You can now receive notifications on your mobile phone when a MetService Red Warning is issued or if there is an Extreme Fire Danger risk. 

Simply install the free MetService NZ Weather app on your mobile phone and enable notifications from the main menu.   

Extreme Fire Danger notifications - will be issued when the Fire and Emergency fire danger risk reaches its highest level (Extreme).  These are sent in the morning and provide that day’s timeframe for when fire danger is extreme and spark-causing activities should be avoided.    

Red Severe Weather Warning notifications - will be sent when Red Warnings are issued. These warnings are for the most significant and impactful heavy rain and/or strong winds (like those brought by ex-tropical cyclones) or heavy snow, covering an area of more than 1000 square kilometres (equivalent of a box around Lake Taupo). 

Severe Thunderstorm Warning notifications - will also be sent when a severe thunderstorm has been detected on one of our weather radars. Severe Thunderstorm Warnings are considered Red Warnings, though they cover a smaller and more localised area, their life-threatening impacts (flooding from downpours, hail and strong winds and lighting) make them very dangerous events.  

When you enable notifications, you will be prompted to subscribe to notifications for your home location and/or enable current location notifications which will provide alerts if you are in the warning area when a notification is issued. 

FAQs

What is a push notification?

Push notifications are messages that can appear on a lock screen or in the top section of a mobile device even when an app is not in use. The MetService app now allows you to subscribe to Red Severe Weather Warnings and Extreme Fire Danger alerts.

You can enable notifications for your Home Location (the one at the top of your saved location list), your current location, or both. Notifications are sent at the time the warning or alert is issued.

What about Orange Warnings and Watches?

We’re planning to add the option to subscribe to notifications for Orange Warnings and Watches in the future. In the meantime, you can get these notifications from the Red Cross Hazards App.

How is this different from Civil Defence alerts?

Civil Defence alerts are used for all types of emergencies.  Our notifications are warnings about extreme environmental conditions (extreme fire danger or red severe weather warnings) that could potentially lead to emergencies.

Civil Defence Emergency Mobile Alert is an additional channel to help keep people safe in an emergency. It does not replace other alerting systems or the need to take action after natural warnings.

How do I set my Home Location?

1. Open the MetService NZ app.
2. Tap the ‘pin’ icon in the top right corner to go to the locations menu.
3. Tap “Edit” to enable edit mode. 
4. Tap and hold the up/down arrow next to the location you want as your home location,
5. Drag it as far up the list as you can (this will be the second slot, as the first slot is reserved for your current location).
6. Tap “Done”, your location should now have a house icon next to it designating your home location.

Note: If the location you want isn’t already in your “My Locations” list, add it first using the “Find a location” search.