TWC Today Forums
Other => General Discussion => Topic started by: twcclassics on August 15, 2011, 12:27:40 AM
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I was on the NWS website and noticed that they're redesigning. They've posted samples for visitors to look at and comment on. Although there's no place to comment. :thinking: Personally, I think the proposed design stinks. What are your thoughts?
http://www.weather.gov/redesign/ (http://www.weather.gov/redesign/)
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I personally think it looks better than today's design. The new one has a bit more class, and it looks more public friendly than the current version.
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I am just glad there was not an interactive map. The design is ok and I don't really have too many complaints.The core functionality and interface haven't radically changed too much. Have you seen the design change for the model page though? Now that is something I despise.
Btw in the blue box it says "Submit comments on the proposed design
Open through September 12th , 2011"
http://www.weather.gov/redesign/ (http://www.weather.gov/redesign/)
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The text for "Submit comments on the proposed design" is a link, and it will take you here for you to enter your comments:
http://www.weather.gov/survey/nws-survey.php?code=newwebdesign (http://www.weather.gov/survey/nws-survey.php?code=newwebdesign)
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The text for "Submit comments on the proposed design" is a link, and it will take you here for you to enter your comments:
[url]http://www.weather.gov/survey/nws-survey.php?code=newwebdesign[/url] ([url]http://www.weather.gov/survey/nws-survey.php?code=newwebdesign[/url])
:pinch: Didn't realize that was a link since it wasn't underlined. :nono: I think the design is really bland. And does the text really need to be that big!? :huh: The current one, though technically "outdated" looks much better in comparison.
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How are all the local offices going to be able to get the upgrade? The reason I ask is because every office has their own unique layout.
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The text for "Submit comments on the proposed design" is a link, and it will take you here for you to enter your comments:
[url]http://www.weather.gov/survey/nws-survey.php?code=newwebdesign[/url] ([url]http://www.weather.gov/survey/nws-survey.php?code=newwebdesign[/url])
:pinch: Didn't realize that was a link since it wasn't underlined. :nono: I think the design is really bland. And does the text really need to be that big!? :huh: The current one, though technically "outdated" looks much better in comparison.
Haha I know I usually look for the underline too!
How are all the local offices going to be able to get the upgrade? The reason I ask is because every office has their own unique layout.
That is an excellent question. I gathered from the link posted that the the forecasts were part of the skin. Patrick was explaining to me how its up to the regional weather offices. They really need to do something with those. The lack of continuity between how each office stores data is horrible. My office has random folders and names for everything. It's very hard to lookup old information
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That is an excellent question. I gathered from the link posted that the the forecasts were part of the skin. Patrick was explaining to me how its up to the regional weather offices. They really need to do something with those. The lack of continuity between how each office stores data is horrible. My office has random folders and names for everything. It's very hard to lookup old information
Definitely!!! :biggrin: The forecast/current conditions are the same, but you get into real trouble when you want to look at past weather, etc. It can be real tough if you're used to your own office's page. :wacko:
Overall, I am indifferent on this new design. It's not great or terrible. The worst part of the whole thing is going to be getting used to the new feel.
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Yeah, I've always hated how all the offices have their own layout, especially those part of the Western Region which has a strange layout compared to the other three regions (not sure why). They all should use the same format to make it easier to navigate. :yes:
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Yeah, I've always hated how all the offices have their own layout, especially those part of the Western Region which has a strange layout compared to the other three regions (not sure why). They all should use the same format to make it easier to navigate. :yes:
I also hate that, sometimes I don't bother clicking on those regions, I just type in the location I'm looking for so I can go directly to that page.
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I really wish that the NWS Memphis (http://www.srh.noaa.gov/meg/) Office would change their layout to match the NWS Lubbock (http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lub/) Office. Notice how Lubbock has a lot of extra features, while Memphis is very bland. Maybe that will change with the new layout.
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I haven't heard anything yet about whether the regional offices will begin to adopt similar styles or not. Unless I hear something else later, I don't think the regional differences will go away.
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Quite personally, I think it's a much better design. Not that I find anything wrong with the current ones. Sometimes, change is good.
