National Weather Service simplifying its winter watches, warnings
CHANHASSEN, Minn. — We're still dealing with summertime heat this week, but the National Weather Service is already getting ready for some changes this winter.
As temperatures drop, you'll notice a new watch and warning when it turns dangerously cold.
"The idea is fewer headlines, so when you see something, it should hopefully really grab your attention," said Mike Griesinger, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service office in Chanhassen.
As a part of their Hazard Simplification Project, certain watches, warnings and advisories are being adjusted so they're easier for you to understand.
"If you count it up, we're somewhere around 125 products the Weather Service can issue," Griesinger said.
Starting this October, you'll no longer see "Wind Chill" alerts. Instead, they'll become Extreme Cold Watches and Warnings, or Cold Weather Advisories.
"It doesn't matter if it's minus 30 (degrees Fahrenheit) because it's 15-below with a 15 mph wind, or if it's just flat minus 30. Minus 30 is cold and dangerous with or without wind," he said.
Also changing this year, Hard Freeze Watches and Warnings will be consolidated into the already existing Freeze Watches and Warnings.
Even further down the road, Griesinger said the term "advisory" will be going away, too.
"The term 'advisory' creates a lot of headache, so that's kind of the reason we're just kind of starting the process of just kind of falling back from that," he said. "We've been doing the products we have and all that for decades now, so it just takes a while to kind of change those processes and procedures that are in place and what everybody knows."
Griesinger says they received input from emergency managers, health officials and climatologists before making the changes.
He hopes this will make it easier for decision-makers like school superintendents to prepare for the elements.
