Go Back
AccuWeather’s Hurricane Week is underway. Find out why people are flocking to one state often struck by hurricanes. Chevron right
Air quality is unhealthy in New York City and across much of the Northeast, with no improvement in sight this week. Get the latest. Chevron right

Ashburn, VA

81°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Ashburn

Virginia

81°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Ashburn, VA Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

Video

Podcasts

Winter Center

Top Stories AccuWeather Early AccuWeather Prime Astronomy Climate Travel Health Recreation Business Sports

News / Weather News

Psychology of warnings: Why do people ignore important weather alerts?

By Chaffin Mitchell, AccuWeather staff writer

Published Feb 6, 2017 8:00 PM EDT | Updated Jul 10, 2019 2:00 PM EDT

Copied

In a time where technology and meteorology are very precise, psychologists and meteorologists are working together to evaluate better warning systems.

Dr. Laura Myers, director and senior research scientist at the Center for Advanced Public Safety, who studied warnings and how people react to them, said people have a tendency to not want to change plans or their behavior for weather unless they are fairly sure the weather is going to impact them.

Myers said people get desensitized to watches and warnings after so many don’t produce any impacts for their specific area.

“Improvements in the warning process are addressing these issues and providing more specific geolocations and more lead time when possible,” Myers said.

Alert notifications that are targeted to an exact location and provide more lead time to help people react better. Also, warnings with potential impacts and calls to actions help people better respond to threatening weather.

“When people hear what the weather impacts are, such as damage and destruction to well-built homes, they start to pay attention. When they are told they need to take shelter now because their location is going to take a direct impact, they usually act,” Myers said.

The word emergency, such as a tornado emergency or flash flood emergency, tends to get the attention of people, Myers said.

Psychology of warnings: Search & rescue

Rescue workers search inside a mobile home, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017, in Big Pine Estates that was damaged by a tornado, in Albany, Ga. Fire and rescue crews were searching through the debris Monday, looking for people who might have become trapped when the storm came through. (AP Photo/Branden Camp)

The time a warning is issued to the public can also make a difference in response. When people are given too much lead time, they can get tired of waiting and tend to go back to their business, Myers said.

“That’s why we have to be careful giving too much information several days out from an event. There is a real communication process involved in the sequencing of information in the days and hours leading up to an event,” Myers said.

Regardless of the warning, some people wait until they see their life is in danger.

“A lot of social media research was done and people said they have to see [a tornado] before they do something,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said.

Mike Smith, Senior Vice President of AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions and author of Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather, said there are many reasons why people wait to react.

"There is considerable inertia in people. They are busy or their attention is on some project. There is also sociological evidence that people feel silly for taking shelter; that it somehow reflects poorly on their courage," Smith said.

He said in order to get people to take shelter or evacuate, it seems warnings need to come from someone they trust. Receiving the warning from more than one source can also help, Smith said.

“We try to issue the warnings very early now so they take cover, but people need to see that something’s coming at them,” Kottlowski said.

Be AccuWeather Ready ahead of any dangerous weather
The difference between tornado watches and warnings

Therefore, Kottlowski said they have started enhanced warnings, which are warnings with amplified wording like severe and imminent danger.

"Not all warnings have enhanced wording, it's only when we have a situation when we have a big tornado already causing damage," Kottlowski said.

Meteorologists and psychologists are looking at more than just the wording.

“Psychologists are working with meteorologists to come up with an understanding of why people are just not adhering to the warnings, maybe it’s a combination of wording and graphics,“ Kottlowski said.

Kottlowski said radars don't make sense to some people, so there needs to be a simple graphic that will show were the most dangerous impacts of the severe weather will occur.

search and rescue

A sign declaring a mandatory evacuation in anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Irene is seen as motorists head north in Nags Head, N.C., Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011 on North Carolina's Outer Banks. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

However, broadcasters are able to explain radars to people in a simple, urgent manner.

"The really good television meteorologists have mastered the art of using tone of voice and other cues to persuade people to take action when they are convinced a really dangerous storm is occurring or imminent," Smith said.

That will still not solve the problem entirely, experts agree.

“When you get a really bad outbreak where you have multiple tornadoes moving very quickly, you are still going to have a lot of fatalities and injuries because people aren’t going to be able to get out quickly enough,” Kottlowski said.

Technology, meteorologists and psychologists are making immense improvements and progress to help save the lives of people across the globe.

“The goal is to communicate weather information to an educated public who knows what to do when the time comes,” Myers said.

Partner Module Enhancement
Report a Typo

Weather News

Weather Forecasts

Western US faces opposite extremes from the weather this week

Jun. 6, 2023
Hurricane

From the eye to storm surge: The anatomy of a hurricane

Jun. 5, 2023
Weather Forecasts

Midwest, Northeast face unusually early wildfire concerns

Jun. 6, 2023
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

Top Stories

AccuWeather Early

AccuWeather Prime

Astronomy

Climate

Travel

Health

Recreation

Business

Sports

Top Stories

Weather News

Unhealthy air quality grips New York City as wildfire smoke pours in

42 minutes ago

Live Blog

AccuWeather presents Hurricane Week

LATEST ENTRY

Fort Myers Beach still recovering following Hurricane Ian’s disastrous strike

1 hour ago

Hurricane

This metric is a reliable measure of hurricane season’s intensity

10 hours ago

Severe Weather

Hundreds in shelters following destructive flooding in Ecuador

56 minutes ago

Hurricane

Why people are flocking to one state often struck by hurricanes

1 day ago

More Stories

Featured Topic

Your Local Asthma Forecast

Featured Stories

Weather Forecasts

As historic Canadian wildfire season rages, US braces for more smoke a...

2 hours ago

Climate

Black sea urchins have disappeared from the Gulf of Aqaba

1 day ago

Hurricane

What do animals do when hurricanes approach?

1 day ago

AccuWeather Weather News Psychology of warnings: Why do people ignore important weather alerts?
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect Podcast RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect Podcast RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2023 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Do Not Sell My Data checkmark Confirmed Not Selling Your Data

We have updated our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

I Understand

Get AccuWeather alerts as they happen with our browser notifications.

Notifications Enabled

Thanks! We’ll keep you informed.

FEEDBACK