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It's okay, no complaints.
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I know I'm bumping this topic, but the NWS is now officially advertising a preview of their re-designed pages on each of their local pages. You can click the link found on your local weather page, or visit preview.weather.gov to see it. (No guys, I'm not going crazy this time. :P)
I personally like the re-design for the local pages, and I think all local pages will look similar now, which is a definite step in the right direction. I know our original thoughts for the re-design were mostly negative, but now you've got TWC's re-design to compare it to. Which is better ... ??? :lol:
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I like it also. :yes:
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I noticed the preview earlier today. Looks pretty good. Well, TBH, anything probably would've looked good after seeing the same weather.gov site for years.
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It's not bad, but something needs to be done with the icons as they look severely pixelated enlarged like that.
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It's not bad, but something needs to be done with the icons as they look severely pixelated enlarged like that.
Leave a comment on that page as final feedback is being taken until May 18. I get the feeling we're seeing the final preview with a full release to come sometime soon.
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Personally I think I like the design change. certainly better than weather.com, which I had as a startup page on my computers since 2000.
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I definitely like the new design. But, as other stated, I don't think there's a problem with the way it currently looks.
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I actually love the new layout. They just need to do something about their current icons. I don't think they're meant to be stretched out.
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Leave a comment on that page as final feedback is being taken until May 18. I get the feeling we're seeing the final preview with a full release to come sometime soon.
Yes I have submitted feedback on that. Don't you also agree though that those icons are a bit pixelated? They just don't stand out well for some reason.
Also, I am NOT a fan of the new radar page. :no: Government agency websites are supposed to be simple, but the radar pages are a little complex for easy, quick viewing tbh.
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Yes I have submitted feedback on that. Don't you also agree though that those icons are a bit pixelated? They just don't stand out well for some reason.
Also, I am NOT a fan of the new radar page. :no: Government agency websites are supposed to be simple, but the radar pages are a little complex for easy, quick viewing tbh.
I'm not sure how the radar pages will be handled in the redesign. Only the national map is seen on the preview, but everything else is still with the older design. In regards to the icons, they are simply being enlarged in all directions as you can right-click on each icon and get the smaller image. I do hope those are cleaned up a little, too.
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I like it...
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One thing I think that also should really be changed is the sky conditions classifications. Instead of using NWS Directive 10-503 which classifies Sunny the same as Mostly Clear and Mostly Sunny the same as Partly Cloudy, they should just go back to measuring cloud cover by the 8th's like what it says in the NWS' glossary. Makes much better sense to me and I rarely even see "Clear" being used anymore other than the west coast even when there's not a single cloud in the sky.
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The new design goes live on July 2nd. I don't know about you Patrick, but I just don't think a site like this stands out nor is it convenient enough. :no: It's a government agency's site and IMO it needs to be simple and easy to navigate like the old one. Plus there are still a number of bugs and other issues that need to be corrected anyways.
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I like the new design. It has all the necessary information in a clean, crisp, organized format. No unneeded bells and whistles, but it's not as "dry" as the current design.
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The article only mentions the main home page, point-click forecasts, and a few other things that will be undergoing a new format. I'm at least hoping that they will eventually phase everything into the new design (I am personally very interested to see how SPC and NHC would look with this theme). If not, I'm not going to be a happy camper.
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The layout now is fine and all, but it's nice that they finally want to step into the 21st century now. The current layout is so 1999. :P j/k
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They really need to fix the icons on the new layout for the relaunch because resizing them just blurs them. :no:
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They really need to fix the icons on the new layout for the relaunch because resizing them just blurs them. :no:
I know, I totally agree with you Zach. Unfortunately, I don't think the NWS, or the general public for that matter, cares much about this, so it probably won't happen. :( To me, it looks like they made them a little better than before, but they are still very pixelated.
As far as the transition of all pages to the new design, I somehow feel that it's going to be a very slow process. And it's possible that some of the pages may never recieve the new update. Just look at weather.com. When was the last time they updated their "Monthly" page? :whistling:
We shall see about all of this come July 2...
