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    WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS WEEK IN NORTH CAROLINA
                NOVEMBER 28 - DECEMBER 4, 2010
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THIS WEEK HAS BEEN DECLARED WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS WEEK IN 
NORTH CAROLINA. ALL WEEK THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL IS 
ISSUING INFORMATIVE MESSAGES TO HELP YOU PREPARE FOR WINTER WEATHER.

...OUTLOOK FOR THIS WINTER...

LAST WINTER NORTH CAROLINA EXPERIENCED AN ACTIVE WINTER WITH ABOVE 
NORMAL SNOWFALL. LOOKING AHEAD TO THIS WINTER...LA NINA..DEFINED BY 
COLDER THAN NORMAL SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES IN THE PACIFIC 
OCEAN...COULD BRING AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT WINTER THAN THAT 
EXPERIENCED LAST YEAR. A LA NINA EPISODE GENERALLY RESULTS IN A 
NORTHWARD SHIFT IN THE JET STREAM INFLUENCING THE TRACK OF WINTER 
STORM SYSTEMS AND ALLOWS WARMER AIR TO MOVE FURTHER NORTH. THIS IS 
IN CONTRAST TO LAST SEASON WHERE THE JET STREAM WAS POSITIONED 
FURTHER SOUTH RESULTING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NUMEROUS STORM SYSTEMS 
OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO WHICH TRACKED NORTHWARD TO THE MID ATLANTIC.

WITH ALL THAT IN MIND...A LA NINA WINTER DOES NOT MEAN THERE WILL BE 
NO WINTER STORMS. THE WINTER OF 2000...ALSO A LA NINA 
WINTER...BROUGHT SIGNIFICANT SNOW EVENTS TO THE STATE. THE LA NINA 
WEATHER PATTERN WITH ITS NORTHWARD SHIFT IN THE JET STREAM CAN ALSO 
MAKE WINTER FORECASTING MORE DIFFICULT. THIS IS DUE TO THE FACT THAT 
A MORE NORTHERN JET STREAM POSITION RESULTS IN STORMS DEVELOPING AND 
INTENSIFYING OVER THE MID ATLANTIC INSTEAD OF BECOMING WELL 
DEVELOPED BEFORE THEY IMPACT THE AREA. LA NINA WINTERS CAN ALSO 
RESULT IN MORE WINTRY MIXES AND CHANCES OF MORE FREEZING RAIN AND 
SLEET DUE TO WARMER TEMPERATURES.

EVERYONE SHOULD USE THIS WEEK TO PREPARE FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF 
WINTER STORMS. BELOW ARE SOME IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS OF WINTER 
WEATHER TERMS USED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

WINTER STORM WATCH...ISSUED WHEN THE FOLLOWING WEATHER CONDITIONS 
ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN 24 TO 48 HOURS...AT LEAST 4 INCHES OF SNOW 
AND/OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF 1/4 INCH OR MORE...IN A 12 TO 24 HOUR 
PERIOD.

WINTER STORM WARNING...ISSUED WHEN AT LEAST 4 INCHES OF SNOW OR ICE 
ACCUMULATIONS OF 1/4 INCH OR MORE ARE LIKELY WITHIN 24 HOURS.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY...ISSUED WHEN 2 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW OR ICE 
ACCUMULATIONS LESS THAN 1/4 INCH ARE LIKELY WITHIN 24 HOURS.

BLIZZARD WARNING...ISSUED WHEN STRONG WINDS COMBINE WITH FALLING 
AND/OR BLOWING SNOW TO REDUCE VISIBILITY TO ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS 
FOR AT LEAST 3 HOURS. DEEP SNOW DRIFTS AND DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND 
CHILLS OFTEN ACCOMPANY BLIZZARD CONDITIONS.

WIND CHILL WARNING...ISSUED WHEN WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES...THE 
COMBINED EFFECT OF WIND AND TEMPERATURE ON EXPOSED SKIN...ARE 
FORECAST TO REACH 20 DEGREES BELOW ZERO OR COLDER WITH A 5 MPH WIND 
OR GREATER.

