What you need to know for winter weather awareness

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - With colder temperatures approaching, the National Weather Service wants people to be prepared, that’s why today, Thursday, Nov. 10, is Winter Weather Awareness Day in Iowa and Nebraska.

The main focus of Winter Weather Awareness Day is to help people prepare for weather and focus attention to the possible dangers with winter weather.

Brian Smith with the National Weather Service in Omaha, Neb., said one very important thing to prepare before winter, is your car.

“Especially when they are driving it’s important to prepare their vehicle ahead of time. Make sure your brakes are good, make sure your tires have good tread wear on them, and your coolant system is good for the winter season. If your vehicle is in good condition, then you should be ok,” Smith said.

He also reminds people the difference between a watch and a warning. He compared it to tacos, saying, if you have all the ingredients to make a taco, but you are not eating the taco, it’s a watch. A warning, however, you are having tacos RIGHT NOW.

Smith also said to regularly check the forecast because it can change quickly. For Nebraska and Iowa, you can check out weather.gov/omaha where you can find warnings, watches, advisories and radar data.

Smith advises people have several different ways to receive weather information.

You can also download KTIV’s Storm Team 4 Weather App on the Google Play and Apple App Store.

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