‘Fake Forecasts’ Taking Over Facebook – National Weather Service Denies Too Early Hurricane Irma Warnings
It has been just about a week since Hurricane Harvey caused as much damage and destruction as possible and there will be other storms, but people have to know what to believe. The people of Houston are dealing with far too much right now and fear of another storm is not what they need at this moment. That’s why the National Weather Service is warning of “fake forecasts” which people are passing around social media sites with the intent of scaring everyone.
A map has shown up online in the last couple of days that is showing a track for Hurricane Irma which is currently way out in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s far too early to determine the exact route the storm will take as it approaches the United States, but this map is showing that it is headed for a direct hit with Houston.
According to Politifact, the map has the official logo of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on it as well as a projected path for Hurricane Irma. The storm, which has now strengthened to a Category 2, looks as if it will go through Mexico and straight to Texas.
While the storm could do anything and go anywhere, there is no direct path and this is a true example of a fake forecast.
Nearly 40,000 shares on this fake Irma forecast on Facebook. There is no actual threat to any land in next 5 days. pic.twitter.com/hwmuE5UwKn
— Jon Passantino (@passantino) September 1, 2017
A guy named Joe Maley started the post on his Facebook page and by Friday evening, the post had been shared close to 40,000 times. Maley would not respond to requests for comments from Politifact or numerous other media outlets.
The National Weather Service issued a warning on their official Twitter account to let everyone know that “fake forecasts” are a real thing.
“Keep your eyes out for fake forecasts. THIS is what an official NOAA advisory looks like. Note: forecast only goes out 5 days. #Irma”
As of Saturday morning, Hurricane Irma was a Category 2 storm and the farthest out that its path could be predicted was Thursday of this upcoming week. Pay attention to the National Weather Service on multiple outlets and always follow their true information.
#Irma is currently a category 2 hurricane with winds 110 mph. Irma is forecast to strengthen back into a major hurricane by Sunday. pic.twitter.com/wTVGQnqBXH
— NWS (@NWS) September 2, 2017
Hurricane Harvey‘s effects are still being dealt with and they will be felt for a very long time in Houston and the surrounding areas. As the hurricane season continues, they need to keep their eyes on all possible storms that may form and their track, but that holds true for everyone. These fake forecasts are nothing but a problem and they’re actually being seen as quite cruel to many people, so, make sure to check all the facts before sharing.
[Featured Image by NOAA/AP Images]
