The KNMI will stop issuing weather warnings per province. Code yellow, orange or red will then only apply in an area where risks apply. The weather service wants to warn people more specifically. The KNMI wants to start this sometime in 2027, if the planning goes well.
“Until May 20 of this year, it was legally established that we were only allowed to warn per province. This was adjusted last month,” a KNMI spokesperson shared on Wednesday. The current warning system has been a thorn in the side of the weather service for some time. Earlier this year, the KNMI indicated that it wanted to warn ‘more specifically’, so that people can ‘better anticipate possible risks’.
This Wednesday’s situation shows where the current system of color codes falls short. Code yellow will be in force from 12 noon in ten of the twelve provinces, while the risk of thunderstorms and hail is mainly present in the east and center of the country. “We are going to work with what meteorologists call ‘polygons’: circles around an area that indicate the local weather,” the KNMI now says.
Previously, it was thought to warn per safety region, municipality or even per postal code. “But that turned out not to be very practical. The weather is not an exact science and does not adhere to such limits. However, it may also be the case next year that the warning areas are not exactly correct. It remains a matter of predicting.”
Push notification in case of thunder
From July, users of the KNMI app will notice another change. It currently shows weather forecasts, but next month it will also show upcoming thunderstorms. “These showers are extremely localized and we will only know whether they are actually coming shortly in advance,” the KNMI shares.
That is why app users receive a push notification based on their location when a thunderstorm is approaching. A test to see whether people find alerts via the app useful. The end of the color warnings per province is taking longer. “Adjusting that system is complicated and will take until at least next year.”