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ATLANTA, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- If people enjoyed this week's StormWeek series, then they won't want to miss two special episodes of "Atmospheres," the primetime newsmagazine show from The Weather Channel (TWC) cable network. "Storm Stories" is created to take viewers inside historic weather events to see and hear what the storm survivors experienced firsthand. The show spotlights the rescuers, survivors and science behind it all as only TWC can explain it. These episodes showcase how weather impacts the lives, fortunes and activities of people as they spend their days and nights "in the elements."

"StormWeek offers a safe view of some of nature's most dangerous weather," said Terry Connelly, senior vice president, programming and production for The Weather Channel. "Along the same lines, these new 'Atmospheres' shows will provide viewers with an advance look at the type of in-depth weather programming we'll offer in 2003, in addition to the latest forecasts and severe weather coverage."

On Sunday, April 7th (8 p.m. ET and PT), TWC presents "Hurricane Andrew," which tore through the Bahamas, South Florida the Louisiana coast killing 26 people in August 1992. A vicious tornado spawned by Andrew ripped a one-week-old baby from her father's arms. Friends aboard a sport fishing boat in Bisayne Bay, Florida, quickly discovered that the boat offered no protection against the oncoming storm. The costliest natural disaster in the United States history, Hurricane Andrew caused nearly $30 million dollars in property damage, not including the personal losses experienced by coastal residents.

The following Sunday, April 14th (8 p.m. ET and PT), TWC premieres "The Blizzard of '96" -- otherwise known as the "Storm of the Century" which dumped record amounts of snowfall as it moved up the East Coast. The blizzard, which brought New York City to a halt, also trapped a family hiking in Virginia's Shenandoah National Park. The family faced a limited food supply, makeshift shelter, sub-zero temperatures and 47 inches of new snow. The record snowfalls also presented new dangers. In Massapequa, New York, a grocery store roof collapsed under the weight of snow, as customers crowded in the store, stocking up on provisions for another approaching snowfall. A total of 100 people died in the storm with most deaths attributed to car accidents and heart attacks from excessive snow shoveling. It, too, proved to be one of the costliest storms in U.S. history.

The Weather Channel, a 24-hour weather network, is seen in almost 85 million U.S. households, and 9.2 million households in Latin America. Its Web site, weather.com, attracts over 350 million page views per month, and is consistently ranked among the top TV-related Web sites by Nielsen//NetRatings. TWC also operates The Weather Channel Radio Network, The Weather Channel Newspaper Services, weather.com/espanol, weather.com/brasil and is the leading weather information provider for emerging technologies. This includes broadband and ITV applications, with wireless weather products accessible through high-speed Internet services, phones, pagers, Palm Pilots, and other personal digital assistants. The Weather Channel is owned by Landmark Communications, Inc., a Norfolk, Virginia based, privately held media company.