I have noticed the same thing, but even from the national weather service. Anymore, what I would call a normal summer thunderstorm is called "severe" weather, with warnings flashing etc.

A hurricane is no doubt sever weather. Even a "tropical storm". But a thunderstorm?

IMO, this approach weakens the message and warnings that people should pay attention to. Anyone remember the fable of the boy who cried "wolf?" Sort of like that. More than ever, we need to do our own analysis of the weather threat and avoid the hype. I prefer decisions based on fact and analysis, not hype.