Twitter has become an important tool in disseminating news of the Atlantic’s current bout of extreme weather, but some aren’t using the social network for as serious purposes.
All three hurricanes –Irma, Jose and now Katia — now have personal “official” Twitter accounts, tweeting the daily thoughts of a storm hurtling towards land.
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Katia and Jose were upgraded in the early hours of Thursday morning, while Irma has been a category 5 storm for over 24 hours now — a record in itself.
Irma’s first tweet appropriately used the #NewProfilePic trope, but it became a novel way to showcase the power of the storm and its progression from a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane.
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/SkFbM66yRW
— Major Hurricane Irma (@HurricaneIrma17) August 31, 2017
And while its tweets seemingly mock the likes of Hurricane Andrew — a devastating storm that struck Florida in 1992 –its tweets haven’t been entirely light-hearted. Many updates are disguised as warnings, often quoting the National Hurricane Centre or National Weather Service.
Hurricane Irma: ‘Please get out of my way. I don’t want anyone to get hurt’
“Coming from Irma herself, if you live in #Florida, start getting prepared as mandatory evacuations might be issued. I will be strong,” Irma writes.
Coming from Irma herself, if you live in #Florida, start getting prepared as mandatory evacuations might be issued. I will be strong. #irma
— Major Hurricane Irma (@HurricaneIrma17) September 4, 2017
Seriously, I am getting stronger than I thought. Please be prepared and head all warnings. Coming from Irma herself #hurricaneirma
— Major Hurricane Irma (@HurricaneIrma17) September 4, 2017
“Please get out of my way. I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” she adds.
Within 24hrs I will be a Category 5. Please get out of my way. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. #Florida #Leeward #Bahamas #HurricaneIrma
— Major Hurricane Irma (@HurricaneIrma17) September 5, 2017
Accounts for Jose and Katia soon followed as both storms gained official names earlier this week.
Follow the family @TCJose2017 @TCKatia17
— Major Hurricane Irma (@HurricaneIrma17) September 5, 2017
Irma soon shared a “family photo”.
Family Photo #Irma #Jose #Katia #Monster #Devestation pic.twitter.com/CYgrx7fpFb
— Major Hurricane Irma (@HurricaneIrma17) September 6, 2017
It’s not completely clear who runs these accounts, but all three are updating their profile pictures and timelines fairly regularly, while churning away in open water.
Feature image: NOAA
