It is actually a
cliché
and will not go away as most
clichés
usually do. One would naturally think a perfect storm is
about weather, but it is seldom used to discuss weather. In fact, it
was used for a few hundred years before a Texas weather bureau first
used in 1936: "The weather bureau describes the disturbance as ‘the
perfect storm’ of its type. Seven factors were involved in the chain
of circumstances that led to the flood."
A meteorologist with the National Weather Service said "I haven't
used it once after 30 years in the Weather Service and am proud to
say I've never used 'Storm of the Century,' either." Major weeknight
network newscasts (NBC, ABC, CBS) used it a total of 32 times in the
past year; USA Today used it 22 times, and the New York Times used
it 57 times, all discussing non-weather related items.
Current usage describes a perfect storm as a confluence of
circumstances that tend to exaggerate a situation, such as:
May was another perfect-storm month for the NBA.
A strong showing by Tiger Woods was a perfect storm of scoring
conditions.
Budget cuts led to a perfect storm of unintended consequences.
The confluence of the Internet, TiVo, cable TV, and DVDs, means we
are looking at a perfect storm.
The economic disaster was caused by a perfect storm of real-estate
headaches.
About the recently fired Catholic bishop - ‘Bishop Bling’ was a
perfect storm.
At the end of the day, I guess a perfect storm is better than
using 'at the end of the day'.