Public Attention during Hurricanes Florence and Michael

Abstract

Abstract In 2018, Hurricanes Florence and Michael affected the southeastern portion of the United States, with widespread impacts in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia. The two storms were markedly different in terms of their meteorological history: Hurricane Florence made landfall as a category-1 storm approximately 2 weeks after formation, whereas Hurricane Michael made landfall as an “unprecedented” category-5 storm just 3 days after formation. The stark meteorological differences provided the opportunity to explore whether and to what extent public attention is influenced by storm severity. This study utilized both direct (i.e., tweet volume and search volume) and indirect (i.e., number of newspaper articles) measures to explore public attention at different scales. Data showed that Hurricane Florence received more attention than Hurricane Michael, both regionally and nationally, across all three measures. The findings also underscore the importance of time for the process of attention building, especially at the national level. Taken together, the results suggest that storm severity, forecast lead time, previous meteorological history, and population density intersect with one another to influence public attention in complex ways. The paper concludes with some opportunities for research that may provide additional insights into the linkages between attention, perception, and decision-making. Significance Statement The purpose of this study was to better understand the factors that influence public attention to extreme weather. This is important because attention is often noted for its mediating effect on decision-making. We found that public attention was greater during Hurricane Florence, despite the fact that Hurricane Michael was an “unprecedented” category-5 storm. Taken together, this suggests that storm severity, forecast lead time, previous meteorological history, and population density intersect with one another to influence public attention in complex ways.