The Weather Channel’s Coverage of Hurricane Sandy
November 5, 2012
By: Simone Jackson
The Weather Channel has done a thorough job in covering Hurricane Sandy. They have strong content on their website as well as a substantial presence on Twitter.
I was most impressed with articles on the Weather Channel’s website. The articles were not just on the storm itself and the damage it did. The articles were also how the storm was affecting things that were not closely related to the storm, such as the election and how it will impact voters. there are also articles on how the storm is affecting traffic, bus routes, and weather in other areas. These stories were embedded with videos from CNN and MSNBC and were able to be commented on by using Facebook. The Weather Channel also uses many interactive maps to help explain Hurricane Sandy
I like how the Weather Channels reports on aspects that affects everyone instead of just focusing on the direct damage from Hurricane Sandy. This tactic is a good way to get more people to their site and thus get them sharing the articles on their personal social networks.
Hurricane Sandy's Devastation
The Weather Channel also has a section called the Hurricane Tracker, which has a very detailed map of the hurricane’s target locations and the severity of the storm in certain areas. There is a place were you can search the weather by zip code and it will tell you wind speeds and the affect of Hurricane Sandy in that particular area. Also in this section , are videos of the storm and the devastation it has caused across the country.
The Weather Channel’s Hurricane Tracker also offers articles that has tips on preparing for a natural disaster. Some of the topics for theses articles are how to best prepare your home, best hurricane shutters and the best emergency pet homes. Lastly, there are archives of past hurricanes, sorted by the ocean they occurred near.
The Weather Channel’s Twitter account was updated every few hours during Hurricane Sandy. The Weather Channel’s twitter told people where they could donate money to help victims , linked to articles on the Weather Channel website and retweeted people who posted pictures of the disaster. They also consistently used the hashtag #Sandy, which made their tweets easy to find.