IT USUALLY DOESN'T START UNTIL WINTER, BUT AT SOME POINT EVERY YEAR I START LOOKING AT NWS WEATHER ALERTS AND AM AMUSED TO FIND THAT THEY'RE ALWAYS IN ALL CAPS, WHICH INCREASES THE IMPRESSION THAT THERE'S SOMETHING ALARMING GOING ON (THIS TIME THE EVENT IS, OF COURSE, HURRICANE SANDY, WHICH IS APPARENTLY WORTH BEING ALARMED ABOUT: "I've never seen anything like this and I'm at a loss for expletives to describe what this storm could do.").

KEVIN DRUM SAYS THE REASON FOR THE ALL CAPS IS DUE TO INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS, BUT IT COULD CHANGE.