THE WEATHER FIELD GUIDE
Prepare well. Understand the warning.
Plain-language guides to the warnings, maps and seasonal outlooks behind our live coverage. Explore preparation, alert setup and forecast literacy in one place. Follow the linked official sources for current guidance.
Weather tools
Space weather & auroraCheck NOAA solar-storm conditions, explore both aurora maps, and help shape future space-weather and aviation features.Free toolsInteractive weather radarOpen the local weather desk with radar, outlooks and official NWS warnings.Weather desk
Start with your storm plan
Understand alerts and outlooks
Excessive Rainfall Outlook: Marginal to HighWhat WPC's flood-risk map means days before a warning, and what to do on a Moderate Risk day.Forecast literacy
Invest, depression, or PTC?What NHC's formation odds mean before a Gulf storm has a name.Tropics literacy
Set up alerts that wake you upNOAA Weather Radio, Wireless Emergency Alerts and weather apps: what each will wake you for, and the settings that matter overnight.Alert setup
Hail size chart: from pea to softballHail sizes in inches and millimeters, where severe starts, and which sizes trigger a phone alert.Hail reference
Flash Flood Emergency vs. Flash Flood WarningWhat changes when the NWS escalates, and how to decide whether to leave or get higher where you are.Flood alerts
How to read the new SPC outlook mapsConditional Intensity Groups replaced the old hatched area in March 2026. What each level means.Forecast literacy
El Niño winter 2026–27Where NOAA favors a wetter southern storm track, what it means for Texas and the Gulf Coast, and why this event may behave differently.Season outlook
Get ready, then keep watching
These guides support personal planning. They do not replace official warnings, emergency services or local evacuation orders. When a warning is in effect for you, act on it first and read later. Official forecasts and warnings: weather.gov.
