Environment Canada launches new weather warning system to address ‘alert fatigue’
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
OTTAWA – Environment Canada launched a new, more targeted thunderstorm and tornado warning system this week to address “alert fatigue” and cut down on the number of weather alerts Canadians get on their phones.
The new system will target alerts specifically to the area forecasters think will be hit, rather than issue a broad warning across a large area.
“Alert fatigue is something that we know everyone has,” said Giselle Dookhie, a warning preparedness meteorologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada.
“It’s not something we want the public (to take lightly) when they see a warning for a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning. We want them to know that it’s likely to impact them, and they should protect themselves and others and their property from harm.”
Forecasters will now have the ability to draw a perimeter around the area they think is most likely to be affected and then push an alert to phones in that area.
The changes will only apply to severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings. While they took effect Tuesday, Environment Canada is planning an official launch for Wednesday.
Dookhie says the new system will also generate more specific information within push alerts than just general area and weather threat information.
“It will provide a list of locations in nearby areas that could be impacted, and that list will be ordered by time of arrival and display up to 10 different locations,” Dookhie said.
“But it will still contain all of the relevant information in terms of what the main weather hazards are, like wind, hail, heavy rain. And also the safety information that we have in our warnings.”
Other alerts like heat warnings and thunderstorm watches will still have broad alert areas.
“It’s going to take some learning with the system, because not everyone is going to be able to migrate at the same time, to displaying the polygon warnings,” Dookhie said.
“So Environment Canada is making both zone-based warnings on polygon warning data available.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 11, 2026