Tornado, flood warnings might be delayed on Twitter, says Philly region’s weather service office

When tornado or flood warnings are issued, they might take a little while before they show up on Twitter, the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly advised on Saturday.

As have other weather service offices around the country, the Mount Holly office said that changes announced by the social media company effectively limit the number of automated warnings that can be issued on a given account in any 24-hour period.

That number would be about 50, said Dean Iovino, a lead meteorologist in Mount Holly, close to the number the office reached two weeks ago during the local tornado outbreak.

He said that in all likelihood that number would have been well exceeded when the remnants of Hurricane Ida ravaged the region in September 2021.

Iovino said the office would continue posting warnings on Twitter, but rather than simply push buttons, forecasters will have to assemble them manually, which he said is “not a particularly helpful step” during an emergency.

“It was nice to have it all automatic and not having to think about it.”

In its post Saturday, the Mount Holly office said, “Twitter is now limiting automated tweets and as a result this account can no longer post all watches/warnings/advisories as they are issued.”

The weather service Twitter accounts also include those of the Storm Prediction Center, which issues all tornado watches, and the National Hurricane Center, responsible for tropical storm advisories and warnings.

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Iovino said that the agency was aware from the beginning that it was embarking on an uncharted course in its relationship with Twitter, which began in 2014.

“That was always something in the back of our minds,” he said. “We can’t control it,” adding that issues could arise “if there is a change, and we start relying on it very heavily.”

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Iovino said that Twitter was by no means the primary vehicle for weather service advisories and warnings and that evidently most people relied on the websites maintained by the agency’s 122 offices.

Officially, the weather service says, Twitter is a “supplemental” service.

“Followers should not rely on this service as the primary means of receiving alerts/warnings of hazardous weather,” the agency said. “NWS alerts/warnings are available on NOAA Weather Radio and our official website: https://www.weather.gov.”