WINTER WEATHER TERMS TO KNOW

By Steven LJ Russo

While living up in the Finger Lakes region of New York State for 15 years, part of my job as a planetarium director was to do weather forecasts for the local radio stations. While doing this, it dawned upon me, that us meteorologists use terms and words that most of the listening audience doesn’t fully understand. So to get you through this Winter, here, in plain English, is what all of this technical jargon comes down to.

Precipitation and Conditions

FLURRY: Light snow for a short period of time.

SNOW SHOWER: Light snow, which begins suddenly, and ends just as quickly.

SNOW: Precipitation in the form of ice crystals, which are white and hexagonal in shape. A steady fall for several hours. Recent studies show that the old saying that "no two snowflakes are alike", is not true!

LAKE EFFECT SNOW: If you live in the Finger Lakes or Western New York, this needs no explanation. For everyone else, here it is. Snowfall is created when cold dry air passes over the warm moist air of a lake. Wind then carries this warm moist air over land where it cools and falls to the ground as snow. Usually, the sky is partly clear and Sunny. Only two areas in the country are "lucky" enough to get this great snowfall event; the area around the Great Lakes, and the area around Salt Lake in Utah. You have not seen snow, until you have seen "Lake Effect"!

BLIZZARD: Large amounts of snowfall with winds in excess of 35 miles per hour and visibility of one-quarter of a mile or less, over an extended period of time. Remember the "Blizzard of ‘93"?

NOR’EASTER: A storm that originates in the Southwest and moves up the East Coast of North America. It picks up moisture from the Atlantic Ocean resulting in heavy snowfall and winds from the northeast. Can also occur in the Fall with rain instead of snow, but usually the name is reserved for the "snow event". The Blizzard of ’93.

THUNDER SNOW: Snowfall with thunder, and sometimes lightning. Usually a very intense snowfall.

BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW: Wind blows the snow around reducing visibility and may cause piles of snow known as "drifts".

SNOW SQUALLS: Very intense but brief snowfall accompanied by windy conditions.

WHITE OUT: Visibility near zero due to snow and blowing snow. If you drive on route 104 near Oswego, NY, you know what this is all about!

ICE: The solid form of water

ICE STORM: A storm that contains falling freezing precipitation. May cause significant damage to trees and power lines.

FREEZING RAIN: Rain that falls as liquid, but freezes on contact.

FREEZING DRIZZLE: Same as "freezing rain", but the moisture drops are smaller.

SLEET: Precipitation in the form of ice pellets.

HAIL: Frozen precipitation in the form of spheres. Only mentioned here as many people expect it to happen in the winter. However, it is the product of thunderstorms, so hail only occurs in the warmer months.

RAIN: Liquid Precipitation. Actually starts as "snow" when it leaves the clouds (as all precipitation does), but changes to liquid as it falls through warmer layers of air. "One Inch" of rain is defined as "the amount of rain that would fall in one hour over an acre of land". In terms of numbers, that would be 27,143 gallons of water!

Meteorological Terms

COLD FRONT: The leading edge of a cold air mass. After it passes, the temperatures usually drop. Usually accompanied by precipitation.

WARM FRONT: The leading edge of a warm air mass. After it passes, temperatures usually rise. Usually accompanied by precipitation.

DEW POINT: The temperature at which air must be cooled to become saturated. If the Dew Point and the temperature are close, then precipitation is likely.

TROUGH: An elongated area of Low Pressure. Low Pressure brings storms.

RIDGE: An elongated area of High Pressure. High Pressure brings fair weather.

Important Weather Terms

ADVISORY: Conditions that could lead to hazardous situations. Not as severe as a "warning".

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY: Issued when weather conditions, such as snow, wind, ice, etc., will create hazardous driving conditions.

WATCH: Conditions are "favorable" for severe weather to occur in an area; such as a "winter storm watch".

WARNING: Severe weather will occur in an area. Conditions could be dangerous and may threaten property and life. When a "winter storm warning" is issued, be sure to have emergency supplies on hand, such as flashlights and batteries.

****Note: Only the National Weather Service can issue "advisories", "watches", and "warnings", not local broadcast meteorologists. The broadcast meteorologist can then pass on the information to you.

STATE OF EMERGENCY: Usually issued by Emergency Management Offices. During a "State of Emergency", only authorized community personnel are allowed out on the roads. This may include Policeman, Fireman, Doctors, Utility Crews, etc. Other exceptions may be made at the time. No one else is allowed out on the roads during this time. If you work in a non-essential business, such as a retail business, you must get home and stay off the roads so that emergency crews can do their job. In some cases in the past, some insurance companies did not cover motorists who were in accidents during a "state of emergency", unless they could prove that they were "authorized personnel", or on their way home from work due to the "emergency".

Well, you can now take this information sheet and post it up on your refrigerator with the hundreds of magnets that are up there, so the next time there is a "weather event", you know what all the terms mean.

Enjoy the weather, and "Look to the Skies!!!!"