NWS Winter Weather Products & Media Coordination NWS Winter Weather Products & Media Coordination National Weather Service Des Moines, IA

NWS Winter Weather Products & Media Coordination NWS Winter Weather Products & Media Coordination  HPC/SPC/CPC Winter Weather Products  WFO Winter Weather Products  Media Coordination  Internal NWS Collaboration  Outreach

HPC Winter Weather Products HPC Winter Weather Products HPC Winter Weather Website:

HPC Winter Weather Products HPC Winter Weather Products HPC Snow Accumulation Graphics Probability forecast for days 1, 2 and 3

HPC Winter Weather Products HPC Winter Weather Products  Freezing rain graphic like snowfall graphic  Composite graphic combines 4, 8 and 12 snowfall probabilities and ice graphic

HPC Winter Weather Products HPC Winter Weather Products  Current surface low position charts.  Combines surface low position and composite radar. The link has 6 hours worth of charts at 15 minute intervals. Good for a quick overview.

HPC Winter Weather Products HPC Winter Weather Products  HPC forecast significant surface low positions.  Forecasts valid through 60 hours.  Region with circles represent where lows historically verify 75% of the time.

HPC Winter Weather Products HPC Winter Weather Products  Low tracks and clusters.  Through 72 hours after model run initialization.  Cluster diagram of various model runs with HPC preffered in black.

HPC Winter Weather Products HPC Winter Weather Products  Experimental winter weather impact graphics.  Model derived graphics with no forecaster intervention. Interactive display.

HPC Winter Weather Products HPC Winter Weather Products  Text products include winter weather storm summary product and heavy snow and icing discussion.

SPC Winter Products SPC Winter Products  SPC issues Mesoscale discussions for winter weather under certain circumstances.  Mesoscale discussions focus on the “why” a significant winter weather event will likely occur within 3 hours. The discussion is accompanied by a graphic of the event.

WFO Outlooks WFO Outlooks Hazardous Weather Outlooks – Issued through day seven. Includes all hazards including winter weather. To be included in the HWO, the event should have at least a 30 percent chance of reaching at least advisory criteria.

WFO Winter Weather Watches WFO Winter Weather Watches Winter Weather Watches –  Issued 12 hours through 48 hours.  Issued with winter weather element has at least a 50 percent probability of occurrence.  Winter weather watches are issued for: 1.Winter Storm: For heavy snow, sleet, ice or a combination of elements. 2.Blizzard:For blizzard conditions. 3.Wind Chill:For dangerous wind chill.

WFO Winter Weather Warnings WFO Winter Weather Warnings Winter Weather Warnings –  Issued through 36 hours.  Issued with winter weather element has at least a 80 percent probability of occurrence.  Winter weather warnings are issued for: 1.Winter Storm: For a combination of heavy snow, sleet, ice or wind (25-34 mph). 2.Blizzard:At least 35 mph winds, ¼ mile visibility due to falling or blowing snow from 3 hours or more. Note there is no minimal snow forecast for a blizzard warning. 3.Wind Chill:For dangerous wind chills of less than 30 degrees F. 4.Heavy Snow:At least 6 inches of snow in 12 hours or 8 inches in 24 hours.

WFO Winter Weather Warnings WFO Winter Weather Warnings Winter Weather Warnings – 5.Sleet:For heavy sleet (1/2 inch or more). 6.Ice:For ice of ¼ inch or more.

WFO Winter Weather Advisories WFO Winter Weather Advisories Winter Weather Advisories –  Issued through 36 hours with at least an 80 percent chance of occurrence.  Issued for the same elements as winter weather warnings, but amount thresholds lower than warning criteria.  Single element advisories.  If there are two or more elements, the advisory can be combined into a “winter weather advisory”.

WFO Winter Products WFO Winter Products Winter Weather Products –  Short term forecasts:Issued in the near term to emphasize short term forecast trends.  Snowfall Public Information Statements:Issued occasionally during winter weather events with the latest snowfall totals.  Local Storm Reports:Issued for damaging events such as ice storm damage and wind damage.  Winter Weather watch/warning/advisory product (WSW):Product used to issue all winter weather watch/warning/advisory products. Updated four times daily in addition to initial issuance (4 am, 11 am, 4 pm and 9 pm).  Non-Precipitation Weather watch/warning/advisory product (NPW):Product used to issue all non-precipitation watch/warning/advisory products. Updated four times daily in addition to initial issuance (4 am, 11 am, 4 pm and 9 pm).

Why VTEC? Why VTEC?  Customers needed an easy-to-decode, uniform way to receive Watch/Warning/Advisory (W/W/A) information  Allows start to finish tracking of W/W/As  Allows for quicker dissemination of W/W/A information in conjunction with UGC header  Helps to standardize our products for both internal and external use (webpages, TV crawls)

Definition of a VTEC Event  An event is a specific combination of phenomenon (e.g., Heavy Snow, Tornado, Wind) and level of significance (e.g., Watch, Warning, or Advisory).  Common examples of events include: PhenomenonLevel of Significance PhenomenonLevel of Significance Heavy Snow WarningHSW Winter Storm WarningWSW Tornado WatchTOA Wind AdvisoryWIY  Each event given an Event Tracking Number (ETN), a four-digit number which stays with the event through its lifetime - from first issuance until upgrade, downgrade, cancellation or expiration.

VTEC Explained

Digital Forecast Database  Official forecast of the National Weather Service is the National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD).  All text forecast products are derived from the NDFD using formatters.

WFO Coolaboration  NDFD needs to be a COOLABORATED forecast.  WFO’s routinely chat to each other about the forecast using an internal chat service.  Coordination calls and conference calls also used.

Media Collaboration  Using MEDIA CHAT. WFO Des Moines will have Media Chat open at a minimum whenever a “headline” is in effect. Media Chat will be routinely open during “normal” operations.  Media Collaboration can occur between the media and/or between the media and the NWS using Media Chat.  Other methods of coordination include calling on the Media Line ( ), or using the Media Hotline (Des Moines).

Outreach  National Weather Service appreciates all public outreach done by the media.  Without the media, awareness campaigns would not be effective.  Interviews and including the NWS in your activities is encouraged.  The NWS also appreciates all independent outreach efforts.  Iowa Winter Weather Day – November 9, 2006  Severe Weather Awareness Week in 2007 – First full week of April.

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