National Weather Service Preparing for Winter Season
MEMPHIS Tenn. – The National Weather Service in Memphis is gearing up for the 2014-2015 Winter season ahead. This morning, the local weather office invited media partners, school officials, and emergency managers from all over the Mid-South to investigate how local officials can make better decisions when planning for high impact Winter weather events. Meteorologist Zachary Maye was up first to review the weather outlook for the season ahead. He discussed the local impacts from the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) which could ultimately make for a cooler Winter in the Mid-South. According to the Climate Prediction Center, there is a 58% chance of El Niño during the Northern Hemisphere Winter which is favored to last into the Northern Hemisphere Spring of 2015.”¨ Meteorologist Jim Branda was up next to review the different Winter storm watches, warnings, and advisories that the National Weather Service issues during the Winter season. While the criteria for these Winter weather alerts is specific, Branda mentioned that, on occasion, a warning or an advisory will be issued not solely on meeting criteria but on the impact it may cause. For example, if a cold front is forecast to travel through the Mid-South during rush hour bringing temperatures below freezing, puddles of rain may freeze on secondary roads including bridges and overpasses. Even if only a dusting of snow falls behind the cold front, the travel conditions could become dangerous. In this situation, the National Weather Service in Memphis would issue a Winter Weather Advisory because even though the specific criteria for the advisory wasn’t reached, the impact of weather resulting in dangerous travel would warrant an alert to communicate these travel concerns to the public. The National Weather Service also announced that they will be using Google Hangouts to communicate their forecast more effectively to emergency managers and school officials. Before high impact Winter weather events, the weather service will conduct video conferences via Google Hangout to review potential Winter weather impacts. These conferences will help local officials decide what actions to take when considering potential Winter weather. It‘s likely that these conferences will go beyond Winter weather and will also be used to alert officials before severe weather as well. This Winter season, the National Weather Service in Memphis will also be looking for viewers like you to help cover major Winter events. If you have a Twitter account, you can tweet out storm reports with the twitter handle, #MidSouthWinter. If you have a smartphone, you can also download the free application mPing to report different precipitation types during a Winter storm. Often times, the Mid-South will see everything from rain, to ice, to heavy snow in an event and the tools meteorologists have at their disposal don’t often show them what exactly is falling at the surface. The mPing app lets you report the type of precipitation you see at your house along with where and when you saw it. Make sure to stay with the VIPIR 7 Storm Team this Winter so that you can be ready for when the next Winter storm hits. We‘ll keep you posted on school, business, and church closures if Old Man Winter makes a trip to West Tennessee! Links to download mPing:”¨”¨ Apple Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mping/id584383400?mt=8 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.ou.cimms.wping&hl=en
