MUNCIE, Ind. – A new study from Ball State University reveals one in 10 Americans may suffer from severe weather phobia that causes them to lose sleep or have feelings of helplessness.
The college surveyed 300 people in 43 states. About 85 percent of respondents reported having at least some degree of severe-weather fear while 46 percent described their fear level as “a little bit.”
About 10 percent of participants classified themselves as having an overall fear level as both “extreme” and “quite a bit” categories, possibly indicating severe-weather phobia.
Three percent of respondents reported seeking professional or self-help treatment for severe-weather phobia or specific inclement weather events.
“Severe weather phobia is very real,” says Jill Coleman, a Ball State geography professor and lead author on the study, which was recently published in the American Meteorological Society Journal. “Some people will get physically ill or lose sleep while others will start watching weather forecasts on a more regular basis.
“Overall, we found that people simply love to talk about the weather. In the West, it’s about high winds and wildfires, and here in the Midwest it’s all about tornados, thunderstorms and blizzards. On the East Coast, people are more likely to talk about hurricanes than regular thunderstorms.”
The study also found that 11.7 percent of participants reported they know someone who surfers from severe-weather phobia.
She also believes the study lays the groundwork for a better understanding of severe weather phobia phenomena as well as the role that weather knowledge and anxiety plays in the minds of individuals across the country.
