Decades after the National Weather Service began issuing watches and warnings, many members of the public don’t know what the difference is. When you throw in different products, the confusion only mounts. Too often, the products are based on meteorological distinctions that don’t necessarily mean much to the public. Take, for example, a nor’easter that struck New England in December. Or the confusion around the landfall of Sandy, which became extratropical shortly before landfall.

Some products you might see in a winter event include blizzard, winter storm, high wind, wind chill, ice storm, lake effect snow, and freezing rain. Plus flood products and special weather statements. How should the public try to understand these differences?

In general, I’m a proponent of getting the important information to the consumer as quickly as possible with minimal effort required. This case is an exception. Trying to cram the important information into the headline leads to public confusion and forces forecasters to spend time trying to decide which of a handful of products are correct instead of focusing on communicating impact.

I’m in favor of a smaller set of products, with specific impacts delineated in the text. A “winter storm” and “blizzard” product with watch, warning, and advisory (maybe) levels would go along way toward making the products more clear to the public. Everyone could spend less time thinking about the differences between the products and more time focusing on the impacts and preparedness.

If you’re interested in the official specification for the current suite of winter products, see http://www.nws.noaa.gov/directives/sym/pd01005013curr.pdf