Should Severe Weather Graphics Wear Uniforms? A Qualitative Look at the SPC’s Convective Outlook Graphic Among Members of the Public

Within the last decade, the Weather Enterprise has become increasingly concerned that visual graphics shared with members of the public are inconsistent, and in turn, may have a negative effect on public risk perception. In particular, meteorologists often vocalize their concerns when members of the Weather Enterprise share the Storm Prediction Center’s (SPC) Convective Outlook graphic and use a different design (e.g., use different colors, risk language, different contours, etc.). But, does this visual variety have any negative consequences? The current literature fails to address the effects of inconsistent visual information and, consequently, is unequipped to offer advice on how practitioners and operational meteorologists should achieve ‘message consistency’– especially in this era of visual communication. As a first step toward addressing this operational concern, this study asked: (1) how do members of the general public describe the severe weather information depicted in Convective Outlook graphics, and (2) how does their interpretation change, if at all, when viewing Convective Outlook graphics with different visual designs? A diverse sample of 25 community members from Athens-Clarke County, Georgia were interviewed and asked to step through several severe weather scenarios where Convective Outlook graphics with different visual designs were presented to them. As a result, this study offers rich qualitative data detailing how members of the general public understand, use, and interpret Convective Outlook graphics. More importantly, however, this research uses the Convective Outlook graphic as a vehicle to qualitatively explore the role of visual design in keeping a weather-related message ‘consistent.’