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Looks like they've redesigned the redesign from the last time that I checked it. Looks like they've moved some things around and have re-added the Google Maps point forecast map compared to the previous version of this preview. I like it; it finally brings the weather.gov site into this millennium.
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So is the new design just going to be for the forecasts and will revert back to the old layout for any local NWS office data?
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So is the new design just going to be for the forecasts and will revert back to the old layout for any local NWS office data?
So far I haven't even seen a hint of the new design anywhere except for the forecasts. But it's still very early. Maybe other NWS pages will be upgraded if the new design is a success. But let's also keep in mind that the NWS isn't exactly awash with cash, and there's always the threat of budget cuts, so I'd rather they spend what money they do have on what really matters. If they have a little left over, they can redesign their webpages, but they shouldn't make it a top priority.
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The NWS has officially launched their new design, but as predicted, it is only for the main weather.gov page and the forecast pages at this point (from what I can see). Right now, a lot of links seem to be broken on the forecast pages. I know this is always a problem when launching a new website design, but hopefully they will be fixed soon.
Also, I am noticing on the forums that none of the weather observations are working. Could this be a result of their new website design (b/c I know the information comes from the NWS)?
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The NWS has officially launched their new design, but as predicted, it is only for the main weather.gov page and the forecast pages at this point (from what I can see). Right now, a lot of links seem to be broken on the forecast pages. I know this is always a problem when launching a new website design, but hopefully they will be fixed soon.
Also, I am noticing on the forums that none of the weather observations are working. Could this be a result of their new website design (b/c I know the information comes from the NWS)?
Its a big job and I'm not annoyed with the issues but you would think after months and months of the "preview" status they would have worked the bugs out.
This for example is just dumb. The homage of the NWS/Weather.gov shows the big map with all the warnings that we are used to. To get your area you have to go from the new layout to the old layout and then back to the new layout. :wacko:
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I'm going to clear up some things here. This redesign was only for weather.gov alone. The other NWS sites are on separate servers and domains, so they can't be changed right away. Everything always takes a long time for many reasons, including feedback and testing along with final approval from national headquarters. You all need to check the link I placed below and read what the bigger picture is on this whole redesign project. What you're seeing is simply the first phase, but it's going to take a while for everything to take shape:
http://www.weather.gov/redesign (http://www.weather.gov/redesign)
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I'm going to clear up some things here. This redesign was only for weather.gov alone. The other NWS sites are on separate servers and domains, so they can't be changed right away. Everything always takes a long time for many reasons, including feedback and testing along with final approval from national headquarters. You all need to check the link I placed below and read what the bigger picture is on this whole redesign project. What you're seeing is simply the first phase, but it's going to take a while for everything to take shape:
[url]http://www.weather.gov/redesign[/url] ([url]http://www.weather.gov/redesign[/url])
Sure I get that but why stretch it out? Why not just wait until everyone is caught up or ready to start updating? It seems confusing from a user point of view to have these drastic changes in layout just when navigating the site.
At the very least make it so that you only get to the old layout if you specifically want to get more info from the forecast office. Like I said before, to see one of the advisories on the the map located at weather.gov you have to go from then new layout, to the old one, to the new one. Surely they could find a way to make it smoother.
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At the very least make it so that you only get to the old layout if you specifically want to get more info from the forecast office. Like I said before, to see one of the advisories on the the map located at weather.gov you have to go from then new layout, to the old one, to the new one. Surely they could find a way to make it smoother.
Unfortunately, you're going from a national server (weather.gov) to a regional server hosting your local forecast office's website (erh.noaa.gov in your case) back to the national server (forecast.weather.gov). These servers are in very different places around the country. I get the feeling they still want to see how well the new layout is perceived before proceeding with the next phase, and budgeting is probably another reason why things are slow.
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BUMP
Haven't seen it in other offices, but quite a few NWS offices along the East Coast are slowly transitioning into a more modern office homepage.
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BUMP again.
The National Climatic Data Center has now changed designs.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ (http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/)
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I wish it was where the forum members' current weather conditions where they lived could be put back on the members' posts.
