This is downright dumb. Every time I have heard a forecaster say "A severe _____ watch is in effect"..... they follow it with "meaning conditions are right for_____" We just continue to dumb down the country. Why not educate? and folks who live in an area prone to weather anomalies should know what to plan for. Its called personal responsibility

I agree with the previous posts, what is SO difficult to understand about the difference between a "watch' and a "warning?" Sad to think that people are really that dense...

I am mostly in agreement with the comments made so far. The NWS and Government Agency (ies) involved can only do so much, and at this point, I think there is too much "definity" in what is being said. Sandy was a very bad storm and will be retired, no matter what form it was in when it hit New Jersey. I personally feel the weather services did what they could, no one can ever completely foresee or control the weather. For that one, we would have to be God, and no one except God can lay claim to that. We need to move on and get over it. Definition and warnings and refining them are good, but just as not doing enough is bad, going too far and obsessing over it is bad as well. It does not accomplish anything constructive. My advice to everyone, lesson learned and let's move past this. There will be other hurricanes in the future where we have questions, I am sure. And, again, we are human, we can do our best, but we are not God, we can't control it. So, that means to me that there is no perfect solution. The important thing is to protect everyone the best way we can. And, I feel, that the weather people did that. We all knew that Sandy was going to be bad, days before it hit, as with other storms in the recent past. Now, it's time to lay this to rest, learn from it, of course, and move on. Weather is always changing.