More False Reports

Joined
May 10, 2007
Messages
99
Location
North Little Rock, AR
Over the past week, a couple of hoaxes have occurred.

Last Friday, just as a tornado warning in northwest Arkansas was about to expire, a particular person e-mailed a TV meteorologist to report there was a tornado occurring. Subsequent e-mails were sent, one of which said the person was following the tornado and that it had struck a fast-food restaurant. The person also e-mailed a photo of the supposed tornado to the TV station. That station and at least one other station aired it. It was actually a tornado from Oklahoma in 2007. Information on this hoax has been turned over to the FBI.

On Tuesday evening, an NWS office received a report of a damaging storm in Georgia. The person reporting the storm seemed to be from a fire/rescue department, and said that at least 25 houses had been damaged, there was widespread tree damage, and three people were hurt. The county sent teams out to check the damage and found the report was false.

I'm bringing these incidents to your attention to let you know that, if you are chasing in an area where you are unknown to the local NWS office, you may get more questions than normal when you call in a report. Please don't feel offended, but obviously, care must be taken when reports are received from people who aren't known to the local office.
 
Yikes! When are people going to realize this is not a game? This is as bad as these idiots who keep calling 911 when their favorite fast food restaurant runs out of food! Maybe a knock on the door by the FBI will finally deter these people to stop submitting false reports.
 
Maybe some time in jail will make those idiots think twice. One can only hope.
Melissa
 
I think it is ridiculous that people get so bored they have to make up stories to get their 15 minutes of fame. Not only does it damage the media's and the nws's credibility, it damages ours as storm chasers. The only good thing to come out of this is that no one got hurt. I just wander what kind of penalties are given to people who carry out these hoaxes.
 
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