Posted on 09/06/2017 3:34:45 PM PDT by nickcarraway
hurricane Irma is a very real, powerful Category 5 storm that lashed the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico's northeast coast and could potentially wallop South Florida this weekend. But the National Weather Service is warning people to watch out for fake forecasts after several went viral on social media.
In Your Words: Tell CBS News how you're preparing for Irma "Keep your eyes out for fake forecasts. THIS is what an official NOAA advisory looks like. Note: forecast only goes out 5 days," the agency said on Facebook. They encouraged readers to visit the National Hurricane Center's official website if you are unsure of the source.
The warning comes after several websites claimed Irma would become a Category 6 storm -- which does not exist -- that would wipe entire U.S. cities off the map.
"There is no such thing as a typhoon in the Atlantic or a Category 6 or higher hurricane," WAPT Meteorologist Nathan Scott wrote on Facebook, encouraging users to follow trusted media outlets when searching for information on the storm.
He added, "Meteorologists have not discussed anything about implementing Category 6 criteria because there's nothing that strong."
fake hurricane warnings These warnings are fake. The National Hurricane Center says there is no such thing as a Category 6 hurricane. CNN-BUSINESS-NEWS.GA, DCCLOTHESLINE.COM The National Hurricane Center uses the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which grades storms on a scale from 1 to 5 based on sustained wind speeds. Category 5 applies to any hurricane with sustained winds of 157 mph or higher -- powerful enough to cause "catastrophic damage."
Another bogus claim was a Facebook post that falsely illustrated the storm on a projected path toward Texas, before any meteorologist knew where the storm would go. The post has since been deleted from Facebook but several meteorologists used this as a lesson to folks looking for information online.
"The fake forecast shows Irma heading southwest of current, real, predictions, and barreling right into Texas, where Harvey, the hurricane-turned-storm, has left record rainfall, devastation and killed dozens," meteorologist James Spann of WBMA-TV tweeted.
In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency and activated 100 members of the Florida Air and Army National Guard to help with planning across the state. Another 7,000 National Guard members will report to duty Friday when the storm could be bearing down, though it's too early to know exactly where it may hit.
Maybe they’ll make an exception in this case. Like, you know, volume 11?
“Irma is a very real, powerful Category 5 storm “
Cat. 5 is plenty bad enough.
Right since everything is catastrophic damage, then there’s no need for anything pass Catagory 5.
There seems to be fake news everywhere.
Well, if you're inside of Rte 128 there's 'wicked pissuh.'
“Well, if you’re inside of Rte 128 there’s ‘wicked pissuh.’
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I get it.:-)
.
Hurricane Irma just created a category 6.
Have you never heard of 110%?
If a woman is hotter than a “10”, is it wrong to call her an “11”?
With “climate change” we may have to add categories up to 10. /s
That’s right! The Weather Channel says it’s Category Eleventy and we are ALL DOOMED.
We can place complete trust in NOAA, the National Weather Service, and TV weather men.
They would never politicize a hurricane (the path of which has changed significantly over the last three days) or pump-up citizen anxiety to increase viewership.
They still don't know where the damn thing is gonna go.
Yeah - knew it. Run it to 15.
Yet they can confidently predict what the weather will be like 50 or 100 years from now...
...yeah, well then what do they rank this ...
-—No, Hurricane Irma is not a Category 6 storm — there is no Category 6-—
But what if it identifies as a Category 6? Aren’t we then obligated to call it a “6”?
That’s my spot.
Lets call it a 7 and be done with it.
Lets call it a 7 and be done with it.
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