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Before
you go . . .
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Understanding Weather Terms
- Advisory:
- A weather event that may threaten life or property
if caution is not exercised.
- Blowing Snow:
- Wind-driven snow that significantly reduces surface
visibility to less than seven miles
- Breezy:
- Sustained wind speeds of 15-25 mph
- Chance:
- A 25-55 percent probability that one point in a
forecast area will have precipitation
- Flurries:
- Light snowfall that generally does not produce measurable
accumulation
- Freezing Drizzle or Rain:
- The freezing of drizzle or rain when it hits objects
that have a temperature of 32 degrees or below
- Frost:
- A covering of small ice crystals that forms on or
near the ground when temperatures approach or drop
below 32 degree
- Hail:
- Precipitation in the form of balls or lumps,
usually consisting of concentric layers
of ice. A thunderstorm is classified as severe
when it produces hail ¾ inch
in diameter
- Ice Storm:
- A freezing rain event that produces damaging
ice accumulations of ¼ inch or greater
- Likely:
- A 55–75 percent probability that one
point in a forecast area will have precipitation
- Numerous:
- Showers or thunderstorms with 55-75 percent area
coverage
- Rain:
- A nearly steady and uniform fall of liquid precipitation
over an area of several hours
- Scattered:
- Showers or thunderstorms with 25-55 percent area
coverage
- Severe Thunderstorm:
- produces or exceeds either of the following:
tornado, damaging winds of 58 mph or hail
3/4–inch
diameter
- Shower:
- Intermittent rain or snow
- Sleet:
- solid grains of ice formed by the freezing of raindrops
or the refreezing of largely melted snowflakes
- Slight Chance:
- 1–25 percent probability that one
point in a forecast area will have precipitation
- Snow:
- Steady fall of snowflakes for several hours over
the same area
- Snowpack:
- Combined layers of snow and ice on the ground at
any one time
- Snow Showers:
- Snow that stops and starts suddenly, and is characterized
by rapid changes in both intensity and visibility
- Sustained wind:
- Wind speed determined by averaging observed values
in a one-minute period
- Warning:
- Indicates a hazard weather element is imminent or
has a very high probability of occurrence
- Watch:
- Alerts the public to the possibility of severe weather
or some other hazardous weather element
- Wind Chill:
- cApparent temperature that describes the combined
effect of wind and low air temperatures on exposed
skin
- Windy:
- Sustained wind speeds of 20-30 mph
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