Chasers creating panic on social network sites

[Warren Faidley]

Just wondering if anyone has noticed this?

There seems to be a growing trend on social networking sites of chasers posting "hyped-up" forecasts on severe weather days to generate more followers, e.g., potential customers. I see words like "significant" and "outbreak" being used on slight risk days or days when no such forecast is likely and no WFO or SPC outlook is using similar terminology. It's almost like chasers and some news / weather outlets are trying to "up" one another to gain viewership on the hope their forecast pans out. I know we've seen this during the hurricane season, and with chasing in general, but I don't recall it being quite so blatant during the tornado season. My worse fear is that people will start ignoring forecasts and forecasters thinking they are all on the make.

Warren

 

[Jason Boggs]

I'm noticing it as well.

More hype=more customers watching their stream, logging onto their website, etc.... which=more money.

All chasing has become for a lot of people is making money by whatever means necessary, chest bumping, I got closer than you, hype it up sport.

EDIT: And before anybody moans and bitches.....no, I'm not against chasers making money.

 

[Jeff Duda]

OH YOU MEAN PEOPLE TYPING SUPER HUGE MEGA DANGEROUS TORNADO OUTBREAK LIKELY TYPE STATUSES ON FACEBOOK IN ALL CAPS LIKE RETARDS AND ALSO WITHOUT USING PUNCTUATION CAPITALIZATION OR PROPER GRAMMMMMERRRR THEN YES I HAVE SEEN THAT TWO

Seems to me like a lot of "hey, look at me, I need attention," crap. I seem to recall seeing a few statuses from April 2nd declaring a tornado outbreak to be likely that Wednesday. Clearly it's stupid, but the people who like and share those statuses are not meteorologically inclined, so they buy into the hype and spread it, too.

 

[Jason Boggs]

Yep, I have to agree with Jeff. Well said!!!

 

[Sean Ramsey]

I see this a lot, and it's from a select few who have a big stake in keeping the interest level high. Especially in the slow part of the season (like now). A 5% day is called an "outbreak", three days out CAPE is 2500+ in a small area and large tornadoes are possible which usually ends up as a slight risk and a 2% chance on the actual day. Adjectives like "insane", "exploding", "monster" are part of every forecast. I tune this stuff out for the most part, but it's a bit maddening to see on a consistent basis.

I understand the need to keep people engaged, and there are a few of us out there who can see right though it...but there are many who don't.

 

[Warren Faidley]

I'm somewhat surprised about this given the advanced meteorology knowledge involved.

W.

 

[Matt Hunt]

I think like Jason said, to some it seems to be a popularity contest. I want to hide some people so bad, but I don't want to miss pictures/videos. That's the only reason I've added chasers.

 

[Marcus Diaz]

Another reason why I don't have Facebook or any other social media.

 

[Jeff Hawkins]

So much for storm chasing for "science' sake". To start, I only occasionally use social networking, and do not post anything about my own forecasting or chasing on any social networking sites, nor do I regularly follow anyone who does. Therefore I am an outsider to this game (and perhaps that makes me a 'loser' to some so be it I could care less about that). I have no desire or interest to get to know these people. They do not represent real storm chasing as a hobby to me, and in fact I think they demean it.

IMHO, I have a devious desire with these people...I want those who do this to do it more and keep on doing it, so that their followers will hopefully wise up, seeing the selfish and perverted motives, then give up following them, and thus these attention and money hogs will go away.

 

[Hank Schyma]

Lame as it sounds I've un-friended 2 chasers for the following exploit / for being annoying. Warren is right for pointing this out and perhaps it's all our duty to call them out?

 

[James Gustina]

The biggest issue with calling people on their BS is that there's usually a horde of idiots waiting to defend that person regardless of how blatantly wrong their "forecast" is. If I had a penny for every time one run of the [insert mesoscale model here] led to hitting the outbreak button, I could buy part of Oklahoma. The biggest contributing factor is definitely likes on a page but somehow, and this may seem strange, I feel like people who go full potato are actually kind of hoping for something big. It's been awhile since a large-scale tornado outbreak and people seem to be antsy for the next "big one".

 

[mikedeason]

I think some folks do this in the manner of the proverbial blind squirrel and the nut: If they forecast an "outbreak" with each possible severe weather event, eventually, by the law of total probability, they are bound to "get it right" and will boast to no end about how they were the first to see it coming and everyone else should have listened to them. The initials KM come to mind in this regard.

Also, like James posted, some of these folks have an almost cult-like following and trying to challenge them on their consistent doomsday predictions usually results in a crashing wave of vitriol from their dedicated minions. There's really no point in bothering to challenge them anymore.

 

[Mark Ellinwood]

That's modern day attention-grabbing for you... doesn't matter what type of weather it is. If there's a way to hype up weather, someone's going to push that hype button.

I used to call out people that were being stupid with the hype, but no matter how much criticism this people get for it, they're just going to keep hyping. I've found the best practice is to just block them and make sure I've got my own stuff in order. Don't care who it is or what else they put out, if the hype creates a negative experience on whatever site I'm on, they're gone.

 

[StephenHenry]

Maybe I'm going against the grain here (or maybe I just get uncomfortable in threads like this), but I'm always 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-guessing any setup. Sometimes when I need a little kick of motivation, I'll skim some Facebook posts and BAM I'm packed up and on the road

In all seriousness, I think there are valid points here. But my impression of the audience for a lot of these types of Facebook pages are people who wanna be hyped up anyway and watch some streaming video. Those with a deeper interest can probably parse and SPC outlook already.

Last nights SPC "isolated strong tornado" language had me more giddy than I should be, speaking of getting hyped up.

 

[Warren Faidley]

Lame as it sounds I've un-friended 2 chasers for the following exploit / for being annoying. Warren is right for pointing this out and perhaps it's all our duty to call them out?

You have to be very careful now days about naming names. Even if you are 100% right in fact and principle, people are going to label you as "jealous" or "untruthful." Some chasers have massive cult-like followings. You run the risk of everything from death threats to hacked social media accounts and re-postings of "doctored" posts. My gut feeling is that the wheels will eventually come off the wagon for chasers who go too far. You can't run full speed at crazy levels and maintain it without eventually imploding or making some terrible mistake.

W.