COEUR d'ALENE — If winter storms bear down on Coeur d'Alene this season, their names are already waiting for them: Phantom, Eagle, Apache, Hornet, Warthog, Falcon, Blackbird, Mustang, Tanker and Black Hawk.

The Coeur d'Alene Street Maintenance Department annually collaborates with local schools to name the city's winter storms through the Name the Storms program, creating a unique educational opportunity for students to connect with their community.

This year, students from Olivia Korsmo's third grade class at Classical Christian Academy were selected for this honor.

As part of their Earth science weather unit, the third graders created themed name lists for the '24-'25 winter storms, exploring creative ideas such as types of flowers, ancient history, Latin words and military aircraft. The students submitted 70 names organized into eight lists. 

After reviewing the submissions, city officials chose the military aircraft theme.

"It was very good," Classical Christian third grader William Hurley said Tuesday. "One of the names I came up with was Leviathan."

In preparation for the project, Korsmo’s class visited the Coeur d'Alene Street Maintenance Department on Ramsey Road near the school. Students toured the facility, examined snowplows and deicing equipment and learned about the advanced tools and techniques used to keep Coeur d'Alene streets safe during winter. The department also gifted the class a snow gauge to help track snowfall throughout the season, offering a hands-on connection to their studies.

"There is something fun," William said. "Every third grade class gets to write their name on the underside of the snowplow. Everybody got to write their name on it."

The collaboration culminated at the Dec. 17 Coeur d'Alene City Council meeting, where Korsmo and several students were recognized for their efforts.

"It was really cool to go to the City Council meeting," said William's dad, Matthew Hurley.

"I thought it was a great opportunity to see how the city operates, especially for the students," he said. "We sat through the presentation of the winter operations of the streets department. It was a window on the city's operations and cool for the kids."

Mayor Woody McEvers presented the class with a custom street sign featuring the names of all the third grade students, commemorating their contribution to the community.

“This partnership highlights the value of education and community engagement,” McEvers said. “The creativity and enthusiasm of these young students remind us of the importance of involving future generations in our city’s operations.”

William said he learned a few new things through this experience.

"You can't always keep your car on the side of the road during the winter when there's a storm because on the narrow lane the snowplows can't get through to plow the road," he said. "And if it's about 3 inches they have to start plowing the roads."

    Classical Christian Academy students sign snowplows during a visit to the Coeur d'Alene Streets Department.