Paths for Understanding Weather Hazards and Warnings: Socialization of Spanish-speaking Immigrants to Weather Communication in the U.S.

As communities in the U.S. continue to diversify and the immigrant-derived population continues to grow, life-saving information and infrastructure must address cultural disparities and language barriers experienced during weather-related disasters. Spanish-speaking populations in the U.S., which represents a large portion of the population, originate from a range of countries across Latin America and Europe, and their culture, practices, and hazards they have experienced vary as greatly as their places of origin. Therefore, Hispanic/Latino heritage (i.e., Hispanic/Latino origin country) is crucial to understand, as it ultimately dictates how different Spanish-speaking individuals get information about weather risks and react and respond to those risks. Prior scholarship in other domains has shown that Hispanic/Latino immigrants and later generations within Hispanic/Latino communities can become more involved and knowledgeable about civic life in the U.S. through connections with family members, friends, community organizations, institutions, and media sources here. This research suggests that such connections might also be important for understanding how this group develops an understanding of weather hazards and information sources in the U.S.

To begin to investigate this issue, we conducted a nationwide survey of 2,000 Spanish speakers about weather hazard understanding, weather information seeking, reactions to current NWS products, and several demographic factors. The survey was conducted with the aim of collecting data from a wide range of the Spanish-speaking population, including different Hispanic/Latino heritages, countries of origin, levels of English and Spanish language ability, length of stay in the U.S., and native country experiences with weather hazards. In addition, participants were surveyed about their connections to and engagement with civic life in the U.S., as well as their trust in institutions here. We use these data to answer the research question: How do Hispanic and Latinx heritage, culture, nation of origin, length of stay and/or family history in the U.S., region of residence in the U.S., and other social variables affect the way Spanish-speaking groups receive information about weather hazards, including current NWS products?