BINGHAMTON (WBNG) – Although it may not feel like it, winter is quickly approaching across the Southern Plains.

As the season changes, the National Weather Service has updated the wording of some of its cold warnings.

Previously, the NWS used Wind Chill Advisory, Watch and Warning to signal extreme cold that could impact people.

But with its Hazard Simplification Process, the NWS changed the wording to show that cold weather is “dangerous,” with or without wind.

These new alert names are: “Cold Weather Advisory,” “Extreme Cold Watch,” and “Extreme Cold Warning.”

“Cold is cold,” said Mark Pellerito, warning coordination meteorologist. “It doesn’t matter if it’s temperature or wind chill. When temperatures are below minus 20 degrees, wind chill or temperature is dangerously cold and you need to take protective measures to avoid suffering cold-related injuries or worse.”

While the names have changed, the thresholds or numbers required to issue these alerts have not changed.

Pellerito said that similar to heat warnings in the summer, cold warnings are also issued when human impacts occur.

“When it comes to winter, wind chill is certainly related to it, but the real impact on the human body is extreme cold,” he said.

The new warnings went into effect in early October.

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