WeatherInfo

Watch, warning or advisory? Weather alerts explained

The National Weather Service uses three main words for hazardous weather. Knowing which one you're under tells you whether to get ready or act now.

Reviewed October 2026

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The three levels

Alert What it means What to do
Warning A hazardous weather or water event is occurring, imminent or likely, and it threatens life or property. Take protective action now.
Watch The risk of a hazardous event has increased significantly, but its timing or location is still uncertain. Have a plan ready, and listen for updates and possible warnings, especially if you're traveling or outdoors.
Advisory A less serious event is occurring, imminent or likely. It's a significant inconvenience and could become dangerous if you don't take care. Use caution.

These definitions come from the National Weather Service. The exact event in the alert name tells you the hazard: a tornado warning, a flood watch, a wind advisory and so on.

Two examples

  • Tornado warning: the NWS says a tornado is imminent, and to "seek safe shelter immediately."
  • Tornado watch: severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are possible in and near the watch area.

For hurricanes and tropical storms, see hurricane season: those watches and warnings are issued 48 and 36 hours ahead.

How we show alerts

When you search the forecast, we show every active alert the National Weather Service has issued for that location, using its own headline and text, with the time it was issued and when it expires, plus a link to the official forecast page. We don't rewrite, shorten or rank alerts.

Alerts are fetched when you search. Refresh the page for the latest, and for anything urgent, go straight to weather.gov.

Sources