Determining Patterns of Routine Weather Information Usage and Their Demographic Determinants

Abstract

Social science studies of weather and natural hazards have examined in depth the sources of information individuals use in response to a disaster. This research has primarily focused on information sources in isolation and as they relate to severe weather. Thus, less research has examined how individuals use information acquisition strategies during routine times. This paper addresses this limitation by examining patterns of routine weather information source usage. Using three unique survey datasets and Latent Class Analysis, we find that weather information source usage can be summarized by a limited number of coherent classes. Importantly, our results suggest weather information types, or classes, are generally consistent across datasets and samples. We also find demographic determinants, particularly age, help explain class membership; older respondents were more likely to belong to classes less reliant on technology-based information sources. Income and education also were related to more complex or comprehensive information use strategies. Results suggest the prevalent view of single-source information usage in previous research may not be adequate for understanding how individuals access information, in both routine and extreme contexts.