There was Minnesota's famous Armistice Day Blizzard of 1940, and the Halloween Blizzard of 1991. But blizzards called Athena, Brutus and Caesar?
Those will be the first three names out of the chute from forecasters this winter when the Weather Channel begins naming major winter storms, as the National Weather Service has since 1953 for tropical storms and hurricanes.
"Is it a good idea? If having a name gets people off the roads when there's a big snowstorm whipping through, then it's a good idea," said forecaster Jake Beitlich at the National Weather Service office in Chanhassen, where officials haven't decided whether to adopt the Weather Channel names. "At least it can be kind of fun."
But the news this week seemed to flabbergast officials at Minneapolis-based Dairy Queen.
"Caesar? That's a great name for a salad, but a blizzard?" said an incredulous Dean Peters, spokesman for the company that just happens to sell Blizzard ice cream concoctions.
"How about Hawaiian Blizzard or Candy Cane Chill -- you know, 'Warning: Blizzard Candy Cane Chill is headed for the Twin Cities!' "
The Weather Channel will name blizzards -- which require winds of at least 35 miles per hour and visibility of no more than a quarter-mile from falling or blowing snow -- but also other major snow or ice storms, maybe a total of eight or 10 a year.
While this will be the first time a national organization puts names on winter storms, locals have done that around the country for years.
