AEMET weather warnings: what green, yellow, orange and red mean

Key rules

• Colours: Warnings use four colours: green, yellow, orange and red.
• Your zone: The colour depends on thresholds for your zone, so the same weather can be a different colour elsewhere.
• Orange and red: At orange, postpone risky activities and non-essential travel; at red, follow the authorities strictly and call 112 in an emergency.
• Regions: Some regions run their own alert systems, so check them too.

What the colours mean

Warnings use four colours: green, yellow, orange and red. Green means no risk, yellow means be aware, orange means dangerous and red means extreme danger. The colours are the same across all of Spain, including the Balearic and Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla.

• Green: no weather phenomenon of special danger is expected.
• Yellow: no risk for most people, but some danger for certain activities or for people who are exposed or vulnerable, for example in the mountains or on the coast.
• Orange: an important risk. The phenomenon is dangerous and unusually intense.
• Red: an extreme risk. The phenomena are exceptionally intense and unusual, and very dangerous for the population.

What to do at each level

• Green: you need no precautions.
• Yellow: stay informed of the forecast. Take care with outdoor activities that the hazard affects, such as hiking in wind or swimming in rough seas.
• Orange: be careful and follow the updates. Follow the instructions of Protección Civil and the emergency services. Avoid or postpone risky activities and non-essential travel in the affected area.
• Red: take extreme precautions and follow the authorities' instructions strictly. Avoid travel and exposed activities. Call 112 in an emergency.

Each hazard also has its own advice. In floods, stay away from river beds and underpasses. In a heat wave, avoid the hottest hours of the day.

Why the same weather gives different colours

Each hazard has its own thresholds in each warning zone. A zone is usually a province or part of one, a coastal strip, a mountain area or an island. The thresholds follow the local climate, so the same value can be a different colour in different places. A high temperature that is orange in Cantabria or Galicia may be only yellow in Córdoba or Seville. Rain thresholds are higher on the Mediterranean coast and in Valencia than in drier inland zones. Wind and snow thresholds also vary by zone and altitude.

To see the threshold for your zone, open the warning detail and compare it with the table of thresholds in the warnings section of the AEMET website.

Which hazards get a colour

Colour warnings cover rain, storms, wind, snow, heat, cold, rough seas and waves on the coast, fog, and accumulated rain including floods. Some areas also get forest-fire risk warnings. The Canary Islands also get dust (calima) warnings. Some mountain zones get avalanche warnings.

Finding the warning for your town

1. Go to the AEMET website and open the "Avisos" section. Click your province or zone on the map.
2. Or search your municipality on the forecast pages. The municipality page also shows any warnings in force.
3. Install the free AEMET app for Android or iOS. Save your home and places you travel to, and switch on notifications.

The warning detail shows the colour, the hazard, the start and end times and the threshold. You can filter the map by day (today, tomorrow, the day after) and by hazard.

Regional services

Regional services such as Meteocat in Catalonia, Euskalmet in the Basque Country and MeteoGalicia work mostly with the same colours or the national warnings. Some regions also run their own civil-protection alert systems, such as Procicat in Catalonia. These can use different levels and wording. If you live in one of those regions, check its service as well.

The checklist and decision guide below turn this into steps, and the vocabulary resource lists the Spanish words you may hear in an alert.

Choosing between options

How should you act on the warning colour for your zone?

• Carry on as normal: The warning is green: no phenomenon of special danger is expected and no precautions are needed.

• Carry on but stay alert: The warning is yellow: stay informed of the forecast and take care with outdoor activities that are sensitive to the hazard, especially in the mountains or on the coast.

• Postpone risky plans: The warning is orange: the phenomenon is dangerous, so follow Protección Civil and avoid or postpone risky activities and non-essential travel in the affected area.

• Stay put and follow the authorities: The warning is red: the danger is extreme, so avoid travel and exposed activities, follow instructions strictly and call 112 in an emergency.

Go by the colour shown for your own zone and hazard, because the same value can be a different colour in different places.

Checklist

• Open the "Avisos" section of the AEMET website and click your province or zone on the map to see the colour in force.

• Install the free AEMET app and save your home and any place you travel to, then switch on warning notifications.

