Do the public take action when a severe snow warning is issued?

Dacre, H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4328-9126, McCloy, R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2333-9640 and Alon, J. (2026) Do the public take action when a severe snow warning is issued? Weather. ISSN 1477-8696 doi: 10.1002/wea.70090

Abstract/Summary

Extreme weather events pose significant risks, making timely warnings essential for preparedness. The Met Office’s National Severe Weather Warning Service (NSWWS) has issued impact-based alerts for over a decade, yet evaluations of their effectiveness remain limited. This study uses anonymised mobile phone data to analyse over 100 million road trips during snow warnings on 31 January 2019. Southwest England and south Wales saw fewer long trips (-14%) and more short trips (+5%), with work travel down 20% nationwide. These findings indicate that warnings influence behaviour before hazards occur, but responses beyond warning areas highlight a need for clearer communication.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/129846
Identification Number/DOI	10.1002/wea.70090
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Publisher	Wiley
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