Too Much Hype?

[David Wolfson]

I don't think there was too much hype, but there was (and is) far too little attention to the danger and damage potential away from the track and inland. For example, the radar right now shows Hattiesburg on the point of getting cored as the massive storm pulls in its angular momentum. And the reports from the Mississippi coast are anything but reassuring.

It also isn't clear to me that NO won't fill up like a bathtub. If indeed major levees are breached, the flood won't happen instantaneously, but will be very bad nonetheless.

 

[Brandon Clement]

Anderson Cooper went way overboard. He was in BR near the Ms river brige screaming ove the really high winds (less thean 30mph gusts) and going crazy showing the surge from the Ms river??? I guess he was just trying to make a story, but why when there is so much more going on. Other than that it has been much better than Dennis. Dennis was nothing compared to K and was hyped up just as much if not more.

 

[rdale]

Before we blame the media - let's recall that the NWS in New Orleans said:

MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT
LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL
FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY
DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.

THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL.
PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD
FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE
BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME
WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.

HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A
FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.

They didn't say it was the worse-case scenario - they said IT WOULD HAPPEN.

 

[Billy Joe]

Remember Miami?

Miami thought they dodged a bullet too. They thought Andrew was over-hyped too. Then... they saw the path of the eye... Homestead.

This isn't over yet... soon we will witness the aftermath. It won't be pretty.

 

[Justin Turcotte]

Before we blame the media - let's recall that the NWS in New Orleans said:....
They didn't say it was the worse-case scenario - they said IT WOULD HAPPEN.

We have yet to get much information east of N.O. Sounds like there was a Camille type storm surge in MS.

 

[Brandon Clement]

Come to think of it the Ms gulf coast and mobile area where not hyped near enough and New Orleans was looking at a natural disaster like this country has never seen so I don't think it was overhyped for the most part.

 

[John Erwin]

Before we blame the media - let's recall that the NWS in New Orleans

They didn't say it was the worse-case scenario - they said IT WOULD HAPPEN.

While I agree the language was particularly strong in that report, let's not forget that it's one persons words and our interpretation of what he/she meant.

I still think it's better to err on the side of caution rather than not warn at all about the potential. It's hard to win though.. no matter what they do the NWS is bound to be criticized by certain groups..

 

[Jeff Snyder]

While I agree the language was particularly strong in that report, let's not forget that it's one persons words and our interpretation of what he/she meant.

I don't really agree with this... Forecasters issue products on behalf of the NWS organization. The product at hand was officially issued by NWSFO LIX, so it wasn't like it was a blog on that particular forecaster's website. I do think they should have denoted a little more uncertainty than they did. That said, there's a difference in what they did (in trying to protect lives) than some of the media folks who make a 40mph wind seem like 200mph winds.

 

[Brandon]

Check this out

Check out this story.

http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf?/w...hebigone_1.html


In your opinion, is this article realistic or overblown?

 

[John Erwin]

While I agree the language was particularly strong in that report, let's not forget that it's one persons words and our interpretation of what he/she meant.

I don't really agree with this... Forecasters issue products on behalf of the NWS organization.

Agreed, but I notice that not eveyone uses the same "language" or style of writing in their report. Some forcasters seem to convey things a little better than others...

 

[Bill Tabor]

Whereas I don't believe the storm was really over hyped because there was a real chance for catastrophic damage in NO what I don't quite get is why there were really no forecasters discussing the real possibility that this thing may weaken. I was talking with Gene Moore yesterday and he mentioned how Tim Marshall was already talking of the likelyhood of dry air entrainment causing a weakening of the storm. This was more than 12 hours before landfall. That is exactly what ended up happening IMO. That tells me there were some forecasters that probably saw this coming, but no one was speaking up - at least not publicly. Perhaps because of this there really is some hype by the media and a tendency to supress any info that would lower the strength and decrease their ratings. We really didn't hear of any weakening until it was already apparent that it had occurred. Additionally NO is about 35 miles from the true coast so some weakening will occur just because it is beyond the initial landfall area.

With that said, I know it is still a roll of the dice. Perhaps they didn't know how much the dry air would weaken it. Perhaps they want to hype it enough so people take it seriously. My guess is the people that came out worse on this were the people to the east closer to the eyewall and surge that weren't in the city of NO.

 

[Anonymous]

Absolutely it was overhyped, as every landfalling hurricane is. I totally understand that it can be justified by saying it saved lives, and that catastrophic destruction was/is possible. But the key word is possible. Virtually the only person i heard who mentioned the likelihood of weakening was Lyons on the wxchannel, despite all meteorological considerations indicating weakening. Everyone else said "definite Cat 5, definite levy breaks etc" Consider Geraldo's "verbatum" reading of the infamous NWS (which he referred to as National Weather Center) Public Info Statement, as images of Homestead were shown in the background. Cut to some "expert" from Accuweather who literally gauranteed a Cat 5, and said 70% of NO would be under water from the 25+ foot surge. That's not hype?? Yeah, it may have saved lives, but how many people next hurricane will say "yeah, they said it would take out concrete hotels last time too" and proceed to put themselves in front of real 200 mph winds? those people will die, thanks to the so-called well-intentioned hyping by the media. Stan

 

[nickgrillo]

Absolutely it was overhyped, as every landfalling hurricane is. I totally understand that it can be justified by saying it saved lives, and that catastrophic destruction was/is possible. But the key word is possible.

Well, I would have to disagree with you there... Not EVERY hurricane is overhyped. This hurricane was looking to bring death and destruction to New Orleans like we've never seen before... So, I could understand why everybody was "hyping".

 

[Anonymous]

Before we blame the media - let's recall that the NWS in New Orleans said:

MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT
LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL
FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY
DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.

THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL.
PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD
FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE
BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME
WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.

HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A
FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.

They didn't say it was the worse-case scenario - they said IT WOULD HAPPEN.

That is what most people on here were saying would happen.

 

[nickgrillo]

Before we blame the media - let's recall that the NWS in New Orleans said:

MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT
LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL
FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY
DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.

THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL.
PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD
FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE
BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME
WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.

HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A
FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.

They didn't say it was the worse-case scenario - they said IT WOULD HAPPEN.

That is what most people on here were saying would happen.

Becuase it was almost a sure bet that it WOULD happen...