tornado advisory terms

[Charles C Doyle]

Having spent a harrowing night among tornadoes, I notice this morning that standard dictionaries (including the OED) fail to record the quite widespead use of two complementary weather terms:  "tornado (or storm) watch" vs. "tornado (or storm) warning."

A "watch" is announced when conditions are specifically propitious for the meteorological event.  A "warning" is issued, more urgently, when the event is actually occurring in the vicinity--as when a tornado has been seen at ground level.  The terms and the distinction may be somewhat technical, but they are commonly employed by government agencies and the media, and they are expected to be understood by the public--whose lives may depend on the understanding!

--Charlie

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