Even though there have been a few extra named storms this season, it really has been quiet. But, it isn’t terribly unusual to see little hurricane activity through the first part of a hurricane season. But, now that we are getting into the peak of the hurricane season (late August through mid-October), I am noticing a lot more activity…….on social media. To me, this is a potentially dangerous thing.

  • When it comes to storms, don't always believe everything you read on social media
  • Turn to a trusted source, like Bay News 9

Things can get out of control very quickly via shared posts and pictures. I read an article today that indicated that South Carolina was going to be hit by two hurricanes this week. That article was shared on Facebook alone dozens of times. That means that potentially thousands of people may have received very bad info. Some of those people may have thought that if their friends shared it, then it must be ok. Not so much.

When the tropics begin to show some signs of life, people come out from under the rocks to offer their “opinions” on a forecast. Most of those people have no idea of how the atmosphere and more specifically the computer models behave. So, in my opinion, it is incredibly irresponsible to post a picture of one period in time of one run of one computer model because that spreads faster than wildfire.

There are lots of weather sites and apps out there. Lots of people who use big words can also be found. But, my advice to you is this….find a trusted source for important weather information and ignore the other nonsense that shows up on your Twitter or Facebook news feed.

Here at Bay News 9, we look at all of the computer models and watch them flip back and forth from day to day. We understand what goes into the models, which biases they may have, etc. You won’t find us posting anything about a hurricane impact 10 or more days out, ever. Because, frankly, it is irresponsible.

Not only does it create chaos and confusion, but personally, it damages the credibility of our profession. We work very hard to provide you with reliable, trustworthy and credible forecasts and we really want to keep your opinions of the work we do on the high side.

Thanks for watching, thanks for following us and thanks for staying informed. With all of this said, it is ALWAYS important to be prepared for hurricane season here in Florida. And we’ll let you know if something is coming.