Hardly a blizzard this time, but frustration and weariness over a blustery, snowy winter is beginning to emerge in the News Tribune's request for readers to name -- for fun and prizes -- our season's snowstorms.
"Egads," "Enough," "Enough Already" and even "Evil" were suggested "E" names for the half-foot or so of snow that fell on Saturday and into Sunday in Duluth. "Enough" and "Enough Already" were suggested multiple times, including by Hibbing's Susan Johnson, who went on to suggest names for the next couple of storms. "For Crying Out Loud" and "Good Grief," she pitched, in alphabetical order, in the wake of one of the snowiest Decembers on record and the chilly, white start to the new year.
Shelly Brandstrom of Bigfork tossed out "Elusive Elaine" because the storm wasn't as nasty as some predicted. Also, she said the name reminds her of her granddaughter, Cassidy Elaine Brandstrom, who turns 1 month on Thursday.
The cutest suggestion had to be that from 6-year-old Annika, the daughter of Doug Erickson: "Elafin," pronounced with a drawn-out, long "e" at the beginning.
Other suggestions were "Eunice"; "Ethelfleeda," the name of a Welsh queen from the time of King Arthur; "Eir," the Nordic god of healing; El Whito; and "Eli" -- "Because Eli's coming," Cindy Miller wrote in homage to the Three Dog Night song.
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The winning E name goes to Jeanie Pederson of Warroad, Minn., who suggested "Elgeurial." She said it's the name of a snowboarding trick. It's a reminder to anyone growing weary of shoveling and bundling up that a sure way to beat winter's doldrums is to get out in it and play.
Another way is to suggest storm names. Keep them coming every time the snow falls this winter. Prizes will be awarded for naming storms with snowfalls deeper than 10 inches.
