[New post] Hurricane Season is here, and so are the Weather Hypesters
newwaverlynews posted: " Misleading information leads to complacency when a real threat approaches. Hurricane season began on June 1, and with it, the appearance of misleading and sometimes false on social media. The rush to be first leads many amateur and even professional " New Waverly
Misleading information leads to complacency when a real threat approaches.
Hurricane season began on June 1, and with it, the appearance of misleading and sometimes false on social media. The rush to be first leads many amateur and even professional weather watchers to post alarming images purporting to show a pending disaster.
Most of these viral predictions share a common theme. They rely on only one forecast model and are made 10 days or more in advance of the predicted event.
A post such as the one below, which shows a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico about 15 days out, was only based on one model run and one model alone.
This is exactly the type of post and page to stay away from.
Reliable and knowledgeable meteorologists would never make a forecast more than a week out due to forecast accuracy severely declining beyond five to seven days.
That is why it is important to know what red flags to look out for on social media posts during hurricane season.
What You Need To Know
Avoid social media posts that do not provide any context
Stay away from pages that only show one model run
Do not trust a post about a storm more than a week away
This hurricane season, don't fall victim to the social media pages that are just trying to get views, likes and shares.
Instead, look to reliable sources such as the National Hurricane Center or the local National Weather Service stations. Be prepared when a storm does approach and heed the advice of local emergency officials. They know best what to expect in your area.
In Walker County, residents should follow the Walker County Office of Emergency Management. You can find them on Facebook and you can sign for Code Red Alerts on their website here.
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