Twitter Hack Exposes Weather Risk

Imagine severe weather rolling into your neighborhood, you look at social media, and there's no information from your trusted warning source. That's exactly what happened last week in Illinois in the midst of a massive attack on Twitter. According to news reports, many verified Twitter accounts, including the National Weather Service, were unable to send out warnings via Twitter.

A few days ago, I conducted a twitter poll. I asked, "How do you receive weather watches and warnings?" Yes, it's unscientific, but it's hard to ignore the vast majority of people receiving warnings from social media and an app on their phone. It only makes sense with technology today.

You've heard me say it again and again, you should have 2 ways to receive warnings in the event one quits working. If you're internet and/or cell service goes down, it's a great idea to have a NOAA weather radio.

So many have cut the cord, including myself, have an antenna backup for your TV so you can still watch Channel 7. Crawls run on the bottom of the screen and if there's ever a threat to life and/or property, we'll be on the air giving up to the second information.

Look at some of the responses I received on Twitter.