• Follow the advice for the colour: stay informed on yellow, postpone risky activities and non-essential travel on orange, and follow the authorities' instructions strictly on red.

What to watch out for

• Yellow is not safe for everyone: Yellow means no risk for the general population, but there is a certain danger for people on the mountains or coast, or for people who are particularly exposed or vulnerable. If you hike, swim, sail or are otherwise exposed, stay informed of the forecast and take care with activities that are sensitive to the hazard.

• Orange means a dangerous, unusual phenomenon: Orange is an important risk: the phenomenon is dangerous and unusual in intensity, and travelling or carrying on as normal can put you in harm's way.

• Red means extreme danger: Red is an extreme risk: the phenomena are exceptionally intense and unusual, with a very high danger to the population. Take extreme precautions, follow the authorities' instructions strictly, avoid travel and exposed activities, and call 112 in an emergency.

• Each hazard needs its own precautions: The colour does not tell you what to do for a specific hazard, and the right action differs between, for example, a flood and a heat wave. In floods, avoid river beds and underpasses.

Weather alert vocabulary: Spanish words you need in an emergency

Weather warnings

• Aviso: a weather warning from the national weather service (AEMET). It comes with a colour: green (no risk), yellow (riesgo, some risk, stay aware), orange (riesgo importante, important risk) or red (riesgo extremo, extreme risk).
• Meteoalerta: the national system that issues these colour warnings.
• Fenómeno adverso: a hazardous weather event, such as heavy rain, storms or heat.
• Umbral: the threshold. A warning is issued when forecast weather passes it.
• Nivel: level, as in "nivel naranja" (orange level).
• Vigilancia: monitoring. Authorities are watching the situation.
• Precaución: caution.
• Peligro: danger.

Alert phases

• Alerta: an alert, or a general state of alertness. You will see it in "ES-Alert", the text message sent to every phone in an affected area.
• Prealerta: the early phase of a civil-protection plan, before a full emergency.
• Emergencia: an emergency that is happening now.

What you may be told to do

• Confinamiento: stay indoors with doors and windows closed. Do not go out.
• Desalojo: leave a building or a small area, usually for a short time and often as a precaution.
• Evacuación: an organised move of people out of a danger zone to a safe place or shelter. It is usually bigger than a desalojo.

The exact meaning of these three can differ between regional plans. If you are unsure, follow the instruction in the message and check your regional civil protection service.

Weather words in the news

• DANA: a pocket of cold air high in the atmosphere that separates from the main air flow and sits over Spain. In autumn, when it meets warm, humid Mediterranean air, it can bring torrential rain, flash floods, hail and storms. It is most common on the Mediterranean coast and in the Balearic Islands.
• Gota fría: the older popular name for the same thing.

A DANA is not a warning level. If one is coming, look for the yellow, orange or red warnings for rain or storms.

Language of alerts

Alerts are mostly in Spanish. Regional authorities often add the local language: Catalan, Basque, Galician or Valencian. ES-Alert messages may be in Spanish only or in both languages, depending on who sends them. AEMET warnings are in Spanish, with some English and regional-language versions.

If you cannot understand a message, call 112, the single emergency number across Spain. Many regions answer in English. Your town hall (ayuntamiento) and your regional civil protection page also publish guidance.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the same temperature a different colour in different places?

Each warning zone has its own thresholds, tied to the local climate, so the same value can give a different colour in different places. A maximum temperature that triggers a warning in Cantabria or Galicia can be normal in Córdoba or Seville.

Which weather hazards does AEMET issue colour warnings for?

AEMET issues colour warnings for rain, storms, wind, snow, heat, cold, coastal events, fog and accumulated rain including floods.

How do I find the current warning for my town?

Open the "Avisos" section on the AEMET website, pick the map of Spain and click your province or zone. You can also use the free AEMET app for Android and iOS to save locations and switch on notifications.

Do regional weather services use the same colours as AEMET?

Mostly yes, regional services such as Meteocat, Euskalmet and MeteoGalicia work with the same colours or with AEMET's warnings for their area. Some regions also have their own civil-protection alert systems, such as Catalonia's Procicat, whose levels and wording can differ from AEMET's.