Into the Woods: Investigating the Effects of Weather Information and Attentiveness on Outdoor Recreational Activities

Abstract

Responses to quick-onset atmospheric weather hazards, including thunderstorms, are influenced by the characteristics of risk messages and the characteristics of the message receivers. Message characteristics relating to the probability of and imminency of thunderstorm impacts, as well as the severity of the information and use of wireless emergency alerts are thought to influence responses through amplifying recipients’ risk perceptions. Receiver characteristics relating to past experiences, knowledge and preparedness, sociodemographic characteristics, among others, also play an influential role in the hazard-response cycle. However, the complex role that recipients’ attentiveness has in this hazard-response cycle has not been adequately addressed. This thesis investigates the role that attentiveness and thunderstorm information messaging play in outdoor recreational activity responses. For this investigation, an experiment consisting of a hypothetical hiking activity under an evolving thunderstorm threat was carried out in an online survey of a sample of 476 adult respondents who regularly camp and hike in southern Ontario during the thunderstorm season. Respondents received relevant weather information through a forecast displayed on a smartphone screen before the hike and subsequent watches (1 hour later) and warnings (2 hour later) during the hike, constituting three scenarios. Correspondingly, half of the respondents received a severe thunderstorm watch consisting of higher-severity information and a wireless emergency alert notification with a subsequent severe thunderstorm warning. Respondents' attentiveness, risk perceptions, and behavioural response intentions were recorded following each scenario and comparisons were made between responses from the common and higher-severity message conditions groups to investigate the effect of higher-severity information and WEAs across a thunderstorm event. Receiver characteristics thought to potentially influence observed relationships between attentiveness, risk perceptions, and behaviours during the specific experimental situation were also explored to provide a more complete understanding of the pathways of influence to behavioural responses during thunderstorm events. Empirical results illustrate that outdoor recreationists are highly attentive and responsive to thunderstorm information; whereas most respondents are unlikely to go ahead with a hike following a weather forecast mentioning the risk of severe thunderstorms. Official severe thunderstorm watch alerts increased respondents' attentiveness to the weather and led to increased proactive protective action likelihoods by most of the remaining participants. Wireless emergency alerts did not change respondents' attentiveness to severe thunderstorm warnings. The pathways of influence to protective actions show that attentiveness amplifies risk perceptions, which acts as a mediator to behavioural response intentions. Individuals' receiver characteristics affected the observed pathways of influence to protective actions. Most notably, respondents’ general weather attentiveness greatly amplified their likelihood to be attentive to the weather during a thunderstorm event and amplified their likelihood to take protective actions. The conclusions of this research underscore the importance of attentiveness in the hazard-response cycle and the need for easier accessibility and exposure to weather forecasts and official alerts in outdoor recreational areas to increase attentiveness and desirable behavioural responses.