2016 Winter Storm Jonas

Submission 4,278

About

Winter Storm Jonas was a major winter storm that occurred on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States between January 22nd and January 23rd, 2016. The storm, which was predicted more than a week in advance, caused much speculation online.

Background

An area of low pressure began developing over the South Eastern United States.^[1] The storm was christened Jonas by the Weather Channel, and by January 22nd, after several days of warning, snow began to fall in the American south, including 9" in the western part of South Carolina. Snow began falling in Washington DC on the evening of the 22nd, where they were predicted to receive more than 20 inches.^[2] New York City was predicted to see more than 10 inches of snow, and some parts of New Jersey were preparing for over two feet of precipitation. ^[3]

Online Presence

In advance of the storm, users online in the American East Coast used the hashtags #WinterStormJonas,^[5] #Blizzard2016,^[6] and #Snowpocalypse^[7] on Twitter. On Instagram, #WinterStormJonas^[8] and #Blizzard2016^[9] hashtags received over 13,000, and 23,000 posts respectively (#snowpocalypse cannot be isolated from previous uses of the term). On Facebook, over 30,000 people searched for Winter Storm Jonas.^[10]

Jonas Brothers Association

In 2012, the Weather Channel began naming winter storms in the way that Hurricanes are named; while the convention was not accepted by many major news sources, like the New York Times, it still provided ample fodder for those looking to talk about the storm on social media. After christening this storm Jonas, many online associated the storm with the Disney musical act the Jonas Brothers, creating image macros and photoshops featuring the faces of the brothers along the path of the storm.^[11]

On January 21st and January 22nd, each of the Jonas Brothers responded to the memes on Twitter by reposting their own favorites in individual tweets.