7 ms·

Bloomberg is trying to invent new, scarier sounding terminology, and honestly it's quite silly. What they're referring to are microbursts.

stormbrew 10y ago
Googling it I see a bunch of references going back at least a year, so I don't think bloomberg is to blame for this one.
jrockway 10y ago
New Yorkers are wimps when it comes to anything weather. There's a small thunderstorm? We call it a "doozie". Some snow in the forecast? We shut down the entire regional transportation system. I'm originally from Chicago so I find it all very amusing. I don't recall the L ever shutting down, nor do I remember any news articles about thunderstorms unless there were tornados inside the city limits.
- zzalpha 10y ago
  No, it's more that regional climate varies and different areas have invested in and prepared for different types of weather events. For example, I live in an area that traditionally receives moderate rain and snow during the winter. This past winter, though, we had very little snow while in the past week a major freeway has flooded twice due to heavy rains. Of course, this is one year and doesn't, on its own, make a trend, but if this continues we'll need to alter how we behave, and possibly how out infrastructure is designed, in order to adjust. And unfortunately when the climate is changing rapidly, it's suddenly very expensive to alter your coping strategies to adjust to the new normal.
- ams6110 10y ago
  I've noticed this trend to be more and more alarmist about what used to be normal weather. For example, I've lived in the midwest USA most of my life. Every July and August is hot and humid, with many days in the 90-degree (F) range. This used to just be normal summer weather and unremarkable. Now, anything over 85 degrees is a "heat advisory" and over 90 people are advised to stay indoors and avoid activity. They also publish absurd "feels like" temperature e.g. "today's high 91, feels like 117." I'm sorry, in no real world does 91 "feel like" 117.
  - sambull 10y ago
    The data says otherwise for the midwest. We are going through abrupt climate change, there are global effects and it's accelerating. http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/regions/midwest http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/regions/midwest
  - jrockway 10y ago
    We always had heat advisories in Chicago. When it's 87 degrees overnight, people without air conditioning die. Yes, it happens every summer. But it's a reasonable weather warning; reminding people to stay hydrated, and to try to get somewhere cooler.
  - pharrington 10y ago
    Yes, even normal weather has always killed human beings. Having infrastructure to both warn people about real natural danger and give steps for dealing with it is one of the good things our species does.
  - justin66 10y ago
    > I'm sorry, in no real world does 91 "feel like" 117. It does, and there's no voodoo needed to understand why. In a super-humid environment your body's way of dealing with the heat - sweat - just isn't as efficient. On a breezy day in the desert, 117 is... well, it's damn hot, but if you're staying hydrated and take steps to keep from getting sunburned, it's kind of surprising how tolerable it is. In that environment sweat works its magic quickly and effectively. (I live in the midwest and I'd trade fifteen or twenty degrees for the humidity we get this time of year. My first visit to the Nevada desert was kind of an eye-opener)
- kevin_thibedeau 10y ago
  My girlfriend poked fun at the weathermen going apeshit over 30mph winds earlier in the week. Then she got stuck at Newark on Monday waiting for the storm to pass. Karma.
themartorana 10y ago
To be fair, the picture linked in the article does look a lot like a bomb going off. http://twitter.com/chopperguyhd/status/755242101835653120/photo/1 http://twitter.com/chopperguyhd/status/755242101835653120/ph...
- mdadm 10y ago
  Woah. That's almost terrifying to see.
- jcoffland 10y ago
  I recently saw a sunset that looked a lot like a bomb going off due to refraction over the ocean. That didn't make the sunset dangerous.
  - themartorana 10y ago
    Yup, that's the same thing. And say, would you use the word "bomb" to describe it? Oh you did. I never said it made it dangerous, I said the use of the word "bomb" made sense in light of the photo specifically referenced in the article.
    - jcoffland 10y ago
      Why do you assume I'm attacking your statement?
ourmandave 10y ago
If they report microbursts as rain bombs, will they also collectively sit around and wait to see what terrorist group claims responsibility?
- WillPostForFood 10y ago
  They'll say the terrorists are republicans who deny global warming.
  - ams6110 10y ago
    They are already saying that.
- btown 10y ago
  Well, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isis did flood the Nile with tears...
mrestko 10y ago
Didn't you hear? "Climate change is weaponizing the atmosphere."
dang 10y ago
Ok, we rewrote the title to be less baity, in accordance with the site guidelines (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html). But please don't create many obscure throwaway accounts on HN. This forum is a community. Anonymity is fine, but users should have some consistent identity that other users can relate to. Otherwise we may as well have no usernames and no community, and that would be an entirely different forum. (This is going in the site guidelines soon.)
- fncndhdhc 10y ago
  I prefer to be judged on the content of my comments rather than the number of internet points displayed by my name. It allows for much more honesty and sincerity in discussions, and I think those are two qualities that HN could use more of. Also I don't enjoy being profiled and I'll continue to play this game of whack-a-mole regardless of a change in the rules.
  - dang 10y ago
    It isn't a question of karma, but of community, which you omitted to consider. The suggestion has come up over the years that HN should just have comments without usernames. The answer is that that would be a fundamentally different site, so we're not going to do it. If that's what you prefer, you're welcome to start such a site, but please don't gnaw at the foundations of this one. This has been on my mind because I think it's time for HN to go through a fresh round of defining what it is and what it isn't, and the above is one thing it isn't.
    - karmajunkie 10y ago
      What do you suggest for people who need to post stories where the lack of anonymity could have serious ramifications for their lives? This is a serious question. Are those people (or those contributions) simply not intended to be a part of this community?
      - gkop 10y ago
pharrington 10y ago
Bloomberg isn't inventing the term rainbomb. It is evocative, yes. I feel that sort of colorful language is appropriate for describing an extreme weather event that dumps 8+ inches of rain in less than a day. Rainbomb or microburst, they are apparently quite effective at destroying vital infrastructure. Either way, you can't in good faith condemn the exploitation of color language to describe a destructive and lethal event by pointing out that that destructive and lethal event has a benign name.

