Met Office: What do yellow, amber and red weather warnings mean?

The Met Office issues various coloured weather warnings throughout the year.

Whether it’s for extreme heat in the summer months or for flooding and blizzards in the winter, these warnings are a regular part of our year.

Understanding what each of these warnings means is important as it will allow you to know what to expect and could potentially save you from serious trouble.

With that said, here is what each weather warning means and what to expect from them.

(Canva) The Met Office issues yellow, amber and red warnings for various weather conditions (Image: Canva)

What do amber, yellow and red weather warnings from the Met Office mean?

There are three commonly used colours when it comes to weather warnings issued by the Met Office.

Yellow, amber and red warnings are issued with each denoting various levels of danger and impact.

Here is what each colour issued by the Met Office means:

Yellow weather warnings: These warnings are issued for a range of weather situations that are likely to cause some low-level impact (such as travel disruption) to a limited area.

Such weather warnings mean most people can continue with their day as normal.

Other yellow warnings are issued when extreme weather is capable of causing an impact on most but where the certainty of this is much lower.

(Canva) Yellow weather warnings are the lowest Met Office alert and are issued for low level disruption in limited areas (Image: Canva)

Amber weather warnings: Moving up in severity is the amber warning which is used when severe weather has the potential to disrupt plans.

This means the weather could hinder travel, cause road and rail closures, power cuts and pose a risk to life and property.

When these are issued, residents should change or alter their plans to protect themselves.

Red weather warnings: Red weather warnings are the most serious warnings issued by the Met Office and are considered dangerous.

Immediate action should be taken to protect you and your loved ones as the weather will pose a risk to life, drastically disrupt travel, and energy supplies and see widespread damage to property.

Find out more on the Met Office website.