I don't believe he should have said it but i don't think half the city was on the roads because of what he said

That's not the point. He was talking to pretty close to half the population of the metro. Yukon, West OKC all the way to Penn Square.

The lack of a statement from KFOR and Mike Morgan should bother everyone. Unless, he's been terminated. Their weather coverage is forever tainted by this scandal, and that's really what it is.

Nope. If anything, I think they could have started coverage sooner. As it was, they started coverage when the super cells began to form. It would have been foolish for them to have waited.

The goal is to get people to pay attention. When you go long periods saying that nothing is happening yet, you run the risk of them turning you off. I'm not saying they shouldn't have been warning people, but do it through cut-ins and crawls. Save the wall-to-wall until there's actually something to report besides potential.

I don't believe he should have said it but i don't think half the city was on the roads because of what he said

I've about decided that the path of the storm is what spooked so many people. It looked like it was going to cut right through the middle of OKC so a lot of folks bailed.

I've about decided that the path of the storm is what spooked so many people. It looked like it was going to cut right through the middle of OKC so a lot of folks bailed.

Correct. I know many people are somewhat blasé about these events, because invariably they believe OKC will be spared. The fact that OKC was in the direct path of a 2.6 mile-wide tornado freaked people out, as it should.

Correct. I know many people are somewhat blasé about these events, because invariably they believe OKC will be spared. The fact that OKC was in the direct path of a 2.6 mile-wide tornado freaked people out, as it should.

I agree with most everything you've said, but I really don't think we can overstate the importance of one of the bigtime meteorologists TELLING people, (as opposed to what they've been told all of their life), to get out of the way and head southbound. I don't think it can even be measured, so why should we not assume that Mike Morgan and KFOR shouting this directive wasn't the biggest factor to the packed I-44 and main streets (Council, Rockwell, Meridian, Portland, May Ave)? I think many people, in fact I've talked to some, who against their better judgement, deferred to the "professionals" and got caught in the gridlock. Unbelievable that he would scream this to a large part of a major city. It doesn't take a PhD to know that is the worst thing he could have done. Advice like that should mean your job. He got lucky as had that tornado moved on through, many more would have died like sitting ducks in their cars than taking precautions and sheltering in place.

Morgan has spoken about the incident. He is not hiding or fired as much of you would love to believe. :rolleyes:

He has spoken of the incident on social media. I will see if I can find the info once I am home.

Morgan has spoken about the incident. He is not hiding or fired as much of you would love to believe. :rolleyes:

He has spoken of the incident on social media. I will see if I can find the info once I am home.

I'm curious, are you a meteorologist? Do you have a degree in the science? Why do you feel the need to defend what most meteorologists all over the world believe to be indefensible?

I'm using a screenname as you are, but you speak from a position of authority about these issues when the weather gets severe. I feel people should know if you are or are not a meteorologist.

That's not the point. He was talking to pretty close to half the population of the metro. Yukon, West OKC all the way to Penn Square.

The lack of a statement from KFOR and Mike Morgan should bother everyone. Unless, he's been terminated. Their weather coverage is forever tainted by this scandal, and that's really what it is.

you can't assume that that entire half of the population was watching KFOR, I'd be willing to bet that half of that half weren't even watching a television at all. O

you can't assume that that entire half of the population was watching KFOR, I'd be willing to bet that half of that half weren't even watching a television at all. O

Okay. 50, 100, 500, 1000 of them were. Any were too many. You're missing the point.

Well, I know this...after the EF5 that hit in Piedmont, just about 3 miles from my house, and the wife/mother was in the center bathroom, in the bathtub, and the tornado sucked two of her children from her arms and dumped them in a pond several hundred yards away, and they died, my faith in the center most part of my house in a tub is gone if they are saying a huge tornado is headed my way. My home was at one time in the projected path of the tornado Friday night. The projected path gave us 15-20 minutes lead time. My family and I bailed. We got in our cars and fled. And I don't regret it. Luckily for us the tornado changed direction and did not come near our house. But I would and will do the same in the future. I would rather be on the run and in control of my fate, than a sitting duck hoping I don't get killed. I may be in the minority, and many of you may call me crazy, but I think my odds are better getting out than hiding out. Now, if I only had a 5 minute lead, I may have stayed put. But I weighed the odds and felt evacuating was the best option. And Mike Morgan had nothing to do with it. And no guy on TV would influence my decision. I made my own decision. I'm not a lemming. Had he said go to a center room like a bathroom and get low, I still would have left.

