https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoolhouse_Blizzard
> The Schoolhouse Blizzard ... hit the U.S. Great Plains on January 12, 1888. With an estimated 235 deaths, it is the world's 10th deadliest winter storm on record.
> The blizzard came unexpectedly on a relatively warm day, and many people were caught unaware, including children in one-room schoolhouses.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900_Galveston_hurricane
> The 1900 Galveston hurricane .. is the deadliest natural disaster in United States history. ... it left between 6,000 and 12,000 fatalities in the United States ...
> The Weather Bureau forecasters had no way of knowing the storm's trajectory, as Weather Bureau director Willis Luther Moore implemented a policy to block telegraph reports from Cuban meteorologists at the meteorological observatory of the Colegio de Belén in Havana – considered one of the most advanced meteorological institutions in the world at the time – due to tensions in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War. Moore also changed protocol to force local Weather Bureau offices to seek authorization from the central office before issuing storm warnings.
It also saves a lot of money. If a storm is coming, when do you need to divert incoming flights because the weather will be too bad? How much staff do you need to clear the roads for the upcoming snowstorm? Does the likely storm damage justify harvesting early? How much of the coast should be under a hurricane warning?