Hurricanes vs Nor'easters: The effects of storm type on perceived severity and protective actions

The current study investigates whether, when all other features of a storm warning message are held constant, people perceive the risks posed by nor'easters and hurricanes differently and whether these differences affect their attitudes and decisions about taking protective action. We conducted an online experiment involving 1,700 Americans residing in northeastern coastal ZIP codes to test the effects of storm type (hurricane vs nor'easter).

Participants were told that their area was under an evacuation order due to either a predicted hurricane or nor'easter. Reported message comprehension and perceived relevance were similar across storm type; however, storm type had small but significant effects on other dependent measures. Those in the hurricane condition were more likely to believe the storm would be severe (p = 0.007).