How to Stay Safe During Severe Weather

The National Weather Service issues watches, warnings, and advisories for hazardous weather throughout the United States. Warnings mean that hazardous weather which could threaten life and/or property is already occurring or imminently occurring. Watches mean that potentially dangerous weather could occur within a certain timeframe in the future. Advisories are for weather that is occurring or about to occur, but for weather events that are not as dangerous as the weather events that warnings are issued for.

How To Receive Weather Information

When a watch, warning, or advisory is issued by the National Weather Service, the local Weather Forecast Office will post about it on social media (including Twitter and Facebook), as well as send out a message on NOAA weather radio. NOAA weather radio operates at a special frequency not used by AM or FM stations that require a special weather radio receiver. These receivers can be bought at most big-box retailers for about $20. In addition, there are many private apps for iOS and Android devices; however, the National Weather Service does not operate their own app. The National Weather Service does operate their own website at weather.gov, which is mobile-friendly, and will display watches, warnings, and advisories in real-time.

Each county in the U.S. has its own local Weather Forecast Office run by the National Weather Service. In total, there are 122 Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs), which operate 24/7/365 across the United States. The area which a WFO is responsible is called their County Warning Area, or CWA.