Morgan has spoken about the incident. He is not hiding or fired as much of you would love to believe. :rolleyes:

He has spoken of the incident on social media. I will see if I can find the info once I am home.

Here is the link/story to TLO that has it...

Finally, Mike Morgan breaks his silence on Friday?s storm coverage? | The Lost Ogle (http://www.thelostogle.com/2013/06/06/finally-mike-morgan-breaks-his-silence-on-fridays-storm-coverage/)

Mike Marla McCullough Morgan (https://www.facebook.com/mikemarla.morgan) Hi Linda, and everyone else showing concern for my well being. I am here....all is well. I am taking a couple of days off, which was already planned before the terrible day on Friday. Folks in the weather office all have time off coming (summertime!) so I had to take the time while it was available. I took my kids to the movies today!! I do want to say a couple of things to you all....The tornado fatalities from last Friday were ALL out near El Reno. I was REPEATADLY telling folks to AVOID I-40 completely....do not travel westbound out of OKC into Canadian County! Also, I want to say, full well knowing that tornado was a very large violent monster, and Reed Timmer in full agreement, and moving directly towards OKC, I was, for lack of a better word, desparate to help you in any way I could. With I -40 already shut down on the west side of town, plus visions of Moore tragically burned into everyone's mind from May 20th, the advice of "if you do not feel safe where you are, then get out of its way" blew up into a conjested nightmare of folks trying to get safe. I have cried over this more than once since Friday. Your safety is my/our number 1 priority, and that will NEVER change....ask Reed, ask Emily, ask Jon Welsh. I cherish our relationship....lord knows Oklahoma weather has put us all thru too much lately, but we will never stop giving you the information you deserve before and during severe weather. See you soon , Mike Morgan

From that comment it seems like he knew he effed up badly and regrets it deeply. Perhaps this will be the start of calming the hyping "Morgasm" and bring back the more rational/extensive weather coverage that this market is known for.

Thanks for the post venture. I agree, this will probably guarantee he never suggests running away from a storm again unless he makes it clear by putting "If you don't feel safe". But even then, he is better off keeping his mouth shut on future fight or flight situations.



I'm curious, are you a meteorologist? Do you have a degree in the science? Why do you feel the need to defend what most meteorologists all over the world believe to be indefensible?

I'm using a screenname as you are, but you speak from a position of authority about these issues when the weather gets severe. I feel people should know if you are or are not a meteorologist.

As for this post, I'm not sure the tone of it... But I am not randomly 'defending' Morgan on the belief that what he did was excusable. I firmly believe giving advice to flee in advance of a storm is incorrect unless there is adequate lead time that is ample and local traffic is appropriate to the person considering such a decision. My defense comes against those who are pitchforking KFOR/MM for causing injury and death to people that took his advice. I have yet to see a single report of this occurrence - it is clear all of the tornado related injuries were near I-40 towards El Reno. Random flooding injuries and deaths occurred all over Central OK at the time. I have a hard time giving a pass to people who took MM's advice blindly and just jumped into a traffic log jam then proceeded to drive over water covered roads. And still, where are these people now? Are they dead? Injured? Oh, just frustrated? On May 20, MM gave the same advice and there were stories about how people heeding 'fleeing advice' were spared as their house was swept off the concrete slab.

People only complain about something that inconveniences them, if that tornado had torn through 800 homes in Yukon, would this dogpile be occurring?


As for my identity, I will say I am not a meteorologist. That field is over-saturated like the soil in OKC!

From that comment it seems like he knew he effed up badly and regrets it deeply. Perhaps this will be the start of calming the hyping "Morgasm" and bring back the more rational/extensive weather coverage that this market is known for.

Until next April.lol

Here is the link/story to TLO that has it...

