...THE IMPACT WINTER WEATHER HAS ON US...

...GENERAL IMPACT ON SOCIETY...
DEEP...HEAVY SNOW CAN IMMOBILIZE A REGION AND PARALYZE A CITY...
STRANDING COMMUTERS...STOPPING THE FLOW OF SUPPLIES...AND DISRUPTING
EMERGENCY AND MEDICAL SERVICES.
-ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW CAN COLLAPSE ROOFS OF BUILDINGS AND KNOCK
DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES.

-IN RURAL AREAS...HOMES AND FARMS MAY BE ISOLATED FOR DAYS...AND
UNPROTECTED LIVESTOCK MAY BE LOST.

-THE COST OF SNOW REMOVAL...REPAIRING DAMAGES...AND LOSS OF
BUSINESS CAN HAVE A LARGE ECONOMIC IMPACT ON CITIES AND TOWNS.

...WINTER STORM IMPACTS...
WINTER STORMS CAN POSSESS THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS...
-STRONG WINDS CREATING BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WITH BLINDING
WIND DRIVEN SNOW...SEVERE DRIFTING...AND DANGEROUS WIND CHILL.

-STRONG WINDS OF 50 TO 70 MPH WITH INTENSE STORMS AND COLD
FRONTS CAN KNOCK DOWN TREES...UTILITY POLES AND POWER LINES.

-STORMS NEAR LAKE MICHIGAN OR LAKE SUPERIOR SHORELINES CAN CAUSE
COASTAL FLOODING AND BEACH EROSION.

...GROUND BLIZZARD IMPACTS...
THEY ARE RARE...BUT SOMETIMES A GROUND BLIZZARD CAN STRIKE SOUTHERN
AND CENTRAL WISCONSIN.

-THE SUN MAY BE SHINING...BUT STRONG WINDS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH
CAN PICK LOOSE...DRY SNOW OFF THE GROUND. THIS BLOWING SNOW CAN
REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO ONLY A FEW FEET IN AREAS WHERE THERE ARE
NO TREES OR BUILDINGS.

-IF YOU ARE TRAVELING IN A GROUND BLIZZARD...YOU MAY GET THE
SENSATION OF DRIVING IN A BALL OF COTTON. SERIOUS MULTIPLE
VEHICLE ACCIDENTS CAN RESULT WITH MANY INJURIES AND DEATHS.

...EXTREME COLD IMPACTS...
EXTREME COLD OFTEN ACCOMPANIES A WINTER STORM OR IS LEFT IN ITS
WAKE.

-PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO THE COLD CAN CAUSE FROSTBITE OR
HYPOTHERMIA AND BECOME LIFE THREATENING. INFANTS AND ELDERLY
PEOPLE ARE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE.

-PIPES MAY FREEZE AND BURST IN HOMES AND BUILDINGS THAT ARE
POORLY INSULATED OR WITHOUT HEAT.

...ICE STORM IMPACTS...
ICE STORMS CAN BRING TRAVEL TO A STANDSTILL...AND ALSO RESULT
IN A LOT OF PROPERTY DAMAGE.

-HEAVY ACCUMULATIONS OF ICE CAN BRING DOWN TREES...ELECTRICAL
WIRES...TELEPHONE POLES AND LINES...AND COMMUNICATION TOWERS.

-COMMUNICATIONS AND POWER CAN BE DISRUPTED FOR DAYS WHILE
UTILITY COMPANIES WORK TO REPAIR THE EXTENSIVE DAMAGE.

-EVEN SMALL ACCUMULATIONS OF ICE MAY CAUSE EXTREME HAZARDS TO
MOTORISTS AND PEDESTRIANS. VEHICLE TRACTION AND BRAKING
ABILITY MAY BECOME NON EXISTENT.

...DENSE FOG IMPACTS...
ANOTHER HAZARD IS DENSE FOG. VISIBILITIES MAY DROP TO NEAR ZERO...
MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE OTHER VEHICLES UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE.
IF MOTORISTS WOULD SLOW DOWN DURING DENSE FOG EVENTS THE NUMBER OF
VEHICLE ACCIDENTS WOULD BE MUCH LESS.

-ON AVERAGE...ABOUT 1200 VEHICLE ACCIDENTS OCCUR EACH YEAR
IN WISCONSIN DURING DENSE FOG EPISODES...RESULTING IN ABOUT 15
DEATHS AND 700 INJURIES.

-A TYPICAL WINTER IN WISCONSIN WILL USUALLY FEATURE A HALF DOZEN
CASES IN WHICH DENSE FOG REDUCES VISIBILITIES TO LESS THAN
1/4 MILE...OR EVEN DOWN TO NEAR ZERO.

-IN THE WORST CASES...THERE CAN BE A MULTIPLE VEHICLE ACCIDENT
CONSISTING OF 15 TO 50 VEHICLES. YOU LITERALLY MAY NOT SEE THE
VEHICLE IN FRONT OF YOU UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE.

-HISTORICALLY...THE MISSISSIPPI AND WISCONSIN RIVER VALLEYS
TEND TO HAVE MORE DENSE FOG EVENTS. THIS IS DUE TO COLD AIR
DRAINAGE AND MOISTURE EVAPORATION FRO THE RIVER WATERS.

-LOCATIONS NEAR LAKE SUPERIOR AND LAKE MICHIGAN ALSO TEND TO
MORE DENSE FOG EVENTS COMPARED TO OTHER INLAND LOCATIONS.

...NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS...
THE NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS IS A NATION-WIDE SERVICE PROVIDED
TO THE PUBLIC BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE...WHICH IS A PART OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE/S NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC
ADMINISTRATION /NOAA/.

-OVER 1000 RADIO TRANSMITTERS ARE CURRENTLY IN OPERATION IN THE
U.S. AND ITS TERRITORIES.

-NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS PROVIDES CONTINUOUS BROADCASTS
OF THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION DIRECTLY FROM WEATHER
SERVICE OFFICES SPREAD ACROSS THE NATION.

-NON-WEATHER RELATED EMERGENCY MESSAGES CAN BE BROADCAST...
RANGING FROM ALERTS FROM CHEMICAL SPILLS TO TERRORIST
ATTACKS.

.......WISCONSIN NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS COVERAGE.......
SEVEN NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICES IN WISCONSIN...MINNESOTA...
ILLINOIS AND IOWA PROVIDE PROGRAMMING FOR 33 NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL
HAZARDS STATIONS THAT HAVE PARTIAL OR FULL BROADCAST COVERAGE IN
WISCONSIN.

......WHAT IS BROADCAST ON THE NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS......
TAPED WEATHER MESSAGES ARE REPEATED EVERY FOUR TO SIX MINUTES AND
ARE ROUTINELY UPDATED. SOME LIVE BROADCASTS ARE MADE DURING TIMES OF
SEVERE WEATHER...TO KEEP YOU INFORMED OF THE LATEST WEATHER
DEVELOPMENTS.

-ROUTINE...DAILY BROADCASTS CONTAIN WEATHER INFORMATION
REGARDING TRAVEL WITHIN ABOUT A DAY/S DRIVE OF WISCONSIN.

-WEATHER FORECASTS FOR LOCAL AREAS AND EXTENDED OUTLOOKS.

-HOURLY WEATHER OBSERVATIONS.

-SHORT TERM FORECASTS FOR THE NEXT 6 HOURS.

-WHERE APPLICABLE...MARINE FORECASTS.

..............CRITICAL BROADCAST INFORMATION...................
FOR CRITICALLY IMPORTANT WEATHER EVENTS OR OTHER SERIOUS NON-
WEATHER RELATED HAZARDS TO LIFE AND PROPERTY...THE RADIO TRANSMITTER
WILL EMIT A DISTINCTIVE AUDIBLE TONE SIGNAL THAT WILL ACTIVATE
SPECIAL WEATHER RADIO RECEIVERS.

-TONE ALERTS ARE USED FOR WARNINGS FOR WEATHER HAZARDS SUCH AS
TORNADOES... SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...FLASH FLOODS...
SOMETIMES FOR SERIOUS WINTER STORMS AND BLIZZARDS...AND
POSSIBLY A NON-WEATHER RELATED EMERGENCY.

-THESE RADIOS WILL AUTOMATICALLY TURN ON OR EMIT A HIGH-PITCH
TONE SIGNAL.

-ROUTINE PROGRAMMING IS REDUCED DURING THESE CRITICAL
PERIODS...WITH MOST BROADCAST INFORMATION RELATED TO
THE HAZARD.

.....WHEN YOU ARE LOOKING FOR AN NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS.....
WHEN LOOKING FOR A WEATHER RADIO...MAKE SURE IT HAS THE TONE-ALERT
FEATURE...AND IS ABLE TO OPERATE AUTOMATICALLY ON BATTERIES IN CASE
COMMERCIAL POWER FAILS.

-TONE ALERT RADIOS RANGE FROM 30 TO 80 DOLLARS AND ARE AVAILABLE
AT MANY STORES THAT SELL RADIO EQUIPMENT.

-YOU MAY WISH TO PURCHASE A NEW WEATHER RADIO THAT HAS A FEATURE
THAT ALLOWS ONE TO SELECTIVELY PROGRAM IT TONE-ALERTED
FOR WARNINGS ISSUED FOR SPECIFIC COUNTIES. THIS FEATURE
ALLOWS ONE TO BLOCK OUT TONE-ALERTS FOR WARNINGS FOR OTHER
COUNTIES IN THE BROADCAST COVERAGE AREA OF AN NOAA WEATHER
RADIO ALL HAZARDS.

.......NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL-HAZARDS TECHNOLOGY.............
THE NEWER WEATHER RADIOS ARE BASED ON NEW TECHNOLOGY...CALLED EAS
/EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM/...THAT ELECTRONICALLY CONNECTS ALL RADIO
AND TELEVISION STATIONS...CABLE TV OUTLETS...AND THE NWS.

-THE NWS/S ENTRY INTO EAS IS VIA ITS NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL
HAZARDS NETWORK THAT INCORPORATES NEW TECHNOLOGY CALLED
/SAME/  ...SPECIFIC AREA MESSAGE ENCODER.

THINK ABOUT IT...WOULDN/T A NEW NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS BE A
GREAT GIFT FOR SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT?
INFORMATION BROADCAST ON AN NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS CAN SAVE
A LIFE...IT IS THE SMOKE DETECTOR OF THE WEATHER WORLD.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON WINTER WEATHER...VISIT...
HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/OM/WINTER       /ALL LOWER CASE/
HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/MKX//N=WINTER-WX-AWARENESS