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New hurricane graphic helps people identify watch areas, doesn't change risk perception

Phys · · 604 words · By Rodrigo Santa Maria
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What to know about New hurricane graphic helps people identify watch areas, doesn't change risk perception

Florida State University researchers studied a new National Hurricane Center graphic designed to better communicate inland risks. The study found that while the graphic helps non-experts identify watch areas, it does not significantly change their perception of risk or their intention to take protective action.

Propaganda risk 0%
Claims checked 8
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

New hurricane graphic helps people identify watch areas, doesn't change risk perception Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Alexander Pol Deputy Editor Hurricane warnings are only effective if people understand them.

Why it matters

A new study by Florida State University faculty members in the School of Communication in the College of Communication and Information and the Department of Geography in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy examined an experimental forecast…

Common ground

The FSU study found that the new graphic helps nonexperts identify which inland areas are under a hurricane or tropical storm watch.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Florida State University researchers studied a new National Hurricane Center graphic designed to better communicate inland risks. The study found that while the graphic helps non-experts identify watch areas, it does not significantly change their perception of risk or their intention to take protective action.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hurricane-graphic-people-areas-doesnt.html

analyticsAnalysis

0%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 8
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Claim 1: “The NHC introduced the updated graphic in 2024 to better communicate inland hazards such as flooding, tornadoes and damaging winds.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm the NHC introduced the updated graphic in 2024 to better communicate inland hazards like flooding, tornadoes, and damaging winds.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season was an extremely active and destructive Atlantic hurricane season that became the third-costliest on record, behind only 2017 and 2005. The season featured 18 named …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Atlantic_hurricane_season
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024 Pacific hurricane season was a slightly below-average yet destructive season that saw 15 tropical cyclones develop overall, of which 13 developed into named storms. Among them, 5 developed in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Pacific_hurricane_season
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hurricane Milton was an extremely powerful and destructive tropical cyclone which caused major damage and fatalities in Florida in October 2024. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Rita for the most inte…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Milton
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 2: “It also didn't improve their ability to identify regions under warnings.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results explicitly state that the experimental graphic did not improve the ability of participants to identify regions under warnings.
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web search NEUTRAL — It also didn't improve their ability to identify regions under warnings. The research was published in the journal Weather, Climate, and Society.The NHC introduced the updated graphic in 2024 to bette…
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hurricane-graphic-people-areas…
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web search NEUTRAL — – The National Hurricane Center (NHC) began using its new experimental cone graphic Thursday to emphasize inland watches and warnings. This is the biggest change to the cone product since 2017.
https://www.news4jax.com/weather/2024/08/15/the-cone-of-unce…
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web search NEUTRAL — The National Weather Service (NWS) and National Hurricane Center (NHC) continually strive for improved products and services. In this regard, the public is asked to provide feedback with suggestions a…
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/experimental/
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Claim 3: “the updated format, developed by NHC in 2024, didn't change respondents' perceptions of risk or their intentions to take protective action.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm that the updated format developed by the NHC in 2024 did not change respondents' perceptions of risk or intentions to take protective action.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season was an extremely active and destructive Atlantic hurricane season that became the third-costliest on record, behind only 2017 and 2005. The season featured 18 named …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Atlantic_hurricane_season
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024 Pacific hurricane season was a slightly below-average yet destructive season that saw 15 tropical cyclones develop overall, of which 13 developed into named storms. Among them, 5 developed in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Pacific_hurricane_season
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hurricane Kirk, known as Storm Kirk while extratropical, was a large and powerful tropical cyclone that caused significant damage in portions of Western Europe after transitioning into a European wind…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Kirk_(2024)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 4: “The researchers surveyed participants in Florida and Georgia using both a traditional hurricane cone graphic and the updated experimental version.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm that researchers showed participants in Florida and Georgia both the traditional and experimental versions of the cone.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Florida State Seminoles football team represents Florida State University (variously Florida State or FSU) in the sport of American football. The Seminoles compete in the NCAA Division I Football …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_State_Seminoles_footba…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_State_University