Finally, Mike Morgan breaks his silence on Friday?s storm coverage? | The Lost Ogle (http://www.thelostogle.com/2013/06/06/finally-mike-morgan-breaks-his-silence-on-fridays-storm-coverage/)

Mike Marla McCullough Morgan (https://www.facebook.com/mikemarla.morgan) Hi Linda, and everyone else showing concern for my well being. I am here....all is well. I am taking a couple of days off, which was already planned before the terrible day on Friday. Folks in the weather office all have time off coming (summertime!) so I had to take the time while it was available. I took my kids to the movies today!! I do want to say a couple of things to you all....The tornado fatalities from last Friday were ALL out near El Reno. I was REPEATADLY telling folks to AVOID I-40 completely....do not travel westbound out of OKC into Canadian County! Also, I want to say, full well knowing that tornado was a very large violent monster, and Reed Timmer in full agreement, and moving directly towards OKC, I was, for lack of a better word, desparate to help you in any way I could. With I -40 already shut down on the west side of town, plus visions of Moore tragically burned into everyone's mind from May 20th, the advice of "if you do not feel safe where you are, then get out of its way" blew up into a conjested nightmare of folks trying to get safe. I have cried over this more than once since Friday. Your safety is my/our number 1 priority, and that will NEVER change....ask Reed, ask Emily, ask Jon Welsh. I cherish our relationship....lord knows Oklahoma weather has put us all thru too much lately, but we will never stop giving you the information you deserve before and during severe weather. See you soon , Mike Morgan
Seems like an "apology" of a kid who got caught doing something he shouldn't have. Only sorry cause he got caught, not for what he did. I see no real sincere, "I screwed up, and I'm sorry".

I'll venture that there is below-ground shelter capacity in the OKC metro for every resident to reach within 10 minutes. (I could be wrong, but I'd welcome the opportunity to noodle through the thought process here.) My thinking is that if people have identified that location, are paying attention and begin implementing an hour out, when the storm characteristics and path have become clear, then they could reach their nearby shelter within a few minutes.

My shelter is the basement of a public building three minutes away. I was watching the storm last Friday as it took a bead on my house. I had the car loaded, garage door open, doors unlocked (enabling first responder to more quickly search the house if it is hit), lights off and TVs on. When the storm projections put it 20 minutes from my house, I said to myself, "If nothing changes, I will leave in five minutes." That's when it turned right.

I believe that everyone in central Oklahoma - in fact, all of tornado alley for that matter - has the ability to make similar plans and successfully execute them as necessary. Start by identifying where you will go - your basement, a neighbor or relative's shelter or basement, a neighborhood school, church or government building that would be open - and don't wait until it's too late.

If we are looking for blame there is plenty of it to go around.

If we had building codes like some states do that require all new construction to have approved storm shelters we would see far fewer vehicles on the roads trying to flee….. Where was the state and local law enforcement with real time information about the traffic congestion?

My wife’s employer let their employs go home very early, she was able to leave at 1 pm.
We need to let people leave work even far sooner than what many did and without fear of punishment.

Where was the state and local law enforcement with real time information about the traffic congestion?

That was being provided in real time by helicopters from KFOR, KOCO and KWTV, supplemented by traffic congestion depictions on Google Maps, all at no taxpayer expense.

LEOs were busy blocking highways leading into the storm's projected path, low streets that were flooding, and rescuing victims. I was monitoring scanner traffic that night, and it was intense.

If we want real congestion control for the interstates (at least), then we need gates/stop lights at the on ramps to keep more traffic from entering until congestion is reduced.

WSDOT - Ramp Meters (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Traffic/Congestion/rampmeters/)

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/4F956DDE-7395-4B45-97DF-EC60E2FE3C45/0/185_RampMeterPhoto2.jpg

Granted people may run the light anyway, but that's when it needs to be coupled with a gate to close it down completely. Sitting on a barely moving interstate isn't going to be any better for people than a slow moving surface street.

Highway 4 in OK on 31 May 2013. Note the taillights on both sides of the highway...

...and no, the highway was not in a "contra-flow" pattern...



https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/p480x480/992899_10101470995694727_1357264746_n.jpg
(http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10101470995694727&set=p.10101470995694727&type=1&relevant_count=1)

49 (https://www.facebook.com/shares/view?id=612304715455626)

have a co worker whose SO was on one of the highways, he said people were crashing into each other and taking off, busting through medians and bar ditches, etc.

would like to see some cell phone videos of some of this happening

have a co worker whose SO was on one of the highways, he said people were crashing into each other and taking off, busting through medians and bar ditches, etc.

would like to see some cell phone videos of some of this happening

What a nightmare. Again, instead of blaming some random weatherman, we desperately need our state leaders, beginning with the governor all the way to our local officials, to take a position of leadership to ensure public safety in the event of extreme tornado events. There are too many of them to dismiss as rare at this point. That is clear. Let's figure out a way to protect our citizens.

