Tuesday, February 14, 2012
sponsored by Jake's Furnishings & Illini Bank

Winter weather terms     Send a link to a friend

[February 14, 2012]  The National Weather Service uses the terms below to convey the weather threat to the public. It is important that everyone understands these terms and knows what protective actions need to be taken.

Winter storm watch -- Indicates severe winter weather such as heavy snow or ice is possible within the next day or two. Prepare now.

Winter storm warning -- Indicates severe winter weather conditions are occurring, imminent or highly likely. Stay indoors.

Heavy snow warning -- Snowfall of 6 inches or more in north and central Illinois, 4 inches or more in southern Illinois.

Ice storm warning -- Heavy accumulations of ice will create extremely dangerous travel and damage trees and power lines.

Blizzard warning -- Snow and strong winds will combine to produce blinding snow, near-zero visibility, deep drifts and life-threatening wind chill.

Wind chill warning -- Life-threatening wind chills of 25 below zero or colder.

Snow advisory -- Snowfall of 3 to 5 inches in northern and central Illinois, 2 to 4 inches in southern Illinois.

Winter weather advisory -- Indicates winter weather conditions will cause significant inconveniences and may be hazardous, especially to motorists. Use caution.

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Wind chill advisory -- Dangerous wind chills of 15 to 24 below zero.

Freezing rain advisory -- Light accumulations of ice will cause hazardous travel.

Blowing and drifting snow advisory -- Poor visibility and hazardous driving conditions.

Freezing fog advisory -- Very light ice accumulation on roadways, bridge decks and overpasses, predominantly from fog, causing hazardous travel.

Wind chill -- A calculation of how cold it feels outside when the effects of temperature and wind speed are combined.

Freezing rain -- Rain that freezes upon impact with the ground, creating a coating of ice on roads and walkways.

Sleet -- Pellets of ice created by frozen raindrops. Sleet bounces when hitting a surface and does not stick to objects. An accumulation of sleet can make roads slick and hazardous.

(From National Weather Service guide provided by Chris Miller)

 

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