European Union Launches Extreme Weather Site
It looks like a color-coded terror alert scale - and meteorologically speaking, that's exactly what it is. With climate change making conditions more unpredictable, national weather services from across the European Union have joined forces to create - a new Web site providing up-to-the-minute information on "extreme weather" across the continent, according to the Associated Press.
The initiative, managed by Austria's Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, is designed to give Europeans a single source for details on flash floods, severe thunderstorms, gale-force winds, heat waves, blizzards and other violent weather that poses a threat to life or property.
It also issues 24- and 48-hour warnings for heavy fog, extreme cold, forest fires and "coastal events" such as high waves or severe tides.
"In one glance you will be able to see where in Europe the weather might become dangerous," organizers said Saturday in a statement.
The service is similar to the United States' National Weather Service, which posts on its Web site conditions, warnings and forecasts for all 50 states.