Weather information overload ...

[rayinpenn]

Tonight Tornado watch - yes a storm came in thundering through, some wind, super heavy rain but as of 8:30 no tornado. SIL called nervous “theres a storm heading for our county...” ultimately the weather guys say..

“Conditions exist consistent with tornado development.”

The phone went off severe weather warning - updates came from the kitchen.. the Mrs was paying attention.

Love technology but we aren’t in tornado alley.. I’ve never seen/experienced a tornado in my 64 years. - (there was one storm that blew down a dozen big trees on Main Street). In the end we monitored the weather what else can we do.



Ive always been fascinated by the weather and i pay attention to it. It occurs to me Tornado predictability simply isn’t there...

 

[Dtail]

From time to time, we get tornado warnings; more concerned with the hurricane developments.

 

[Ronstar]

Definitely weather information overload here. We get tornadoes, but we also get several tornado warnings. Phone beeps, iPad beeps, TV beeps and program interruptions - no wonder that some people around here do not heed tornado warnings. And a lot of these warnings are for areas several miles away - and downstream of our location after the storm already came through our area. And sirens - we have some very loud sirens - the good thing about the sirens is that they don't start unless a tornado is imminent.

I took a class and became a weather spotter a couple of years ago. We are to login and report tornadoes when we spot them. The amount of weather information online is way more than any normal person would need.

 

[Winemaker]

You can't push an agenda unless you put the man made fear of God into people.

 

[rayinpenn]

You can't push an agenda unless you put the man made fear of God into people.

My concern is going to ‘the well’ too often

 

[MichaelB]

This is a no win situation for the local authorities; no matter what they do, they will be criticized for doing too little or too much.

Cell phone alerts are opt-in. If you don’t want them, all you have to do is disable the cell phone emergency alert function.

Tornadoes are incredible destructive, and appear with little warning.

 

[rayinpenn]

https://6abc.com/weather/tornado-leaves-path-of-destruction-in-morgantown/5320726/

37 miles away took down a few trees...

 

[Pellice]

The amount of weather information online is way more than any normal person would need.

Ronstar, I disagree. Many people are very interested in weather. Those of us who have outdoor hobbies (I'm a birder) make use of all the information (wind direction and timing is important for my hobby). Storminess is important - do I make a long trek out to the salt marshes or should I save that for later? Businesses - e. g. construction industries - make heavy use of weather information. All those private companies - e.g. accuweather, the weather channel - build their businesses off of taxpayer-funded basic data. To say that the rest of us should be EXCLUDED from examining the same data that we pay for goes against what good government is all about.

And many people are weather enthusiasts. Just read the bulletin boards at American Weather Forums and you will find people who love to follow weather.

Please, please don't argue that "normal" people have no interest. Weather patterns are changing. Plant communities are changing. The birds are migrating earlier than ever. My area is flooding more frequently. It all matters in our physical reality.

Anyone who wishes can turn off their weather alerts easily.

 

[audreyh1]

I just use my weather channel app and it gives me less information than it used to. I prefer detailed weather forecasts but no longer get them. So definitely not weather information overload here.

 

[Mdlerth]

You're both right

In a perverse, Orwellian way I find myself agreeing with two opposite perspectives. Read on...

The amount of weather information online is way more than any normal person would need.

+1 I lived in SC in 1989 when Hurricane Hugo gave us an unforgettable night of entertainment. A couple months later, after the cleanup and repairs, I found myself glued to the Weather Channel for a few years.

But time heals all wounds, and eventually other crises took top priority. I'll still check it to see how it might affect my commute or if it's nice enough for the motorcycle. That's all I want.

I just use my weather channel app and it gives me less information than it used to. I prefer detailed weather forecasts but no longer get them. So definitely not weather information overload here.

+1 I have it too. Mostly it's one more portal to generate pop-up ads.

 

[street]

I feel for the people that live in tornado areas. I will take my snow storm any day over that kind of weather hurricane/tornado country.

 

[athena53]

I live in Tornado Alley so I need this info. I opted into the weather warnings on my phone but last night there were none even though tornadoes touched down about an hour away. (I do, however, get "flash flood warnings" at 2 AM.) I was aware of the tornado warning through my weather app (but I had to look for it) and my friends on FB in the area. I have Netflix only so TV is no help.

I'm planning to buy a weather radio in the next few days!

