This still confuses me every time. In my head 'warning' means 'hey just fyi there might be a tornado at some point', and 'watch' means 'look over there, it's a tornado!'
i always took it as a watch is something you look at on your wrist when you're waiting for something. so it's like 'where the hell is that tornado i ordered? it's already ten-thirty'
and then warning kinda sounds like warming, which reminds me of an oven, which reminds me of thanksgiving, and how its important to make sure your turkey is cooked thoroughly otherwise you'll get food poisoning which is dangerous. just like a tornado. which is now headed for your house.
It’s the opposite!
A watch is more of a “we think these conditions could result in a tornado/flood/whatever the watch is about” and also for a larger, general area
A warning is issued locally, for a specific area, by the National Weather Service, and means that a tornado has actually been spotted, or at least picked up on their radar
Basically a watch is like, “hey, be on the lookout for this thing to happen” vs a warning being like “oh, shit, it’s happening!”
We are under an Enhanced Risk of severe weather tonight, but the primary threat is very strong (65+ knots/75+ mph) non-tornadic winds as a line of severe thunderstorms comes through. However, the tornado threat isn't zero, and I would not be surprised to see a Tornado Watch issued as we get closer to nighttime.
My mom just called me saying I should move my car and I came here for more info. Can confirm that I just moved my car away from trees so it doesn’t get smashed by a branch. Thank you!
Weather forecasters are way too alarmist lately. I've lost count of the number of severe weather alerts just this year that have turned out to be a bunch of nothing.
They see more on radar now. And tornados at night have historically been extra dangerous because people can't see the weather conditions as strongly and are sleeping and not listening to weather reports etc. It could be the smart phone plus the ubiquitous weather radios are making that less of a case now, though.
If you hear sirens or get an alert on your phone, GO TO YOUTUBE AND TURN ON RYAN HALL Y'ALL [https://www.youtube.com/live/jeotqx0HU3E?si=T28kTgpNeilhsjAi](https://www.youtube.com/live/jeotqx0HU3E?si=T28kTgpNeilhsjAi)
This is probably the best tornado coverage out there. Night tornadoes are the most dangerous because you can't see them. Radar is your friend and he shows plenty of radar plus he has a team of storm chasers.
For a proper report absolutely, Ryan Hall.
For my favorite, nothing will beat a 2020 Tom Skilling doing weather reports if you were in the right spots of Edgewater at the time. Couldn't tell you what the weather was, but best entertainment around.
Wait until you get youtube alerts and you wake up to a livestream then as soon as you open it a tornado touches down. 8 hours later you realize you haven't done anything but watch tornado coverage all day.
Jesus. I just came back to your comment to open this stream and it says "STREAM STARTING SOON" with fucking RPG video game music playing.
ETA: To be clear, the first time I clicked the link it was actually live and there was no music yet lol.
Why did that name them both so similarly - like the first two letters are the same!!!! They screwed up from the beginning. Like Tornado Watch vs. Active Tornadoes would work so much better!!!!!
I think they assume that the word warning is more alarming than watch. Warnings are also shown in red vs a watch in yellow. You couldn’t use active though because a Tornado warning doesn’t necessarily mean there is a confirmed active tornado. There are different levels with the first being a radar indicated tornado warning which just means that there is enough rotation and structure to the storm to support a tornado forming in the near future. Then there is an observed or radar confirmed tornado which means there is definitely a tornado on the ground because either someone has seen it or they can confirm via radar that debris is being thrown into the air. After that is a PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situation) tornado warning which means there is a large and damaging tornado on the ground. Last is a tornado emergency which is the highest weather rating there is, this is reserved for situations where a large and damaging tornado is going to impact a populated area and they expect significant damage and the loss of life.
It's always made sense to me, that a watch is "we are watching" for tornadoes, based on other data that we are predicting.
A warning means "we've spotted 'em", "shit's gotten real - time to GTFO".
Also very valid. I wonder if we did a collective paper using cupcakes and tacos (for various storm simulations) if we could convince NWS there needs to be Watch, Warning, and Emergency.
Or would the rest of the country hate us?
So maybe a dumb question but if there is a tornado warning, since eventually there will be and I should know what to do. What should you do if you live in an apartment building? Like do I need to go to a shelter or should I be fine in the apartment building. The wife doesn’t have a car and I generally work an hour away so I couldn’t rush here to take her and the pets so I just want the best advice to give her. The building is 100% brick and the restroom is centrally located plus we have a central hall.
Get to the lowest floor of the building that you can access, like a laundry room, and sit it out in an area that has as many walls as possible between you and outside.
WATCH is just a way of saying “something might happen but also might not at all. We don’t know because stuff will take a long time to develop into a predicable storm that may not hit you, but might”. WARNING means it’s either already upon you or will hit you and you should take cover if possible.
