From
here.....
The decision to begin naming storms came about as part of The Weather Channel’s program to find the best possible ways to communicate severe weather information on all distribution platforms, including social media.
Hashtags are an intrinsic part of social media, and a storm name proved to be the best way to efficiently and systematically convey storm information. Storm-name hashtags have been used with tropical storms and hurricanes for years, and Winter Storm Nemo’s billion-plus impressions on Twitter last winter demonstrated that the same system is ideal for winter storms as well.
“Our first year of naming storms proved that it worked, and we were thrilled with the result,” said Bryan Norcross, meteorologist and storm specialist at The Weather Channel. “The winter storm names enabled simpler and more focused communications around forecasts and preparedness information on The Weather Channel and in other media outlets, and during the big storms like Nemo, the names became a handy way for the public to receive and exchange information.”
The storm names for 2013-14 are derived from lists created by students at Bozeman High School in Bozeman, Mont., as an assignment in Latin class and are primarily from Greek and Roman mythology."
So now we know.
...and a counter-point from
here.
"The argument for naming winter storms is quite simple. It heightens public awareness and makes it easier to reference a storm rather than just calling it "that blizzard:". The problem is, that's where the advantages end, and where the long list of disadvantages begin. There's a lot of talk about the comparison of naming a winter storm and naming a tropical system. The difference is simple. The naming of a tropical cyclone occurs because an official United States agency, the National Hurricane Center, has a strict, inclusive definition of what qualifies as a tropical cyclone. Assigning a name then makes this system easier to track, refer to, etc. A winter storm does not have any criteria. There are all kinds of winter storms. A winter storm in the NW, like so called "Brutus", is much different from a Nor'easter that runs up the East Coast, such as "Athena". Furthermore, the NHC often carefully monitors a disturbance for tropical development for days before the development actually occurs. They will often track a named storm for 1-2 weeks after that. TWC, meanwhile, names winter storms suddenly, whenever they feel like it basically. These winter storms, particularly Nor'easters, often come and go in a matter of a couple days, not really enough time to heighten awareness and inspire storm preparation. My local TV mets up here were talking about this thing for days. Nothing changed after TWC named it. It doesn't do anything."