Irony Alert: National Weather Service Tells Floridians to Shelter in Basements

NWS to Floridians: Take cover in your basement!

August 5, 2024

The National Weather Service forgot to tell Floridians to grab their snorkel gear before they headed into their "basements" on August 4. Photo by dibrova iStock/Getty Images

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On Sunday evening, as Hurricane Debby approached Florida's Big Bend, the National Weather Service (NWS) sent Floridians a helpful admonition alongside a tornado warning.

"Take shelter now in a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building," the alert read.

The National Weather Service telling Floridians to hide in our basements is quite something pic.twitter.com/ocCJWL5lN8
— Holly Bullard (@HollyBullardFL) August 4, 2024

Seemingly unbeknownst to the NWS, Florida is too close to sea level for homes to have basements. At the very least, the alert should have reminded residents to bring snorkeling or scuba gear to their cellar.

Many users on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, had some fun takes in response to the weather service's blunder.

One invoked the Cartoon Network show Sealab 2021.

Floridians escaping to their basements: pic.twitter.com/7GGt3U4ivS
— Holly Bullard (@HollyBullardFL) August 5, 2024

Another went the photorealistic scuba route.

Ready!😂😂😂🌪️🌴🦩 pic.twitter.com/JMHupm6UzY
— LS 'tximeleta txiki ederra' Walts (@LSWalts) August 5, 2024

A third pointed out that Floridians do, in fact, have basements, but they go by a different name here in the Sunshine State.

We have basements in Florida. They’re called swimming pools.
— Scott F. 🐊 (FireHawke) (@_Firehawke_) August 5, 2024

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Naomi Feinstein is a staff writer of Miami New Times where she primarily focuses on news. Naomi started her career with New Times as an intern from June–August 2019, then worked as a fellow from August 2022 to February 2023 before joining the staff full-time. She graduated from University of Miami where she contributed to the student-run newspaper, The Miami Hurricane. She holds a master’s degree and graduated with honors from the Columbia School of Journalism. In 2021, Naomi was recognized as the College Journalist of the Year from the Society of Professional Journalists of Florida, and she placed second for Best General News Story in the 2021 Pinnacle Awards.

Contact: Naomi Feinstein

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