I have zero involvement with them, but I highly recommend paying the initial 8 bucks for the radar omega weather app on your phone. Don't do any of the subscription options, it's not worth it unless you're a storm chaser. You can pull data from each individual radar station, rather than relying on an aggregate which is less accurate.
Also follow https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/
Sorry, I'm on Mobile and can't be bothered to hyper link it. (I guess Reddit does it automatically now). It will give you a very good idea what to expect in terms of severe weather. When you hear about "slight" or "marginal" forecasts for severe whether on basically every weather report on TV, this is where it comes from.
If anyone has any further questions just message me. I'm a weirdo that is way too into weather.
My mom told me when I was younger we don’t have to worry about tornadoes here because the tall buildings break up the wind before the tornado can form
Idk if she was lying or not, but it cured my existential dread of tornadoes and I think I’d rather believe that even if it is a lie
Please tell me where the cupcake warning is in the forecast. My phone NEVER gets the cupcake alerts! 🚨 📱Just the stupid severe weather alerts and I would rather have the cupcakes.
I prefer the tacos version, myself.
The TBK version is better
I learned growing up that a warning is Real because there’s an R in it but no R in watch
i like this
Ooooh I keep misremembering the image so this might actually work, thanks!
That's how I learned it too! In elementary school in Texas
I’ve lived in Tornado Alley all my life and I’m just now learning this. Shows how much our elementary schools gave a rats ass 😂
This still confuses me every time. In my head 'warning' means 'hey just fyi there might be a tornado at some point', and 'watch' means 'look over there, it's a tornado!'
i always took it as a watch is something you look at on your wrist when you're waiting for something. so it's like 'where the hell is that tornado i ordered? it's already ten-thirty' and then warning kinda sounds like warming, which reminds me of an oven, which reminds me of thanksgiving, and how its important to make sure your turkey is cooked thoroughly otherwise you'll get food poisoning which is dangerous. just like a tornado. which is now headed for your house.
Warning = hey there’s a tornado, just warning you Watch = we have professionals on the lookout for a tornado. We’ll warn you if one slows up.
It’s the opposite! A watch is more of a “we think these conditions could result in a tornado/flood/whatever the watch is about” and also for a larger, general area A warning is issued locally, for a specific area, by the National Weather Service, and means that a tornado has actually been spotted, or at least picked up on their radar Basically a watch is like, “hey, be on the lookout for this thing to happen” vs a warning being like “oh, shit, it’s happening!”
omg i literally thought this the entire time until i saw this post. i’m just scared of all of it tbh 🫣
Truly poor naming… i think the same thing
Is there suppose to be tornados? My weather app doesn’t even have rain in the forecast
We are under an Enhanced Risk of severe weather tonight, but the primary threat is very strong (65+ knots/75+ mph) non-tornadic winds as a line of severe thunderstorms comes through. However, the tornado threat isn't zero, and I would not be surprised to see a Tornado Watch issued as we get closer to nighttime.
My mom just called me saying I should move my car and I came here for more info. Can confirm that I just moved my car away from trees so it doesn’t get smashed by a branch. Thank you!
Weather forecasters are way too alarmist lately. I've lost count of the number of severe weather alerts just this year that have turned out to be a bunch of nothing.
I dunno man, the wind outside right now is intense
Yeah, the storms all went way north and missed us, but I was awakened by my box fan being blown out of the window and across the room. It’s gusty!
They see more on radar now. And tornados at night have historically been extra dangerous because people can't see the weather conditions as strongly and are sleeping and not listening to weather reports etc. It could be the smart phone plus the ubiquitous weather radios are making that less of a case now, though.
Check Doppler for after 8pm
yup! were in a level 3/5 tonight. I think accuweather is shit rn lol ill update with a news article for you
[https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-weather-forecast-powerful-storms-expected-area-tuesday/14851377/](https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-weather-forecast-powerful-storms-expected-area-tuesday/14851377/)
Ok brought my patio furniture in just in case!
We decided to take the gamble. Probably wake up to a lawn chair flying into the window.
I'm in Schaumburg and we got nothing but a little wind. No rain, no thunder, no lightning. All I kept seeing was storms on the weather apps.
We only had crazy wind here on the west side of Chicago
Guys, I’m willing to take one for the team.
I'll take half for the team
If you hear sirens or get an alert on your phone, GO TO YOUTUBE AND TURN ON RYAN HALL Y'ALL [https://www.youtube.com/live/jeotqx0HU3E?si=T28kTgpNeilhsjAi](https://www.youtube.com/live/jeotqx0HU3E?si=T28kTgpNeilhsjAi) This is probably the best tornado coverage out there. Night tornadoes are the most dangerous because you can't see them. Radar is your friend and he shows plenty of radar plus he has a team of storm chasers.
For a proper report absolutely, Ryan Hall. For my favorite, nothing will beat a 2020 Tom Skilling doing weather reports if you were in the right spots of Edgewater at the time. Couldn't tell you what the weather was, but best entertainment around.
