---
title: 'Bad jokes gone good: How the Portland Twitter! Storm! Team! hashtag joke became a valuable weather resource'
date: '2013-12-20T10:43:00-08:00'
type: post
word_count: 452
char_count: 2772
tokens: 588
categories:
  - Oregon
  - Portland
  - Startups
tags:
  - hashtag
  - joke
  - pdxtst
  - Portland
  - storm
  - team
  - Twitter
---

# Bad jokes gone good: How the Portland Twitter! Storm! Team! hashtag joke became a valuable weather resource

When it comes to this time of year, Portland gets a little wacky about its weather. That’s nothing new. It’s been happening for quite some time. Live coverage from the top of Sylvan Hill. Reporters resembling [Ralphie’s brother from A Christmas Story](https://www.google.com/search?q=a+christmas+story&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=wIa0Uv2HCsK0ygGZm4G4Bg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1275&bih=651#facrc=0%3Ba%20christmas%20story%20randy&imgdii=_&imgrc=_ "Randy from A Christmas Story") waiting patiently in the Gorge for freezing rain. Hysteria! Apocalypse! Pandemonium!

And it’s that little part of Portland’s weirdness that inspired a few of us—now six years ago—to run with a little Twitter joke. [We started using Twitter to file equally inane and hysteric weather reports](http://aaronhockley.com/pdxtst/ "Hockley on #pdxtst"). Primarily to mock the Portland news teams stationed around town.

[Aaron Hockley](http://twitter.com/ahockley "Aaron Hockley") and [Kelly Guimont](http://twitter.com/verso) were the first to coin the phrasing. They called it the “Portland Twitter Storm Team.” Although, Kelly cautioned that that moniker didn’t have quite enough drama. So she suggested “Portland Twitter! Storm! Team!”

More from Hockley:





I registered the [Twitter account for the Portland Twitter! Storm! Team! as @pdxtst](http://twitter.com/pdxtst "Portland Twitter Storm Team on Twitter") and never really did anything with it.

> Okay folks. Time to make this Twitter-ficial. Feel free to [@pdxtst](https://twitter.com/pdxtst) or [\#pdxtst](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23pdxtst&src=hash) on your reports. 😉
> 
> — pdxtst (@pdxtst) [January 5, 2008](https://twitter.com/pdxtst/statuses/563690192)

[//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js](//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js)

And then a strange thing happened. The joke—apparently lost on some—got, well, co-opted. [For real Portland weather reports](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23pdxtst&src=typd&f=realtime "#pdxtst"). And they kept using it. Again and again.

So it dawned on me that the @pdxtst account could probably be working a little harder. To be less jokey. And more helpful. So I’ve set it up to be a little more active. And to provide a little more information about what’s happening in Portland.

To capture the weather hysteria, of course. But also maybe actually be a resource of information.

So, if you’re interested in staying up-to-date on all the Portland weather craziness and the coverage we love to hate, feel free to [follow the Portland Twitter! Storm! Team! on Twitter](http://twitter.com/pdxtst "Portland Twitter Storm Team on Twitter").

It’s not often that bad jokes turn out this good.