Product Spotlight

Product: Hazardous Weather Outlook (HWO)

• What is it?: Hazardous Weather Outlooks is issued to inform the public, media, and emergency managers of the potential for winter weather, fire weather, nonprecipitation, convective weather, tropical, marine or flood hazards.
  
  
• What information does it contain?: Hazardous weather outlooks will describe in concise non-technical terms the specific weather hazards of concern for the first and second forecast periods, or Day One. HWOs should also briefly discuss in non-technical terms any weather hazards in the Day Two through Seven time period. The weather hazard threshold is the potential issuance of an outlook, watch, warning or advisory for a particular weather phenomena. National Weather Service Forecast Offices should include a general time and location for the hazardous weather event, possible impact, and degree of uncertainty.
  
  
• What does a Hazardous Weather Outlook (HWO) look like?:
  
  Examples (more your mouse pointer over the links below):
  
  
  • No Hazardous Weather expected...
  • Hazardous Weather approaching...
  • There is a graphical version of the Hazardous Weather Outlook and can be found here.
  
  
  
• Where can I find it on this web site?: The Hazardous Weather Outlook is issued at least once a day. The outlook is updated as warranted.
  
  When hazardous weather is included in the Hazardous Weather Outlook a banner just above the Watch/Warning/Advisory map will turn RED, as shown below. Clicking on this will display the latest Hazardous Weather Outlook. When no hazardous weather is expect, this banner will be green.
  
  When hazardous weather is expect in the first period of the Hazardous Weather Outlook, Day One, the Watch/Warning/Advisory map will paint the counties effected a light tan color. There will also be a link displayed just to the right of the map.
  
  
  
  If you click on the highlighted county, a forecast for that location will appear. This is shown below, and notice that a link to the Hazardous Weather Outlook is displayed just above the forecast.
  
  
  
  You can also click a link just to the left of the map to view the Hazardous Weather Outlook (shown by the blue arrow on the map).
  
  Another location for getting the Hazardous Weather Outlook can be found via our Text Product page. To go to the Text Product page, just click on the word text in the blue field on the left hand side of the web page. This is shown on the graphic to the right. Many other Text Products can be found here as well.