010
NOUS41 KWBC 051815
PNSWSH

Service Change Notice 24-88
National Weather Service Headquarters Silver Spring MD
215 PM EDT Thu Sep 5 2024

To: Subscribers:
 -NOAA Weather Wire Service
 -Emergency Managers Weather Information Network
 -NOAAPort
 Other NWS Partners, Users and Employees

From: Stephen Bieda III, Chief
 Severe, Fire, Public, and Winter Weather Services
Branch

Subject: Renaming of Excessive Heat Watch and Warning to Extreme
Heat Watch and Warning: Effective March 4, 2025

On or about March 4, 2025, the NWS will implement the following
changes to Public Program Text Products:

- Transition the following text products:
    * Excessive Heat Watch to Extreme Heat Watch
    * Excessive Heat Warning to Extreme Heat Warning

Extreme Heat Watch/Warning are contained in the Non-
Precipitation Weather Message (NPW).

The Valid Time Event Code (VTEC) phenomena code EH for
Excessive Heat Watch and Warning will be decommissioned and will
be replaced by the Extreme Heat Watch and Warning VTEC phenomena
code XH.VTEC enables weather providers and vendors to
automate and tailor the product stream delivered to their
clients.

These changes will result in the following changes to NWS
Warning, Watch, and Advisory maps for the aforementioned
products:

Product Name VTEC   Product Color
------------------------------------------------
Extreme Heat Warning XH.W   Mediumvioletred
Extreme Heat Watch XH.A   Maroon

For more information on all NWS Warning, Watch, Advisory
priorities and colors, please see https://www.weather.gov/help-
map

The reformatting changes are based on a public survey referenced
in the notice below:

https://www.weather.gov/media/notification/pdfs/pns18-
11npw_haz_simp.pdf

The results indicated that a majority of users surveyed favored
the changes as proposed.  A listing of the changes, along with
examples, are contained in the Product Description Document
(PDD) for Extreme Heat below:

https://nsdesk.servicenowservices.com/api/g_noa/nwspc/res2/2af4d
8b51bf6a110b13387bae54bcb94

Presentations and additional information on these upcoming
proposed changes and plans for the NWS Hazard Simplification
(Haz Simp) Project may be accessed at the Haz Simp Website:

https://www.weather.gov/hazardsimplification

For more information, please email:

hazsimp@noaa.gov

National Service Change Notices are online at:

https://www.weather.gov/notification