Communicating Wx Info to People--interesting implications

[ncweatherwizard]

I thought I'd post this up here, because, for one thing, it seems quite interesting. This summer, I worked at the National Weather Center, in Norman, Okla., on a social science project related to meteorology. A survey was released to people in the southwestern US and we gathered lots of data concerning the way people react to, use, and understand weather information.

Next is a link of the draft copy of a paper on the first part of the project: still some specifics about the survey that need to be cleaned up before it is submitted for publication though.

http://www.nencweather.com/wxquestionna ... ONLINE.pdf

Some parts of the paper are heavy on statistics and might be a little dry to read, but if interested, I recommend reading through the introduction and then Part c of Section 4 near the end. The data shows that many people don't really understand weather terminology, and in fact, over one-third don't understand the difference between a severe weather "watch" and a "warning". A previous study showed that about one-third did not know what a "30% chance of rain" meant.

I post this because, as many of us on the forum have an interest in meteorology, many of us know a little or much more than others around us at school, in the neighborhood, or in the workplace, and it is imperative that when communicating to others that meteorologists get the correct message across in a way that people understand. Regarding tropical weather, if one-third of people don't understand the difference between a watch and a warning, imagine trying to explain that different models exist that show different potential solutions to what a tropical cyclone might end up doing. It is very easy to take this for granted, because many of us who have an interest in weather understand at least some basic idea with such terms, but with that in mind, those same people share a responsibility to pass that understanding on in a way people can absorb.

Just thought some people here might be interested in looking at another perspective on things. As always, I'll be happy to answer any questions, etc.

Scott