Understanding Weather Alerts: Watch vs. Warning

Ever gotten confused when the weather service issues both a watch and a warning for the same storm? You're not alone! Weather alert systems work around the clock to keep folks safe, but do you really know what those alerts mean?

The Simple Truth About Watches and Warnings

Think of weather alerts like cooking dinner. A tornado watch meaning is like preheating your oven - conditions are right for something to happen, but it hasn't started cooking yet. The ingredients are there: spinning winds in the atmosphere, strong temperature differences, and moisture. But no tornado has actually formed.

A warning means the meal is burning! When a thunderstorm warning issued pops up on your screen, dangerous weather is happening right now or will hit very soon. Meteorologists have spotted the actual storm on radar, or trained weather spotters have eyes on it.

NOAA weather alerts follow this simple pattern for all types of severe weather. Flood watch? Heavy rain is possible. Flood warning? Water is rising or already over its banks. Winter storm watch? Snow might pile up. Winter storm warning? Grab your shovel because it's coming down hard!