Weather warning

The Met Office issues weather warnings through the National Severe Weather Warning Service "when severe weather has the potential to bring impacts to the UK". Warnings cover rain, thunderstorms, wind, snow, lightning, ice, extreme heat and fog, up to seven days ahead, at any time of day or night.

Warnings "are given a colour (yellow, amber or red) depending on a combination of both the impact the weather may have and the likelihood of those impacts occurring". Yellow and amber each cover a range, so the Met Office asks people to read the warning and check the matrix in its further details to see which box is ticked.

A yellow warning is often issued when there is a high likelihood of moderate impacts, such as some travel disruption in a few places; other yellow warnings cover much more significant impacts with lower certainty. An amber warning means an increased likelihood of impacts that could disrupt plans, and people should think about changing plans. A red warning means dangerous weather is expected with a very high likelihood of risk to life and substantial disruption; people should take action now, avoid travelling where possible and follow the advice of the emergency services and local authorities.