I am sure the Obama administration handed NOAA a report and said release this, and they did.
He is probably watching this in real time. I wonder which towns he will tell the responders to ‘stand down’ in.
Well, you can stick to the facts and best projections regarding expected consequences of even a Category 5 hurricane as has been the case as long as I can remember, or you can jazz it up and play on emotions like the National Enquirer for what by all accounts will not even be a Category 1 and scare the living bejeezus out of people who are unfamiliar and therefore already more apprehensive.
As to the why, I’ll leave that alone because I honestly can’t say. I see a sprawling, loosely organized, slow moving tropical system that will cause heavy beach erosion and coastal flooding, more from rain than from surge. Here in NC it was less than five feet. Inland flooding will be more of an issue and it will build as it all flows downstream, so a repeat could be in store later in the week. It really looks as if Appalachian snowfall will be the bigger story.
I’ve watched hurricanes since I was a child and the family beach house was wiped out, this type of storm rolls up the coast every year. Stalling out can cause big problems, and it is large. I just do not see the basis for the hysteria coming even in official communications, though.
Caution is in order with any coastal storm of much magnitude at all, even a tropical depression. But this is just excessive.