Readers respond to Question of the Week: Is ‘Storm Watch‘ ‘24’ a case of overhype?

‘Storm Watch ‘24’ coverage was spot on

There was a similar QOTW following Hurricane Hillary in August 2023 and it produced a slew of grumpy complaints about weather predictions and the government’s “over-hyped” response to the storm.

None of those writers acknowledged the amazing accuracy of weather predictions nowadays compared with 20 or even 10 years ago.

For Hillary and the recent atmospheric river event the predictions a week in advance were spot on, thanks to continual advances in atmospheric science and huge computing power. If the damage from those events was moderate it was due to vast improvements in preparedness and response by government agencies.

The anti-science, anti-media, anti-government crowd needs to find something else to complain about.

— Peter Coonradt, Redlands

The overhype is really about control from the left

Let’s look at the real issue here. “Storm Watch ‘24” is a real case of overhype.

If you take a deep breath of fresh air, clear your head and think about what the leftists are trying to impart to us, you will see that climate change, or control, is trying to change our lives.

You can even say that the left is being a bully in controlling our way of life by telling us to go green and that fossil fuels are destroying our planet and our way of life.

Every time they point their finger at us about what we are doing wrong, they have three fingers left pointing back to themselves.

— Jeffery Milot, San Bernardino

Flash-flood warnings are no joke in a big storm

On Monday, Feb. 5, day two of the storm, I was driving up Menlo Avenue in Hemet and I soon realized that I was navigating a flash flood.

The entire street became a river. I could see whitecaps of water rushing down the sidewalk. Lesson learned.

If I absolutely need to drive, l will seek out higher ground and scan for hazards.

No longer do I see flash-flood warnings as a joke.

— John Mckay, San Jacinto