The spring storm season of 2014 will likely bring significant changes to severe weather forecasts. The Storm Prediction Center, the branch of the National Weather Service responsible for forecasting severe weather and issuing severe weather watches, will use two new categories for severe weather forecasts.
Up to this spring, the severe weather forecasts, or outlooks, issued by the SPC only had three categories. Come spring of 2014, the SPC is proposing to add the categories of Marginal and Enhanced to describe the risk of severe weather. Click on the image above to compare the old and new outlooks.
This change in the forecast is in response to offer more specific guidance on the probability of severe weather. The change does not change the categories of moderate or high, but better describes the chances of lower-end events.
For a better breakdown of the new proposed changes for spring 2014, make sure to join our live podcast on KOCO.com on Wednesday, Jan. 22. During the Oklahoma Weather Show, members of the First Alert Weather Team will interview forecasters from the Storm Prediction Center.