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It seems like every year the weather of the world becomes much more volatile. Is this entirely accurate or is this just the consequence of hyperbole in the weather community? Here at Wx Or Not we always strive to produce material that is factual and never exaggerated. However, it is becoming much apparent that other companies out there are doing nothing but hyping weather events.
Ian Livingston has recently published an article that states the recent fallacies during severe weather coverage. From tornadoes, blizzards, to drought, it seems everything get’s hyped up these days. We all remember the “Polar Vortex” fiasco. The following is a snipped from Ian’s post:
“If it’s not the Polar Vortex getting ready to devour you, it’s likely the Pollen Vortex. If you’ve managed to escape them both, then you may live in California, where the only thing you need to deal with is the worst drought ever, and the threat it could last another 200 years. Equally terrifying, the Big One is still coming any day now. Then there’s that giant asteroid headed our way.”
“We could go on listing others who have been blamed in the free-for-all of weather, but if one stands back and observes — in between screaming into the void — it can be seen that huge parts of the enterprise are putting self interest ahead of science, daily. In our every-second news world half(or less)-truths flourish, and in many cases they are quickly lost in the next cycle that’s sometimes just hours away.
There seem to be no consequences to fudging or embellishing or otherwise abusing information, so why not? To start: 1) It’s a flawed way of thinking, as over time falsehoods gain traction, leading to impaired judgment at best and inaction during crisis at worst. 2) It’s relatively easy to combat misinformation and still get lots of interest without unnecessary hype. People want to buy weather even without the sales pitch.”
The story goes on to talk about some events that transpired earlier this year in western Kentucky where there was a wedge tornado reported on the storm, when in reality there wasn’t a tornado at all. We all need to be careful when sharing and posting online now. False information can spread like wildfire. The last paragraph of the article summarizes my thoughts up nicely:
“Let’s all take a step back from social-mayhem for just a moment, and remember why we’re all in this field to begin with. An undeniable, and seemingly unquenchable passion for the greatest things on earth: weather and nature.”
There’s so much more in the article that I didn’t mention, so I encourage you sure to read the entire piece. Very great points are made and it’s a great reminder to weather enthusiasts and meteorologists alike to think before you post.