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The National Weather Service website? I think you've got your URLs switched up. :bleh:
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I wish it was where the forum members' current weather conditions where they lived could be put back on the members' posts.
If you are referring to this forum, the issue has already been brought up in the past, and there's currently nothing we can do about it. I encourage you to look at this topic (https://twctodayforums.com/forums/twc-today-news/weather-in-posts/).
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Let's keep this on topic, please. I would expect a lot more NWS redesigns ahead as it's a long and involved process from what I can tell.
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BUMP
Proposed changes to icons on NWS Point Forecast pages (http://www.weather.gov/forecast-icons)
What are everyone's thoughts on this? I personally think it's a good idea and like the slightly modified look of the new icons. :yes:
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I like the current set of icons better.
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I like the new icons, and especially like the idea of highlighting days where weather advisories are in effect. They needed to redesign the icons after the forecast pages were updated. They don't match well, and they were also enlarged in the new format to a point where they are heavily pixelated.
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I'm really glad those headlines are highlighted now, and I like seeing the changing weather conditions within a period. However, dual icons with no space between them will be a problem until the public becomes familiar with it. There is a learning curve with recognizing the new icons and combinations that may occur within a period, but I'm going to help you all now. ;) Here is a "before" and "after" page of the NWS icons based on all possible conditions that any METAR report could show along with any forecasts that could be made:
http://innovation.srh.noaa.gov/newicons/icons.html (http://innovation.srh.noaa.gov/newicons/icons.html)
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I'm really glad those headlines are highlighted now, and I like seeing the changing weather conditions within a period. However, dual icons with no space between them will be a problem until the public becomes familiar with it. There is a learning curve with recognizing the new icons and combinations that may occur within a period, but I'm going to help you all now. ;) Here is a "before" and "after" page of the NWS icons based on all possible conditions that any METAR report could show along with any forecasts that could be made:
[url]http://innovation.srh.noaa.gov/newicons/icons.html[/url] ([url]http://innovation.srh.noaa.gov/newicons/icons.html[/url])
Thanks for providing that link, Patrick. I actually didn't know some of those icons existed, like the tornado and funnel cloud ones. I wonder if an ASOS station has ever been able to report a tornado at the exact time the hourly observation was taken to display that icon?
Regardless of whether they do the split-icon thing and the highlighting of the alerts in effect, I really think they should switch to the new icon set, as they are just so much clearer than the old ones. And I know the old ones were originally created for and used on the old NWS design and got pixelated when they became enlarged for use on the newly designed webpages.
I guess I only have problems with a couple of the icons. For example, with the rain/snow, it's hard to tell that it's rain in the background since they overlay the icons and don't do the diagonal slash thing anymore. I guess any new icon set will take a learning curve, but I do think they will be better in the long-run.
BTW, out of curiosity, does anyone know where they get these pictures from? Some look computer-generated while others look like actual pictures taken by a professional that they must use.
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I wonder if an ASOS station has ever been able to report a tornado at the exact time the hourly observation was taken to display that icon?
Only human observers manning an ASOS station can report funnel clouds (coded as FC) and tornadoes (coded as +FC), because there is no way the automated equipment can detect those things. However, the NWS icons have to handle all possible conditions whether reported by automation or by human.
BTW, out of curiosity, does anyone know where they get these pictures from? Some look computer-generated while others look like actual pictures taken by a professional that they must use.
I think it is a combination of both, but I have no idea who took them and how they were generated. Regional and national headquarters create the NWS websites. The WFOs have little control on the overall layout of the site and just make tweaks to their local office pages.
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Only human observers manning an ASOS station can report funnel clouds (coded as FC) and tornadoes (coded as +FC), because there is no way the automated equipment can detect those things. However, the NWS icons have to handle all possible conditions whether reported by automation or by human.
Do human operated stations still ever report showers/rain showers (SHRA)? I haven't seen such a report from the manned stations since ~2005 or so.
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Do human operated stations still ever report showers/rain showers (SHRA)? I haven't seen such a report from the manned stations since ~2005 or so.
