Know your weather alerts

Find out how the South African Weather Service categorises weather warnings.

October 6, 2018

Kathorus Mail 1 minute read

Three different types of weather alerts - know the difference.

The South African Weather Service makes a point of warning residents about any severe weather anomalies that could be potentially dangerous.

Severe weather is explained as an extreme meteorological event or phenomenon, which presents a real hazard to human life and property and has the potential to cause damage, serious social disruption, or loss of human and animal life.

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The service has separated alerts into three categories:

• Special weather advisory:

An alert raising awareness, up to five days in advance, to either expected large-scale potential disruptive weather systems that could later lead to specific watches or warnings with time, or to less urgent alerts of uncommon conditions.

• Severe weather watch:

An alert calling for preparedness to weather hazards that most likely will occur within one to three days and that could lead to disruptive and disastrous conditions.

• Severe weather warning:

An alert calling for reaction due to a very high certainty of a severe weather hazard that is already occurring or imminent within 24 hours and that could lead to disruptive and disastrous conditions.