December 9, 2025
RED FM News Desk
Canadians will now have a clearer sense of how dangerous a storm could become as Environment Canada rolls out a new color-coded system designed to show the impact of severe weather, not just its likelihood.
The federal agency has begun issuing weather alerts in three colors: yellow, orange, and red. Each outlining the level of expected damage and risk to the public. The change replaces the previous approach that relied mainly on watches and warnings accompanied by text descriptions.
A yellow alert signals moderate impacts, typically short-lived events that may cause minor utility outages, broken tree branches, roof damage, and a chance of injury from flying or falling debris. Yellow alerts will remain the most common during severe weather.
An orange alert represents major impacts that could last several days. These conditions may lead to widespread power outages, snapped small or medium-sized trees, roof damage, broken windows, scattered debris, and possible vehicle damage. Such warnings are less frequent.
The rare red alert indicates potentially life-threatening weather. Environment Canada says residents could face prolonged outages, structural damage to homes and buildings, fallen hydro poles, large amounts of debris, and a high risk of serious injury.
An example scenario includes homes without power, multiple broken windows, damaged siding, and trees crashing onto rooftops and vehicles.
The new system will be tailored to different weather events, from winter storms to extreme cold or heat, and may assign multiple colors to a single event if different hazards need to be highlighted.
Natalie Hasell, a warning-preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the agency has spent the past year developing the model, taking into account regional variations, impact severity, and confidence in the forecast.
Lower confidence paired with potentially serious consequences may still trigger a lighter alert level, while a highly certain but lower-impact event will receive a lower warning.
Most weather apps will display the new alerts, provided they support the feature. The most detailed and up-to-date information is available on Environment and Climate Change Canada’s official website.
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