Starting with the 2024-2025 winter season, the National Weather Service (NWS) will discontinue issuing wind chill warnings, watches, and advisories. Here’s what to expect:

  • Wind chill watches and warnings will be replaced with extreme cold watches and warnings.
  • Wind chill advisories will now be known as cold weather advisories.
  • Freeze watches and hard freeze warnings will be consolidated into a single category called freeze watches and warnings.

These changes are part of the NWS's Hazards Simplification Project, aimed at making weather alerts clearer. The new terminology emphasizes that cold temperatures can be dangerous, regardless of wind.

Additional updates to the NWS's cold weather products include:

  • Cold Advisory: Issued when temperatures or wind chills are expected to drop below 20°F.
  • Extreme Cold Warning: Issued when temperatures or wind chills are projected to fall below 10°F.
  • Freeze Warning: Issued only for the season's first two freezes or following an unusually warm period.

The NWS will also transition "Advisories" and "Special Weather Statements" to simpler, plain language headlines for weather events that don’t warrant a Warning.