ALLENTOWN, PA — Severe weather alerts can sound similar, but they mean different things and demand different reactions. The 69 News Weather team says it alerts viewers on air, online and through the 69 News Weather app when watches or warnings are issued.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning means a dangerous storm is near you, typically in your county, and it may cause damage. The main concern is usually damaging wind, though hail can also be a threat.
On Wednesday, the National Weather Service is set to begin classifying Severe Thunderstorm Warnings as either “considerable” or “destructive” depending on hail size and wind strength.
What the new severe thunderstorm categories mean
The updated labels are meant to tell people how intense a storm may be once a warning has already been issued. A “considerable” warning will apply when a thunderstorm produces golf ball-sized hail and/or winds of 70 mph.
A “destructive” warning will be used for storms with baseball-sized hail and/or winds of 80 mph. Those labels add more detail to the standard warning so people can better understand how serious the storm may be.
That matters because not every severe thunderstorm is the same. Some storms are capable of property damage from wind, while others may be especially dangerous because of large hail or extreme wind speeds.
Why a watch is different from a warning
Warnings are not the same as watches. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is issued when the atmosphere has the ingredients for several strong storms to develop.
In practical terms, a watch means people should keep an eye on the sky because thunderstorms capable of damaging wind or hail could form at any point over the next few hours. It is a signal to stay alert, not proof that a storm is already overhead.
The same basic idea applies to tornado alerts. A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for tornado development, while a Tornado Warning means a tornado has been seen or detected by radar.
What to do when alerts reach your phone
If a Tornado Warning or Severe Thunderstorm Warning comes through an automatic emergency alert or the 69 News Weather App, that means dangerous weather is happening near you. At that point, the alert is not just a possibility; it is tied to an active threat.
That is why emergency alerts can feel urgent. The warning is meant to give people time to act before the strongest part of the storm arrives or moves through their area.
By contrast, a watch gives people a chance to prepare. It is the notice to stay tuned, review plans and be ready if weather conditions become more serious.
Why watches are issued from Oklahoma
Local National Weather Service offices issue severe weather warnings, but watches come from the Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma. Bill Bunting of the SPC said the center is responsible for watches across 48 states.
Bunting said the goal is to make watch decisions that are narrow and specific so large numbers of people are not warned unnecessarily. To do that, the SPC works with local National Weather Service offices before a watch is issued.
The offices discuss where the watch should be placed, how long it should last and whether it should be issued at all. After that group decision, the SPC sends the watch out to weather alert systems a few minutes later.
The challenge of issuing the right watch at the right time
Bunting said the job remains difficult even with modern tools and close coordination. Severe weather watches and tornado watches require forecasters to judge what the atmosphere may do next, often with limited time and changing conditions.
He described that work as a challenge the team welcomes. In his words, it is satisfying to know that lives were saved and that they played a part in that outcome.
That sense of urgency has long shaped the work at the Storm Prediction Center. The mission is not just to forecast storms, but to help people get warned early enough to act.
The Twister connection and the early chase for tornado data
Bunting also has a long history in tornado research that reached far beyond the weather office. The 1997 movie Twister was based on the work of him and his colleagues.
Before modern Doppler radar became common, Bunting and his team raced to place weather instruments in the path of tornadoes. One of their goals was to get an instrumented drum called Toto into a tornado’s path.
Bunting said they were never fully successful, though they came close. He noted that getting into the path of a tornado is far harder than it may sound, even when a crew is trying to do exactly that.