X (formerly Twitter) was criticized for labeling AccuWeather's Hurricane Beryl map misinformation, sparking controversy in the weather forecasting community. This action by X's content moderation system raised concerns about the platform's ability to distinguish between legitimate weather information and potentially misleading content accurately. AccuWeather’s track record of superior accuracy in weather forecasting and warnings has saved over 10,000 lives, prevented injury to over 100,000 people, minimized reputational harm, and saved companies tens of billions of dollars – all beyond what has been done by the National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center, and other weather sources.
"We issued that forecast because when we know something it is our philosophy to tell people because it's in the interest of public safety," AccuWeather Chief Executive Officer Steven R. Smith told USA TODAY. "In this case here there's no other way to say it, then they just got it wrong. It's just flat out wrong."
AccuWeather argued that the Community Note feature on X was incorrectly used to suggest that official hurricane forecasts should only come from the National Hurricane Center. This situation underscores the importance of balancing content moderation with the need for timely and accurate weather information from various reputable sources, particularly during potentially life-threatening weather events like Hurricane Beryl.
"Every hour, every minute counts when you're talking about preparation and, in this case, "potentially life and death decisions that have to happen here," Smith said. "Typically, hurricanes are a little different than tornadoes and severe thunderstorms where you have minutes to take action... It takes longer for people to actually both recognize it and then take action on it."
Hurricane Beryl, the first major hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, brought destructive winds, flooding, and storm surge to the Windward Islands, Jamaica, the Yucatan Peninsula, and southeast Texas. AccuWeather's team of Expert Meteorologists and Hurricane Experts led the way by forecasting that Beryl would become a Category 3 hurricane before other known sources even considered it a tropical storm.
AccuWeather was the ONLY SOURCE to issue a forecast track for the storm on Thursday, June 27 - 28 hours BEFORE the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and all other known sources issued their first track. AccuWeather customers once again exclusively benefited from this extra advance notice to make the best decisions to prepare for the storm's impacts.
When analyzed for Beryl's entire lifespan, AccuWeather's track for Beryl was 12% more accurate than any other known source, and AccuWeather's average U.S. landfall point forecast was 11% more accurate than the NHC.
AccuWeather's first forecast track was issued on June 27 when an area of rain and thunderstorms had not yet developed into an organized tropical storm. Recognizing the potential impacts to lives and property, AccuWeather began referring to this as a tropical rainstorm and correctly predicted it would intensify and move over Barbados and the Windward Islands on July 1, pass very close to Jamaica on July 3, and approach the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico on July 5. This additional day of valuable advance notice exclusively provided AccuWeather customers with more time to best prepare for and react to the risks posed by Beryl.
AccuWeather's intensity forecasts for Hurricane Beryl were 8% more accurate than those of the NHC. This higher level of accuracy in predicting wind speeds enabled more effective planning and resource allocation, ensuring greater safety and minimized damage.
More than 100 times every year, AccuWeather has been documented as providing more accurate, more advance notification of significant and extreme weather events that impact businesses and threaten individuals' health, welfare, and lives. AccuWeather is proven to be the most accurate source of weather forecasts and warnings.
These are additional examples of the many weather events where AccuWeather provided superior forecasts and impact descriptions to people, communities, and businesses, helping them better prepare and stay safer.