'Snowpocalypse' to 'snowicane': Hype reigns in winter

[March 01, 2010]  STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- The storm-weary Northeast heard a new word this week as the latest storm bore down: "snowicane."

It was coined by meteorologists at AccuWeather, who said the storm promised hurricane-like dangers, from high winds to flooding.

This winter, storms have been dubbed "snowmageddon" and "snowpocalypse." They lived up to their hype -- delivering the snowiest winters some cities have ever recorded.

But "snowicane" got the best of some forecasters at the more staid National Weather Service, which said its for-profit competitors were overhyping the situation.

State College, Pa.-based AccuWeather defended the word choice. Chief operations officer Evan Myers says his firm does not intend "to panic people" but that the storm "performed as advertised."

[Associated Press; By GENARO C. ARMAS]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.