I've heard the rumors over the past several month. The National Weather Service was in the process of considering the termination of weather advisories. How often are they used here in Arkansas? Very often so this is a major change. We're talking about heat advisories, winter weather advisories, and wind advisories just to name a few of the more common ones we broadcast frequently. It should be noted these changes will occur no earlier than 2024.
As you know, I'm a BIG fan of "less is more". Simplify! I applaud their thinking, but think they may have missed the mark a bit here. When it comes to advisories, we get them in Arkansas. We understand them. I have never heard anyone confused over a winter weather advisory, a wind advisory, and especially a heat advisory. If anyone in Arkansas was part of this social science research, please contact me.
Once this is implemented, there will still be simple statements to clearly articulate the nature the hazard as stated in the message above. What's going to stop broadcast meteorologists from taking that text, highlighting counties affected, and issuing our own advisories? I don't think that's the direction any of us want to go and at the end of the day would defeat the purpose of this change.
Maybe I'm just being an old fuddy-duddy? However, I have been around long enough to know what works and what doesn't when it comes to communicating.
While we're talking about simplification, I would highly recommend the NWS and SPC to review their convective outlook categories of marginal, slight, enhanced, moderate, and high. There has been more confusion with that than any advisory ever produced. Simply state the risk is slight, moderate, or high. OR low, medium, high.
Thanks for reading.