How to use the online alarm clock
If the Met Office ice warning is the first thing you need to check, let the 8:11 am alarm bring you fully out of sleep before you reach for anything else. That leaves a calm stretch before 9:00 am to read the affected regions, check the hours covered and decide whether your morning needs a slower start.
For a Met Office ice warning, the signal needs to be unmistakable rather than merely audible. Set the alarm for 8:11 am, choose a clear tone and raise the volume enough to stand above a radio, kettle or traffic outside. A browser alarm cannot safeguard your warning check once the browser is shut or the computer has gone to sleep, so use a separate alarm if missing it could affect the journey.
An ice-warning check is easier to notice before the household and street become fully active. At this early hour, background sound may be low when the alarm begins but rise quickly as heating, kitchen appliances and morning traffic start. Keeping the phone or computer close, with its speaker uncovered and away from soft bedding, helps the tone remain distinct as the surroundings grow louder.
Common questions
Will it still be right when the clocks change?
Yes. It reads your device's local clock, so the move between GMT and BST at the end of March and October is picked up automatically, as long as the computer's date, time and time zone are set correctly.
Can I use this on a phone?
It works in a mobile browser, but phones lock the screen and suspend background tabs far more readily than a laptop does, which can stop the alarm sounding. For anything important, a desktop or a plugged-in laptop is the steadier option.
Does the alarm still work if I close the tab?
No. Everything runs inside this page, so closing the tab — or quitting the browser altogether — ends the countdown there and then. Leaving it open in the background is all it asks, and switching to another tab makes no difference.
What happens if my laptop goes to sleep before 8:11 am?
The tab sleeps along with it and the alarm will not sound on time, if at all. If you are relying on it, change the power settings so the machine stays awake, or keep a phone alarm running as well.
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