There is no conspiracy theory. There is increasing money gains by capturing the attention of Americans by internet clicks. A rule of thumb is that the outdoor recreation business gets gutted by over zealous weather forecasting which captures audience and dollars for clicks on the internet, and viewership for increased ad rates, and yes.....clearly brick and mortar purchases when a scare is given to a broad geographic area. People will flood a Home Depot to buy plywood to board up, and then have it sit around for 10 years, until the next scare.....when probably new wood will be bought.
My biggest complaint for a decade is that these policies kill people. There should be caution in hurricane forecasting recognizing the limitations of the same, and not having any tolerance for weather outlets blowing up storms to gain profits. This crying wolf syndrome kills people