By GENARO C. ARMAS
Associated Press Writer
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The snowmenclature smackdown among meteorologists started with “snowmageddon” and “snowpocalypse.” When the latest snow event – laden with flakes and whipped by heavy winds – headed for the storm-weary Northeast this week, the folks at AccuWeather Inc. warned of a coming “snowicane.”
That did it for the more reserved National Weather Service, which accused the for-profit forecasters of overhyping to the point of inciting panic. The Weather Channel, an AccuWeather competitor, also took issue with the word.
As “snowicane” foreshadowed impending wind-and-snow doom Wednesday on AccuWeather’s Web site, National Weather Service meteorologist Craig Evanego said the federal forecasters were taking a more measured approach, because the storm hadn’t yet fully formed.