On page 23 of the book - Mike says -
Begin - from the book:
At 5:39, even though the tornado was on Joplin's doorstep, the NWS wrote, "At 5:34 p.m., trained weather spotters reported a tornado near Galena (emphasis added by Mike in the book)...moving east at 25 mph. This storm is moving into the city of Joplin." Although Galena was old news, the statement "this storm is moving into the city of Joplin" was correct. But, by saying "near Galena" they misled people in west Joplin into thinking they had more time than they actually had.
Unfortunately, just three minutes later, the NWS contradicted its own statement with a confusing and factually inaccurate "severe weather statement," in which I've emphasized a crucial two words:
At 5:38 p.m., trained spotters reported a tornado near Joplin or 6 miles northeast of Galena, moving northeast at 45 mph:
End of passage from the book.
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That is exactly what he said - the above - from the book.
He says the media was then further confused and were visibly confused on air. He also says that local residents said the NWS kept saying Galena and they thought they were out of danger in Joplin. This is what Mike is saying in his book.
He also says that radio stations were repeating what the NWS was saying - confusing people further.
Bottom line is that the book states people were very confused by the NWS.
Again - I am just telling you what the book says and these are not my opinions. To be clear. The book repeatedly says that their private service was accurate and that the NWS was inaccurate. It is the most severe and critical criticism of the NWS that I have ever seen in print.