WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — This week is severe weather and flooding awareness week in South Carolina. One major part of preparing yourself for when the weather becomes dangerous is to understand what different weather watches and warnings mean.
Chris Landolfi, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Columbia, is one of the forecasters that helps create and issue watches and warnings during dangerous weather.
Landolfi says it is their goal to keep people safe. “We’re going to focus on getting out warnings, making sure people are aware of possible dangers, whether or not that’s tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, or flooding.”
Often times there will be multiple watches and warnings that are issued during an active weather day, and there is a big difference between the two.
“Those watches are going to be bigger county-based areas," Landolfi told News 19. "And essentially what that means is the ingredients for severe thunderstorms or the ingredients for tornadoes are present during the period that the watch is active.”
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While a watch gives you a heads up that bad weather may occur, a warning is when the bad weather is happening or near your doorstep.
“When you get a warning, that is when you have to take action. We like to stress getting into an interior room, the lowest level of your home, making sure you put as many walls between you and the outside as possible to stay safe.”
Another easy way to remember the difference between a watch and a warning is by using cupcakes, courtesy of meteorologist Brad Panovich. A cupcake watch would occur when all of the ingredients are around but not yet put together. A cupcake warning, on the other hand, would be issued when there is an actual cupcake.
Having multiple sources to get weather alerts is crucial to keeping yourself and your family safe during bad weather events.
Landolfi suggests that everyone has a weather radio at home that will alert you of any dangerous weather.
The News 19 app is also a great way to stay up to date and receive weather notifications. Every time the National Weather Service issues a watch or a warning for bad weather, the app will send a notification to your phone letting you know what’s coming your way.
To get the app, text "APP" to News19 WLTX at (803) 776-9508 or download the free app for Apple devices here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wltx-news19-columbia/id469391887 and for Android devices here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gannett.local.library.news.wltx&hl=en_US
Text "WEATHER" to News19 WLTX at (803) 776-9508 and get the latest Columbia-area weather conditions and forecast.