New zones set to take effect Mid-November

Our area is full of so much varied terrain and every once in a while, it makes sense to change some of the boundaries to make better use of the watches and warnings system.  That’s what the National Weather Service has done.

Starting in November, Westmoreland and Fayette Counties will each be split into two separate regions.  The western region will still go by the county name.  The eastern part of each county will add ‘ridges’ to the name.  So, eastern Westmoreland County will now become Westmoreland Ridges.  The same goes for Fayette Ridges.  Take a look at the graphic to the right to see what I mean.

So, why the change?  Well, the area is vastly different if you go just a short distance.  By separating these regions, it’ll make forecasting and issuing warnings for those areas easier for the folks doing the issuing and easier to understand for everybody in the region.  Now, we won’t have ALL of Westmoreland County under a blizzard warning when it only needs to be the higher elevations.

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