Reminder Why Weather Experts Would Rather “Hype Up” A Storm Than Minimize It

I don't know about you, but I've always had a bag of mixed feelings the following day after what most weather experts predict will be a significant weather event. On one hand, I'm thankful that we're not picking up rubble or burying loved ones who likely wouldn't have left their homes, even at the threat of 100+ mile an hour winds.

On the other hand, I feel like the constant "sheep who cried wolf" effect is bound to happen. The already too casual attitude most Oklahomans have towards tornado season just gets worse when most places who plan for the worst don't see anything happen.

Are weather experts doing this on purpose? Should we stop taking these weather warnings more seriously?

I start to think to myself that maybe there really isn't anything to be worried about, even when the tornado sirens go off.

Then, I remember May 20, 2013. Or Blanchard 1930. Or more recently, Tulsa 2017.

The next time you think they're overhyping it, just remember the times that Oklahoma wasn't so lucky.

In many of these events, there was little to no warning or conditions weren't taken as seriously. For some events in Oklahoma, there may have been warning and the worst still happened, even with the right precautions being taken.

For example, two elementary schools were directly hit by the Moore EF4 in 2013. Weather analysts were communicating their worry for severe tornadic weather up to six days in advance. Despite the fact that authorities tried to do their best for the safety of their students by keeping them from the roads that afternoon, at least 20 children were killed in the incident.

Some storms hit the state without warning, like in the case of the tornadoes that hit Tulsa, Oklahoma on August 6, 2017. In fact, the storm developed into a tornado so quickly that the National Weather Service wasn't even able to send out a warning for the area until after the twister already hit, according to News Channel 8.

There's a reason that storm chasers, meteorologists and weather experts over communicate about prime storm conditions.

In most cases, it's better to be over-prepared than not to be prepared enough. And what's that saying? "If it walks like a duck and sounds like a duck, then it's probably a duck."

It's difficult not to expect something to happen when all of the ingredients are there, as many weather experts emphasized about Sunday, June 8.

But I think I would rather have quick-responding, attentive, communicative weather reporters in our community than ones who think like most Oklahomans do: "awe, it'll be alright, it's just a little rain."