Why The Weather Channel is Naming Winter Storms

[IceManNYR]

TWC has their first named stormed Athena.
Are the NBCU Comcast Stations going to use this name?
I doubt any other non NBCU stations are.
WNBC is using Nor'easter.

[stormymikala]

I don't mind the names. It does make it easier to tell the storms apart.

[IceManNYR]

National Weather Service: Just say no to Athena.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/national-weather-service-just-say-no-to-athena/2012/11/07/2eee7154-28e8-11e2-bab2-eda299503684_blog.html

[TWCToday]

National Weather Service: Just say no to Athena.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/national-weather-service-just-say-no-to-athena/2012/11/07/2eee7154-28e8-11e2-bab2-eda299503684_blog.html

Just a memo to employees to refrain from calling that. Smart thinking after the Frankenstorm mess they had.

[WeatherWitness]

Well, TWC has already named their second storm.  "Brutus" is the one that will be impacting the Northern Rockies over the next few days.

[Mr. Rainman]

Well, TWC has already named their second storm.  "Brutus" is the one that will be impacting the Northern Rockies over the next few days.

Geez, what a publicity stunt. At least they named a note-worthy storm.

[TWCJim]

Man, TWC will try anything to improve their ratings, but IMO naming winter storms is just a little cuckoo 

[Localonthe8s]

We've been discussing about this in meteorology club. It's just too funny twc must be desperate

[jtmal0723]

The Weather Channel is their channel, not the National Weather Service's channel. If they want to name their storms, let them. Who are we to say they can't?

[jrhtwc]

The Weather Channel is their channel, not the National Weather Service's channel. If they want to name their storms, let them. Who are we to say they can't?

Indeed , and if naming storms is the only way to keep longform OFF TWC during the day, so be it.  I can't remember the last time I saw longform during the day. I also can't believe TWC's Studio is still red. Is TWC breaking any of their 2005 records? TWC didn't have a red studio in 05 but they did have Storm Alert a few times. Seemed like forever after Kat.

[TampaMillTWC88]

Nicole Mitchell thinks it's a gimmick too:

Yeah, I thought the naming thing was pure gimmick (as well as hubris).
Nice to see most meteorologists and savvy viewers agree! :-)
 http://www.examiner.com/article/weather-channel-naming-system-backfires-when-nws-rejects-athena

[WeatherWitness]

The Weather Channel is their channel, not the National Weather Service's channel. If they want to name their storms, let them. Who are we to say they can't?

You're right.  "We" (being the people who are against naming winter storms) have no right to tell TWC what to do.  But, and here's where it can get confusing, TWC needs to realize that other stations and the NWS are probably not going to follow suit.  And when you have a named winter storm by TWC and a generalization, or perhaps another name for the same darn storm by another station or the NWS, the public is going to get horribly confused.

The main point is, the public should be the top priority, but we all know their ratings are the top priority, and so that's why they're doing this in the first place.

[TWCCraig]

Well, TWC has already named their second storm.  "Brutus" is the one that will be impacting the Northern Rockies over the next few days.

Geez, what a publicity stunt. At least they named a note-worthy storm.

The storm we had in the northeast wasn't note-worthy? A foot of snow+ in early November in some places in not note-worthy? I'm not defending TWC here, I think it's a very silly idea for them to name storms especially since they have no definite criteria yet.

[TWCToday]

The common misconception seems to be that TWC is a public service. It's not. Its a commercial product designed to generate revenue just like every other channel and news service. One might blame the NWS for continuing to have poor relations with the general population.  It's unfair to say that TWC is forcing this down peoples throats and encouraging other stations or the NWS to accept the name. I haven't seen one indication of that. In fact it was the HPC under the NWS that made the name Frankenstorm. That terminology undercut the hurricane status that had been maintained by the NHC and caused greater confusion. I haven't seen anyone complain about TWCs Torcon levels or their proprietary threat levels yet endless discussion over the naming thing. It was a unique idea that I think was worth a shot.

[Mr. Rainman]

Well, TWC has already named their second storm.  "Brutus" is the one that will be impacting the Northern Rockies over the next few days.

Geez, what a publicity stunt. At least they named a note-worthy storm.

The storm we had in the northeast wasn't note-worthy? A foot of snow+ in early November in some places in not note-worthy? I'm not defending TWC here, I think it's a very silly idea for them to name storms especially since they have no definite criteria yet.

This is actually a good example of why no one is going to get a set criteria for these storms. Folks here in the Northern Plains regard a foot of snow in November differently than other parts of the country. That did sound a bit insensitive though - my apologies.