Weather Watchers: New Names for Old Alerts

It's a new season, and that means changes in how we talk about the weather. The National Weather Service has rolled out some updates that might catch you off guard if you're from Minnesota or other northern states. Starting this October, the term 'wind chill' is history. Instead, they've introduced a new set of terms to help us understand the dangers of cold weather better.

So what's changing? Well, 'Wind Chill Watch' is now called an 'Extreme Cold Watch'. If you hear that, it means dangerously low temperatures are on their way. The same goes for 'Wind Chill Warning', which will be known as 'Extreme Cold Warning' from now on. And when the weather service talks about a 'Cold Weather Advisory', they mean the same thing as what used to be called a 'Wind Chill Advisory'. Why make these changes? The National Weather Service wants us to know that cold can be hazardous whether it's windy or not. Sometimes, we get so focused on snow and ice that we forget how dangerous the cold itself can be. So next time you see Arctic air moving in, don't expect to hear about wind chills. Listen for 'Extreme Cold' instead. It might save a life!

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