‘PDS’ warnings were created to draw attention to tornadoes, hurricanes and now wildfires

On Monday, January 13, 2025, a red flag warning of “particularly hazardous conditions” was posted on the National Weather Service website in Los Angeles due to the extremely high risk of wildfires in the area. Credit: AP Photo/Rachel Leathe
The National Weather Service’s page for Los Angeles screams “Particularly Dangerous Situations (PDS)” in dark pink letters on a gray background.
It’s an unusual warning aimed at drawing attention ahead of the extreme wildfire danger that is predicted to begin in Southern California at 4 a.m. Tuesday (12 a.m. local time).
PDS warnings were first used to warn of tornado outbreaks in the Midwest. More than a decade ago, three meteorologists proposed expanding its use to disasters such as ice storms, floods, hurricanes, and now wildfires.
attract attention
“It gets attention, it increases that awareness, and at that point the need to actually act increases,” said Jonathan Howell, one of those scientists.
They hope the word will “become synonymous with extreme weather” and can also be used for emergency situations such as hurricanes and snowstorms, Howell and two colleagues wrote for a presentation at a 2011 American Weather Association conference. Ta.
“I think there’s no question that this has had an impact and saved lives over the years,” Howell, a science and operations officer at the National Weather Service’s Mobile, Alabama, office, told The Associated Press.
past warnings


Smoke from the Palisades fire rises over the ridge as seen from the Encino neighborhood in Los Angeles on Saturday, January 11, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Richard Vogel
One of the earliest uses of the term “particularly hazardous conditions” appeared in an April 1, 1983 Associated Press article about a widespread storm system that caused a blinding dust storm in West Texas. I did. Tornado watches have been issued for 24 East Texas counties, with the National Weather Service warning of “especially dangerous conditions with the potential for very damaging tornadoes.”
In June 2005, the National Weather Service warned that conditions were particularly dangerous in Oklahoma and Kansas, which were prone to tornadoes.
This warning will be used to convey the urgency of more tornadoes occurring in the coming years. One was issued in November 2022, when supercells were expected to be established in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi.
PDS wildfire warning
During the first week of last November, the National Weather Service issued a PDS warning as Santa Ana winds fueled wildfires northwest of Los Angeles. Forecasters called the threat “extreme and life-threatening.”
And on Dec. 9, residents in Los Angeles and Ventura counties were once again warned of “particularly dangerous conditions” as Santa Ana winds blew through the mountains.
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Citation: “PDS” warnings created to draw attention to tornadoes, hurricanes, and now wildfires (January 13, 2025) https://phys.org/news/2025-01-pds Retrieved January 13, 2025 from -attention-tornadoes- hurricane-wildfire.html
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