OKC KFOR

[David Reimer]

KFOR editor said on Twitter that a Red Cross pamphlet circulated a few years back has instructions on driving away in a last ditch effort. Looks like that will be their excuse.

 

 

that is some serious bull****

 

 

Epic

 

That post promoted my first twitter response on that topic. I've been holding in a lot of anger related to KFOR and I'm still trying to figure out how to process it without starting a huge social media war. 

[mappy]

Yeah that's some crock of really stinky ****

[phlwx]

That post promoted my first twitter response on that topic. I've been holding in a lot of anger related to KFOR and I'm still trying to figure out how to process it without starting a huge social media war. 

 

Who cares...time to call the hypemongers and folks who are putting people in danger out.

[U_Thant]

Who cares...time to call the hypemongers and folks who are putting people in danger out.

 

 

This.

[thunderman]

Who cares...time to call the hypemongers and folks who are putting people in danger out.

 

yup, i couldn't care less who I offend.  Heads need to roll at KFOR and across the country.  This hype thing isn't just a localized issue.

 

 

Edit: There are obviously some good stations out there, but they are few and far between from what I have seen.

[f2tornado]

The OHP contributed to the chaos by closing just about every route except I-35 south. Further, more than one chaser reported southbound U.S.81 south of El Reno being blocked by a patrolman. This limited the most logical escape option for chasers and the general population. Additionally, regardless of what KFOR was spouting, the 5/20 Moore disaster was very fresh in people's minds and there was going to be mass panic with another wedge bearing down on OKC. There is no one segment to blame. It was a fail by chasers, law enforcement, the media, and public. All of these factors will be discussed at great length over the coming days and years. This is perfect conference material but unfortunately those have suffered the effects of sequester.

[Derecho!]

FYI this is what OUN posted on Facebook and Twitter prior to the storm; note that they emphasized on an additonal slide that "you can survive almost any tornado" on the lowest floor of a study building. The slide below implies it's a bad idea to try to drive away from a tornado, but it's not exactly definitively saying not to do it.

 

 

[eyewall]

Fleeing by car only works if you are in a rural area. In major metro area the results are obviously a traffic jam of panicked residents. The optimum solution is getting underground shelters installed for more people. They work as proved most recently in Moore.

[ORH_wxman]

 

Fleeing by car only works if you are in a rural area. In major metro area the results are obviously a traffic jam of panicked residents. The optimum solution is getting underground shelters installed for more people. They work as proved most recently in Moore.

 

It really only "works" too if people only in the path of the tornado flee. When you suggest people to get in their cars, you are going to have a ton of people who weren't in the path to begin with out on the roads thinking they need to run. The irony is you could kill people by having them drive into the tornado path when they would have been perfectly safe staying put.

[eyewall]

 

 

It really only "works" too if people only in the path of the tornado flee. When you suggest people to get in their cars, you are going to have a ton of people who weren't in the path to begin with out on the roads thinking they need to run. The irony is you could kill people by having them drive into the tornado path when they would have been perfectly safe staying put.

 

This is very true and this is what I meant. Obviously in OKC many people who didn't need to leave tried to.

[dsaur]

It's what comes with using dangerous, killer storms as entertainment for the masses.  My 93 year old mother has lived with tornado threats in Ga. since 1920, and has never been frightened like she is now.  When storms are brewing I have to make sure she isn't watching tv, as every outhouse shingle remover is promoted as an "ef5  ender of all life" by the local news casts.  They break into every program with breathless reporting of possible hail in a thunderstorm 100 miles away, and fill her with fear.  It's beyond ridiculous, and she is still in her right mind.  Imagine old folks with no moderating voice, and onset of mind deterioration.  I hate to say it, but it started with the proliferation of high res. weather instruments, that fell into the hands of folks that use them as toys for ratings. They make us all learn to drive, they should have to learn responsible use of dangerous weather science   T

[Boogieman]

You know, I've ran into a LOT of people who no longer even have a television or computer. I always thought they were way off the centerline, but lately I think I'm starting to understand why. Local news has gone straight into the sewer, right along with the vast majority of TV programming. I personally have watched the local newscast maybe 5 times over the last few years, usually in a severe weather situation, and they've always drove me to turn it right off within a few minutes with all the hype and BS. Every rotating wall cloud is automatically an EF4 "deathstorm" coming to flatten your neighborhood. The street-level radar and tracking is nice, but I can get that from the web and my local Skywarn repeater without some "chief meteorologist" fearmongering over how disasterous and devastating it's going to be.

