Weather Tidbits: Winter Storm Severity Index

This Weather Tidbits will discuss about the Winter Storm Severity Index (WSSI). This can be a useful tool when communicating the significance of winter weather impacts to the public. This product combines a multitude of winter weather factors like snow amount, snow load, ice accumulation, flash freeze, and blowing snow to derive the potential significance of a winter weather event on a scale from limited to extreme impacts. This product also takes into account non-meteorological factors like urban areas, land use, and forest classification. Urban areas will have greater impacts from snow amount and ice accumulation than rural areas. Land with many trees or buildings will have fewer impacts from blowing snow than open fields. Forests with conifer trees can handle more snow than deciduous trees and have a lesser impact from the snow load.

The WSSI should not be used alone though. Context from the forecast and winter weather alerts must also be known for effective preparation with approaching winter weather.