Post-Sandy, Weather Service Considers Change to Hurricane Warnings

The National Weather Service is considering changing how it issues hurricane watches and warnings.

Spokesman Chris Vaccaro said in an email last week that the weather service is considering a proposal to issue watches and warnings for storms that threaten life and property even if they are no longer hurricanes or tropical storms.

The proposal has not been adopted, but attendees at a hurricane conference last week discussed it.

The National Hurricane Center was criticized last month following Superstorm Sandy after it stopped issuing hurricane warnings because the storm wasn’t technically going to be a hurricane anymore when it made landfall.

Some argue that this caused residents in the Northeast to not realize the danger of the storm that did billions of dollars in damage.