Is 'Blizzard Nemo' The Next Hurricane Irene? As NYC Braces For 'Snowpocalypse,' Some Predict Under 6 Inches
The Snowpocalypse is coming to New York City! Stock up on duct tape, ramen, fresh water and ammo to be prepared for "Blizzard Nemo!" Or maybe we'll only get a dusting, or even just some rain. Who knows anymore?
Ever since Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a light drizzle as it approached Manhattan in 2011, it's been difficult to trust weather forecasters, and what's being described in some reports as a catastrophic winter weather event could easily shape up to be little more than a slight inconvenience for those hoping to go out this weekend.
Or, as happened in September with Hurricane Sandy, it could be a massive storm, taking out power and homes throughout large swaths of the region.
"Historic, Extreme Snow," "You Must Prepare Now," "Weekend Snow Getting Worse" and "Historic Snow Totals" are just some of the blaring headlines that Weather.com had streaming across its live coverage page Thursday afternoon and evening.
As of 10:30 p.m. Thursday, Weather.com, the homepage of the ubiquitous Weather Channel, had more than six inches falling on New York City Friday and Saturday, a pretty open-ended hypothesis (guess?) that seems to allow its prognosticators a wide chance of being able to say they were accurate.
Hey, if only seven inches fall, they were right. But if the skies open up and two feet of ice and snow clog the streets of Times Square, they're still correct. That's called a hedge, but it doesn't really seem to justify all the insanity over the approaching snowstorm.
And to be fair, TWC is focusing the bulk of its sensationalizing on the New England portion of the storm, as Boston is preparing for epic snowfalls possibly in excess of two feet.
But New Yorkers should know that some other sources are predicting more of a normal snowfall than a blizzard.
Local news TV station New York 1, for instance, shared the following fairly underwhelming prediction via Twitter on Thursday:
"7 Day forecast. 5-8" of snow expected with the nor'easter. White-out conditions on Friday night."
So don't get too scared, we may be in for just a standard winter snow. Though to be fair, Snowmageddon may dump on us. It's anybody's guess.
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