PhotoFor much of last week, the predicted track of Hurricane Irma snaked across Florida from south to north. By Saturday, however, the storm track shifted to the west, putting Gulf Coast cities like Naples, Fort Myers and Tampa at risk of the most punishing winds and storm surge. Even considering his own actions, he says officials in cities on the west coast of Florida could have been more attentive. “From my perspective, the east coast and the west coast have been equally in play for the last week,” he said. Many people trying to use forecasts like those provided by the National Hurricane Center, however, do not fully understand the cone of probability and focus instead on the line that runs down the middle, taking it as an accurate prediction of the storm’s path.

Source: New York Times September 10, 2017 14:15 UTC