As a fundamental meteorological service, severe weather warnings help to protect the population. MeteoSwiss monitors the meteorological hazard situation on behalf of the federal government in order to issue timely and accurate warnings to the public and authorities.
Gale-force winds, heavy snowfall, freezing rain, heavy precipitation and thunderstorms cause considerable damage to nature and infrastructure, as well as endangering people. Timely, accurate and clear warnings are essential for limiting the consequences of extreme natural events. The experts at MeteoSwiss are the first to identify whether a storm is imminent that could put people in danger and cause damage. If the forecasts for precipitation, wind strength or other variables reach certain threshold values, warnings are issued to the authorities and the public.
On the hazard map, MeteoSwiss provides information about current meteorological hazards such as wind, thunderstorms, rain, snow, icy roads, heat and frost. The map also displays warnings of other natural hazards such as floods, forest fires and avalanches. It is updated continuously.
https://www.meteoschweiz.admin.ch/home.html?tab=alarm
In the MeteoSwiss app, the user can subscribe to push notifications for warnings for any location, type of hazard or warning level.
Explainer video about severe weather warnings (german)
A five-level scale is used for warnings. MeteoSwiss generally issues warnings of meteorological hazards from level 2 (moderate danger) upwards.