What the weather warning colours mean

Thursday, 15 October · Zefita

The warnings you see on Zefita are not written by us. Every 5 minutes we pull them from the national weather services through the European Meteoalarm network (EUMETNET) and show them with the time of issue, the area and a link to the official text.

Yellow. The weather may be dangerous for exposed activities (hiking, sailing, working at height). Be aware, especially in a vulnerable area.

Orange. Severe phenomena: strong wind, heavy rain, heatwave, hard frost, heavy snow. Damage and disruption are possible. Follow the authorities’ advice and postpone non-essential travel.

Red. Extreme phenomena, with danger to life and major damage over large areas. Protect yourself and stay informed through official channels.

Each national service sets its own thresholds per region: 30 cm of snow means something different in the Alps than in Lisbon. If a warning on this site lags behind meteoalarm.org, the official source takes precedence. You can get notifications only for the official warnings of your city, with the button on the city page.