fema says, "don't say ice"
We live in a complicated world. The meaning of words can change over time and when ICE is in the news in Minneapolis, we get the following article about the Federal Emergency Management’s (FEMA) missive on words to use when it comes to winter weather. Don’t say ‘Watch out for ice’: FEMA warned storm announcements could invite memes
OK, freezing rain—which I don’t think everyone understands means “ice on the roads.”
Yes, I agree that if the White House is using memes and others may also do the same. I can see that when it comes to the term “black ice.” For those in California who might not know what “black ice” is. This is when you might have had melting of snow/ice on the roadway during the day. Then, as the sun sets, the road/blacktop looks clear, but moisture has refrozen on the roadway and it can be very slick, aka black ice. Bridges, by the way, are the first place to freeze over.
If you want to learn more communication about the weather, see this Disaster Zone Podcast: Communicating About the Weather from a few weeks back. The guest, Chris Warren is an Emmy Award-winning meteorologist and communicator who spent more than 15 years as a trusted on-camera presence at The Weather Channel. He is definitely an expert on the topic. And, he talks about black ice on the podcast.
Heaven help us! Remember the good old days when we were just trying to alert the public to unsafe conditions?