We should also investigate asking the federal government for help -- with a local match. Instead of getting a 1/2 percent tax cut and stuffing money in the rainy day fund, let's provide a system in which people can get some government assistance to build storm shelters and / or safe rooms in their homes. This would seriously mitigate the risks of a total catastrophe, such as thousands of people stranded on an interstate in the path of a killer tornado.

There's a "Republican" way to do this: offer income tax breaks for people who build them, even if it is only a partial tax break. Perhaps the embarrassing morons who represent our state in Washington could get a bill going through the House and Senate for a federal tax deduction as well.

I was listening to the scanners as OHP & OCPD officers reported that they were unable to stop motorists from driving onto interstates into the storm's path, and onto unlit, flooded streets.

States not going to do anything. The governor has made that very clear. They'll make suggestions... Nothing more. Including when it comes to state sponsored schools and their lack of shelters.

Extremely short sighted in my opinion.

States not going to do anything. The governor has made that very clear. They'll make suggestions... Nothing more. Including when it comes to state sponsored schools and their lack of shelters.

Extremely short sighted in my opinion.

We'll have the same dialog after next Spring...and again the following...and the one after that. Honestly, we will probably see "tornado days" before we see quality in school shelters.

Maybe we need something like the CCC or the WPA to start building shelters and stimulate the economy. (oh. wait . . . where is the money coming from to do this . . ?)

have a co worker whose SO was on one of the highways, he said people were crashing into each other and taking off, busting through medians and bar ditches, etc.

would like to see some cell phone videos of some of this happening

My daughter works at I-40 & Meridian. At 5:10 PM, I told her to stay put. At 5:30, she calls me saying that work 'kicked them out, told them to go home' and locked the building. She lives in Newalla, so she and her boyfriend made a run for it and although there are no videos, she corroborates the story of people cutting in from opposing traffic lanes, driving over medians, bump and runs, etc. I was finally able to talk her off I-40 onto surface streets and guide her home on a circuitous path. She said she sat in her car and shook for 15 minutes after she got home.

If people read today's paper, then the impulse to run/flee will remain as there are 2 stories of people who died on May 20 in their homes in Moore. Both were hiding in center closets, yet were killed. And I think there were more than that. Those are just in today's paper. One was impaled by debris. So while a central closet or bathroom improves chances, a direct hit from an EF5 can be lethal. Again, many will like the odds of making a run over staying put.

Maybe we need something like the CCC or the WPA to start building shelters and stimulate the economy. (oh. wait . . . where is the money coming from to do this . . ?)

There is plenty of money being spent elsewhere that could be applied to this. Also, the deficit is going down.

Speaking of OKC Weather Coverage Wars . . . Who is that "low-key man on the street/field reporter" on Channel 9? I'm referring to the guy who stood out there at the scene of the sunken car last Friday and lead-in with something along the lines of, " . . . I just don't get it, folks. I really don't." and allowed the results of driving into water crossing a roadway speak for themselves . . .

Real Time: Uh oh . . . sounds a little bit like hail outside . . . hope not.

States not going to do anything. The governor has made that very clear. They'll make suggestions... Nothing more. Including when it comes to state sponsored schools and their lack of shelters.

Extremely short sighted in my opinion.Doing nothing to proactively protect citizens and mitigate damaged with more shelters and stronger state building codes for new construction is completely unacceptable.

It’s my understanding that in some cases FEMA will pay up to 75 % of the cost of school storm shelters.
If we have a governor or any one elected in our state who won’t at the very least do what other states have done and mandate that all new schools have storm shelters then it’s time to vote differently. Apparently this issue is going to need to be pushed from the grass roots and by ordinary Oklahomans.

Speaking of OKC Weather Coverage Wars . . . Who is that "low-key man on the street/field reporter" on Channel 9? I'm referring to the guy who stood out there at the scene of the sunken car last Friday and lead-in with something along the lines of, " . . . I just don't get it, folks. I really don't." and allowed the results of driving into water crossing a roadway speak for themselves . . .

Real Time: Uh oh . . . sounds a little bit like hail outside . . . hope not.

Steve Shaw I think? At times I'm like "wow he's being an ass" and other times I was like "OMG that's hilarious for point out the stupidity of people." Driving down a road covered in water is never a good idea. You just have to be stupid to do it unless you are able to see the paint on the roadway and can easily judge the depth of the water. Granted, the road could be completely washed out in another section that you don't realize...so better off just not doing it.