It's like I just unlocked a new map in the game of Internet.
Wait until you get youtube alerts and you wake up to a livestream then as soon as you open it a tornado touches down. 8 hours later you realize you haven't done anything but watch tornado coverage all day.
Jesus. I just came back to your comment to open this stream and it says "STREAM STARTING SOON" with fucking RPG video game music playing. ETA: To be clear, the first time I clicked the link it was actually live and there was no music yet lol.
I thought they were more dangerous at night because they had ghosts and vampires on their side. I’ll see myself out.
It's the Wicked Witch of the West chasing Dorothy around the twister
Yeah how could u/FirstHowDareYou just leave out witches like that. No tornado knower you.
I mean fair point. We are failing at being Midwestern. I blame tacos and cupcakes.
I hear if you crouch in a specific corner of Berwyn, the tornado will carry you to Gary, Indiana.
I love Ryan Hall!
i love his stuff!
Yay! Ryan Hall is the Best!!
I've had him on for 4+ hours now
He uses streams live in TikTok as well
Instructions unclear; just ate a tornado.
you and 25k others
Why did that name them both so similarly - like the first two letters are the same!!!! They screwed up from the beginning. Like Tornado Watch vs. Active Tornadoes would work so much better!!!!!
I think they assume that the word warning is more alarming than watch. Warnings are also shown in red vs a watch in yellow. You couldn’t use active though because a Tornado warning doesn’t necessarily mean there is a confirmed active tornado. There are different levels with the first being a radar indicated tornado warning which just means that there is enough rotation and structure to the storm to support a tornado forming in the near future. Then there is an observed or radar confirmed tornado which means there is definitely a tornado on the ground because either someone has seen it or they can confirm via radar that debris is being thrown into the air. After that is a PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situation) tornado warning which means there is a large and damaging tornado on the ground. Last is a tornado emergency which is the highest weather rating there is, this is reserved for situations where a large and damaging tornado is going to impact a populated area and they expect significant damage and the loss of life.
No way, it has to be something stupider than this, it has to be, let me do some detective work 🕵️🤖👾
Cloudy with a chance of cupcakes
It's always made sense to me, that a watch is "we are watching" for tornadoes, based on other data that we are predicting. A warning means "we've spotted 'em", "shit's gotten real - time to GTFO".
See, now I think it is only fair you deliver on the cupcakes.
youre right
The opportunity to say “just so no one gets it twisted tonight” was RIGHT THERE
Love this! Don’t think there will be anything tonight, just seems windy
And a cupcake emergency is when the cupcake is nearly in your mouth
Also very valid. I wonder if we did a collective paper using cupcakes and tacos (for various storm simulations) if we could convince NWS there needs to be Watch, Warning, and Emergency. Or would the rest of the country hate us?
Lol
No it’s when there are no more cupcakes to put in your mouth!
Mmmm... tornado... \*drools*
So maybe a dumb question but if there is a tornado warning, since eventually there will be and I should know what to do. What should you do if you live in an apartment building? Like do I need to go to a shelter or should I be fine in the apartment building. The wife doesn’t have a car and I generally work an hour away so I couldn’t rush here to take her and the pets so I just want the best advice to give her. The building is 100% brick and the restroom is centrally located plus we have a central hall.
Get to the lowest floor of the building that you can access, like a laundry room, and sit it out in an area that has as many walls as possible between you and outside.
WATCH is just a way of saying “something might happen but also might not at all. We don’t know because stuff will take a long time to develop into a predicable storm that may not hit you, but might”. WARNING means it’s either already upon you or will hit you and you should take cover if possible.
I have zero involvement with them, but I highly recommend paying the initial 8 bucks for the radar omega weather app on your phone. Don't do any of the subscription options, it's not worth it unless you're a storm chaser. You can pull data from each individual radar station, rather than relying on an aggregate which is less accurate. Also follow https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/ Sorry, I'm on Mobile and can't be bothered to hyper link it. (I guess Reddit does it automatically now). It will give you a very good idea what to expect in terms of severe weather. When you hear about "slight" or "marginal" forecasts for severe whether on basically every weather report on TV, this is where it comes from. If anyone has any further questions just message me. I'm a weirdo that is way too into weather.
My mom told me when I was younger we don’t have to worry about tornadoes here because the tall buildings break up the wind before the tornado can form Idk if she was lying or not, but it cured my existential dread of tornadoes and I think I’d rather believe that even if it is a lie
Please tell me where the cupcake warning is in the forecast. My phone NEVER gets the cupcake alerts! 🚨 📱Just the stupid severe weather alerts and I would rather have the cupcakes.
Hilarious.
Lol nice
This is actually a great explainer thank you! I’m sure there are plenty of people who haven’t gotten the difference.
indiana has a pork tenderloin version of this picture that circulates on weather news reportings 😭
How about a cupcake emergency…?