[famartin]

You know, I've ran into a LOT of people who no longer even have a television or computer. I always thought they were way off the centerline, but lately I think I'm starting to understand why. Local news has gone straight into the sewer, right along with the vast majority of TV programming. I personally have watched the local newscast maybe 5 times over the last few years, usually in a severe weather situation, and they've always drove me to turn it right off within a few minutes with all the hype and BS. Every rotating wall cloud is automatically an EF4 "deathstorm" coming to flatten your neighborhood. The street-level radar and tracking is nice, but I can get that from the web and my local Skywarn repeater without some "chief meteorologist" fearmongering over how disasterous and devastating it's going to be.

The funny thing is, its feeding back on itself.  People may be moving further and further away from the local news, but that just makes them get more hyped up in order to try and pull people back.  Of course, in the end it may do the opposite.

 

In Elko we don't really have local TV news so its not entirely fair to say I don't watch anymore.  I did watch in State College, where we had a few local stations.

[CT Rain]

You know, I've ran into a LOT of people who no longer even have a television or computer. I always thought they were way off the centerline, but lately I think I'm starting to understand why. Local news has gone straight into the sewer, right along with the vast majority of TV programming. I personally have watched the local newscast maybe 5 times over the last few years, usually in a severe weather situation, and they've always drove me to turn it right off within a few minutes with all the hype and BS. Every rotating wall cloud is automatically an EF4 "deathstorm" coming to flatten your neighborhood. The street-level radar and tracking is nice, but I can get that from the web and my local Skywarn repeater without some "chief meteorologist" fearmongering over how disasterous and devastating it's going to be.

 

That's actually pretty off the mark. Research shows that more Americans are watching more hours of TV than ever before (by a significant margin). In addition, during the Moore tornado earlier in the month, the 3 main stations (KFOR, KWTV, KOCO) combined during the height of the storm for a 98 share... 98% of the TVs that were on in the market were watching those 3 stations. That's pretty incredible. It goes to show you that by a large, large margin TV is how people are getting their information.

 

Incidentally, KFOR narrowly beat KWTV during the Moore tornado in the ratings;.

[Ed Lizard]

I did stream England/Channel 9 the last couple of big outbreaks up there, but for local weather, it is all internet.  NWS HGX does a pretty fine job, better than TWC's forecasts.   Forums, internet models, NWS.

 

Only one of the 'Big 3' network affiliates here has any degreed mets, and the Ken doll on KPRC is just horrible.

[Boogieman]

That's actually pretty off the mark. Research shows that more Americans are watching more hours of TV than ever before (by a significant margin). In addition, during the Moore tornado earlier in the month, the 3 main stations (KFOR, KWTV, KOCO) combined during the height of the storm for a 98 share... 98% of the TVs that were on in the market were watching those 3 stations. That's pretty incredible. It goes to show you that by a large, large margin TV is how people are getting their information.

 

Incidentally, KFOR narrowly beat KWTV during the Moore tornado in the ratings;.

I'm odd, I'll admit. I still watch TV some, but I avoid local news like the plague. I've just ran into a lot of other "odd" people too, I guess. I would expect those kind of ratings during the event.

