powerful winter storm the name Nemo, has graphics about Nemo, stories about Nemo, Nemo updates, Nemo videos, and Nemo photos.
Like NASA, however, people seem to know that hurricanes, not winter storms, have assigned names. On the Facebook page “STOP the Weather Channel from naming winter storms - it's stupid,” one post reads,
“God! How dumb am I? I thought NEMO was an acronym for something! I kept saying to my husband: ‘Why does this storm have a name? I thought only hurricanes were named!’...then I found this page. :)”
Another post reads,
“Only appropriate that they name the biggest winter storm of the year after a clown fish. Matches the clowns they have on-air and in their marketing department. Sensationalistic weather (and the Atlanta forecast) has replaced honest weather reporting.”
On a lighter note, another commenter writes that,
“Weather Channel press release: From now on, heat waves will be named after supermodels, light drizzles will be named after Saturday Night Live cast members from the early '80's, and bitter cold snaps will be named after ex-girlfriends.”
If Nemo does indeed turn out to be a historic winter storm, one can only hope that historians will add a note that this powerful winter storm was named by the Weather Channel and not by NASA .
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