NOUS44 KEWX 121802
PNSEWX
TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-130615-

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX
1202 PM CST Tue Nov 12 2024

...New Cold Weather Products this Winter Season...

On October 1, 2024, the NWS implemented the following changes to
Public Program Text Products: 

- Consolidate the following text products: 
	* Hard Freeze Watch to Freeze Watch 
	* Hard Freeze Warning to Freeze Warning 
	* Wind Chill Watch and Extreme Cold Watch consolidated    
   with Extreme Cold Watch 
	* Wind Chill Warning and Extreme Cold Warning consolidated  
   with Extreme Cold Warning 
- Transition of “Wind Chill Advisory” to “Cold Weather Advisory”. 

The criteria that the Austin-San Antonio NWS office will be
using for the Cold Weather Advisory and the Extreme Cold Warning
are as follows. There are two different sets of temperature
criteria for each product, based on county.

Cold Weather Advisory: 15 degrees 
For the following counties... Travis, Williamson, Burnet, Llano, 
Blanco, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, Bandera, Real, Edwards, Val 
Verde 

Cold Weather Advisory:  20 degrees 
For the following counties... Lee, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, 
Bastrop, Gonzales, Lavaca, DeWitt, Karnes, Wilson, Guadalupe, 
Comal, Bexar, Atascosa, Medina, Frio, Uvalde, Kinney, Maverick, 
Dimmit, Zavala

Extreme Cold Warning: 5 degrees 
For the following counties... Travis, Williamson, Burnet, Llano, 
Blanco, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, Bandera, Real, Edwards, Val 
Verde 

Extreme Cold Warning:  10 degrees
For the following counties... Lee, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, 
Bastrop, Gonzales, Lavaca, DeWitt, Karnes, Wilson, Guadalupe, 
Comal, Bexar, Atascosa, Medina, Frio, Uvalde, Kinney, Maverick, 
Dimmit, Zavala

As in all weather situations where temperature criteria are used, there
may be times where one or two spots in a county may be colder than
the rest of the county due to thermometer quality, location, and/or
elevation. Issuance of these new products will depend on if the 
criteria is met across the entire county and if the criteria will 
be met for longer than just an hour or two. NWS Austin-San Antonio
will also coordinate with our NWS office neighbors to make sure the
cold messaging is consistent across the region. 

Freeze Watch/Warning and Extreme Cold Watch/Warning are contained
in the Non-Precipitation Weather Message (NPW). For Freeze 
Warning and Watch, there will be the option to use the wording 
“Hard Freeze” within the body of the product (e.g., in the “What” 
bullet of the text). The Valid Time Event Code (VTEC) phenomena 
code “HZ” for Hard Freeze Watch and Warning will be decommissioned
and the Freeze Watch and Warning VTEC phenomena code “FZ” will 
remain. VTEC enables weather providers and vendors to automate and
tailor the product stream delivered to their clients. The Wind 
Chill Warning, Watch, and Advisory currently contained within the 
Winter Weather Message (WSW) product will be consolidated into the
Extreme Cold Warning, Extreme Cold Watch, and Cold Weather 
Advisory in the Non-Precipitation Weather (NPW) product. The VTEC 
phenomena code “WC” will be retired. Extreme Cold Watch and 
Warning will retain its VTEC of “EC” and Cold Weather Advisory 
will replace Wind Chill Advisory with the VTEC of “CW”. 

If you have any questions or concerns with these changes and 
additions please contact Paul Yura, Warning Coordination 
Meteorologist at paul.yura@noaa.gov

$$