FREEZING RAIN...FREEZING RAIN IS RAIN THAT FALLS AND FREEZES TO A 
COLD SURFACE SUCH AS A ROAD OR TREE...CAUSING A GLAZE OF ICE TO 
FORM. FREEZING RAIN FORMS WHICH RAIN FALLS THROUGH A WARM LAYER 
ABOVE THE GROUND THEN FREEZES UPON REACHING THE GROUND WHEN THE 
SURFACE AIR AND GROUND LEVEL OBJECTS ARE BELOW FREEZING. FREEZING 
RAIN OR "ICE STORMS" CAN BRING DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES AND 
SEVERELY HAMPER TRAVEL.

SLEET...SLEET IS MELTED SNOW THAT HAS RE-FROZEN INTO ICE PELLETS 
PRIOR TO REACHING THE GROUND. SLEET FORMS IN A SIMILAR MANNER TO 
FREEZING RAIN. HOWEVER...THE LAYER OF COLD AIR NEAR THE GROUND IS 
THICK ENOUGH TO ALLOW THE RAIN DROPS TO RE-FREEZE BEFORE REACHING 
THE GROUND. SLEET WILL BOUNCE WHEN IT STRIKES A HARD SURFACE. SLEET 
CAN ACCUMULATE LIKE SNOW AND MAKE A ROAD SLICK.

BLIZZARD...A BLIZZARD OCCURS WHEN WINDS 35 MPH OR GREATER COMBINE 
WITH BLOWING SNOW REDUCING VISIBILITY TO LESS THAN ONE QUARTER MILE 
CAUSING WHITE-OUT CONDITIONS. PEOPLE CAUGHT IN BLIZZARDS CAN QUICKLY 
BECOME DISORIENTED FROM THE COLD...SNOW...AND WIND...LOSING THEIR 
WAY WHEN ONLY SEVERAL YARDS FROM THEIR HOME OR CAR.

FLURRIES...THE TERM FLURRIES REFERS TO VERY LIGHT SNOW OR SNOW THAT 
OCCURS FOR A SHORT TIME PERIOD ONLY CAUSING A LIGHT DUSTING AT BEST.

WIND CHILL...WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES IS THE "FREE-LIKE" TEMPERATURE 
DENOTING THE COMBINED EFFECT OF WIND AND TEMPERATURE ON PEOPLE AND 
ANIMALS. WIND CHILL IS BASED ON THE RATE OF HEAT LOSS FROM EXPOSED 
SKIN. WEARING LAYERS OF CLOTHING WILL HELP RETAIN YOUR BODY HEAT AND 
COMBAT WIND CHILL. ONCE WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES DROP BELOW 20 BELOW 
ZERO...EXPOSED FLESH CAN FREEZE IN 30 MINUTES OR LESS..CAUSING FROST 
BITE.

WINTER STORMS ARE DECEPTIVE KILLERS BECAUSE MOST DEATHS ARE 
INDIRECTLY RELATED TO THE STORM. EXAMPLE ARE TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS DUE 
TO ICY ROADS...HEART ATTACKS WHILE SHOVELING SNOW...FIRES AND CARBON 
MONOXIDE POISONING. THE ADVISORIES...WATCHES AND WARNINGS ISSUED BY 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ARE ISSUED TO HELP YOU PREPARE FOR 
UPCOMING WINTER WEATHER AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION TO PROTECT 
YOURSELF AND YOUR PROPERTY.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS CAN BE 
OBTAINED ON-LINE THROUGH THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY 
MANAGEMENT HOME PAGE AT: HTTP//READYNC.ORG

UP TO DATE WEATHER INFORMATION IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON-LINE AT:
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BLACKSBURG.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS WEB SITE IS:
WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/OM/WINTER/INDEX.SHTML