As the season for storms rapidly approaches, it seems like a good time to clarify the terms for different warnings. Just what is an advisory, watch, or warning? Which is more severe and requires immediate action and which requires a person to just pay a little more attention to the weather? Everyone has heard these terms, but not every term is applied to every type of weather. There are no fire weather advisories; just watches and warnings. Some advisories, watches, and warnings vary by location. For example, wind chill warnings may be issued at higher temperatures in states that do not often have wind chill concerns and be issued at lower temperatures in areas used to more cold. Global warming and climate change may introduce some of these hazards into areas that until now had no experience with them.
Thunderstorms have a separate scale beyond watches and warnings because severe thunderstorms can lead to tornadoes and derechos. The scale for thunderstorms is in a separate section of text below.
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In general, an advisory is issued when special weather conditions exist but the conditions are less serious than either a watch or a warning. The weather events have the potential to cause some inconvenience, and even situations that threaten life and or property if care is not taken. For example, a frost advisory will be issued when the temperature is forecast to be between 33 and 36 degrees and the cold temperatures could damage crops or plants. A gardener or farmer may get lucky and his plants will be unharmed, or he might want to take steps to protect his plants. The advisory lets him know that there is the possibility of damage due to weather to his property. But it is just a possibility, not a probability.
As mentioned earlier, some advisories vary by territory. This applies particularly to small watercraft, and areas involved can include rivers, bays, and oceans and their varying natures. Advisories may also be issued for small craft when ice exists in the water that could be hazardous to small boats. There is no definition of "small craft"; it is up to the individual person to determine whether or not his boat is of such a size that small craft warnings would apply to his craft.
Air quality does not follow the typical advisory, watches, or warnings. It has a separate scale that indicates the level of air pollution and when the air is unhealthy at various levels. Air quality levels have been entered into the category that best fits. Good air is considered green, and the index is between 0 to 50. Moderate air quality is between 51 to 100 and is yellow. All others are hazardous to some extent.
A new type of advisory has been developed this year, the Potential Tropical Cyclone (PTC) advisory. These storms are not yet tropical depressions, but have the chance of intensifying and becoming tropical storm or hurricane conditions to land within the next forty-eight hours. The designation allows forecasters to provide guidance for impacts to land before the storm is fully developed. Potential tropical cyclones will have the same numbering scheme as tropical depressions. A storm with stay a PTC until it intensifies to a tropical depression. The term has not yet been added to the National Weather Service glossary.
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