he National Weather Service (NWS) is the official U.S. government agency charged with issuing weather watches, warnings, and advisories and is the source used by iAlert.com. Below is the criteria used by NWS forecasters when issuing a tropical storm watch or tropical storm warning for the affected coastline.
TROPICAL STORM WATCH: means tropical storm conditions of 39-73 mph (34-63 kts or 63-118 kph) are possible within 36 hours for affected coastline.
TROPICAL STORM WARNING: means tropical storm conditions of 39-73 mph (34-63 kts or 63-118 kph) are expected for defined coastal area within 24 hours or less.
A tropical storm is less powerful than a hurricane. Criteria for Hurricane Warning
Learn more about the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Looking for the criteria for a tornado warning, criteria of a severe thunderstorm warning, or weather glossary? Criteria For a Tropical Storm Warning
T
he National Weather Service (NWS) is the official U.S. government agency charged with issuing weather watches, warnings, and advisories and is the source used by iAlert.com. Below is the criteria used by NWS forecasters when issuing a tropical storm watch or tropical storm warning for the affected coastline.
TROPICAL STORM WATCH: means tropical storm conditions of 39-73 mph (34-63 kts or 63-118 kph) are possible within 36 hours for affected coastline.
TROPICAL STORM WARNING: means tropical storm conditions of 39-73 mph (34-63 kts or 63-118 kph) are expected for defined coastal area within 24 hours or less.
A tropical storm is less powerful than a hurricane. Criteria for Hurricane Warning
Learn more about the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Looking for the criteria for a tornado warning, criteria of a severe thunderstorm warning, or weather glossary?
he National Weather Service (NWS) is the official U.S. government agency charged with issuing weather watches, warnings, and advisories and is the source used by iAlert.com. Below is the criteria used by NWS forecasters when issuing a tropical storm watch or tropical storm warning for the affected coastline.
TROPICAL STORM WATCH: means tropical storm conditions of 39-73 mph (34-63 kts or 63-118 kph) are possible within 36 hours for affected coastline.
TROPICAL STORM WARNING: means tropical storm conditions of 39-73 mph (34-63 kts or 63-118 kph) are expected for defined coastal area within 24 hours or less.
A tropical storm is less powerful than a hurricane. Criteria for Hurricane Warning
Learn more about the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Looking for the criteria for a tornado warning, criteria of a severe thunderstorm warning, or weather glossary?
This entry was posted in Weather Glossary and tagged coastal area, coastline, glossary, national weather service, Tropical, tropical storm conditions, tropical storm watch, weather glossary, weather watches. Bookmark the permalink.
Read More
Oklahoma Severe Thunderstorms: SPC Enhanced Risk for Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Enid on November 2, 2026
Oklahoma severe thunderstorms are the headline threat on Monday, November 2, 2026, after the NOAA Storm Prediction Center placed north-central Oklahoma and south-central Kansas under an Enhanced Risk, the third of five severe categories (level 3…
iNWS Decommissioned: How Emergency Managers Can Keep NWS Alerts Coming
With iNWS decommissioned as of October 22, 2026, emergency managers, county agencies and media partners lost the website that managed their NWS text and email alerts. The National Weather Service took the site down effective immediately,…
Arizona Severe Thunderstorms: SPC Enhanced Risk for Flagstaff and Prescott on October 21, 2026
Arizona severe thunderstorms are the headline threat in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center's updated Day 1 Convective Outlook for Wednesday, October 21, 2026, issued 12:30 UTC (5:30 am MST / 8:30 am EDT). The outlook places…