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Meteorologist: focus on hazards and official sources, not hurricane labels
Summary
WPTV meteorologist Skyler Spindler told a Juno Beach audience that residents should prioritize hazard‑specific impacts — storm surge, flooding and tornadoes — over category numbers and rely on official sources like NOAA and the National Hurricane Center.
Skyler Spindler, a meteorologist with WPTV, told the Juno Beach Civic Association forum that residents often misunderstand the difference between watches and warnings and should prepare earlier in the season.
"A watch is when those conditions are expected within the next 48 hours; a warning is when the hurricane is approaching within the next 36 hours," Spindler said. She emphasized that focusing on the storm's category can be misleading because hazards such as storm surge and inland flooding depend on the storm's size, speed and track.
Spindler reviewed recent storms — including Hurricane Ian and Milton — to show how different systems cause varying hazards: storm surge on the West Coast, catastrophic inland flooding and, in some cases, tornado outbreaks. She also explained how forecast updates arrive (weather balloons, hurricane hunter flights and model runs) and urged residents to consult official sources (NOAA, the National Hurricane Center and local NWS offices) rather than relying on social‑media posts.
During audience Q&A she recommended portable battery or solar phone chargers and NOAA weather radios as ways to access radar and official updates if household power or internet fail, and she said local stations generally maintain generator backup for continued broadcasts.
