Watch, Warning, and Advisory Definitions
Basic Definitions:
The National Weather Service issues a variety of products to keep our customers informed of unusual, inconvenient and hazardous weather conditions. A multi-tier concept is employed to accomplish this task with Outlooks, Watches, Warnings and Advisories to point out specific conditions.
- Outlook:
- Used to give considerable lead time that a hazardous event may develop.
- Watch:
- Issued when the risk of a hazardous weather or hydrologic event has increased significantly, but its occurrence, location, and/or timing is still uncertain. It is intended to provide enough lead time so those who need to set their plans in motion can do so.
- Warning:
- Issued when a hazardous event is occurring or has a very high probability of occurrence. Warnings advise of a threat to life or property.
- Advisory:
- Issued when a hazardous event is occurring or has a very high probability of occurrence. Advisories describe events that cause significant inconvenience.