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Florida–Florida State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the teams of the two oldest public universities of the U.S. state of Florida: the University of Florida (UF) …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida–Florida_State_football…
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Claim 5: “A new study by Florida State University faculty members... examined an experimental forecast graphic developed by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) that adds inland tropical storm and hurricane watches and warnings to the traditional track-forecast cone”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that FSU researchers studied an experimental NHC graphic that adds inland watches and warnings to the traditional cone.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season is the current Atlantic hurricane season in the Northern Hemisphere. The season officially began on June 1, 2026, and will end on November 30, 2026. These dates, ado…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Atlantic_hurricane_season
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Pacific hurricane season is the current Pacific hurricane season for the Northern Hemisphere. The season officially began on May 15, 2026, and will end on November 30, 2026. For the Central P…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Pacific_hurricane_season
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Approximately 500 tropical and subtropical cyclones have affected the state of Florida. More storms hit Florida than any other U.S. state, and since 1851 only eighteen hurricane seasons passed without…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Florida_hurricanes
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 6: “The research was published in the journal Weather, Climate, and Society.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the research was published in the journal 'Weather, Climate, and Society'.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season was a well below average Atlantic hurricane season in terms of the number of hurricanes and ACE. It was the first since 1994 with no major hurricanes, Category 3 or …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Atlantic_hurricane_season
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hurricane Dorian was an extremely powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone, which became the most intense on record to strike the Bahamas. It is tied with the 1935 Labor Day hurricane and Hurricane …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Dorian
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Miami is a coastal city in the southeast portion of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the second-most populous city proper in Florida, with a population of 442,241 at the 2020 census. The Miami metropo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 7: “Elizabeth C. Ray et al, Uncertain about the New Cone? How Nonexperts Perceive NHC's Experimental Track-Forecast Product, Weather, Climate, and Society (2026). DOI: 10.1175/wcas-d-25-0158.1”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results provide the specific title, authors (Elizabeth C. Ray et al.), journal (Weather, Climate, and Society), and date (2026) for the paper.
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web search NEUTRAL — How Nonexperts Perceive NHC’s Experimental Track-Forecast Product” by Elizabeth C. Ray, Patrick F. Merle and Bradford Johnson, 6 August 2026, Weather, Climate, and Society.
https://scitechdaily.com/hurricane-forecast-maps-are-getting…
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web search NEUTRAL — How Nonexperts Perceive NHC's Experimental Track-Forecast Product, Weather, Climate, and Society (2026).
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hurricane-graphic-people-areas…
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web search NEUTRAL — Examples of two track-forecast cones compared in the study. On the left is an operational, coastal-only “cone of uncertainty” for Hurricane Ian, which made landfall in September 2022. On the right is …
https://news.fsu.edu/news/science-technology/2026/08/11/fsu-…
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Claim 8: “The FSU study found that the new graphic helps nonexperts identify which inland areas are under a hurricane or tropical storm watch.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web search results explicitly state that the FSU study found the new graphic helps nonexperts identify inland areas under hurricane or tropical storm watches.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The FSU study found that the new graphic helps nonexperts identify which inland areas are under a hurricane or tropical storm watch. But the updated format, developed by NHC in 2024, didn’t change res…
https://news.fsu.edu/news/science-technology/2026/08/11/fsu-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Inland watches became easier to identify. To find out, the researchers showed participants in Florida and Georgia either the traditional hurricane cone or the experimental version containing additiona…
https://scitechdaily.com/hurricane-forecast-maps-are-getting…
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web search NEUTRAL — This graphic shows an approximate representation of coastal areas under a hurricane warning (red), hurricane watch (pink), tropical storm warning (blue) and tropical storm watch (yellow). The orange c…
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_ep5+shtml/252038.s…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.