The Weather Channel has named the nor’easter winter storm that's now bringing snow to New York City and environs after the Greek goddess-inspired Athena. The all-weather, all the time brands admits it's a ploy to bring attention (and own the conversation) about the post-Hurricane Sandy ice storm that's threatening to blanket gloom on those relief efforts. 

“Without Sandy, we may not have named this storm," the Weather Channel admits. "However, one of our main reasons for naming events is societal impact. With so many people still under recovery efforts — even well inland — the combination of heavy, wet snow and wind prompted the decision to name this storm.”

The U.S. National Weather Service, however, isn't impressed. It's refusing to acknowledge or condone Athena — or any other storm names emanating from Weather Channel HQ in Atlanta.Continue reading...

This map of 50 webcams is part of the relaunch of Weather Underground, now refreshed with sophisticated weather-forecasting technology that relies on a global network of 19,000 amateur, private weather stations equipped with the company’s software. 

“This was crowdsourcing before crowdsourcing was even known as a term,” comments Richard Lowden, VP sales at Weather Underground. “We’re giving people the opportunity to share the information with their neighbors. We’ve built up a robust community.” 

Lowden and colleague Chuck Prewitt, VP biz dev, believe that neighborhood-by-neighborhood weather forecasting has unique value — and they're not afraid to take on the giant that is Weather.com and the Weather Channel, which has also been making a move into local forecasts.Continue reading...