FEMA Blows It Again

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Someday, I would really like to find a reason to praise FEMA. But, the agency neither "gets it" when it comes to storm warnings nor does it handle weather-related disasters well.

So, it was not surprising when I saw this new "You Can't Always Predict" public service announcement (PSA) from FEMA that undermines the message it is trying to convey.
First, while he seems like a really nice guy, Al Roker is not a meteorologist in spite of what the PSA says. Second, the PSA virtually screams "meteorologists don't know what they are doing" by showing him telling everyone it is a nice day and then - literally - diving for cover during a major storm at the end. He's shown losing his cool by shouting at the top of his lungs. 

The end of the PSA says, "You can't always predict but you can always prepare." What good is preparation if you don't know the storm is coming? Meteorologists accurately predict the great majority of storms, in spite of what FEMA portrays. 

It is insulting to weather science to depict us as incompetent and, from where I sit, contrary to the goal of FEMA by implicitly saying those of us who forecast tornadoes, hurricanes, ice storms, et. cetera don't know what we are doing.

But, it is not the least bit surprising. FEMA simply does not get it and probably never will.

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