People walk along snow-covered North Ave. Beach in Chicago, the United States, on Feb. 7, 2021.
The National Weather Service has made significant changes to its cold weather alert system, aiming to simplify watches and warnings and to prepare the public for dangerous conditions.
According to a press release, the new changes went into effect on Oct. 1, and will impact those alerts as the country heads into the fall and ultimately the winter.
Under the new system, the following phrases will be eliminated from use:
Wind chill advisory
Wind chill watch
Wind chill warning
Instead, the National Weather Service will use more precise terminology:
Local
Cold weather advisory
Extreme cold watch
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Extreme cold warning
In addition to the new watches and warnings, the National Weather Service will replace “hard freeze watches and warnings” with freeze watches and freeze warnings.
According to officials, there is a “common misconception” where the dangers of extreme cold are tied in the eyes of the public to brisk winds, when in reality cold can be dangerous with or without gusts involved.
As a result, the NWS is aiming to simplify language and to illustrate that cold at a certain level represents a serious threat.
Wind chills will still be used in utilizing the new watches and warnings, but won’t be featured in the titles.
According to meteorologists with the National Weather Service’s Chicago office, each area is given its own thresholds for determining when to issue the new cold weather advisories or extreme cold warnings.
In the Chicago area, forecasted “apparent temperatures” of minus-20 degrees will result in the issuance of a “cold weather advisory.” A forecasted “apparent temperature” of minus-30 degrees will result in the issuance of an “extreme cold watch” or “warning,” depending on the circumstances and timing.
Similar thresholds will be put into place for alerts related to heat, according to NWS Chicago meteorologists.
This is part of a “hazard simplification project,” with the NWS seeking to use plain language to alert the public to potentially hazardous weather. “Watches” and “warnings” will be retained, but many advisories and special weather statements are expected to be eliminated from the service’s offerings.
The new phrasing was implemented after consultations with professional meteorologists and public engagement, according to NWS Chicago officials.
