ckoplien@todaystmj4.com

...Luke Melograno from Bristol, Wisconsin.

Luke was the first to identify the mistake in this announcement that was made at my doctor's office around 145pm this past Monday: 

"This is a Code Gray Alert...a Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for Waukesha County until 1900 hours".

The mistake was that it was a severe thunderstorm Watch that was issued...not a Warning.  

This is important between the 2 words mean very different things...

A Watch means conditions are favorable for dangerous weather...and it might develop at some point over the next several hours.  When a watch is issued, there's no need to alter your activities, except to pay a little more attention to the weather as it could change quickly.

A Warning means that dangerous weather is imminent.  That is, dangerous weather is approaching and you should immediately move to a place of safety.

These words are often confused...I think primarily because they both start with "W".

Here's a good way to remember which is which:

W-A-T-C-H is the smaller word.  It has 5 letters.

W-A-R-N-I-N-G is the bigger word.  It has 7 letters.

Smaller word...smaller problem.  Bigger word...bigger problem. 

The small, 5-letter word Watch means that dangerous weather might happen

The big, 7-letter word Warning means that dangerous weather is happening.

Again, congratulations to Luke Melograno...you were obviously paying attention on Monday and you know the difference between a watch and a warning.  I'm not worried about you.  The folks at my doctor's office however...