Though the winds have long since died down, the debate rages on over what December's massive windstorm should be named.

The National Weather Service opened the subject up to public opinion at the end of December, and more than 5,000 suggestions poured in before the contest ended Jan. 4.

Now a committee of employees at the weather service's Seattle bureau are in the middle of sorting through the suggestions, with the goal of selecting just one. The name will be announced on March 2 at the Pacific Northwest Weather Workshop.

"The reason we did this is because this was a pretty significant windstorm -- one that people are going to be talking about for years and decades to come," said weather service meteorologist Ted Buehner.

Other large-scale storms have had obvious names, Buehner said. Among the infamous are the Columbus Day storm of 1962 and the Inauguration Day storm of 1993.

December's storm wasn't associated with any particular holiday or event, and the weather service decided to turn the matter over to the public.

So far, several themes have emerged in the suggestions. The fact that the storm started the night of a Seahawks game comes up often, as does its close proximity to Christmas and other winter holidays, Buehner said.

A number of people have also pointed out that the storm happened on Dec. 15 -- the day that the movie Gone With the Wind premiered in 1939. Others have tried to name the storm after a relative -- or in more amusing instances, their boat, Buehner said.

At least 14 people died as a result of conditions brought on by the storm and power outages. The contest has outraged some who feel naming the storm is disrespectful to the dead.

"We're not making light of this by any means," Buehner said. Naming the storm will help people remember the devastation, which might cause people and agencies to be better prepared for the next one, he said.

Soundoff (Read 8 comments)
What do you think the windstorm should be named?