stormbrew 10y ago

Googling it I see a bunch of references going back at least a year, so I don't think bloomberg is to blame for this one.

jrockway 10y ago

New Yorkers are wimps when it comes to anything weather. There's a small thunderstorm? We call it a "doozie". Some snow in the forecast? We shut down the entire regional transportation system. I'm originally from Chicago so I find it all very amusing. I don't recall the L ever shutting down, nor do I remember any news articles about thunderstorms unless there were tornados inside the city limits.

zzalpha 10y ago
No, it's more that regional climate varies and different areas have invested in and prepared for different types of weather events. For example, I live in an area that traditionally receives moderate rain and snow during the winter. This past winter, though, we had very little snow while in the past week a major freeway has flooded twice due to heavy rains. Of course, this is one year and doesn't, on its own, make a trend, but if this continues we'll need to alter how we behave, and possibly how out infrastructure is designed, in order to adjust. And unfortunately when the climate is changing rapidly, it's suddenly very expensive to alter your coping strategies to adjust to the new normal.
ams6110 10y ago
I've noticed this trend to be more and more alarmist about what used to be normal weather. For example, I've lived in the midwest USA most of my life. Every July and August is hot and humid, with many days in the 90-degree (F) range. This used to just be normal summer weather and unremarkable. Now, anything over 85 degrees is a "heat advisory" and over 90 people are advised to stay indoors and avoid activity. They also publish absurd "feels like" temperature e.g. "today's high 91, feels like 117." I'm sorry, in no real world does 91 "feel like" 117.
- sambull 10y ago
  The data says otherwise for the midwest. We are going through abrupt climate change, there are global effects and it's accelerating. http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/regions/midwest http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/regions/midwest
- jrockway 10y ago
  We always had heat advisories in Chicago. When it's 87 degrees overnight, people without air conditioning die. Yes, it happens every summer. But it's a reasonable weather warning; reminding people to stay hydrated, and to try to get somewhere cooler.
- pharrington 10y ago
  Yes, even normal weather has always killed human beings. Having infrastructure to both warn people about real natural danger and give steps for dealing with it is one of the good things our species does.
- justin66 10y ago
  > I'm sorry, in no real world does 91 "feel like" 117. It does, and there's no voodoo needed to understand why. In a super-humid environment your body's way of dealing with the heat - sweat - just isn't as efficient. On a breezy day in the desert, 117 is... well, it's damn hot, but if you're staying hydrated and take steps to keep from getting sunburned, it's kind of surprising how tolerable it is. In that environment sweat works its magic quickly and effectively. (I live in the midwest and I'd trade fifteen or twenty degrees for the humidity we get this time of year. My first visit to the Nevada desert was kind of an eye-opener)
kevin_thibedeau 10y ago
My girlfriend poked fun at the weathermen going apeshit over 30mph winds earlier in the week. Then she got stuck at Newark on Monday waiting for the storm to pass. Karma.

