(KNSI) — The National Weather Service says the language for cold weather alerts will be changing starting this winter.
Forecasters will consolidate and rename several cold weather alerts. Wind Chill Watches and Warnings will be renamed Extreme Cold Watches and Extreme Cold Warnings. Additionally, Hard Freeze Watches and Hard Freeze Warnings will be consolidated into a single Freeze Warning. The goal of these changes is to improve messaging and decision support for winter hazards.
The name changes will be used everywhere, but the temperatures and where they are expected to occur won’t be the same. In the Twin Cities, an air temp, or combination of air temp and windchill of -25 or colder will trigger the alerts. For St. Cloud and north, it must be at least -30 or colder.
These changes are aimed at clarifying that cold weather can be dangerous with or without wind. The NWS hopes that this will help to address the misconception that extreme cold is only associated with windy conditions.
The NWS will release its official Winter Outlook on October 17th, 2024.
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