Why does CNN say the Great Lakes and further north, are part of the "Northern USA?"

It appears the weatherman, Rob Marciano of CNN was saying and showing that the "Northern United States" takes in much more space than is USA territory. Maybe they should just concentrate on doing "BREAKING NEWS" instead of geography lessons, which their graphics guy is not too clear on, and needs a further education.
I believe the cut off is the 49th parallel.

 
He actually said last week that "Heavy storms are coming across the Northern USA," including a large part of Canada ... Huh?



Daniel ... Toronto, CANADA
My take on everything