Since Friday, the National Weather Service has described the impacts Hurricane (and now Tropical Storm) Harvey in superlatives, with forecasts stating the flooding would be “catastrophic” and “life threatening.”
“This event is … beyond anything experienced”: the National Weather Service‘s ominous warning on Harvey
Brian Resnick was Vox’s science and health editor and is the co-creator of Unexplainable, Vox’s podcast about unanswered questions in science.
Now nearly 50 inches of rain (4 feet!) are in the forecast as Harvey stalls over Houston, and the Weather Service is stretching to find the right way to describe the risk.
It’s calling the situation “unprecedented.”
Longtime weather journalists and meteorologists are saying this language is as dire as the National Weather Service gets.
Rains could last through the week. Five people are reported dead already. More deaths may come. This situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.
How to follow Hurricane Harvey
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has recently revamped its tools to better communicate storm risks. For instance, it’s a common misconception that wind speed is the most dangerous part of a hurricane. It’s not. “In fact, flooding is the major threat from tropical cyclones for people living inland,” the NOAA explains on its website. One new tool is the NOAA’s storm surge predictor: Use it to find out the risk of flood in your area.
- Follow the Houston-area office of the National Weather Service on Twitter.
- The National Hurricane Center has a page updating every few hours with the latest watches and warnings for Harvey. Check it out.
- The National Hurricane Center also has a storm surge predictor. If you live on the Gulf Coast, you’ll want to check your risk for flooding. The NHC notes that this tool is still a prototype, and that “due to forecast uncertainty, the actual areas that experience life-threatening inundation may differ from the areas shown on this map.”
- Follow the Capital Weather Gang’s Twitter account. These folks tend to live-tweet storm updates.
- Here’s a Twitter list of weather experts via meteorologist Eric Holthaus. These experts will give you up-to-the second forecasts and warnings.
More in: Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath
By Brad Plumer and Ruairí Arrieta-Kenna
