First Extreme Cold Watch issued for Miami Valley: What it means

The National Weather Service has issued its first Extreme Cold Watch for the region.

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Storm Center 7 will have a breakdown of the first watch of its kind and will track the cold tonight on News Center 7 at 5:00, 5:30 and 6:00.

The clock comes into force on Monday 20 January at 1 and will remain in effect until Wednesday 22 January at

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What exactly does that mean? That means wind chills of -20° or colder are possible, according to Storm Center 7 Weather Specialist Nick Dunn. Actual air temperatures during this cold stretch will have morning lows below zero and highs in the single digits.

If this is the first you’ve heard of an “Extreme Cold Watch,” that’s because it’s new—sort of.

The NWS announced that starting in October, it will change how some winter weather advisories are named to help better communicate the dangers of freezing temperatures.

The following changes will be made to winter weather watches, warnings and advisories:

• Wind Chill Watches will be renamed an Extreme Cold Watch

• Wind Chill Warnings will be renamed to an extreme cold warning

• The Wind Chill Advisory will be renamed the Cold Weather Advisory

• Hard Freeze Watches are renamed to a Freeze Watch

• Hard freeze warnings will be consolidated into a freeze warning

More information about the advice can be found here.

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