Improving weather alerts in 2021 and beyond

Warning people of incoming weather hazards is one of the most important things a meteorologist can do. If we can’t reach out to people with a forecast (good or bad), then what’s the point of forecasting at all? With all the technology available to us in 2021, making people aware of the weather should be easier than ever. Yet when the remnants of Hurricane Ida passed through the Philadelphia and New York City regions on September 1 with severe impacts, many people (including some elected officials) were somehow unprepared and decided to place the blame on forecasters themselves. I want to explore why many people don’t seem to get the message, and how we can improve upon messaging in the future.