Weather alerts, and their varying degrees

NEGAUNEE — With Michigan’s Severe Weather Awareness Week coming up, it’s good idea for residents to brush up on what weather alerts might mean to them.

The National Weather Service issues various alerts through radio, television, and the Internet when there’s a weather condition the public needs to know about. Those alerts start with “special messages,” which describe incoming conditions that could affect the area. From there, alerts increase in urgency to “watches” and “warnings.”

“When they hear there’s a watch that’s been issued for their area, that means the sense of urgency is starting to increase a little bit. Conditions are favorable for the possibility of significant severe weather over the next several hours,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Matt Zika. “When you get to the point or you hear there’s a weather warning, that means it’s imminent or it’s about to occur, so you should seek shelter at that point and wait for the storm to move past.”

For all of the latest weather news, and links to information on how to be prepared for severe weather, click here.