With the rise of the Internet and social media platforms, people now have access to more weather information than ever before. Although this allows end users to receive weather information from a variety of sources, the sheer volume of available information likely contributes to a perception that weather risk messages are inconsistent. Members of the weather enterprise share these concerns and believe that these perceived inconsistencies may negatively affect their many audiences. The challenge, however, is that there are only a few studies to-date that have explored message consistency in a weather context. Therefore, in its current state, the weather enterprise lacks empirical evidence that (1) demonstrates that message consistency is a relevant operational concern and (2) provides research-guided recommendations to practitioners and operational meteorologists on how to achieve a more consistent message. To address this operational need, this dissertation conceptualizes ‘message consistency’ for the weather enterprise and employs a social science mixed-methods approach to explore the effects of weather-related graphical inconsistencies on lay public end users. In particular, this dissertation used the Storm Prediction Center’s (SPC) Convective Outlook graphic as a vehicle to investigate the role that visual design plays in keeping a weather-related message consistent.

Although having a different visual design did impact the consistency of the message, this does not mean that severe weather graphics should wear a uniform. For example, the findings in this dissertation suggest that operational meteorologists can continue to customize the basic graphical design of their Convective Outlook graphics (i.e., placement of logos, legends, etc.). However, certain graphical elements emerged as important message features (i.e., risk areas and colors), and as a result, should remain the same when sharing severe weather graphics with end users. Otherwise, the message being communicated by the Convective Outlook graphic changes, and consequently, affects end user risk perception, uncertainty, and information seeking intentions. Having said that, more research is also needed to improve the usability of the Storm Prediction Center’s Convective Outlook graphic among lay public audiences. Only then can we ensure that severe weather forecast information is communicated both effectively and consistently among end users.