themartorana 10y ago

To be fair, the picture linked in the article does look a lot like a bomb going off. http://twitter.com/chopperguyhd/status/755242101835653120/photo/1 http://twitter.com/chopperguyhd/status/755242101835653120/ph...

mdadm 10y ago
Woah. That's almost terrifying to see.
jcoffland 10y ago
I recently saw a sunset that looked a lot like a bomb going off due to refraction over the ocean. That didn't make the sunset dangerous.
- themartorana 10y ago
  Yup, that's the same thing. And say, would you use the word "bomb" to describe it? Oh you did. I never said it made it dangerous, I said the use of the word "bomb" made sense in light of the photo specifically referenced in the article.
  - jcoffland 10y ago
    Why do you assume I'm attacking your statement?

ourmandave 10y ago

If they report microbursts as rain bombs, will they also collectively sit around and wait to see what terrorist group claims responsibility?

WillPostForFood 10y ago
They'll say the terrorists are republicans who deny global warming.
- ams6110 10y ago
  They are already saying that.
btown 10y ago
Well, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isis did flood the Nile with tears...

mrestko 10y ago

Didn't you hear? "Climate change is weaponizing the atmosphere."

dang 10y ago

Ok, we rewrote the title to be less baity, in accordance with the site guidelines (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html). But please don't create many obscure throwaway accounts on HN. This forum is a community. Anonymity is fine, but users should have some consistent identity that other users can relate to. Otherwise we may as well have no usernames and no community, and that would be an entirely different forum. (This is going in the site guidelines soon.)

fncndhdhc 10y ago
I prefer to be judged on the content of my comments rather than the number of internet points displayed by my name. It allows for much more honesty and sincerity in discussions, and I think those are two qualities that HN could use more of. Also I don't enjoy being profiled and I'll continue to play this game of whack-a-mole regardless of a change in the rules.
- dang 10y ago
  It isn't a question of karma, but of community, which you omitted to consider. The suggestion has come up over the years that HN should just have comments without usernames. The answer is that that would be a fundamentally different site, so we're not going to do it. If that's what you prefer, you're welcome to start such a site, but please don't gnaw at the foundations of this one. This has been on my mind because I think it's time for HN to go through a fresh round of defining what it is and what it isn't, and the above is one thing it isn't.
  - karmajunkie 10y ago
    What do you suggest for people who need to post stories where the lack of anonymity could have serious ramifications for their lives? This is a serious question. Are those people (or those contributions) simply not intended to be a part of this community?
    - gkop 10y ago

pharrington 10y ago

Bloomberg isn't inventing the term rainbomb. It is evocative, yes. I feel that sort of colorful language is appropriate for describing an extreme weather event that dumps 8+ inches of rain in less than a day. Rainbomb or microburst, they are apparently quite effective at destroying vital infrastructure. Either way, you can't in good faith condemn the exploitation of color language to describe a destructive and lethal event by pointing out that that destructive and lethal event has a benign name.