FOX Weather winter storm specialist Tom Niziol explains why winter weather is so dangerous.

NASHVILLE – Weather enthusiasts who closely monitor weather maps may notice that the state of Tennessee is not highlighted as often as its neighboring states when it comes to frosts and freezes. This change is not due to a data outage or the state somehow controlling temperatures to stay warmer than its neighbors, but rather internal adjustments made by National Weather offices Service (NWS) serving the country. Tennessee Valley.

Leaders of NWS offices around Knoxville, NashvilleMemphis and Huntsville have reached an operational standard that states their meteorologists will not issue frost advisories or frost watches and warnings after September 30 of a calendar year and not before May 1 at the start of ‘a new year.

Frost warnings and watches are typically issued when temperatures are expected to drop near or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, causing damage to plants and agriculture.

Most NWS offices in the United States operate under the criteria by which they will issue these winter weather products until the end of the growing season, but there is apparently a shift in thinking about the usefulness of these products towards the end of the growing season and the start of the next.

“This change should reduce or alleviate confusion each spring and fall about when these products are or are not issued. By standardizing the release dates for these products, we can reduce inconsistencies in messaging to stakeholders,” the office said from the NWS to Memphis declared.

Weather Alert Map Showing Freeze Watches and Warnings Issued for States Around Tennessee

WIND CHILL AND OTHER COLD WEATHER ALERTS TO GET NEW NAMES THIS WINTER FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

The end and beginning of growing seasons vary greatly depending on climate and geographic location. A place in Florida The growing season may never be interrupted due to its typical tropical climate, while communities along the Canada-US border may only have five or six viable months to grow and harvest plants.

As a result, NWS offices at MinneapolisMilwaukee or Buffalo are much more likely to shut down these products for the season weeks, or even months, earlier than offices such as Tallahassee, Mobile, or metro Atlanta, which have more time to deal with crops before the first significant winter chill.

The establishment of start and end dates by offices serving Tennessee is not part of the agency’s national risk simplification projectwhich eliminated a variety of warnings, including wind chill alerts and hard freeze watches and warnings.

This winterInstead, communities will be subject to Cold Weather Advisories, Extreme Cold Watches, and Extreme Cold Warnings, which will alert counties of dangerously cold conditions.

The weather service says these planned nationwide changes are intended to dispel common misconceptions that extreme cold is only the result of windy days and that communities are safe after a heavy snowfall or spell. of ice.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RELIEVES FLOOD WARNINGS

Government forecasters say they wouldn’t be surprised if more parts of the country jumped on the Tennessee bandwagon and changed the criteria for issuing frost watches and frost advisories over the course of a year.

Local meteorologists report that reactions to the changes have been mixed, which is often the case whenever a product undergoes a change.

Additionally, the four forecast offices that serve the Volunteer State do not issue tropical weather alerts such as tropical storm watches and warnings or hurricane watches and warnings.

This was recently observed during the recent Helene disasterwhich caused tropical storms as far north as the Ohio Valley.

NWS Meteorologists Knoxville The bureau said that when the criteria for a tropical cyclone are met, they, along with their three peer bureaus, issue what is called a High Wind Warning, which communicates the dangers associated with windy conditions.

The NWS has 122 offices across all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Guam, each responsible for official forecasts for local counties within their jurisdiction.