 

[misanman]

I'm a volunteer spotter here in Michigan. The presentation at our last training session (2018) noted that we had fewer severe storms in this state in 2016 and 2017 than for any years in the last 35-40. Maybe they've decided to go elsewhere. DW is glued to her weather app a lot and gives me regular updates - "it's going to rain on Saturday" (70%) or "now it's not going to rain on Saturday until 7:00PM", etc. etc. So I agree the weather info is over hyped.

 

[Winemaker]

Ronstar, I disagree. Many people are very interested in weather. Those of us who have outdoor hobbies (I'm a birder) make use of all the information (wind direction and timing is important for my hobby). Storminess is important - do I make a long trek out to the salt marshes or should I save that for later? Businesses - e. g. construction industries - make heavy use of weather information. All those private companies - e.g. accuweather, the weather channel - build their businesses off of taxpayer-funded basic data. To say that the rest of us should be EXCLUDED from examining the same data that we pay for goes against what good government is all about.

And many people are weather enthusiasts. Just read the bulletin boards at American Weather Forums and you will find people who love to follow weather.

Please, please don't argue that "normal" people have no interest. Weather patterns are changing. Plant communities are changing. The birds are migrating earlier than ever. My area is flooding more frequently. It all matters in our physical reality.

Anyone who wishes can turn off their weather alerts easily.

My issue with the weather in the news isn't the alerts or warnings. I despise the method of "broadcast journalism" that doesn't report facts but sticks a microphone in someone's face after losing a loved one or having your life's work blown away in storm. What's one supposed to say? Report the facts, don't try to play on my emotional heart strings, because I've grown tired of the same song.

 

[MRG]

Tonight Tornado watch - yes a storm came in thundering through, some wind, super heavy rain but as of 8:30 no tornado. SIL called nervous “theres a storm heading for our county...” ultimately the weather guys say..

“Conditions exist consistent with tornado development.”

The phone went off severe weather warning - updates came from the kitchen.. the Mrs was paying attention.

Love technology but we aren’t in tornado alley.. I’ve never seen/experienced a tornado in my 64 years. - (there was one storm that blew down a dozen big trees on Main Street). In the end we monitored the weather what else can we do.



Ive always been fascinated by the weather and i pay attention to it. It occurs to me Tornado predictability simply isn’t there...

A friend posted his DW's family farm, outside Lawrence, is a complete loss. He said it's unreal looking at the place and it's gone, unrecognizable to him. There was no loss of human life but a 80 year old farm just disappeared.

Ray I spent my first 21 years in Williamsport, they never had a tornado in recorded history. The mountains keep them out the old timers said, never been a tornado here.

You can still see the swath from 25 years ago where one went through.

 

[steelyman]

I'm planning to buy a weather radio in the next few days!

I’d like to buy one too. If you do, I’d be interested in which one you choose. A very brief search of e-r.org didn’t come up with posts about specific shopping criteria and experiences.

 

[GrayHare]

The NWS issues roughly 100x the number of weather watches and warnings that it had as recently as 40 years ago. This excess means the vast majority of the warnings do not come true for a given listener, hence people like me have tuned them out.

 

[SumDay]

....

I'm planning to buy a weather radio in the next few days!

I consider myself pretty tech savvy for a woman of my age, but I found that weather radio one of the more frustrating thing I've ever programmed.

If you're not careful, you'll get snow warnings, flash flood warnings, etc. And, it goes by county, and living in a big county means I get warnings even if it's 75 miles away. I've finally narrowed it down to tornadoes only. I don't need an audible for heat advisories - I can figure that out all by myself.

Every device in our home was pinging and dinging last night. It was a rough one. I kissed my walls when I got up this morning - lots of folks not too far away didn't have that luxury.

 

[ponyboy]

I find these weather announcements are nothing more than fear mongering. "50,000,000 americans will be affected by horrific weather this holiday weekend." Bunch of bullcrap. Like the news...they want us to live in fear. They want you to tune in...they generate way more revenue from ads this way. Follow the money.

In PA yesterday, tornado warnings all day. It did pour at one point but on the way home from work when active tornado warnings were happening, nothing but a fine mist coming down. Its ridiculous.

 

[JoeWras]

From the NWS, use a radio that targets your exact programmed location. You'll rarely get warning hits unless it is important. You can squelch watches.

I also use the non-interruptible smart phone feature that is built in and that you don't need to do anything for. No apps, nothing. It comes with the phone, and you only get the warning if it is serious. It has gone off maybe 4 times in 6 years.

Now, as for the NEWS people... Well, it has been said above. Fear sells. And there is another agenda. You know, some kids actually think tornadoes and hurricanes are new phenomenon. Whatever...