Social Media a Key Tool in Relaying Severe WeatherInformation

While Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc along the East Coast late in October 2012, the power ofsending real-time weather information and photos on social media was apparent.

Sending out real-time weather information and pictures on breaking weather events helps to informthe public faster than ever before that there may be a weather danger. However, the quickness ofinformation sharing can also lead to the spread of false information and fake photos.

"Social media offers unbeatable immediacy," AccuWeather Social Media Coordinator andMeteorologist Jesse Ferrell said. "Citizens worldwide can obtain critical, breaking weatherinformation through mobile devices and transmit photos or videos of severe weather events on theInternet in real-time to platforms like Facebook."

On Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012, AccuWeather's Expert Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity and Ferrellheld a Google Hangout along with New York's WABC Meteorologist Amy Freeze to explain theseverity of Sandy. The storm surge was only beginning in New Jersey and New York at the time ofthe Hangout, but the devastation of the storm was imminent.

Crucial warnings were sent out utilizing social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, whilethe East Coast was inundated at the height of Sandy on Monday, Oct. 29, 2013. Even as Sandy'spowerful winds knocked out power to more than 2.4 million customers in New Jersey, Sandy victimswere able to view important information on mobile devices and tablets.

According to Hootsuite, #Sandy trended on Twitter while millions of people were without power.Hootsuite said: "Social media tools are, in some cases, the only assist in connecting people andsupplying information."

Government officials were among the millions on social media to warn citizens of the dangers thatSuperstorm Sandy posed.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie tweeted strongly worded warnings to people, cautioning them tostay away from beaches and to evacuate in mandatory areas.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was also sending updates about power outages and impacts ofSandy.

Due to the massive volume of information sent out over social media during Superstorm Sandy, itwas a hot topic at Social Media Week 2013 in New York City during February.

"Companies are learning that Social Media can be used for crisis management and communicationwith their customers during weather disasters," Ferrell said.

During Social Media Week 2013, power companies such as Con Edison talked about how usefulsocial media was in updating customers without power during Sandy. Con Edison is one of thelargest power companies in the world, and it supplies more than three million customers with powerin New York.