A new colour coded weather system is being introduced by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
With this Yellow-Orange-Red change, the goal is to quickly see how bad a weather event will be, rather than if there is a warning or not.
The most common alert will be yellow, which will indicate smaller, more localized and short term weather disruptions. (ex. Local snowfall, rainfall, short-term power outages)
Orange alerts will be for more severe weather that is likely to cause damage and disruptions. These can have major impact over a larger area and can last several days. (ex. Provincial snowfall, flooding, longer-term power outages)
Red alerts will be rare, but catastrophic, life-threatening, and extremely dangerous. The impacts would be wide-spread, long-lasting, and potentially historic. (ex. 1998 Quebec/Ontario Ice Storm, 2020 St. John’s Newfoundland “Snowmageddon”, 2021 British Columbia atmospheric river)
Environment Canada aims to make it easier to understand and quicker to identify the danger and severity of the weather in your area.
