The Ronaldsway Meteorological Office has provided a description of the criteria for yellow, amber and red weather warnings.

There are three main categories of weather warning: yellow, amber and red.

A yellow warning is issued when the weather is likely to cause a low level impact, such as minor disruptions to travel methods. A step up from that is an amber warning, with an increased likelihood of impacts from severe weather such as travel delays, road and rail closures, power cuts and the potential risk to life and property.

The most severe of these is the red weather warning, which alerts residents of dangerous weather which presents a threat to life.

With regards to what classifies as a yellow, amber or a red warning, there are many factors to consider.

George Shimmin, a forecaster from the Met Office, said: ‘It comes down to the level of confidence we have in the computer model data as well as the potential impact it would have on the island.

‘If there is a good consensus among the computer models, then we are more confident in issuing a warning, knowing what colour the warning will be.

‘Equally, if there is a large spread in the computer model data, we would likely issue a yellow warning, monitor the situation to see how it develops, and update the warning as necessary.

‘There are occasions, for example Storm Debi, where the exact details remain very uncertain until the day before.

‘In summary, confidence in the model data, the potential impact of the weather event, guideline threshold values and local knowledge all come into play when issuing any weather warning.’