A Plea to the National Media

UPDATED 9:45AM Wednesday to reflect recent changes to funnel cloud/torndo definitions...

It's happened for years now - the national (and some local) media just can't seem to report weather-related stories without goofing something up. There are times where the goofs are minor, but many of the mistakes are substantial. It's even worse that this is happening at the national network level, where, in theory, the reporters and anchors should be "the best of the best."

That theory seems to be wrong when they try to tell stories about the weather.

In January of this year, Diane Sawyer of ABC News went on a nightly network news broadcast and reported that a fatal Alabama tornado had "struck without warning."  Makes for great TV - it immediately incenses the audience and satisfies the desire to search for someone to blame. The only problem is that it was dead wrong.

A tornado warning had been issued well before the tornado struck. The average lead time that night was between 20-30 minutes.

Weather is considered by many to be the top reason that people watch newscasts - it's important, and you'd think national news networks could get it right when they file reports. 

Now, after a tornado outbreak in the Great Plains over the weekend, I've seen some more lousy reporting on the weather. A national news network anchor told people to take cover in a doorway during a tornado. MANY national news networks have reported that "over 100" tornadoes struck the Plains this weekend. Both are likely wrong.

As a public service, I'm going to put together a quick primer on reporting about severe weather. Feel free to pass along to any friends you have in the national media.

1. Tornadoes and funnel clouds are not the same thing (Updated).  These two terms are used interchangeably, but they aren't synonyms. Tornadoes are violently rotating columns of air - which is not visible unless it has something in it - like debris or water vapor. Funnel clouds are what you see when water vapor condenses associated with that column of air. Many tornadoes strike with no visible funnel cloud.

2. "It struck without warning!"  I get it, guys. This makes GREAT copy. But, just because people didn't GET the warning doesn't mean there wasn't a warning. NWS issues warnings, which are then distributed via apps, TV, radio, weather radio and yes, outdoor sirens (more later). Occasionally, tornadoes do strike without warning, but it's rare.

3. Preliminary SPC tornado numbers are not the "number of confirmed tornadoes"  This has been a big issue lately - national news networks will take the preliminary tornado report count from the SPC and treat them as confirmed tornadoes. Typically, the preliminary tornado number is MUCH higher than the actual number of tornadoes - sometimes double or triple. I know it raises eyebrows to report these huge numbers, but they're not being reported correctly.

4. Politicians aren't weather experts. I've seen this a lot lately, too. The national media will use a soundbite from a Congressman or Governor or Mayor talking about the physics or science behind the tornado. The information they pass along on weather/science is usually their attempt to regurgitate something that someone else told THEM right before they took the podium to speak and console those who were affected. Use their quotes on response, recovery, legislation, etc., but if you want a soundbite about what makes a tornado spin, go to a meteorologist.

5. You don't have to hear a siren for a tornado to strike. This one kills people. The movies and media have created this air raid mentality that a siren will sound and be audible to everyone before anything bad happens. It's not true - they are designed for people outdoors and, in most cases, if you're home and asleep, you won't hear it. The entire weather community has worked for decades on the warning system and there are MANY great ways to get reliable weather info to your home or place of work. A siren isn't one of them.

6. Tornadoes aren't caused by global warming. I'm sure this one will get someone fired up at me, and that's fine. There is zero evidence or reason to believe that tornadoes are caused by or related to global warming. I know it makes for better TV to try to tie all of this into a more compelling story about how we're destroying the Earth, but it's simply inaccurate.

7. Leave the forecast to meteorologists.  On our newscast this morning, we had a national reporter from NBC that reported live from Woodward, Oklahoma. In the stand-up report at the end of her story, she said "now, these areas hit are under a warning for severe storms for the next couple of days."

Here's the NWS forecast for Woodward, Oklahoma for the next couple of days: 

Today: A 20 percent chance of showers after 1pm. Sunny, with a high near 69.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 78.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 80.

Whoops - only a small chance of showers today and NO risk of severe weather.

8. Tornadoes in Spring aren't extreme.  Oklahoma and Kansas just had a big tornado outbreak. In April. The national media calls it "cataclysmic, weird, extreme"....meteorologists call it "Spring."

