(WOWK) – Today is the official first day of Spring, and StormTracker 13 Meteorologists predict that we will be warming up as we move through the week.

March 20th is also the first day of Spring Weather Awareness Week in West Virginia.

Spring is our big severe weather season in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky. The main severe weather threats to look out for in our area this month are severe thunderstorms, flooding and tornadoes.

It’s important to know the difference between a severe weather watch verses severe weather warning.

A weather watch is issued hours ahead of the event. The purpose of the watch is to spread awareness that severe weather is possible for the day. During a watch you still have time to plan for severe weather, and it is important to stay weather aware, and have multiple ways to receive information and alerts.

A weather warning is issued during or minutes before the severe weather event takes place. During a severe weather warning you no longer have time to plan. Warnings are much shorter compared to watches, and it is still important to have ways to receive weather alerts, so you know when the all-clear is issued.

If you want to stay weather aware on the go download our StormTracker 13 weather app, and stay ahead of the storms by clicking on the link below!