On 11/26/2018 11:33 AM, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
> On Mon, 26 Nov 2018 08:29:05 -0800 (PST), Cindy Hamilton
> > wrote:
>
>> On Monday, November 26, 2018 at 11:14:59 AM UTC-5, Jill McQuown wrote:
>>
>>> I think it's funny they give winter (snow) storms names just like they
>>> do hurricanes. Did they always do that?
>>
>> No. The Weather Channel started doing that a while back. Probably
>> to stoke panic and increase viewership.
>>
>> Cindy Hamilton
>
> It isn't the Weather Channel's pervue . storms are named around the
> world. Typhoons are named.
>

Only some storms. TWC does on their own
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter..._United_States

In the 2010s, winter storm naming has become controversial with The
Weather Channel, and various media coming up with their own names for
winter storms. It has been argued by meteorologists that winter storms
can reform more than once, making the process of naming them both
difficult and redundant. On the other side of the argument those in
favor of naming storms argue that the names help people with
preparation. Entities from the United States government which includes
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the
National Weather Service (NWS) have also weighed in stating that they
would not be naming winter storms, and have asked others to refrain from
doing so.

In November 2012, TWC began systematically naming winter storms,
starting with the November 2012 nor'easter it named "Winter Storm
Athena."[7] TWC compiled a list of winter storm names for the 2012€“13
winter season. It would only name those storms that are "disruptive" to
people, said Bryan Norcross, a TWC senior director.[8] TWC's decision
was met with criticism from other weather forecasters, who called the
practice self-serving and potentially confusing to the public.[citation
needed] Naming though has been used by The Weather Channel (TWC) since
2011, when the cable network informally used the previously-coined name
"Snowtober" for a 2011 Halloween nor'easter.[9][10][11][12]

A few of the winter storm names used by March 2013 include Athena,
Brutus, Caesar, Gandolf, Khan, and Nemo.[13][14][15] For the 2013-2014
season, The Weather Channel published a list of 26 more names to be used
for winter storms, with the name Atlas as the first name of the
season.[16] On October 2, 2014, The Weather Channel released 25 new
names with the 26th "W" to be voted on by viewers.[17] Since then,
various names have been chosen by The Weather Channel for each
subsequent winter season.[18][19][20]