Winter Storm Severity Index (WSSI)

[Ted Jacobson]

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION - The experimental WSSI is created through the
use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) by screening the official
National Weather Service (NWS) gridded forecasts from the National
Digital Forecast Database (NDFD) for winter weather elements and
combining those data with non-meteorological or static information
datasets (e.g., climatology, land-use, urban areas). This creates a
graphical depiction of anticipated overall impacts to society due to
winter weather. The underlying structure of the experimental WSSI
allows it to potentially use other meteorological datasets as inputs
(e.g., deterministic or ensemble model output) to create additional
guidance products that cover periods beyond those covered by the
NDFD. The experimental WSSI provides a classification of the overall
expected severity of winter weather using the following terminology:
"none," "limited," "minor, "moderate," "major," and "extreme."

PURPOSE - The experimental WSSI has been developed to have a two-fold
focus. The first is for use as a tool to assist NWS operational
forecasters in maintaining situational awareness of the possible
significance of weather-related impacts based upon the current
official forecasts.  The second is to enhance communication to
external partners, media and the general public of the expected
severity of potential societal impacts due to expected winter hazards
and their distribution.

AUDIENCE - The experimental WSSI is intended for use by 116 NWS
Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) and Weather Prediction Center (WPC)
staff as an enhancement to decision support services, as well as for
use and evaluation by NWS partners, the media and the general public.

CHARLESTON WV NWS WSSI Page:
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/wwd/wssi/wssi.php?id=RLX

PLEASE NOTE: Because this product is experimental, it may not update
in a timely fashion. Always check the creation and valid times.
For more information, please refer to the WSSI USER GUIDE:

https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/wwd/wssi/WSSI_user_guide_20191001.pdf

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