--- title: What Does An 'Enhanced Risk' Mean? | WeatherBug | WeatherBug description: What does it mean when the government issues an Enhanced Risk? canonical: https://www.weatherbug.com/news/What-Does-An-Enhanced-Risk-Mean og:title: What Does An 'Enhanced Risk' Mean? | WeatherBug | WeatherBug og:description: What does it mean when the government issues an Enhanced Risk? og:url: https://www.weatherbug.com/news/What-Does-An-Enhanced-Risk-Mean og:site_name: WeatherBug og:locale: en_US og:image: https://cms-assets-con.cdn.weatherbug.net/assets/contentitems/fa/fa98819b-801e-4e3e-b6c4-c5c68382b2ae/52e0ce98-d40a-4283-82d1-d0fe816ebf4b/53793bbd-1711-4173-a199-9f9218c3e4e7.jpg og:image:width: 800 og:image:height: 600 og:image:alt: Lightning bolts isolated on black, capturing nature's force, shallow depth of field. (Henrik A. Jonsson via Shutterstock) og:type: article article:published_time: 2024-07-31T09:22:49Z article:modified_time: 2024-07-31T09:22:49Z article:author: By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Andrew Rosenthal article:tag: "Enhanced Risk" article:tag: lightning article:tag: map article:tag: severe article:tag: thunderstorm twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Does An 'Enhanced Risk' Mean? | WeatherBug twitter:description: What does it mean when the government issues an Enhanced Risk? twitter:image: https://cms-assets-con.cdn.weatherbug.net/assets/contentitems/fa/fa98819b-801e-4e3e-b6c4-c5c68382b2ae/52e0ce98-d40a-4283-82d1-d0fe816ebf4b/53793bbd-1711-4173-a199-9f9218c3e4e7.jpg --- [![](/_next/image?url=%2Ficons%2Fclose_white_bg.svg&w=64&q=75)](/) [Back to forecast](/) # What Does An 'Enhanced Risk' Mean? July 31, 2024 at 05:22 AM EDT By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Andrew Rosenthal ![Lightning bolts isolated on black, capturing nature's force, shallow depth of field. \(Henrik A. Jonsson via Shutterstock\)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcms-assets-con.cdn.weatherbug.net%2Fassets%2Fcontentitems%2Ffa%2Ffa98819b-801e-4e3e-b6c4-c5c68382b2ae%2F52e0ce98-d40a-4283-82d1-d0fe816ebf4b%2F53793bbd-1711-4173-a199-9f9218c3e4e7.jpg&w=3840&q=75) The government\`s Storm Prediction Center has issued an **_Enhanced Risk_** of severe thunderstorms. What does this mean? The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) uses a five-point scale, ranging from "Marginal" to "High" Risk, and an Enhanced Risk is the middle option. As the name suggests, this means that there is an enhanced potential for dangerous weather compared to Slight Risk areas. The severe risk categories are determined by the SPC based on the threat for tornadoes, winds in excess of 58 mph, or hail. The base-line threat that storms will occur is a "Slight Risk." If any one of the threat categories is predicted to have an improved chance of occurring in an area, the SPC will issue an Enhanced Risk. Thus, an Enhanced Risk means a widespread concentration of low-to-moderate intensity severe thunderstorms. Threats to areas in an Enhanced Risk typically include: * The potential for tornadoes * Frequent lightning * Damaging winds in excess of 58 mph, and possibly in excess of 70 mph * Hail with a diameter in excess of 1 inch, with the increased potential for 2-inch or larger hailstones. When an Enhanced Risk area is issued, it should be taken very seriously. Its presence means that government forecasters are confident enough that widespread storms will develop, and that these storms are capable of causing significant damage or even causing fatalities. For anyone in an Enhanced Risk area, it would be wise to keep an eye on the sky during any activities, and be prepared to take shelter at a moment\`s notice. \--- _Story Image: Lightning bolts isolated on black, capturing nature's force, shallow depth of field. (Henrik A. Jonsson via Shutterstock)_ We use technologies, such as cookies, to analyze your use (i.e., pages visited), to customize content, for our internal analytics purposes and for security and other purposes. By continuing to use this website, you agree to this usage. Please review our [privacy policy](/legal/privacy) for more details as well as for information on how to contact us to object to these activities. [Ad Choices](/legal/privacy#digitaladvertisingandyourchoices) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.weatherbug.com/news/What-Does-An-Enhanced-Risk-Mean"},"headline":"What Does An 'Enhanced Risk' Mean?","description":"What does it mean when the government issues an Enhanced Risk?","image":["https://cms-assets-con.cdn.weatherbug.net/assets/contentitems/fa/fa98819b-801e-4e3e-b6c4-c5c68382b2ae/52e0ce98-d40a-4283-82d1-d0fe816ebf4b/53793bbd-1711-4173-a199-9f9218c3e4e7.jpg"],"datePublished":"2024-07-31T09:22:49Z","dateModified":"2024-07-31T09:22:49Z","dateCreated":"2024-07-31T09:22:49Z","articleSection":"Weather News","keywords":"\"Enhanced Risk\",lightning,map,severe,thunderstorm","articleBody":"The government`s Storm Prediction Center has issued an Enhanced Risk of severe thunderstorms. What does this mean?
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\r\nThe Storm Prediction Center (SPC) uses a five-point scale, ranging from \"Marginal\" to \"High\" Risk, and an Enhanced Risk is the middle option. As the name suggests, this means that there is an enhanced potential for dangerous weather compared to Slight Risk areas.
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\r\nThe severe risk categories are determined by the SPC based on the threat for tornadoes, winds in excess of 58 mph, or hail.  The base-line threat that storms will occur is a \"Slight Risk.\" If any one of the threat categories is predicted to have an improved chance of occurring in an area, the SPC will issue an Enhanced Risk. Thus, an Enhanced Risk means a widespread concentration of low-to-moderate intensity severe thunderstorms.
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\r\nThreats to areas in an Enhanced Risk typically include:\r\n\r\nWhen an Enhanced Risk area is issued, it should be taken very seriously. Its presence means that government forecasters are confident enough that widespread storms will develop, and that these storms are capable of causing significant damage or even causing fatalities.
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\r\nFor anyone in an Enhanced Risk area, it would be wise to keep an eye on the sky during any activities, and be prepared to take shelter at a moment`s notice. 
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