The German Weather Service (DWD) provides regular information about weather conditions and, in an emergency, also issues official severe weather warnings. But what do the colors mean on the weather maps that the DWD uses to warn of dangers? FOCUS Online explains the warning levels.
Exactly where lightning will strike or hailstones will fall is almost impossible for meteorologists to know far in advance. Thomas Ruppert from the German Weather Service compares this to boiling water: “You know that the water gets hot. However, one cannot say where the first bubble will rise.”
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The DWD therefore updates its map of weather and severe weather warnings several times an hour. In addition to the “advance information about severe weather”, there are four different warning levels. What the terms mean:
The DWD issues preliminary information if a region generally has to reckon with severe weather. “You can take that as a kind of advance warning,” said Ruppert. The crux is that at this point in time thunderstorms cannot yet be localized in terms of space and time, the meteorologist said. Some previously warned areas could therefore also remain dry. The advance warning is valid for a period of two to three hours in advance.
From warning level 1, meteorologists can narrow down the thunderstorm area spatially and temporally better. Areas where thunderstorms and gusts of wind are to be expected are marked in yellow on the map. The first two levels are still part of the weather warnings. From level 3, the DWD speaks of severe weather warnings.
All weather conditions with strong thunderstorms, gusts of wind, heavy rain and continuous rain fall into the second stage.
Level red is reached “when we assume that golf ball-sized hail or rain of over 25 milliliters per hour falls,” said Ruppert. From this level, the DWD recommends avoiding spending time outdoors.
The last warning level describes storms that can cause life-threatening situations and major damage. These cells can develop very quickly.
