How social media is shifting the spread of hurricane information

By: Cassidy Delamarter, University of Communications and Marketing

The Tampa Bay region is still recovering from the 2024 hurricane season when it was battered by Hurricanes Milton and Helene. The state of Florida had it even worse in 2004  when it was pummeled by four, back-to-back storms – Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. 

At the time, families primarily relied on local television news for weather updates to learn if they should evacuate or shelter in place.

With the exception of MySpace, a platform primarily dedicated to connecting with friends, social media didn’t really exist. Today, nearly three decades later, it’s one of the primary tools people use for daily news, especially during extreme weather. The intersection of social media and weather forecasting has forever changed how people prepare, navigate and respond to the aftermath of the storms, bringing communities together to collect donations and help those in need.

“Social media offers 24/7 access to potentially life-saving information,” said Kelli Burns, associate professor in the USF Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications. “It allows real-time updates from officials and meteorologists, especially when storms change course quickly or unexpected dangers emerge.” 

When local meteorologist Denis Phillips started at ABC Action News in 1994, he only delivered weather updates during live broadcasts a couple of times a day. Now, especially as a hurricane is approaching, he answers questions in real-time and provides steady guidance across multiple social media platforms around the clock.

During last year’s hurricane season, Phillips’ follower count soared from 500,000 to more than 1.2 million on Facebook alone. 

“It’s lifesaving in a lot of ways,” Phillips said. “People are getting information that otherwise they simply are not able to get. I don’t have to be at work and I can constantly update people on what’s happening. It’s really tremendous.” 

Back in 2004, Mike Boylan was studying marketing at USF and created a website for a class assignment.  

“I brilliantly called it Mike’s Weather Page,” Boylan joked. “The most ridiculous marketing name on the planet, but it was just meant for friends and family. I had no idea it would go viral.” 

As the storms rolled in that year, the views on Boylan’s website – a one-stop shop for weather updates – soared and changed the course of his life. Although he didn’t study meteorology in school, Boylan learned how to interpret radars and models available publicly from the National Weather Service. Today, he has a national following across multiple social media platforms, blending forecasts with a conversational style and personal storytelling as his full-time profession.

“Being able to interact more with the younger generations has been the most fascinating to me. I didn’t realize so many kids enjoyed learning about the weather, but it’s really been the most inspiring part of this for me,” Boylan said. 

With the ability to reach more people than ever before, the spread of misinformation has increased as well. Burns, who studies the power of influencers, warns that viral content isn’t always trustworthy. That includes posts that are generated by artificial intelligence, showcasing destruction that may or may not exist.

“As consumers, we have to be careful and not accept everything as truth,” she said. “That can be really challenging when you have no electricity, you’re anxious and maybe you’re even feeling the effects of the hurricane. People aren’t always in the right mindset to process information during a hurricane and that’s why misinformation can spread faster.”

That’s a concern shared by both Phillips and Boylan.  

“There are so many people out there who are not experts and will post worst-case scenario models just to go viral and get clicks,” Phillips said. “It’s frustrating because then what happens, people who are scrolling see that update and it’s hard for them to remember where it’s coming from. It’s just irresponsible because all it does is confuse people.”

As National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasts a busier-than-normal hurricane season, knowing who to trust for timely, accurate information can make all the difference. 

“Information is power and where that information comes from matters more than ever,” Burns said.