What is the difference between a Winter Storm Watch, Winter Storm Warning, and a Winter Weather Advisory?

This is a particularly interesting question, because most other types of advisories such as a Severe Thunderstorm Warning or a High Wind Watch have set criteria that the entire country uses. However, when it comes to winter related advisories and warnings, each area of the country have different standards on which they issue each type of advisory.

Depending on how much snow a given location receives in a year will dictate what type of winter weather related alert would be issued.

Here in Maine, snow occurs all of the time and therefore, our standards are different then in Maryland or Florida. When a Winter Storm Watch is issue anywhere, it means that there is the POTENTIAL for a large scaled hazardous winter weather event. From there, a Winter Weather Advisory or Warning would be issued once the details of the storm are established.

If a Winter Weather Advisory is issued in Maine, this means that there will be on average 4 inches of snowfall or mixed precipitation in a given storm, but less then 7 inches of snow. If a Winter Storm Warning is issued in Maine, then that particular area will likely see over 7 inches of new snow in a 12 hour period, or even 10 inches in a 24 hour period. Additionally, a warning is used to indicate that 1 inch of sleet is possible, as well as winds exceeding 35 mph which will blow snow around and reducing visibilities to ¼ of a mile or less. This can be opposed to areas in Florida, where a warning could be issued for a 2-inch snowfall, due to the infrequency of snow.

When an advisory or warning comes out, we will make sure to inform you what type of precipitation will occur in each storm. Finally, a Blizzard Warning and an Ice Storm Warning have set criteria for the entire nation.

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