Last month, The Weather Channel proclaimed that it would start naming winter storms in the manner of tropical storms and hurricanes in hopes that people would pay more attention to them. The National Weather Service — the official government agency in charge of all of this — just laid the smack down on that plan.
As the first of The Weather Channel’s named winter storms creeps towards the east coast, The Washington Post reports an administrative message sent out by the National Weather Service regarding the winter storm naming scheme. The message reminds everyone that NWS doesn’t name winter storms:
Sorry guys! The nor’easter that’s about to bear down on the east coast won’t officially be called “Athena”, no matter how badly The Weather Channel’s ratings want it to happen. [The Washington Post]