Meaning & use
hurricane watch
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
an official announcement that a hurricane may reach an area soon, so people should get ready
Grammar: Countable: use 'a hurricane watch' or 'hurricane watches'; the plural is common in weather reports.
Patterns
- issue a hurricane watch
- be under a hurricane watch
- a hurricane watch for something
The coast is under a hurricane watch until tomorrow morning.
Officials issued a hurricane watch for the islands as the storm moved closer.
When a hurricane watch is announced, fill your car with gas and charge your phone.
Word forms
| plural | hurricane watches |
|---|
Common combinations
- issue a hurricane watch
- The weather service issued a hurricane watch for the whole coast.
- be under a hurricane watch
- We are under a hurricane watch, so schools are closed.
- a hurricane watch for + place
- They announced a hurricane watch for Florida.
- lift a hurricane watch
- The hurricane watch was lifted after the storm turned north.
Synonyms and how they differ
- storm watch
- This is a wider term for any strong storm, not only a hurricane.
- alert
- An alert is a general warning; a hurricane watch is the specific official term for a possible hurricane.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: hurricane watch or hurricane warning?
hurricane watch vs hurricane warning
A watch means a hurricane is possible; a warning means one is expected soon. A warning is more serious.
Practice
The storm may reach the coast in two days, so the weather service has ___ a hurricane watch.
Choose one answer.
'Issue' is the natural verb for official announcements like watches and warnings. 'Made' and 'done' are too general, and 'given' does not fit this official weather context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hurricane watch”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.