Wind Advisory, High Wind Watch, or Warning: when to secure, slow down, and shelter

Wind Advisory

Strong wind is expected or occurring below warning level

The NWS issues a Wind Advisory when strong wind is occurring or expected, but conditions are not strong enough for a High Wind Warning under local criteria. An advisory is still an action product: unsecured items can become airborne, travel can become difficult, and branches or weakened trees may fall.

1. Bring in or secure trash cans, patio furniture, umbrellas, decorations, sports equipment, and other loose outdoor objects.
2. Slow down while driving, keep both hands on the wheel, and leave extra space for sudden gusts.
3. Use added caution in trucks, vans, buses, recreational vehicles, and vehicles towing trailers.
4. Avoid parking or standing beneath weakened trees, large branches, signs, or power lines.
5. Charge phones and essential batteries in case wind causes an outage.

High Wind Watch

Damaging wind is possible: use the lead time to prepare

A High Wind Watch means sustained strong wind is possible, but the exact occurrence, timing, or location may still be uncertain. A watch is the time to remove hazards and adjust plans before the wind begins—not a promise that every place in the watch will receive damaging gusts.

NWS preparation guidance also recommends charging phones, weather radios, and essential battery packs and maintaining an emergency kit with food and water. Keep checking the forecast: the watch may be upgraded, changed, or allowed to expire.

High Wind Warning

Damaging wind is expected or occurring: move to sturdy shelter

A High Wind Warning means sustained strong wind with even stronger gusts is expected or already occurring. The NWS directs people to seek shelter. Go inside a sturdy building and move to an interior room or basement, away from windows and exterior doors.

• Do not go outside to retrieve an object after the strongest winds begin.
• Leave a mobile home for a sturdy building before the wind reaches your location.
• Stay away from windows, skylights, and exterior rooms exposed to falling trees or windblown debris.
• Keep receiving updates through more than one path, such as phone alerts, local media, and NOAA Weather Radio.
• Follow evacuation or closure instructions from local public-safety officials.

If you are caught driving and cannot reach a sturdy building, slow down, hold the steering wheel with both hands, and keep away from high-profile vehicles. Choose a place where trees and power lines are less likely to fall on the vehicle. Never stop in a travel lane.

Read the product name

Outlooks, forecasts, watches, advisories, and warnings answer different questions

Wind speed in a forecast and the name of an official alert are related, but they are not interchangeable. Use the sequence to move from awareness to a specific decision.

Hazardous Weather Outlook

A broad early signal describing potentially hazardous weather over the coming days. Use it to notice a developing wind threat and monitor updates; it is not a local warning.

Local NWS forecast

The expected wind direction, sustained speed, gusts, and timing for a particular place. Forecast numbers can change and do not automatically mean an alert is active.

High Wind Watch

Damaging wind is possible. Secure hazards, review travel and shelter plans, and be ready for a later warning.

Wind Advisory

Strong wind is expected or occurring below local warning criteria. Take precautions outdoors and while driving.

High Wind Warning

Damaging wind is expected or occurring. Move into sturdy shelter and follow the full warning instructions.

Do not swap alert types

The cause and location of the wind determine which official product applies

A High Wind Warning is generally for non-thunderstorm wind over land. Other hazards have their own products and instructions. Read the exact alert instead of assuming every strong-wind event should be handled under the same label.

• Severe Thunderstorm Watch or Warning: convective storms may produce damaging straight-line wind, hail, lightning, or tornadoes. A warning means take sturdy shelter away from windows.
• Tropical Storm or Hurricane Watch or Warning: tropical-cyclone winds can arrive with storm surge, flooding, tornadoes, and evacuation orders. Follow NHC and local emergency instructions.
• Dust Storm Warning: blowing dust can collapse road visibility. The safe driving action is different from ordinary high-wind travel advice.
• Red Flag Warning: wind combined with dry fuels and low humidity can support rapid fire spread. It is not itself an evacuation order.
• Gale or Hurricane Force Wind Warning: these are marine products for waters and vessels, not substitutes for land-based alerts.

After the strongest wind

Wait for official updates and treat damage as an active hazard

A quiet period does not prove the event is over. Continue monitoring the latest forecast and alerts, and wait for local officials before entering closed or damaged areas.

1. Stay far from downed or sagging power lines and anything touching them; report them to local authorities or the utility.
2. Watch for unstable branches, damaged trees, broken glass, sharp debris, and weakened structures.
3. Do not drive around barricades or through areas closed for wires, trees, flooding, or emergency work.
4. If power is out, use generators outdoors and far from doors, windows, and vents; never use one in a home, garage, or enclosed space.
5. Photograph damage only when it is safe and avoid unnecessary travel while crews are clearing roads.