Press release 23.3.2007

Tiedote - Severe weather warnings for Europe from Meteoalarm.eu

A new website, designed to warn the public for severe weather across Europe, launches today. More than 20 European countries have combined to develop www.meteoalarm.eu - a unique initiative from Eumetnet, the public European weather services network within the World Meteorological Organization.

What does www.meteoalarm.eu offerA universally understood system using symbols and colour-coded maps provides the latest warnings of expected severe weather for the next 48 hours over most of Europe. Wherever you are in Europe, clear, concise information will help you plan your travel, or any activity affected by severe weather. Where, for example, might heavy rain cause flooding; what is the risk of avalanche; might fog delay my flight; and will hot, dry weather increase the risk of forest fires? Each country is color-coded on the map to represent four levels of warning: red to indicate exceptional risk from dangerous weather conditions, down through orange and yellow to green, indicating that severe weather is not expected.

The alert levels are published in a unified system with a clear relationship between the meteorological feature towards possible damage and proposed behavior, this to avoid damages.The thresholds for these levels differ from region to region because for instance intense snowfall in the Alpine region causes less disruption and damage then in Lisbon. Meteoalarm is also a portal to the national warning systems: click on the logo of individual weather services to visit websites of the respective national meteorological services for regional information.

Who will benefit from www.meteoalarm.euThe service concerns Europe but is meant for everyone in the world and available in 17 languages. Not only will business and holiday travelers benefit, so will official organizations such as marine and mountain rescue services. People can use www.meteoalarm.eu to plan more effectively, businesses can prepare for how severe weather could affect their operations and emergency services will have up-to-date information close to hand. TV weather presenters in Europe may use the colored map to enhance extreme weather.

Why www.meteoalarm.euOur climate is changing and extreme weather is likely to occur more frequently, increasing danger to life and damage to property. Time after time storms, floods, or avalanches somewhere in Europe have lead to a disaster and heat waves over recent years have cost many thousands of lives. Meteoalarm.eu provides a single source of comprehensive weather conditions anywhere in Europe.

The following countries have participated with their National Weather Services:Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

Read more:

www.meteoalarm.euAwareness information for Finland