– When I was new, it was much less common that we sent out danger alerts. Now we warn against more things than before, says state meteorologist and forecaster Terje Alsvik Walløe. During 2022, 1,102 weather warnings were issued by the Meteorological Institute. That’s a record. We are in the peak season for challenging weather, and the danger warnings keep popping up. Some may think there will be too many. On Thursday, the Meteorological Institute presented the weather report from the past year, and going forward they will, among other things, look at how the danger warnings can be improved. Confirms increase In a country with a lot of weather and big differences in the seasons, it can be challenging to be a meteorologist. – It can be quite difficult, and other times easy. It varies and is completely dependent on the weather situation, says Walløe. The Meteorological Institute has not kept detailed statistics on the danger warnings they have sent out in recent years, but Walløe confirms that there are more warnings now. Much of the increase is due to more details in the hazard warning and a strengthened safety culture. At the weather forecast service Yr.no, the meteorologists confirm that they receive many inquiries. People believe that there may be too many notifications at times. Arild Pedersen is one of those who think there are too many. – There shouldn’t be as much as in the past. It makes us more frustrated, I think. – I sometimes think it gets a bit excessive, says Arne Dal from Arendal. Torild Schjeldrup, on the other hand, thinks that the notifications are sensible. – It is better to be notified once too much than once too little. Wolf, wolf With several weather phenomena under the warning umbrella, it may seem that danger warnings have become commonplace. The tale of the boy who cried wolf might seem appropriate. – We are worried about a wolf-wolf situation, says director of weather forecasting for the Meteorological Institute, Bård Fjukstad. They are aware of the problem, and work is now being done to get new procedures in place. – You can underestimate the warnings when there are too many of them, believes state meteorologist Walløe. He thus agrees with colleague Fjukstad’s concern. Bård Fjukstad says the meteorologists appreciate feedback about the weather, so that they can do an even better job themselves. Photo: Kamilla Pedersen On the right track In the past, warnings have been sent out to an entire county. The coastal stretch may not need it, Fjukstad gives as an example. – We are working to limit the danger alerts to a more specific geographical area. Only those concerned should be able to see it. We are well underway with that work. But this can also present its own challenges. – At the same time, we have to tell people that if you are going to drive somewhere, you must make sure that you collect the information about this area as well. Fjukstad believes that the geography of Norway is part of the challenge. – There are quite large variations over relatively small distances. There may be situations where the meteorologists have to draw by hand which areas the warning applies to. He thinks they are good enough to do that. – Our people have the information they need and the skills to make it happen. On Tuesday, there was a warning for precipitation in Southern Norway. Along the coast, the precipitation came as rain. Inland there was snow. Here from a flooded Rv459 at Lindesnes in Agder. Photo: Victoria Marie Nordahl / news Further up the mountain, snow and wind caused problems. E134 over Haukelifjell which had to close. Photo: Statens vegvesen There were very difficult driving conditions on the E18 outside Oslo, and many motorists were queuing. Photo: Bård Nafstad / news Wagon trains in particular struggled in the snowy weather that subsided this week. Here, a wagon train has overturned on Torpavegen in Dokka in Eastern Norway. Photo: Ruth Barsten / news – Must look at the criteria Retired state meteorologist Kristen Gislefoss tells of fewer warnings when he started in the job in the 1990s. – They have clearer criteria now than before. We warned of extreme weather, wind and driving conditions over the mountain when I started. He doesn’t know if he thinks more danger warnings are counterproductive, but he thinks it might be worth looking at the criteria. – It could be that the areas are occasionally a bit too large or that the alerts are not well adapted to the location in question, says Gislefoss. Kristen Gislefoss was a weather forecaster for news from 1990 to 2021. Photo: news
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Danger warnings for weather have increased in recent years – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
