Q&A on the News

Q: President Obama is imposing a two-year freeze on pay raises for federal employees. Does that apply to members of Congress in 2011 and 2012?

—David Manecke, Mableton

A: The president's two-year pay freeze order does not apply to the legislative branch; it applies only to federal employees in the executive branch, Kyle Anderson, communications director for the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on House Administration, told Q&A on the News. He added that the House voted to forgo statutory pay increases for members' salaries in 2010 and 2011. The bill, which denied lawmakers' $1,600 cost-of-living increase in 2011, also was passed by the Senate during the spring. Lawmakers have not decided about 2012 raises.

Q: I know what a tornado “warning” means and what a “watch” means, but exactly what is an “advisory”?

—Lance DeLoach, Thomaston

A: An advisory is meteorological information that is issued when actual or expected weather conditions do not constitute a serious hazard but may cause inconvenience or concern, Glenn Burns, chief meteorologist for Channel 2 Action News, told Q&A on the News. He said examples of weather advisories include small craft advisories or winter weather advisories. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says a watch is issued when tornadoes and other severe conditions are possible in the next several hours and individuals need to be prepared to go to safe shelter in the case of a warning or sighting, according to www.spc.noaa.gov. The website says "a warning means that a tornado has been spotted, or that Doppler radar indicates a thunderstorm circulation which can spawn a tornado."