[famartin]

That's actually pretty off the mark. Research shows that more Americans are watching more hours of TV than ever before (by a significant margin). In addition, during the Moore tornado earlier in the month, the 3 main stations (KFOR, KWTV, KOCO) combined during the height of the storm for a 98 share... 98% of the TVs that were on in the market were watching those 3 stations. That's pretty incredible. It goes to show you that by a large, large margin TV is how people are getting their information.

 

Incidentally, KFOR narrowly beat KWTV during the Moore tornado in the ratings;.

 

I do wonder if people who are watching are *really* watching.  I know I often have the TV on and am not really paying attention to it.

[phlwx]

That's actually pretty off the mark. Research shows that more Americans are watching more hours of TV than ever before (by a significant margin). In addition, during the Moore tornado earlier in the month, the 3 main stations (KFOR, KWTV, KOCO) combined during the height of the storm for a 98 share... 98% of the TVs that were on in the market were watching those 3 stations. That's pretty incredible. It goes to show you that by a large, large margin TV is how people are getting their information.

 

Incidentally, KFOR narrowly beat KWTV during the Moore tornado in the ratings;.

 

By and large though, local TV news share on a "non big story" night is declining overall, correct?  Part of it is sheer increase in viewing options, of course, but while people are watching more TV, it ain't necessarily local news their eyes are fixed on except when sh*ts hitting the fan.

 

That said, the propensity for local TV to "break" every fart, sneeze, or car crash during the 5, 6, and 10/11 as a major story with graphics and sound effects is over-the-top and nauseating.

[famartin]

Some good news, perhaps...

 

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/oklahoma-tv-weatherman-vilified-tornado-advice-052413546.html

 

Oklahoma TV weatherman vilified for tornado advice

By Alice Mannette

(Reuters) - An award-winning Oklahoma television meteorologist has been criticized as "irresponsible" for telling viewers on Friday to get in their cars and flee approaching tornadoes, and some are blaming him for putting people in grave danger on clogged roads.

Mike Morgan, chief meteorologist for Oklahoma City television station KFOR, told viewers during a tornado warning to get in their cars and drive away from a threatened storm.

Some people said they followed his advice and ended up stuck in traffic jams on major central Oklahoma highways as a massive storm bore down on the Oklahoma City area.

The result was a "nightmare" on the roads, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said, exacerbated by some employers letting people off early from work to beat the rush hour on Friday.

Tornadoes and flooding from the Friday storms killed 20 people, the chief Oklahoma medical examiner's office said on Wednesday in its latest update of fatalities. Fallin said some people were sucked from their cars and some vehicles tossed from the roads.

It was the second wave of deadly tornadoes in the area in two weeks. A monster twister flattened whole sections of the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on May 20. One Oklahoma tornado on Friday was the widest ever recorded in the United States at 2.6 miles, the National Weather Service said.

Morgan, an 11-time weather broadcast award winner in Oklahoma, where meteorologists are admired for timely forecasts about tornadoes, gave viewers the standard advice to seek cover in a storm cellar, shelter or other safe place below ground.

But some critics said Morgan then went too far when he told viewers: "If you can leave South Oklahoma City and go south do it now." He repeated similar advice several times.

Morgan was not the only local forecaster to give such advice as the storm front threatened to hit the major population center of Oklahoma City.

'IRRESPONSIBLE REPORTING'

Ernst Kiesling, research professor at Texas Tech's National Wind Institute, said it was wrong to advise people to get in their cars and try to outrun a tornado.

"Irresponsible reporting of that kind is unconscionable in my mind. You have the responsibility to give more than your off-the-cuff opinions."

Cassandra Donnelly of Oklahoma City was one of those people who headed south on the advice of newscasters and got stuck in traffic.

Donnelly said she saw cars driving the wrong way and through stop signs on one of city's major arteries. She eventually pulled off the road into the bushes.

"I told my mom and my sister to keep praying. The rain was horizontal," Donnelly said. "We were pushed forward twice."

Morgan has not appeared on the network since Friday, and the station said he is on vacation and would be back on Thursday. He could not be reached for comment.

