A quarter of Dutch people find code orange, red weather warnings exaggerated

An average of a quarter of Dutch people think the weather warnings the KNMI gave last year were exaggerated, according to a study by I&O Research on behalf of the meteorological institute. In this case, it concerns codes orange and red. Code yellow warnings were not included in the study.

I&O research conducted five polls last year after a weather warning was issued. It contained four counts of code orange for heavy thunderstorms on the 20th and 22nd of June, Storm Ciarán on November 2, and slippery conditions due to ice on December 2. There was a code red in a part of the country on July 5 for Storm Poly.

There was most understanding for code red. Of the people asked, 88% said the weather warnings were fitting, and eight percent thought it was exaggerated. After the heavy thunderstorms of June 20, 39 percent indicated that code orange was excessive, while 51 percent thought the warning was appropriate.

"A possible explanation is that the nuisance from these thunderstorms was very local, and not everyone in the warning area was affected. Several people mention this as why they thought the weather warning was exaggerated," according to I&O research.

Pensioners are usually more likely to agree with the weather warnings than younger people. An average of four in ten have said they change their behavior after a weather warning. It was six in ten people when it came to code red.

Based on the research, I&O Research and the KNMI believe that weather warnings are generally well appreciated.