North Texas was under Level 3 and 4 severe weather risk on Friday. What do those mean?

DALLAS — Strong to severe storms were expected in North Texas on Friday. And when that happens, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Service typically labels areas’ risk levels by categories.

For most of the week, most of North Texas was considered to be under an “enhanced” level for severe weather, or Level 3 of 5.

Shortly before noon Friday, that level was upgraded to Level 4 for parts of North Texas to the east of Dallas.

Those areas included parts of Kaufman, Hunt and Rockwall counties and all of Northeast Texas. And here’s a look at the updated risk level map released by the National Weather Service shortly before noon, showing the Level 4 areas.

What does each risk level mean, exactly?

Here’s an explanation, according to the Storm Prediction Center:

In order or risk and severity, here are the five categories and what they mean, according to the SPC:

1. Marginal (Green): This initial level means isolated severe thunderstorms are possible. Storms would likely be limited in how long they last, how much area they cover and how intense they become.

2. Slight (Slight): A slight risk means scattered severe storms are possible, though they’d likely be short-lived and not have widespread coverage over an area. While they might not be as persistent, these storms could still produce isolated intense conditions.

3. Enhanced (Orange): Under enhanced conditions, numerous severe storms are possible. This level is marked by more persistent and widespread storms, a few of which could be intense.

4. Moderate (Red): Jumping to a moderate risk level means more widespread severe storms are likely, and they could be long-lived and intense.

5. High (Pink): The highest risk category means widespread severe storms are expected to happen and they’ll be long-lived, across a wide area and “particularly intense,” according to the SPC’s guidance.