Severe weather, storms, flooding and drought
Local and national weather reports should give you advance warning of severe weather or flooding. Keeping informed about wet weather, storms and heatwaves means you can act to protect yourself and your home from weather extremes.
Weather forecasts
- What to do in severe weather
- Northern Ireland weather forecast
- The Irish National Meteorological Service
- European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
Flooding
The Met Office works with DfI Rivers and NI Water to forecast areas where floods are likely.
If you need to report a flood, phone the Flooding Incident Line:
- phone: 0300 2000 100
You can read more about flooding at the following links:
Storms
Storms can happen inland and on coasts. High winds can cause damage along with heavy rainfall and storm surges. Wind-blown objects can be dangerous causing damage to property.
Damage can be caused to trees, power lines and too much water can cause floods along with land and mudslides. Lightning during thunderstorms can damage property and injure people.
You can report a fallen tree or blocked road online or by phone:
- online: Report an obstruction on a road or street
- phone: 0300 200 7891
You can also report a power cut:
Heatwave
Sunny weather is something everyone looks forward to, but a heatwave can cause unexpected problems.
Your health can be affected by hot weather if you are not prepared, and water supplies can become depleted.
Weather warnings
Weather warnings give advice about severe weather that is forecast to happen or likely to happen in certain areas. Met Office weather warnings are:
- yellow
- amber
- red
Yellow warning
A yellow warning is given when severe weather is possible immediately or in the coming days that might disrupt your plans. But, the weather impact could be worse in certain areas rather than all areas.
Amber warning
An amber warning is given when there is an increased likelihood of severe weather affecting you, resulting travel delays, power cuts, interruptions to utility services and even a danger to life.
Red warning
A red warning is given when there is high confidence of dangerous weather. You need to take action to protect yourself, other people and your property. Power cuts, lengthy travel disruption and danger to life are possible.
Weather forecasts
To get information about weather forecasts, go to:
- Northern Ireland weather forecast
- The Irish National Meteorological Service
- European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
Drought and water saving tips
To save water, it's important to think carefully about water use in the home and changing any water wasting habits:
Household severe weather plan
The household plan has advice on how to prepare for severe weather.