The National Weather Service’s Los Angeles page screams “Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS)” in hot pink letters against a gray background.
It’s a rare warning aimed at seizing attention ahead of extreme wildfire risk that’s predicted to start in Southern California at 4 a.m. (1200GMT) Tuesday.
PDS warnings were first used to warn of tornado outbreaks in the Midwest. More than a decade ago, three meteorologists proposed expanding their use to disasters such as ice storms, floods, hurricanes, and now wildfires.
Grabbing attention
“It catches the attention, it really heightens that awareness and the need to really act at that point,” said one of those scientists, Jonathan Howell.
The hope was that the phrase
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