Elevation Matters: Splitting Counties

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.

There’s more after the break, so click in to read the entire post.

Here’s a look at the difference in elevation in just a short distance.  Notice the difference in elevation between Forbes State Park / Seven Springs area and Mt. Pleasant.  The elevation changes from 2,670 feet to 1,194 feet.  That’s a difference of about 1,500 feet over about 20 miles or so.  That’s a huge difference.  That’s the reason for the change!

Elevation between locations is very different and causes different types of weather.

Here’s what Charlie Woodrum of the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh has to say about the change:

We got a lot of user feedback that encouraged the change and we also believe that we can provide a better service with the new zones.

There were countless times where we had a large false alarm area during winter weather events for the lowlands when only the ridges were reaching criteria for snowfall.

In addition, although snowfall was the primary contributor to the change, the new zones will allow forecasters to provide more specific forecast products for temperature, wind, wind chill, and precipitation type for Fayette and Westmoreland counties.

You’ll start to see these changes take effect on November 15, 2010 at 1 PM.  Until then, we’re stuck with what we have.  If you’d like to read more about the change, head over to this website for all the details.