What are weather warnings and how do they work?

When extreme weather hits the UK, the Met Office issues a series of warnings to help keep the public safe.

The Met, which is the UK's official weather service, says its warnings are designed to let people, businesses, emergency responders and governments know what weather is in store and what the impacts of that weather may be.

There are three types of warnings based on the severity of the weather: yellow, amber or red.

The Met says it chooses between the three by assessing both the impact the weather may have and the likelihood of those impacts occurring.

Here we take a look at what each of the warnings mean...

Yellow

Yellow warnings are usually issued when bad weather is due, but the impact on daily life will be relatively small.

Disruption could involve travel delays, loss of electricity and water supplies, and minor damage to buildings.

Keep up with the latest weather forecasts

They can also be used when the impact of the weather could be much more severe - and even endanger life - but is less likely.

Amber

Amber warnings mean the weather is much more likely to disrupt your plans.

It could result in travel delays and cancellations, power cuts and risk to life and property.

Read more:
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Forecasters will ask people in impacted areas to consider changing their plans to minimise risk.

The Met Office suggests you may want to consider the impact of the weather on your family and your community and whether there is anything you need to do ahead of the severe weather to minimise the impact.

Red

Red weather warnings are the most severe and mean dangerous weather is likely.

They are likely to mean complete disruption to travel, loss of power and water, and significant damage to homes and businesses that is likely to endanger life.

When a red warning is issued, forecasters urge people to take immediate plans to protect their homes and businesses and avoid any travel where possible.

Check the details of each alert

Even though there are only three levels of alerts, the details of each one vary.

If you're concerned about the weather in your area, you can look at the Met's interactive map by clicking here, which shows the times of any weather warnings, along with information about how severe they are and what you might need to do to stay safe.

It also has an impact matrix grid, which shows two key factors: how likely the bad weather is, and how severe it could be.

The higher and further right the ticked box appears, the worse the weather could be.

(c) Sky News 2025: What are weather warnings and how do they work?