WARNING ... A product issued by NWS local
offices indicating that a particular weather hazard is either imminent or
occurring. A warning indicates the need to take action to protect life
and property. Typical warnings include: Tornado Warning, Severe
Thunderstorm Warning, Flash Flood/Flood Warning, Excessive Heat Warning.
WATCH ... A NWS product indicating that
conditions are favorable for the development of a particular severe weather
event. A watch is normal issued for several hours and indicates a need
for planning, preparation, and an increased awareness of changing weather
conditions. Typical watches include: Tornado Watch, Severe Thunderstorm
Watch, Flash Flood/Flood Watch.
DOWNBURST ... An exceptionally energetic
downdraft that exits the base of a thunderstorm and spreads out at the earth's
surface as strong and gusty horizontal winds that may cause property damage.
Downbursts are much more common than you think and more likely than tornadoes
in West Virginia.
FLASH FLOOD ... A flood that rises and falls
quite rapidly. Flash floods occur as the result of intense rainfall over
a relatively small area in a short period of time.
FLOOD ... The condition that occurs when
water overflows the natural or artificial confines of a stream or body of
water, or accumulates by drainage over low lying areas.
FUNNEL CLOUD ... Violently rotating column of
air, but is not in contact with the ground. A tornado passes the funnel
cloud stage during its development and dissipation.
GUST FRONT ... The leading edge of a mass of
cool, gusty air that flows from the base of a thunderstorm [downburst] and
spreads along the ground in advance of a thunderstorm.
LIGHTNING ... Generally, any and all of the
various forms of electrical discharge produced by thunderstorms.
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ... A thunderstorm
producing a tornado, damaging winds of 58 mhp or greater, and/or hail 3/4 of
an inch in diameter or larger.
SQUALL LINES ... Any line or narrow band of
thunderstorms. These lines may be of considerable length, extending
across multiple states.
STRAIGHT LINE WINDS ... Typically used to
describe thunderstorm wind damage that exhibits little rotational patterns to
differentiate from the winds in a tornado that produce damage that exhibits
rotational characteristics. Damage after a tornado could also appear to
be straight line depending on speed of movement, size and strength.
Straight line winds are most often found with a gust front, originating from a
downburst.
THUNDERSTORM ... In general, a local storm
produced by a cumulonimbus cloud, and always accompanied by lightning,
thunder, gusty winds, possible heavy rain and sometimes hail.
TORNADO ... Violently rotating column of air
in contact with the ground, descending from the base of a severe thunderstorm.
They are usually funnel-shaped, with a narrow end nearest the ground. In
West Virginia, most tornadoes are obscured by hills, trees and rain until they
are upon you. One rule of thumb used by spotters is, if the visible
funnel extends more than halfway from the cloud to the ground, consider it a
tornado ... you may not see the visible funnel near the ground if it is weak
or disorganized.
Morgantown Municipal-Hart, West Virginia (26507) Conditions & Forecast :
Weather Underground
7-Day Forecast for Latitude 39.61N and Longitude -79.96W
Local Weather Forecast for Morgantown, WV (26505) - weather.com
NWS radar image from Pittsburgh, PA
West
Virginia Data
Advanced
Hydrologic Prediction Service: Pittsburgh