But a statement from KFOR on Wednesday said: "After every major storm, we review our coverage and the many things that make each weather event unique, for the purpose of improving our coverage and our ability to forecast."

Greg Carbin, Meteorologist for the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said a car is a more dangerous place to be than a well-constructed home in a tornado.

"You will more likely put yourself in more danger by leaving your house," he said.

Some people defended Morgan. David Barfield of Oklahoma City said he believes Morgan's advice two weeks ago during the monster tornado in Moore saved his daughter's life.

His daughter was in an above-ground closet but Barfield, following Morgan's advice to go underground, kept telephoning her to urge her to leave. She eventually did and survived.

"She would have died if she had stayed there," Barfield said.

(Additional reporting by Heide Brandes; Editing by Greg McCune and Mohammad Zargham)

[U_Thant]

The Weatherbrains podcast with Mike Morgan will be finishing up in a bit. It was ironic to hear MM try and justify his horrible tornado safety advice on 5/31, then turn around and call the NWS downgrade of the El Reno TOR from EF-5 to EF-3 an "atrocity".

[Jim Marusak]

unfortunately I was out helping the mayor of st paul's campaign tonight. but looking at all the tweets and such from tonight's episode of weatherbrains, this looks like an episode for the ages. I will have to download the podcast and/or watch the youtube episode it as soon as it's available.

[Memphis Weather]

That interview was an epic disaster. A must watch.

 

FYI if you're a met in Norman and you criticized him, he knows who you are!   He actually admitted on-air he uses software (?) to track and identify the "NOAA teeth gnashers".

[U_Thant]

That interview was an epic disaster. A must watch.

 

FYI if you're a met in Norman and you criticized him, he knows who you are!   He actually admitted on-air he uses software (?) to track and identify the "NOAA teeth gnashers".

 

I'm fine with that. In fact, I'm honored to be one of those NOAA "teeth gnashers" that "overstepped the boundaries of professionalism" as he puts it. BTW, the podcast is on youtube already...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqwrbsQmhVU

[Ed Lizard]

Two hours long, transcript?  Cliff Notes?  Wikipedia version?

[famartin]

Two hours long, transcript?  Cliff Notes?  Wikipedia version?

 

Yeah, I was gonna watch it, then saw the length.  Haha, but no thanks

[LocoAko]

That interview was an epic disaster. A must watch.

 

FYI if you're a met in Norman and you criticized him, he knows who you are!   He actually admitted on-air he uses software (?) to track and identify the "NOAA teeth gnashers".

Let's just say Twitter and Facebook were active last night. I haven't had a chance to listen yet, but I've gotten the gist of it from friends. Yikes.

[Jim Marusak]

have to admit, seeing the show, about 90 mins in so far, I do have a bit more of a sympathetic look at what he was thinking for the may 31 outbreak. I don't totally agree with what he was thinking. but I don't think his intentions were bad ones. And someone wanted to question how he knew a storm was an f-2 compared to an f-4 or f-5. I am betting I and longer-experienced mets can attest to this. But when you see storms over and over again of different types and sizes, you can get a bit of an instinct on how storms will behave and how big they are. And I bet with how much experience he has, he's probably seen different looks and sizes to know what he was looking at. it's something I have to admit, that is something i personally refer to as the "mental mos" we all have.

[Memphis Weather]

Chuck Doswell has a write-up in which he shoots down nearly every one of Mike's points last night. If you don't want to sit through the interview, DO read this...

 

http://www.flame.org/~cdoswell/MikeMorgan_Interview_Comments.html

[WEATHER53]

Next heavy wet mega snowstorm I will tell people to lay in their front yard so their roof does not collapse on them.

[OKStorm]

Persons outside of OKC might also know that the TV broadcasts are on radio channels and the people fleeing south are still listening after leaving the house. When you add that to being caught in a gridlock you can see how people started to panic. It does not help that the yelling of a famous chaser was thrown into the mix with helicopter play by play. Shelter in place has been a lost message in the OKC area.