Winter Weather Awareness Week: Watches, warnings and advisories

 

This third week of November is Winter Weather Awareness Week in the state of Wisconsin. It's a chance to refresh ourselves in the different types of winter weather and cold we can get as well as the weather headlines that are issued. During the winter season we can have watches, warnings and advisories. The below graphic shows a flow chart for how those headlines are issued. If a storm or cold blast is looking big a few days out then we could get a Winter Storm Watch issued 1-3 days before an event. Then about 24 hours before the event that "watch" would get upgraded to an "advisory" or "warning". It's also possible that the storm changes and the "watch" is cancelled and a headline is no longer needed.

Advisories, either wind chill or winter storm, are used for less impactful events. For a winter weather advisory that usually means 3-6" of snow in 24 hours or accumulating freezing rain or sleet. A wind chill advisory is used for wind chills of -20 to -34. 

Warnings could be used for Blizzards, Ice Storms, Winter Storms or Wind Chill. For a winter storm warning over 6" of snow in 12 hours is needed or heavy freezing rain or sleet. Wind chill warnings are used for wind chills colder than -34°.

A blizzard has an exact definition. You need a storm that produces frequent wind gusts or sustained wind over 35 mph and visibility of a quarter mile or less for three hours or more. There is no snow requirement for a blizzard. We can have one with an inch of snow or over ten.

Download the CBS 58 Ready Weather app to track any winter weather headed our way!