"Do different areas of the nation have different criteria for weather watches and warnings? For instance, when I lived in Raleigh, NC, if we were expecting 1-2 inches of snow, a weather advisory was issued. However, when I lived in Michigan, there had to be at least a forecast of 4 inches of snow for an advisory to be issued." —David

Hello David! Yes, weather alert criteria vary by location. This is especially true for winter weather, such as snowfall and low temperatures.

This has to do with how hardy a region is and how well experienced a community is with the threat, whether it be snow or cold weather. 

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Each of its roughly 120 local forecast offices sets criteria for its own area, based on local climate and the impacts that follow. 

Generally the farther north you are, the higher the threshold is for those impacts. 

An example is shown for parts of the East here:

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We’ve all made jokes about the Floridians freezing in 40-degree weather, but to them, it can actually be impactful because they aren’t used to that kind of cold. And have you ever seen a Floridian try to drive on snow? Let’s not talk about it. 

But in Buffalo or Billings, you’re probably going to just call that a day that ends in “y.” A blizzard or temperatures well below zero are still going to be dangerous in those cities, but they’re better prepared. 

Snow plows, salt reservoirs, bigger coats and drivers more used to the cold weather can raise the criteria. 

Variable criteria also apply to other types of weather alerts:

• The NWS is more aggressive with flood alerts around urban areas because more water runs off from the concrete and there are more people that can be impacted. 
• Heat and air quality alerts are more common in urban areas, too. That’s because urban areas produce and hold in more heat longer into the night. Cars and industries also produce more fine particulate matter that can be hazardous to your health in cities. 
• And inverse to the cold weather alerts, the threshold for warm weather alerts is lower further north than it is in the South. One hundred degrees in Minneapolis might open cooling centers and cause hospitalizations to rise, but in Phoenix or Dallas, that kind of heat is more common, so you see less severe alerts or fewer alerts. 

On the other hand, some alerts like hurricane warnings, tornado warnings and some other wind alerts are uniform across the country.

Jonathan Belles has been a digital meteorologist for weather.com for 10 years. His favorite weather is tropical weather, but also enjoys covering high-impact weather and news stories and winter storms. He's a two-time graduate of Florida State University and a proud graduate of St. Petersburg College.