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I was thinking about this today when I was interrupted mid-conversation by an emergency weather alert on my phone. The cause? A snow flurry that was expected t

by ng12 5y ago

I was thinking about this today when I was interrupted mid-conversation by an emergency weather alert on my phone. The cause? A snow flurry that was expected to last about an hour. It ended up lasting for about half that. Now, it's New England. These kind of things happen and I am prepared for them by virtue of living here. When I resumed my conversation the topic turned to why they felt the need to send out an emergency alert for something so mundane. The only reason we could come up with was that if they didn't and someone got in an accident they could probably sue. Reading this article really makes me feel like that's the case.

Sebguer 5y ago
That hypothesis makes no sense. Who would they sue? FYI, you can opt out of these alerts: https://weather.com/news/news/2021-03-25-how-to-get-wireless-emergency-alerts-cell-phone-severe-weather https://weather.com/news/news/2021-03-25-how-to-get-wireless... Realistically the reason for "excessive" alerts is probably just scope creep. The system almost definitely began as a mechanism to send alerts for really serious weather, but over time that definition's shifted, or they decided that sending more alerts was a good way to justify a bigger budget, or something similar.
- ng12 5y ago
  There's been a number of lawsuits stemming around the Amber Alert system [1][2][3]. It's very plausible that they could find someone to sue for failing to issue an emergency alert. Not sure if they would win but it could encourage the NWS and local agencies to err on the side of caution. 1. https://mynorthwest.com/6711/lawsuit-cop-falls-asleep-delaying-amber-alert/ https://mynorthwest.com/6711/lawsuit-cop-falls-asleep-delayi... 2. https://www.amberadvocate.org/amber-feature/ashlynnes-law/ https://www.amberadvocate.org/amber-feature/ashlynnes-law/ 3. https://www.wandtv.com/news/amber-alert-lawsuit-moves-to-federal-court/article_6c2dbf68-d71c-5a36-8e91-2c8e618cdbef.html https://www.wandtv.com/news/amber-alert-lawsuit-moves-to-fed...
rcurry 5y ago
This reminds me of the first year I lived in New Mexico, I had moved there from Wisconsin and one night the TV warns us of an “Emergency Weather Alert”, so I look to my wife and, fearing the worst, I say “maybe we should go stock up on some groceries.” A few minutes later we learn that they are expecting up to an inch of snowfall in the next five hours. We almost died laughing about it.

by ng12 5y ago

Sebguer 5y ago

That hypothesis makes no sense. Who would they sue? FYI, you can opt out of these alerts: https://weather.com/news/news/2021-03-25-how-to-get-wireless-emergency-alerts-cell-phone-severe-weather https://weather.com/news/news/2021-03-25-how-to-get-wireless... Realistically the reason for "excessive" alerts is probably just scope creep. The system almost definitely began as a mechanism to send alerts for really serious weather, but over time that definition's shifted, or they decided that sending more alerts was a good way to justify a bigger budget, or something similar.

ng12 5y ago
There's been a number of lawsuits stemming around the Amber Alert system [1][2][3]. It's very plausible that they could find someone to sue for failing to issue an emergency alert. Not sure if they would win but it could encourage the NWS and local agencies to err on the side of caution. 1. https://mynorthwest.com/6711/lawsuit-cop-falls-asleep-delaying-amber-alert/ https://mynorthwest.com/6711/lawsuit-cop-falls-asleep-delayi... 2. https://www.amberadvocate.org/amber-feature/ashlynnes-law/ https://www.amberadvocate.org/amber-feature/ashlynnes-law/ 3. https://www.wandtv.com/news/amber-alert-lawsuit-moves-to-federal-court/article_6c2dbf68-d71c-5a36-8e91-2c8e618cdbef.html https://www.wandtv.com/news/amber-alert-lawsuit-moves-to-fed...

rcurry 5y ago

This reminds me of the first year I lived in New Mexico, I had moved there from Wisconsin and one night the TV warns us of an “Emergency Weather Alert”, so I look to my wife and, fearing the worst, I say “maybe we should go stock up on some groceries.” A few minutes later we learn that they are expecting up to an inch of snowfall in the next five hours. We almost died laughing about it.