Something brewing in the Caribbean? Meteorologists say it's social media hype

Yahoo

2 days ago

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — You may have seen it on social media: eye-catching graphics of GFS model projections featuring a monster hurricane headed straight for the Gulf coast.
Some accounts posted about this hypothetical storm weeks in advance, stoking anxiety in a hurricane-weary region of the country.
What to expect during the 2025 hurricane season | Tracking the Tropics
On Tuesday's edition of Tracking the Tropics, our team of meteorologists addressed those concerns and issued a warning to social media users who encounter these long-range projections online: Don't buy into the hype.
'Especially coming off of such a terrible season for Florida, where so many folks are going to be recovering for the next couple of years, there's just a heightened sense of anxiety. Storm anxiety is a real thing,' WKRG Chief Meteorologist Ed Bloodsworth said. 'Nerves are just heightened now. Folks are trying to rebuild their lives, get back to what will be their new normal. The last thing you want to do is scare them with nonsense. That's why you want to trust your local meteorologists.'
Long-range models, like the GFS, often spin up phantom storms that don't come to fruition. These projections have low confidence more than a few days out.
'No, we're not going to see a Category 4 hurricane in 10 days in the Gulf. That's just not going to happen,' Max Defender 8 Meteorologist Rebecca Barry said. 'The confidence is so low. It's not even worth worrying about at this point.'
The social media graphics and video thumbnails may look official, but our team of meteorologists says you should listen to the experts – not influencers who rely on clicks and follows.
'I get paid whether I post anything on Facebook or not. I get paid to do my job as a meteorologist,' Barry said. 'There are a lot of people on social media that are getting paid through social media, so if they don't post something that gets a lot of likes, shares and interactions, they don't get paid that day. That leads them to make different decisions than I would on social media. Some of them I would consider not the best decisions.'
Barry's advice? Look at everything on social media with a critical eye.
'I just want people to think about who they follow on social media. Think before you share one of those posts,' Barry said. 'What are the motives? If the confidence is that low, it doesn't deserve any space in your brain or in your day.'Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.