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When extreme weather is a threat, how do forecasters communicate risk?

National Weather Service's report on the Aug. 7, 2023, tornado that hit West Knoxville
National Weather Service
National Weather Service's report on the Aug. 7, 2023, tornado that hit West Knoxville

The EF2 tornado that hit Knoxville on Aug. 7, 2023, was accompanied by thunderstorms and straight-line winds that meteorologists warn can be just as dangerous as the tornado itself. Geographer Kelsey Ellis, local broadcast meteorologists and Logan Korn, a student who rode his motorbike through the storm, talk about that day's events, and the challenges of communicating tornado risk to the public.

Melanie is WUOT’s interim news director and is a distinguished lecturer in journalism at the University of Tennessee, where she has taught reporting, editing and media entrepreneurship since 2012. Before teaching, Melanie worked for Bloomberg News for 11 years in a variety of cities and roles, from managing the multimedia desk to producing television. In between her journalism jobs, Melanie worked as director of information services at Opera America, putting her M.A. in musicology, from Montreal’s McGill University, to good use.