The most-followed local National Weather Service Twitter feed is not in Tornado Alley
when it comes to the most popular Twitter feed among the 122 local National Weather Service offices, the champion reigns in a town more known for its gentle rain than severe weather.
The sunrise over Mt. Rainier as seen from the National Weather Service office in Seattle. (National Weather Service, Seattle)
SEATTLE -- The Midwest may be home to the most frequent tornadoes, and the southeast and East Coast deal with hurricanes most summers.
But when it comes to the most popular Twitter feed among the 122 local National Weather Service offices, the champion reigns in a town more known for its gentle rain than severe weather.
The Seattle office is tops in the nation with 131,400 followers as of mid-September, according to meteorologist Jacob DeFiltch, edging Dallas/Fort Worth by about 800 followers. San Francisco/Bay area, Norman (Oklahoma City) and Boston rounded out the Top 5.
Many National Weather Service offices have upped their social game in recent years. They now provide local weather tidbits, educational lessons, local photos and a more informal neighborly voice in addition to broadcasting urgent warnings and providing storm forecasts and updates.
And of course, those located in severe weather country like Dallas, Oklahoma City and Houston would be a must-follow for residents to keep tabs on dangerous weather.
But some offices have cranked up the creativity in reaching their community, garnering large followings that may not be about the local weather scene, per se. Gone are the dry, "government"-style monotone forecasts; instead, forecasters are allowed to go beyond generic wording in their tweets.
Seattle's office, which has more than doubled its followers in the past three years, has become "tuned" into the music scene, frequently mixing weather and prose:
And they wow followers with the scene from their waterfront office perched on the shores of Lake Washington:
San Francisco isn't home to much severe weather either, but it is home to Silicon Valley and tech-savvy Twitter residents. And they can up their music game on occasion too:
Suffice to say, keeping tabs on your local National Weather Service office is a must these days if you're on Twitter. But if you want a little extra weather knowledge – or perhaps a new song to get stuck in your head – give some of these other offices a follow.