Weather Watch: Who can you trust for the good oil on bad weather?

The radio and internet are good sources of weather info. Photo / Paul Estcourt

The social weather revolution is certainly something that is significantly changing the weather news landscape and how forecasters get vital weather warnings out to the public.

Via Facebook, YouTube and Twitter forecasters around the world are now using social media to get warnings out - and organisations like my company have a two-way street with the public - we warn about weather, they tell us what's happening where they are.

During the big lightning storm over many parts of the North Island on Monday WeatherWatch.co.nz's Facebook page surged with activity from people all over the country whose feedback was far better than any weather station: flash floods, power cuts, major thunder and, best of all, loads of positive comments.

Twitter user @ajobbins from Auckland wrote, "Cool blue then orange lightning!" followed by "Lightning: Making fireworks seem boring since the dawn of time". Similar comments from across the city alerted Auckland-ers to the beautiful display of light.

But Twitter and Facebook can lead to lazy journalism. We all need to verify every comment we see with official or, at least, reliable data. That 8.0 earthquake in Italy retweeted by someone you know may not have happened. But, for us, it's an early-warning system and means we can quickly check official sources to see if that tweet is legit.

The Social Graph points out that it's important to remember social media and the internet won't carry the entire burden during natural disasters. The website says in a recent article, quoting America's Federal Emergency Management Agency director, Craig Fugate, "Your local broadcasters ... are going to have, often-times, the most detailed information about what's happening in your community. People that got so enamoured with their smart phones and stuff, forget it's your local radio and TV stations [who] are going to be giving you the best information, real time," pointing out that cellphones especially may not work properly during disasters.

I mostly agree with Mr Fugate, but I'd suggest the internet is probably better than TV in this country because we don't have local 24-hour TV news.

With thanks to APN Media Research Analyst Eric Rowe

Philip Duncan will take a well-earned break next week.