I believe they still can although I can't recall seeing it either lately. Classifying any precipitation as a shower is a judgment call on the observer based upon the character and duration. It ends up being easier to simply use the default observation from the automated equipment, which will never show a shower. Thus, the NWS shower icons are more than likely going to be used in the forecast portion rather than the current condition portion.
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I'm really glad those headlines are highlighted now, and I like seeing the changing weather conditions within a period. However, dual icons with no space between them will be a problem until the public becomes familiar with it. There is a learning curve with recognizing the new icons and combinations that may occur within a period, but I'm going to help you all now. ;) Here is a "before" and "after" page of the NWS icons based on all possible conditions that any METAR report could show along with any forecasts that could be made:
[url]http://innovation.srh.noaa.gov/newicons/icons.html[/url] ([url]http://innovation.srh.noaa.gov/newicons/icons.html[/url])
Thanks for providing that link, Patrick. I actually didn't know some of those icons existed, like the tornado and funnel cloud ones. I wonder if an ASOS station has ever been able to report a tornado at the exact time the hourly observation was taken to display that icon?
Regardless of whether they do the split-icon thing and the highlighting of the alerts in effect, I really think they should switch to the new icon set, as they are just so much clearer than the old ones. And I know the old ones were originally created for and used on the old NWS design and got pixelated when they became enlarged for use on the newly designed webpages.
I guess I only have problems with a couple of the icons. For example, with the rain/snow, it's hard to tell that it's rain in the background since they overlay the icons and don't do the diagonal slash thing anymore. I guess any new icon set will take a learning curve, but I do think they will be better in the long-run.
BTW, out of curiosity, does anyone know where they get these pictures from? Some look computer-generated while others look like actual pictures taken by a professional that they must use.
I actually like the newer icons. It's basically a refreshed look to their current ones.
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Does anyone know what the status is on getting the the new format to go live throughout the NWS domain? My NWS office has pretty much abandoned the new format, as many links that went to the newly designed site are broken (just try clicking on the map here: http://www.weather.gov/erh/ (http://www.weather.gov/erh/)). Most of the weather.gov-based sites also redirect to the old erh/wrh/crh.noaa.gov domain, which still uses the old format. This is really getting old, as it should not take two years to do this. Patrick, as an employee of the NWS do you know anything about this? It seems as of they just abandoned this whole changeover. :wacko: The SPC site is having this same issue and it's a mess now. If they are so adamant about getting things done then they need to finish them, not abandon them halfway through and come up with a different project that will encounter the same situation. Been an issue with them for years.
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Does anyone know what the status is on getting the the new format to go live throughout the NWS domain? My NWS office has pretty much abandoned the new format, as many links that went to the newly designed site are broken (just try clicking on the map here: [url]http://www.weather.gov/erh/[/url] ([url]http://www.weather.gov/erh/[/url])). Most of the weather.gov-based sites also redirect to the old erh/wrh/crh.noaa.gov domain, which still uses the old format. This is really getting old, as it should not take two years to do this. Patrick, as an employee of the NWS do you know anything about this? It seems as of they just abandoned this whole changeover. :wacko: The SPC site is having this same issue and it's a mess now. If they are so adamant about getting things done then they need to finish them, not abandon them halfway through and come up with a different project that will encounter the same situation. Been an issue with them for years.
You need to enter the new system from the national page first as that link you gave isn't completed. Use http://www.weather.gov/ (http://www.weather.gov/) for now. I was told that the new domain would launch sometime this spring, but I also know after working in the government for several years how slowly things progress. Deadlines often get pushed back. The reality is that the WFOs have no control here as it's all being handled by regional and national headquarters.
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Today, I noticed that the NWS is now using ESRI maps on forecast pages, as opposed to Google Maps.
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So this is kind of a random observation, but I'm pretty sure NWS changed the colors for freeze/hard freeze watches and warnings. Didn't a hard freeze warning used to be a blue color, and the freeze warning was a teal color? Now it's purple for hard freeze and a darker blue for freeze. The watch colors have changed too.
This image (http://s21.postimg.org/n7mt6f99z/Freeze_Colors.png) has the new colors. This link (http://www.nws.noaa.gov/wwamap-prd/faq.php) has the old colors.