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SIGMETs are specifically designed to provide warnings about significant and severe hazardous weather phenomena that could impact the safety of aircraft operations. These notices are issued for serious weather events such as thunderstorms, widespread turbulence, icing, and volcanic ash. The key distinction lies in the severity of the weather being reported; SIGMETs pertain to conditions that pose a greater risk to flight safety, whereas AIRMETs focus on less severe weather phenomena that may still be of concern, but do not reach the level of severity found in a SIGMET.

In contrast, AIRMETs are aimed at informing pilots about potentially hazardous weather conditions like moderate turbulence or icing that are not as severe as those addressed by SIGMETs. The issuance protocol or timing of AIRMETs compared to SIGMETs is not relevant to their definitions; both can be issued independently based on the prevailing weather conditions. This distinction is essential for understanding how aviation weather advisories prioritize the seriousness of weather hazards.