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A weather warning generally refers to an alert issued by a
meteorological Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
agency to warn citizens of approaching dangerous
weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...
. A weather watch, on the other hand, typically refers to an alert issued to indicate that conditions are favorable for the development of dangerous weather patterns, although the dangerous weather conditions themselves are not currently present.


Australia

The
Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together ...
is responsible for issuing weather warnings in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. The Bureau's warnings can be separated into severe thunderstorm warnings and severe weather warnings. Severe thunderstorm warnings are issued when either a severe thunderstorm is reported or if existing thunderstorms are expected to become severe. Severe weather warnings are issued when severe weather is occurring or expected in an area, which are not solely related to severe thunderstorms.


Canada

In
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, governmental weather warnings and watches are issued by the
Environment Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; french: Environnement et Changement climatique Canada),Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of the Environment ( ...
. Environment Canada defines an advisory as ''"an alert to cover a wide array of deteriorating weather conditions,"'' a watch as ''"when conditions favour that severe weather forming"'' and a warning as ''"severe weather is actually occurring or is imminent."'

Additionally, Environment Canada breaks down weather alerts based upon the specific type of hazardous weather. These alerts are regionally issued throughout Canada and include, but are not limited to, winter storms, extreme temperature(including tornadoes), wind, tsunami, tropical cyclones, and extreme precipitation amounts.


New Zealand

MetService Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited (MetService - Te Ratonga Tirorangi) is the national meteorological service of New Zealand. MetService was established as a state-owned enterprise in 1992. It employs about 300 staff, and its headqua ...
is the National Meteorological Service of
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, and is designated by the Minister of Transport to provide New Zealand's authorised meteorological warning service.Meteorological Services Act 1990
/ref> MetService issues Severe Weather Outlooks, Watches and Warnings under a Code of Practice that enables others to distribute this information in the national interest. Weather Warning Criteria are published on it
website
Like the United States NWS, MetService breaks down weather warnings and watches based on the specific type of hazardous weather – heavy rain, heavy snow, severe gales, and other weather likely to cause significant disruption to the general public or specific industry groups. MetService also provides Severe Thunderstorm Outlooks, Watches, and Warnings to deal with heavy rain and strong wind gusts caused by thunderstorms, as well as large hail and damaging tornadoes.


Philippines

In the Philippines, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (
PAGASA Pagasa may refer to: * ''Pagasa'' (genus), an insect genus in the family Nabidae * PAGASA, an acronym for the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration *"May Pagasa", a pen-name of José Rizal José Prot ...
) issues rainfall advisories, thunderstorm advisories, gale warnings, flood warnings, and
tropical cyclone wind signals The Tropical Cyclone Wind Signals (TCWS, or simply ''wind signals'' or ''signals''; Filipino: ''Mga Babala ng Bagyo'') are tropical cyclone alert levels issued by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration ...
.


Sweden

The
Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute ( sv, Sveriges meteorologiska och hydrologiska institut, abbreviated SMHI) is a Government agency in Sweden and operates under the Ministry of the Environment. SMHI has expertise within the ...
uses terminology based on other countries. Yellow level means forecast of weather that can mean some risks and disturbances to transport and other parts of society. Amber level is for weather that can mean danger, damage, and larger disturbances. Red level is for weather that can mean big danger, serious damage, and major disturbances. This can refer to many types of weather related events such as wind, flooding, snow, forest fires, etc. Sweden does not have as severe weather as some other countries, so red events in Sweden would normally not cause large international headlines. Until 2021 the SMHI its own warning level terminology, Class 1, 2 and 3, fairly much corresponding to Yellow, Amber and Red.


United Kingdom

The
Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...
, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
's national weather service, does not issue separate weather warnings and watches, but has an analogous system of flash warnings and advance warnings that serve the same general role of weather warnings and weather watches, respectively. Other official meteorological departments may use similar systems but use different terms. The Met Office and other weather services have three colour coded warning levels: * Yellow: Be aware. Possible travel delays, or the disruption of your day-to-day activities. * Amber: Be prepared. Could cause road and rail closures, interruption to power, and the potential risk to life and property. * Red: Take action. Widespread damage, travel and power disruption, and risk to life are likely. Avoid dangerous areas. Thunderstorm warnings both Severe and Watch are also issued as of 2018.


United States

In the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, governmental weather warnings and watches are issued by the
National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
, which is itself a branch of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
. The NWS defines a watch as ''"the risk of hazardous weather or hydrologic event ncreasingsignificantly, but its occurrence, location, and/or timing is still uncertain"'' and a warning as ''"hazardous weather or hydrologic event
hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
is occurring, is imminent, or has a very high probability of occurring"'

Additionally, the NWS breaks down weather warnings and watches based upon the specific type of hazardous weather. These warnings and watches include, but are not limited to, flooding, severe local storms, tropical cyclones, and winter storms.


See also

*
Meteoalarm Meteoalarm is a website developed by EUMETNET, a network of European states' national meteorological services, providing severe weather warnings. Maps are used to show where and which type of dangerous weather events are forecasted to occur within ...


References

{{Reflist


External links


National Weather ServiceUK Met OfficeMeteorological Service of New Zealand (MetService)
Weather warnings and advisories