This paper addresses work at the intersection of meteorology and the psychology of curiosity andlearning (Bolton et al. 2020; Stewart et al. 2015, 2018). Specifically, we report on thedevelopment and validation of the first self-report measure of epistemic (i.e., information-based)weather curiosity. Two studies derived 11 items measuring general interest in learning aboutweather and curiosity for the science behind weather. Psychometric properties and implicationsof the scale for use by meteorologists, educators, and academic researchers are discussed.

We conducted this study to test for an interaction of media effects and individual differences that could affect hurricane evacuation decision-making. Participants responded in an online, Qualtrics-hosted survey to many demographic and individual difference questionnaires assessing decisions one would make in a hurricane evacuation. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two video conditions (reporter emotionality: high or low) and asked a number of questions about the field-reporting meteorologist they viewed. We predicted an interaction between intuitive thinking (which is faster and more emotional) and emotional reporting such that highly intuitive thinkers would be more likely to evacuate when presented with more emotional hurricane field reporting. This hypothesis was rejected. However, there was a main effect of intuition, whereby highly intuitive people expressed more fear for weather (but not hurricanes). Furthermore, there was a main effect of media condition: People exposed to highly emotional field reporting in general were more likely to evacuate. These results are discussed in light of meteorological communication standards and principles.

Meteorologists are faced with a multitude of stressors in the course of their weather prediction work. There is widespread anecdotal evidence to suggest that these factors are associated with various traumatic stress outcomes among forecasters. Thus, this paper takes an integrationist perspective in discussing and theorizing about emotional processing and the occurrence of job-related traumas in the meteorological workplace. We utilize process-experiential views on emotion for our discussion of emotional processing and merge Adlerian Individual Psychology principles with those of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to provide insight into mental health coping strategies which might be helpful to meteorologists.

Weather renders all people vulnerable, but due to various factors some are more naturally vulnerable than others. What of those vulnerable populations and individuals who cannot take, or are limited in taking, protective actions? This paper contributes to the mission of the Weather Ready Nation initiative (WRN), established by the U.S. National Weather Service, by shining light on weather communication considerations for those on the autism spectrum and those with color vision differences. It also discusses ongoing efforts centered around the Deaf and hard-of-hearing and those who are blind or who have limited vision, and discusses problems existing in weather communication for vulnerable populations at-large. The first section defines vulnerability and clarifies associated concepts while the second section, on ways to improve weather communication practices for autistic people and those who are blind, vision-limited, Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and those with color vision-processing differences, focuses on the importance of recognizing lived, vulnerable population experience in weather messaging efforts and the use of language in communicating with the aforementioned populations.