Karen Flounders And For Some Reason, Social Media Loves It

Sadly, Tropical Storm Karen never did get to talk to the manager
before dissipating Friday.

As readers of this blog know, there was a tropical storm named Karen earlier this week not far from Puerto Rico.

In the past couple of days, Tropical Storm Karen dissipated, and the internet loved it.

For those not familiar why this was so hilarious:  A fictitious woman named Karen is an internet meme, and in some respects, Tropical Storm Karen acted like her namesake.

Here's how Wired describes our meme heroine Karen:

"Karen has been the internet's stock female antagonist: A righteously annoyed middle-age white woman who loves coupons, reverse mullet bobs, and, above all else, speaking with the manager."

Yeah, you know the type.

As HuffPost reports, our fictitious Karen is pretty hapless, and so was Tropical Storm Karen. Which means weather geeks and others couldn't resist.

People on Friday  really jumped on what was meant to be just a serious, normal update from Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF): "Karen is a tropical depression and could fall apart 'at any time,' according to the NHC. Not expected to get very far."

You can guess now that went. Karen is not going to get anywhere with the manager, and she's going to have a meltdown because of it

Here's a classic response from @LoveLolaHeart:

"Makes me a little sad, I was kind of rooting for Karen. I thought maybe she would make it rain Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Bed Bath & Beyond coupons and I could use some new pillowcases tbh. I think it would be nice if store managers could honor her memory with a 'Ma'am'"


I still worry that managers everywhere might still feel the wrath of Karen: "Every manager in harm's way, lock your doors now!" one person warned on social media.

Meanwhile, I noticed yesterday that Hurricane Lorenzo was keeping its distance from Karen on the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean. True to his rather studmuffin name, Lorenzo was the strongest hurricane on record yesterday for a storm in the far eastern Atlantic.

I could we why he was so far away from Karen.  Karen really isn't Lorenzo's type.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS GOING TO STOP YELLING AT YOU GODDAMMIT!!!!

The National Weather Service is going to stop
yelling at us. Image from Tech Insider  

Anyone who spends even a tiny bit of time online knows that if someone types in all caps, they're yelling.

It's always considered rude to yell, whether online or off, so you probably shouldn't yell unless absolutely necessary.

But if you see National Weather Service forecasts, statements and such, everything is in all caps.

If they says "PARTLY SUNNY, HIGHS IN THE 60S." It feels like they're saying, "IT'S GONNA BE FRICKIN' NICE OUTSIDE, YOU MORONS SO GO OUTSIDE AND ENJOY, YOU IDIOTS!!"

Now that's going to change, and the National Weather Service is going to become quieter, and more polite.

It's not that they were ever intentionally rude.

According to the Seattle Times:

"Weather Service spokeswoma Susan Buchanan said the agency started using all capital letters in 1849 forecasts because of the telegraph. Twenty years ago, the agency tried phasing out the practice but old equipment wouldn't recognize lower case letters.

National Weather Service forecasts like this one
in all caps, is soon to be a thing of the past.  

Starting May 11, Weather Service forecasts wil no longer read like someone shouting in a  hurricane - the agency will use both upper and lower case letters."

Finally, an equipment upgrade will enable to National Weather Service forecasts to come to us in a normal voice and calm down already.

The National Weather Service will still occasionally yell at us, but only in situations in which we really need to pay attention, like when a mile wide EF5 tornado packing 250 mph winds is heading toward you.

They'll say something like "THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!"

Yeah, I would yell, too, if a really bad tornado, hurricane or flood was heading toward me.

Sometimes yellling is appropriate.