Is Twitter/X still a viable reporting method?

[Dan Robinson]

I've been reporting to NWS WFOs primarily via Twitter/X over the past 4 years, but most this year have gone unacknowledged, including many tornadoes this season (some significant). Only one was cited in an LSR. Is this still a viable reporting avenue? Just wondering if this venue is being phased out/not monitored as intensely and if we should return to conventional means. I'm not looking for realtime replies or anything of the sort, just some confirmation that the reports are being received.

 

[Daniel Reese]

Simple answer - yes, please keep sending those reports in.

Longer answer (and these are just my personal thoughts here based on my experience) I'd say Twitter is one of the best reporting methods that we have but the full extent varies from event to event and office to office. And there are lots of variables that go into this. One of those is the amount of reports coming in, where a very high number of reports or very low number of reports can both cause issues. On a fast-evolving day with lots of chasers out, we may see dozens of posts within the span of a few minutes. So in a case like that there can get to a point where some individual posts may get missed in the clutter, though if many people are posting the same thing we'll inevitably see it quick. On the other hand are days (and often nights) where we're getting very few reports on Twitter. These events often don't require the need for a person just dedicated to Twitter/social media, so if there does happen to be a mention containing time-critical information there is a risk it's not seen in time. For your average event though, we're seeing most mentions within ~5 minutes (often less) from when they're sent.

Staffing and workload issues can also come into play, especially for lower end events or events that become a bit busier than expected. (Fortunately those aren't all that common in my experience, but they can happen.) However in general for well-advertised higher impact events we prefer to have someone just dedicated to social media reports. The person in that role also has a hand in how much we acknowledge each mention. Personally I try to "like" each mention in order to keep our in-office communications organized, as well as to give a show of thanks to the spotter. But that's also something that can vary from person to person, event to event, and office to office.

 

[Ryan Schwartz]

As long as the NWS is on Twitter/X, it's still a viable option for reporting since it allows photo/video submission, whereas Spotter Network does not (probably it's most glaring omission). It's one of the few reasons I still keep an account on that platform, otherwise I would just be mindlessly scrolling through the dramafest that evolves with every event. Seems like there's a younger generation that just sit on their radar apps and play armchair WCM 24/7 where every warning decision is broken down ad nauseum.

I think staffing and workload issues come into play because the NWS is on too many platforms on top of what's happening with the event itself. Can't check them all at the same time. I always get a laugh at the spotter training courses when the reporting slide comes up and there's a half dozen ways to submit a report. Other than calling in, which one is being checked the most?

 

[Randy Jennings]

@Daniel Reese covered it very well, as that has been what I have heard from other NWS offices, but let's walk thru the options:

Twitter/X: Works well for most offices as long as they have the staffing to look at social media. Pictures are a plus.

Facebook: Alg makes it impossible for NWS to get real time reports.

Spotter Network: I have had more than one NWS Met at different offices tell me this isn't a viable option now because with the move of NWS Chat to Slack it no longer gets ingested into their system and they have to be logged on to a separate website to view it and they just don't have the bandwidth to do this. There is talk of Spotter Network being integrated into their new chat system in the future, so this may change. I know one NWS office removed it from their Skywarn Training slides.

mPing: To delayed for urgent reports. Reports are anonymous, so it isn't a favored method for severe weather anyway (they do like it for winter wx)

Email: Great for after action reports, but not timely enough for real time.

Ham radio: some offices love this, others don't use it. Even offices that love it may not have radio ops in office post-COVID, so it may have to be typed into NWS Chat by a net control operator.

Phone: I have heard at last one WCM say this is there preferred method now. Remember that many offices don't answer the phone, but are listing to your message as you leave it.

Not reporting: Every WCM I have talked to says reports are valuable to them. They hate it when something happens and they get no reports and yet they see the videos on social media later.

 

[John Farley]

Being pretty old school, phone is and always has been my preferred method. I have never had to leave a message, always got a real person in various offices I have called, although sometimes I have had to navigate an automated answering system to get there.

 

[Drew Terril]

I generally chase solo, so any kind of social media isn't even in my thought process when I'm chasing. I have enough other stuff to juggle as it is. Even if it was, there are plenty of times where I have issues simply pulling down radar data because bandwidth is often limited, either by too many other users in the same area or by simply being in a bad area for service in general. As long as there's a nearby repeater running a net, I just call it in over ham radio and let them relay the message where it needs to go. Sometimes, the net controller will ask follow up questions to which I can easily reply, even if I'm repositioning. Last time I did make a report via Twitter, I was in the semi, tweeted my report while I was stopped waiting on the storm to pass, and got going again after it was safe to do so. Somewhere in that time span after I got back on the road, that NWS office replied asking for more details, and it was a couple hours before I had the opportunity to stop and see it. If I'm trying to keep up with a storm, the same thing would likely happen if they replied asking for more details since I keep notifications off when I'm driving.

I'm sure it's practical for chasers who don't chase alone, and I'm sure it's helpful for the offices, but for me it's not practical.

 

[Mike Smith]

If anyone chases by themselves and wishes to make reports, Apple's Siri will enable you to use voice commands that can send emails.