As the effects of climate change become more prevalent, it’s hard to predict what winter will have in store for us this year.
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winter → become → us
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s new emergency coding system, which was introduced in late 2025, does not base its warnings on amounts of snow or rain.
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which → cod → snow
Rather, it advises users based on the weather’s likely impact in a specific region, with each warning differentiated by three distinct factors: its hazard, colour and alert type.
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warning → advise → factors
Read on to understand what the different codes mean and how to best prepare for each type of warning this winter.
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codes → read → warning
HAZARD TYPES: KNOWING WHAT EACH MEANS
•
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EACH → know → WHAT
These occur when liquid precipitation freezes and hits surfaces below freezing, which creates a layer of ice.
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which → occur → ice
In Ontario, freezing rain and freezing drizzle often have outsized consequences for roads, sidewalks, power lines and trees, affecting both transit routes and the safety of unhoused people.
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rain → have → people
• Flash freeze: These occur when temperatures rapidly fall, and water from rain or melted snow quickly freezes on roads, sidewalks and surfaces.
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water → occur → roads
The danger lies not in the enormous amount of precipitation, but rather in the sudden transition.
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danger → lie → transition
• Snow squalls: These occur when cold air moves over warm open water, creating intense, narrow bands of snow.
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air → occur → snow
They often cause sudden reductions in visibility, making driving especially dangerous.
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driving → cause → visibility
• Winter storm: These occur when multiple types of severe winter weather are expected together.
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types → occur → weather
• Blizzard: Rather than just a really big snowstorm, blizzards occur when wind blows snow through the air, which reduces visibility.
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which → occur → visibility
COLOUR: UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT AND LIKELIHOOD
• Yellow: Moderate impacts (or high impact, but lower confidence it will occur).
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it → understand → IMPACT
Pay attention: though impacts are expected to be localized or short-lived, there could be minor disruptions.
uncertain
impacts → pay → attention
• Orange: High impacts (or extreme impacts, but moderate confidence it will occur).
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it → occur → ?
• Red: Extreme impacts (with very high confidence they will occur).
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they → occur → confidence
Impacts could be widespread, prolonged, and potentially life-threatening.
uncertain
Impacts → threaten → ?
It’s important to note that the level of confidence matters.
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level → ’ → confidence
When there are extreme impacts but only moderate confidence, that’s not a red alert, it’s an orange one.
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it → be → ?
Also, it’s important to remember that these warnings are not based on the amount of precipitation — the same amount could occur in two different places — but have different impacts depending on the region’s infrastructure.
As such, those two regions would receive different colour codes depending on how prepared they each are to handle the weather.
uncertain
they → ’ → weather
There will likely be severe weather conditions, but it’s not yet certain.
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it → ’ → ?
The weather is significant enough or about to be significant enough to warrant your preparation and action.
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weather → warrant → preparation
Severe weather is happening or about to happen, and the risk of danger is high.
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risk → happen → danger
Here is an example of a scenario to help you understands how all three factors work together to create an alert.
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factors → help → alert
The blizzard tells you the hazard (that wind is blowing snow through the air and reducing visibility), the warning tells you that you should act in preparation for it because it’s about to happen (or is currently happening), and the orange tells you that the impact will be either high or maybe even extreme: you will likely face disruptions to your transportation, property, utilities or, potentially, your health.
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you → tell → transportation
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