The National Weather Service is warning that new Twitter guidelines on automated posts might limit the agency's ability to quickly send updates and alerts during severe weather events nationwide.
Numerous public service Twitter accounts, including the NWS and many of its local offices, alerted their followers on Saturday that the platform's new rules limiting automated tweets may prevent them from posting all breaking news events, including important weather alerts.
"Twitter is now limiting automated tweets and as a result, this account can no longer post all watches/warnings/advisories as they are issued," tweeted the NWS Mount Holy account, which serves the Philadelphia region.
"We will continue to provide general updates, but ensure that you have multiple means for receiving weather information & alerts," the account added.
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Other NWS and public service accounts in cities like New York City, San Francisco, Boston, and Miami also posted similar warnings alerting their followers about the new changes.
The changes the agencies are referencing appear to be tied to Twitter's decision to end free access to it's API, as one of the accounts for California's Bay Area Rapid Transit noted.
"Hello, this is BART Alert. @Twitter has shut off its free APO, and the means we are going dark until we can find a solution," the agency tweeted on its BART Alert account. "We're very sorry to not be able to provide information on BART service alerts."
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Like many other agencies, BART pushed its followers to other platforms for information, including its website, mobile app or email and text messages.
The alerts from the NWS and other agencies come after the Washington Post reported that Twitter will begin limiting automated tweets for non-paying accounts beginning April 29th.
According to the Post, Twitter will now limit free accounts to up to 1,500 automated tweets per month and up to 50,000 to accounts that pay a $100-a-month subscription fee for its API tool.
Since February, Twitter began restricting free access to its API tool, which allowed accounts to program automated tweets in a controlled way.
When the $100 per month plan was announced, Twitter also unveiled "Enterprise Packages" for its API tool, which started at a whopping $42,000 per month and could run up to $210,000 a month, Wired reported.
NWS officials told the Washington Post that they expect the new guidelines to limit their accounts to 50 automated tweets during a 24-hour period.
NWS accounts and public service accounts across the U.S. often tweet several times a day to keep their followers informed about any weather advisories or alerts that may affect their area.
Following the new Twitter guidelines, NWS instructed its followers to either visit https://www.weather.gov/ to receive more frequent weather alerts or follow their website's instructions on how to add NWS updates to phone home screens.
This is the newest round of backlash that Twitter has faced since Elon Musk took over the social media company last year. Just last week, the National Public Radio (NPR) announced it was quitting Twitter after the platform labeled it "Government-Funded" media.
