Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was fact checked by a meteorologist yesterday after she claimed a tornado warning in the Washington, D.C. area was an indication of the growing “climate crisis” facing the country.
Taking to Instagram, the lawmaker wrote, “Well, that was something. Alarms went off in the building advising people to seek shelter. Apparently the tornado moved/missed the city so quickly they ended the warning shortly after. And also apparently this is a thing that happens in the summer here? The climate crisis is real y’all…guess we’re at casual tornadoes in the growing regions of the country?”
Meteorologist Ryan Maue responded to the Congresswoman on Twitter, informing her it was “just the weather.”
Attaching a screen shot of Ocasio-Cortez’s post, Maue wrote, “I thought this was fake but it’s from @AOC Instagram story. No idea what she means with ‘casual tornadoes’ and how this line of severe thunderstorms is proof of any ‘climate crisis’. It’s just the weather in D.C.”
In another tweet, Maue wrote, “The Congresswoman @AOC does not know the difference between weather and climate. Let’s try an easy analogy: Weather is what outfit you wear heading out the door. Climate is your closet wardrobe.”
