Hurricane center site a sure bet
When it comes to hurricanes, surf the Web to your heart's content but remember to consider the source -- and always return to the National Hurricane Center's site. Always beware of misinformation whirling through the Web.
The hurricane season is nearly here and experts hope you will not join the growing corps of Internet wishcasters who become overly anxious about fish spinners and "veggiecanes."
Translation: As you surf the Web for more information about active hurricanes -- c'mon, we know you do -- don't fall for rumors or uninformed speculation about storms that are immensely far away and pose no current threat.
Be certain to consider the source of the information and weigh it carefully against the gold standard -- forecasts from the National Hurricane Center in West Miami-Dade County.
"Always go back to the hurricane center for the objective approach," said Bill Read, the center's new director.
He, other professionals and local emergency managers are quite aware that South Floridians and others in the hurricane zone often tap into various sources of information about live storms.
Hurricane experts are fine with that, so long as Web surfers remain aware of the potential pitfalls, which fall into two major categories:
- Many blogs and Internet message boards are populated, at least in part, by amateur meteorologists who sometimes express premature or exaggerated alarm about a storm that might or might not approach their area.
Thus, the dismissive message board term "wishcaster" -- someone who seems to be hoping that a storm will strike his or her area and/or intensify into a major threat.
This would include "fish spinners" (storms that stay well out to sea) and "veggiecanes" (storms that mostly threaten jungles or other uninhabited regions).
- The opposite also is true -- and more worrisome: People who truly are endangered by an approaching storm often search for information that might make them feel less threatened but, in reality, leaves them in no less danger.
"The concern is that some people are looking for a reason to do something -- or do nothing," Read said. "And they're going to find whatever it is that tells them what they want to see.
"The social scientists tell me that people who are faced with an advisory or a warning or anything like that often go looking for other sources of information," he said. "And this is an area where there is too much information without enough knowledge about how to use it."
Still, properly used, many Internet sites can augment your awareness of hurricane-related threats and deepen your understanding of the risks you face.
"I think having educated consumers is great," said Mary Glackin, deputy undersecretary of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which runs the hurricane center. "But I think NOAA and the weather service are well recognized as being the authoritative sources of warning information."
The box printed on this page contains a partial list of sites that provide background information about hurricanes and real-time data -- satellite images, computer model forecasts, local warnings, recommendations from emergency managers, and so on -- about actual storms.
The hurricane center's site at www.nhc.noaa.gov always should be your first and last stop. The scientists there are at the top of their game, and their predictions form the basis of virtually every forecast you'll see, hear or read in the mainstream media.
The Miami Herald's hurricane website -- www.miamiherald.com/hurricane -- offers the latest hurricane center forecasts, satellite images, stories tailored for South Florida and links to a wide variety of additional information.
Another useful destination is The Weather Underground's hurricane site at www.wunderground.com/ew tropical
This service offers an archive of every Atlantic storm track since 1851, links to sea surface temperatures and other technical data, and a popular blog updated daily during the season by Jeff Masters, the Weather Underground's chief meteorologist and a former hurricane hunter for the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration.
"In addition, weather enthusiasts who observe severe or interesting weather upload about 700 photos per day to our site for all to see," Masters said.
Still, virtually every expert advises South Floridians and other coastal residents to rely primarily on the hurricane center's plain vanilla -- but highly respected -- forecasts and warnings.
"I have to put the blinders on and make sure that the stuff we put out is as objective as possible," Read said. "It may be boring, but it is objective. And, that way, it becomes the benchmark that people go to."
For a list of web sites and phone numbers to serve as accurate resources for hurricane information, go to our Downloads / Resources page.