Yellow, orange, red: what a wind warning actually tells you

The day before a hike you check the forecast and see "orange warning". Does that mean "don't go" or "be careful"? The colours follow an international system and their meanings are reasonably precise.

What the colours mean

• Green / no warning. Conditions are normal. This does not mean "the weather is good" — only that no dangerous event is expected.
• Yellow. Conditions are stepping outside the ordinary. It causes no trouble in town, but it is noticeable on an exposed slope and on a summit. Shorten the route, stay off open ridges, move your start time earlier.
• Orange. There is real danger. Trees can come down, movement becomes difficult, conditions deteriorate quickly at altitude. Summit and open plateau routes should be postponed at this level. Short forest routes are arguable, but even under trees there is a falling-branch risk.
• Red. A rare event with serious damage expected. At this level there is no argument for going into the mountains.

Translated into numbers

The same wind speed does not feel the same in the city and in the mountains. On summits and in passes the speed can be up to twice what it is on flat ground, because the air is squeezed through a narrow gap.

• 30–40 km/h: hiking is possible, but conversation is inaudible and hats fly off.
• 50–60 km/h: a person carrying a pack starts losing balance on a slope. On a narrow ridge this is already dangerous.
• 70+ km/h: simply standing becomes a problem. The summit day is cancelled.

The "feels like" trap

The main damage from wind is not its speed but the heat it steals. Five degrees with a 40 km/h wind is roughly minus two for your body. Add wet clothing and it drops further. Most people who set off in summer and freeze on the summit are not defeated by frost but by exactly this combination.

Practical rules

• Read the forecast for the altitude of the summit, not for the district centre. Services like Windy and Mountain-Forecast give separate forecasts by elevation.
• Pay attention to wind direction: which side of the slope you are climbing changes a great deal.
• Keep a windproof outer layer in your pack at all times — including on summer hikes. It is the item most often called unnecessary and most often needed.
• If the warning is orange and the tour operator says "no problem" — that is information about the operator.

This matters most on high, exposed routes: on peaks such as Bazardüzü and Tufandağ wind is often the deciding factor. When the weather is unstable, switching to forest routes is the smarter move — for example Şabran, Əmbil lake.