9. Tornadoes happen every month of the year. How many of you have heard the national media talk about how "strange" or "weird" it is that the Southeast had tornadoes in January of this year? It's not strange. Here in Alabama, we've recorded tornadoes in every month of the year. In fact, it is well known to meteorologists in our part of the world that we have two distinct tornado seasons - one in the Fall/Winter and another in the Spring. Tornadoes don't own calendars and can affect many states in the U.S. in many different seasons.

No one is perfect. I make mistakes every hour of every day, but I do try to learn from those mistakes and stop repeating them. Here's hoping the national media will, one day, stop repeating these goofs and start accurately reporting the weather and its impact on people.

Josh Johnson
joshjohnson@wsfa.com
f: http://www.facebook.com/JoshJohnsonWSFA 
t: http://www.twitter.com/JoshWeather 

Comments

[Steve Divine]

This is spot-on. I've linked to it on Twitter and FB. I've voiced similar, if not the same, frustrations at times on-air. Most of the time we let it slide, giving our "big" brothers and sisters at the national level the benefit of a doubt. They keep making the same mistakes, even after being shown the errors, and one begins to wonder....

Steve
KCBD TV (Raycom), Lubbock

[Greg Stumpf]

Very nice, but your characterization of the differences between a tornado and funnel cloud are wrong. Instead, read this: http://www.flame.org/~cdoswell/atornado/atornado.html

[WxWatcher513]

I think the thing is so much of the media don't really care about the facts. It's more about ratings than anything. In the Cincinnati metro area I know we have people in the media that we call "weather terrorist" who try with all their might to scare the listeners/viewers into tuning in to see the latest weather updates. When we have flurries it is like Armageddon.

[Stu Ostro]

I agree with most of these, but in regard to #1, a tornado circulation *can* be in contact with the ground even if the visible funnel cloud is not yet.

One other note ... while a tornado outbreak in Kansas in April or Alabama in January is indeed not unusual, there have been events in recent years (including this one) which are anomalous for their magnitude so far north during the cool season (winter and late autumn).

[Josh Johnson]

Stu, thanks for your feedback - yes, I'm aware that a tornado circulation can be in contact with the ground, even if the condensation funnel is not. My point was that "funnel cloud" and "tornado" are NOT synonyms, as they are often used interchangeably in the national news media.

Greg, I love and respect Chuck, but good luck getting the national media types to read, much less comprehend what he wrote in that link. If we can get them to comprehend the AMS definitions that I based my characterization upon, I think we've succeeded.

Tornado: A small mass of air that whirls rapidly about an almost vertical axis; made visible by clouds and by dust and debris sucked into the system.

Funnel cloud: A tornadic circulation extending below cloud base but not reaching the ground; made visible by a cone-shaped cloud.

[A Facebook User]

This is an excellent post. There is so much hype by many media outlets about how the weather is so much worse than in years past. My Mother is 92 years old and she can vividly remember weather just like this, and can sometimes remember the year. Even though she was small she can remember the tornado that killed a cousin in Alabama in 1929. When we talk about the tornadoes from 2011 and now 2012, she talks about 1942 in Alabama. She will say "This is just like the weather in 1942, and your Dad and I had only been married a year." The media fails to compare the past to the present, but instead blames the present on "climate change." The blaming on climate change is killing our wallets. The government is in my bathroom, restricting the water from my shower, and restricting how much water I can use to flush my commode. Sometimes I have to shower twice, and lord help me if I get something on me that must be washed off quickly, there is not enough flow! The FDA has taken away my inhalers that worked for my asthma, by taking away the propellant that moved the medication to my lungs. Now I am forced to either go to the ER for a $500 visit or use a nebulizer with more expensive medication for severe attacks. My asthma is not caused by "climate change" either. It is documented in my family for generations, since before the civil war!
Thank you for this most imformative information.

[Brandon]

Reason 1: Ratings, Reason 2: Ratings, Reason 3: Ratings, Reason 4 Politics, the national media is a joke and has been for years now... Lets support our local guys who practice objective reporting!!

