As WGN chief meteorologist Tom Skilling warned of the precipitation system du jour that approached Chicago on Thursday, he rapidly popularized the term used to describe it, a “Saskatchewan Screamer.” By Thursday afternoon, the term was a hot topic locally on Twitter.
“How about that? The colloquial term has been used by forecasters for some time to describe a low pressure which dives into the Lower 48 out of Canada’s Saskatchewan province,” Skilling wrote on his Facebook page. “Such systems really move — or ‘scream along’ — thus the term Saskatchewan Screamer!”
Here’s a sampling of what online users said the term sounded like to them:
*A Canadian heavy metal rock band.
*A bird that lives in the boreal forest and screams when it wants to attract a mate.
*An unfortunate pub nickname.
*A stomach ailment after eating too much Canadian bacon.
*My new fantasy team name.
*A really fun roller coaster.
*It sounds like something I’d put my hearing aids on “mute” with!
— Tribune staff
