Tropical Storm Marco was expected to be a hurricane when it hit the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi, and some of the projected paths took the storm right over New Orleans. A double storm threat existed because of Tropical Storm Laura – which was brewing in the Caribbean.
Forecasts and projections from the National Hurricane Center, The Weather Channel, and both national and local meteorologists had Marco hitting the Greater New Orleans area Monday afternoon. At one point, the projections had New Orleans very close to the path of both Marco and Laura.
The best way to explain the dramatic change in conditions was when I changed rain/storm/weather-related bumper music to songs, like “Beautiful Day” by U2. Monday afternoon was defined by a mostly clear blue sky.
The nicer the day became and the more the serious threat from Marco faded – the texts into my talk show began to include complaints. The texts were bashing the media because Marco did not produce high winds, rain, flooding and damages. One text complained that the media got everyone hyped up for nothing.
Some people were truly disappointed that a tropical storm did not bring the expected problems associated with a storm.
After sharing a few of the complaints, I received texts praising the performance of WWL Radio and the media and celebrating the fact that the storm fizzled out.
The instinct of people to bash the media because the dire predictions for a storm failed to materialize fits the current trend of condemning the media by any means necessary. Many times, the media are to blame for airing news stories that prove to be incorrect. In the case of the responsible media outlets – those stories are corrected.
The news media can also be guilty of sensationalism. The tendency to sensationalize the news is predicated on the reality that the goal of “the news” is to attract the largest possible audience. It’s all about getting your attention.
However, there is another element to the instinct to criticize that is even more troubling.
Social media has contributed to a sense that anyone and everyone is an expert in everything, and even the belief in a wild conspiracy is supported by like-minded individuals online. Anyone can google almost anything and find confirmation for their beliefs or opinions – no matter how unbelievable they might be.
Bashing the media because a tropical storm – with the potential to become a hurricane before hitting New Orleans – did not hit the city is essentially saying that there is real disappointment because there was no disaster.
The Hurricane Center and the news media relate to the public the information they have at the time. As advanced as technology is today – it is still not possible for forecasts to be flawless.
Storms are essentially organic, living phenomenon that cannot always be predicted. The Earth is alive with events humans cannot control. Technology – from space and the surface – may give us a sense that we can accurately pinpoint where a storm will hit – but the atmosphere is constantly changing and presenting various guiding mechanisms for storms.
During an update from WWL-TV meteorologist Alexandra Cranford on my talk show – I asked her why the predictions for Marco were so off. She said that it appears that the models projecting landfall may not have accurately assessed the effects of wind shear in the atmosphere. It was wind shear that tore apart Marco and turned Monday afternoon into a beautiful afternoon – rather than an afternoon of torrential rain, strong winds and the damage both can leave behind.
I do not always defend the industry I have been a part of for decades – but in the case of hurricanes and weather-related events – I will; and as consumers of the media – we should understand that forecasts cannot always interpret the unpredictable nature of planet Earth.
One text complaining that Marco had not produced any threat to the area was critical of the directive to stock up on supplies to ride out the storm. In a follow-up text – the texter lamented that whatever supplies they stocked up on for potential storms will possibly be needed after Election Day in November!