[Diggs808]

This is pretty spot on. However, its not always the national guys who get it wrong...the locals do too. My favorite moment from Friday (when the tornado was hopscotching across Norman) was the comment by the guys on FM 93.3 who said that if the Tornado were to hit the National Weather Center office in Norman, then there would be no tornado warnings or severe weather coverage period.

[A Facebook User]

Stu, Anomalous? yes. Unprecedented? no.

[ALNCTNVAwx]

Excellent post, and wanted to also bring up problem with too many chasers out on the road during these events. This is the first time I have heard spotters complain about chasers, and there were repeated complaints from different locations in different states. The complaints were from local trained spotters who could not get to locations they had be directed to in their home area due to either speeding chasers, or large numbers of their vehicles. There were speeds of 70 to 90 mph reported, with chasers in a line, passing citizens. IMHO some are not officially trained spotters, and are not reporting to anyone,they are just trying to get a video to sell for $$ to media outlets. This plays into the media frenzy. Some untrained chasers may be trying to pass fake videos, etc, but they are a concern for local spotter's safety and for the safety of private citizens trying to get to shelters. I am hopeful that the real trained chasers, who are taping and reporting to NWS, etc, will police their own, they need to before their reputations are in question. Non-trained people in any of these roles is a recipe for an accident.
Regarding one fake Tornado picture that made the rounds x two storms now, I was able to trace back to a felon who was actually in prison, and was not on the ground taking pictures. His name and the fake picture, appeared on a local TV station in SC. I was able to make a screenshot and traced his twitter account. TV reporters and all who broadcast live need to verify information or trust and know their source of information before putting it out there. Thanks for a great post!

[Gerald L. Hall]

Diane Sawyer isn't a journalist, she's a talking head for an entertainment company who's only concern is her ratings.

[KE5BAL VANCE]

I like this post, It said it all.

[Greg Stumpf]

I hate to pick nits, because the remainder of your article hits it out of the park. Really!

But, "Funnel cloud: A tornadic circulation extending below cloud base but not reaching the ground" is just plain incorrect. In order to go from your 3-run homer to a grand slam, we need to stop teaching *everyone* this. There really is no such thing as a tornadic circulation aloft not touching the ground. A funnel cloud is merely an accessory to a tornadic vortex - it is caused by condensation of water vapor into cloud droplets and has NOTHING to do with winds aloft or descending toward the ground.

[Dawn Epic]

Sigh. I'm no weather expert; I just so happened to stumble here. You seem to have anger towards the media. They aren't perfect. They have to report on all topics, not just weather.

Having them saying that there wasn't much of a warning or over reporting the number of systems is just a way to make the public that more cautious next time bad weather is around. Sure they do it for views -- but if you look at it in a positive light it could help people.

It's not weird that it's in April... but it's "weird" that 12 tornadoes stuck around my area in a couple of hours. Weird meaning that it doesn't happen every day.

I've never heard any news station ever call a funnel cloud a tornado. They are simply reporting them because that system could be close to brewing one.

You need a hug.

[Josh Johnson]

Hey Greg - thanks for the kind words and for your input. I think your battle is with the AMS Glossary, where I copied that definition. My point was to simply point out that tornadoes and funnel clouds are NOT the same. On that, I think we can all agree.

Hey Dawn - I have zero anger or hate of any kind towards the media. I work in the media and know the challenges they face on reporting a myriad of stories - but, I also know that it's not too much to ask to get the basic facts of a story correct.

Butchering the facts of the story is NOT the way to make the public more cautious - it just makes us all look stupid and discredits the entire severe weather warning process.

I get plenty of hugs, but thanks for your concern.

[BIll Meck]

Josh...a very well written piece and one that expresses the concerns and frustrations we all have.

I'm amazed at most everyone nit picking on a definition...that's not the gist of this essay.

For those thinking there is something anomalous about recent tornadoes, don't forget folks that one of the worst tornado events ever was a cool season event pretty far north...the Tri-State tornado in March 1925...just pointing out some historical perspective.

Thanks again for a wonderful piece Josh.

[A Facebook User]

All very good points. Warnings are only as good as the people who act on them. We all saw with Katrina that even a couple days of warnings does not mean people will act on them!

