Hysterical reporting is routine and thus loses its punch. I just read the latest AP article and, in just a few sentences, it at once hypes the dangers of Florence while the actual news is it has dropped from a Cat 4 to Cat 2 and is likely to be a Cat 1 at landfall.
Bad, but what will they have to say about a Cat 3, 4, 5? “You’re all going to die!”
No doubt the networks....TWC included....definitely hype the living crap out of just about every storm, and lots of times the storm does downgrade(thankfully) prior to landfall. I wish they would be much more honest & prudent about the seriousness without all their hyperbole and ratings driven adjectives.
Having said that---most outlets should err on the side of overemphasizing the severity of a storm. It's better to hard play it and the storm turn out less, than to be overly reserved and have more casualties than necessary. There has to be a happy/accurate medium but(again, for ratings) the news agencies don't practice that. For those who've never been through one, it doesn't really matter whether it's a Cat 1 or Cat 3 or etc....a Cat 1 can really screw up your life depending on the circumstance so they should be taken very seriously. When the media announces a storm downgrades from a 4 to a 2, ignorant people tend to think "whew, we should have stayed" or get pissed off they were mislead. That's either stupid or extremely naive---you can lose everything(or die) in a 1 just about as easy as in a 3---just not prudent to take the ratings as a true measurement. I think they should do away with the numbers and simply call the storms--bad, worse, and worst. A minor hurricane can still kill you.
FWIW....just found this on a WX forum which is comprised of REAL meteorologists(not tv weather announcers), the serious technical folks who actually do know what they're talking about in terms of facts-not hyperbole.....and the apparent downgrading may not be the final action of Florence. It can still begin growing and intensifying before landfall so people need to ignore what the network morning shows are telling them.
"looking at satellite, Florence appears to be strengthening and in best shape over past 24 hrs. Outflow is healthy in all quadrants, good symmetry and, blossoming of deep convection within CDO. All that said, as I mentioned yesterday Florence appears to be translating most/all of his intensification into greater size, which acts to impede potential increases in windspeed/SLP as the circulation is broadening much more than tightening."
This was from a meteorologist in New Hampshire posted at 8:30 am today. In other words, the eye--which had been deteriorating, is rebuilding and could be in the Rapid Intensification mode again. It's windfield IS expanding--that has already been ongoing for awhile. If intensity begins to grow--then it could become a stronger storm again, just like it was. This is not going to be an 'easier' storm regardless what some people are thinking when they see it go from Cat 3 to Cat 2.