The Weather Channel names its first winter storm Athena
Kids play soccer in the snow Nov. 8, 2012 in Long Branch, New Jersey. The storm brought gusting winds, rain, snow and forced the cancelation of thousands of passengers flying out of JFK, LaGuardia and Newark. (Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty …
Copyright Getty Images
Posted: 11/08/2012
NEW YORK - To people who were caught in snarled traffic or had to shovel snow with leaves still on the trees, the storm pulling off the East Coast on Thursday was your basic nor'easter.
To The Weather Channel, it was Athena.
The network has taken to naming winter storms, much like the National Weather Service does for tropical systems. The Weather Channel says the names make the storms easier to identify and draws attention so people have time to prepare.
The National Weather Service isn't recognizing the names, and neither are most news outlets. The government agency sent out an advisory to its personnel on Wednesday reminding them of the policy.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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