[Howard D.]

@Dawn,
Agreed. There seems to be a lot of anger or pent up frustration, which is fine, but do not blame it on "the media". Who the heck is the media? Major networks? Cable news? Radio? Internet? Everyone except for the author? Many have pointed out errors in here already, but as for the "Spring" statement, I find that a little odd. Coming from tornado alley myself, this weather is "weird". This many tornadoes, this early on, for this many years in a row is not common. Weird would be something not common that seems to not have a good explanation, hence the statement that the current weather is weird. The extreme highs, lows, droughts, etc for the past few years have been absolutely incredible. To claim they are not that big of a deal, and it is just "spring" is minimizing the extremes that have been taking place. Mr. Johnson, while looking at your information I was somewhat confused, did you receive your meteorology degree at University of South Alabama or did you leave while pursuing it?

[Howard D.]

BTW, last question was not being grumpy or anything, actually curious because bio did not explain well.

[Josh Johnson]

Howard - I was pretty clear in saying that I (the author) make mistakes daily. There was no anger, hate or self-righteousness in my post, I simply wanted to voice some frustrations about repeated and egregious errors that occur when (primarily) national television networks report on severe weather. The local TV stations, including the one I work for, have made similar mistakes. We've all got to get better.

Errors? Stu and Greg pointed out their observations about the difference between a funnel cloud and a tornado, but you'll note that I didn't seek to scientifically define that difference. I just wanted to simply note that the two are different. I stand by what I wrote as it was written, and I don't believe that Stu or Greg's observations discredit anything I wrote.

As far as your thoughts on the extremes, there have certainly been some lately. The 27 April outbreak last year, a very warm winter with many records broken, etc. No doubt about that. My point is that tornadoes happening in Spring in the Plains and Southeast is not out of the ordinary. Check this out: http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/cmb/images/tornado/clim/apr-avg-torn1991-2010.gif You'll see there that Kansas (#2) and Oklahoma (#3) average double digit tornadoes during the month of April...so, it shouldn't completely surprise us when they have a big tornado outbreak in April.

I graduated on-campus from Mississippi State University in 2004 and went to pursue more education (specifically a double major in civil eng. and meteorology) at South Alabama. Got there and realized that my real passion was doing weather on TV, and I was offered a chief meteorologist position and left USA to go to work. Great school with great professors.

[Jim Clarke]

Great article Josh. This is a battle that has been 'fought' between weather departments and newsrooms for decades. Most of the news producers I worked with with were only interested in superlatives. Hence, they would tease the weather on Thursday with: "Today was the hottest day since Tuesday."

Keep up the good fight.

I have the sense that Howard D. is reading too much global warming hype. The weather over the last couple of years is fairly typical for extended La Nina patterns like we have seen over the last few years. The only thing unusual about tornadoes recently is that several of the stronger ones plowed through the heart of population centers, causing terrible damage and death. This was very unfortunate, but not weird.

Here is a link to the number of EF3-EF5 tornadoes in the US per year from 1950 to 2011:

http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/cmb/images/tornado/clim/EF3-EF5.png

2011 was a bad year, but just the 6th busiest in the last 61 years. The busier years were in the 50s, 60s, and early 70s. The graph shows that violent tornadoes have been trending down since the early 70s. The string of unusually quiet years from 2000-2007 and 2009, were actually more 'weird' than the more recent years, yet I do not recall anybody thinking that something was wrong with the weather when it was relatively quiet.

[Uncle Louie]

If you think the media, national, local, internet get tornadoes and sever weather wrong, they are paragons of exactitude compared to their reporting of wildland fire.

[Quincy Vagell]

Hey Josh, great insight. Would you mind if I published this story on WTNH-TV's WXedge.com website, with proper sourcing and credit to you, of course?

[brian]

Awesome job buddy I think it's weird these people can't understand what your trying to say LOL

[WxDan]

I'm asking this as a serious question, so please don't think I'm trying to troll.

How do journalists know that the data on the SPC storm reports page doesn't correlate to an exact number of tornados? Is it possible that at least part of the problem comes from us and how we communicate?