Folks misunderstand hurricane ‘cone of uncertainty,’ study shows. Time for a change?

MIAMI — When there’s a hurricane coming, one iconic image fills TV screens and social media feeds: the cone of uncertainty. But as shown by the confusion and criticism in the devastating wake of Hurricane Ian, which struck Southwest Florida as a Category 4 in September, that single graphic isn’t great at explaining what’s coming. And that’s largely because the general public doesn’t understand what the cone actually means. This conversation comes up every year, but as the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season draws to a close, it may finally lead to a real shift. New research from the University of M...