Doing nothing to proactively protect citizens and mitigate damaged with more shelters and stronger state building codes for new construction is completely unacceptable.

It’s my understanding that in some cases FEMA will pay up to 75 % of the cost of school storm shelters.
If we have a governor or any one elected in our state who won’t at the very least do what other states have done and mandate that all new schools have storm shelters then it’s time to vote differently. Apparently this issue is going to need to be pushed from the grass roots and by ordinary Oklahomans.

Hopefully people keep this in mind and show Fallin the door next year - but they won't. People have short term memories and don't care. Faith, Family, Freedom is all it takes. Part of that freedom is to continue to not require at least protection for students at schools. I'll gladly give back the income tax cut to pay for the schools...as well as my tax dollars being used (or attempted to be used) for the Indian museum, that Tulsa museum, the Capital reconstruction project, and the dozens of other projects that can be funded privately.

Steve Shaw I think? At times I'm like "wow he's being an ass" and other times I was like "OMG that's hilarious for point out the stupidity of people." Driving down a road covered in water is never a good idea. You just have to be stupid to do it unless you are able to see the paint on the roadway and can easily judge the depth of the water. Granted, the road could be completely washed out in another section that you don't realize...so better off just not doing it.

Hopefully people keep this in mind and show Fallin the door next year - but they won't. People have short term memories and don't care. Faith, Family, Freedom is all it takes. Part of that freedom is to continue to not require at least protection for students at schools. I'll gladly give back the income tax cut to pay for the schools...as well as my tax dollars being used (or attempted to be used) for the Indian museum, that Tulsa museum, the Capital reconstruction project, and the dozens of other projects that can be funded privately.

I agree Venture. Fallin and her like think subsidies are only for corporations and to help the rich pay for what they should be paying for themselves. School shelters? Pfft.

If we have a governor or any one elected in our state who won’t at the very least do what other states have done and mandate that all new schools have storm shelters then it’s time to vote differently.

We have a governor who sways in the political winds. She got elected on a platform of pinching a penny and "every man for himself", but if the citizens bring enough pressure that we want our tax money spent upon making every school safe, she'll gladly sway the other way. Hmmm...there's a word for the type of person who sells themselves to the highest bidder...what is it?

Hopefully people keep this in mind and show Fallin the door next year - but they won't.

No...we won't. We're the worst state in the union about buying into this crap. Like every other movement in America, we'll be the last to know.

This is a few weeks old but this is a good Toby Rowland interview with KWTV News 9 meteorologist Michael Armstrong.

PodOmatic | Best Free Podcasts (http://sportstalk1400.podomatic.com/entry/2013-05-22T09_32_36-07_00)

5 Dead in drainage tunnel (http://newsok.com/5-died-when-oklahoma-family-fled-to-drainage-tunnel-to-escape-tornadoes/article/3849538)

Sorry if it's already been posted. It was up on Newsok today.

Intense story. But that is the dumbest place to take shelter... That is the water passage that runs directly beneath the Dell parking lot and building. Sounds like they also stayed down there WAY too long.

"The survivors said they were swayed to flee the apartment by warnings from Mike Morgan, KFOR-TV chief meteorologist."

"The survivors said they were swayed to flee the apartment by warnings from Mike Morgan, KFOR-TV chief meteorologist."

It almost seems like there’s a vendetta against Mike Morgan who as far as I know was only telling people to leave if they didn’t feel safe. He has no idea if what type of structures people live in.

People have got to take their own personal resposablitys serious enough to have their own plans to keep their own families safe in all situations. If they don’t know then it’s their job to educate them self’s about the threats.

But the paper can help. They should be educating the public about how they can stay safe and about how we can build stronger homes (for low cost) rather than trying to make scape goats out of people who were only trying to help. This same type of information should be distributed at schools, civic groups, churches, and such.

Who are these apologist revisionists who keep defending Mike Morgan with misrepresentations of what he said?

KFOR Meteorologist Advises Viewers to "Go South," Flee Oklahoma City Tornado (5-31-13) - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDbCdmk1_lg)

In the first 1:10 of this video, Mike Morgan is emphatic - EMPHATIC - that you must leave if you can't get below ground. Forgive any small inaccuracies in transcription, but here's my best shot at what he said as he all but ordered people out of their houses and into the storm:

"You've gotta be out of the way or below ground."
"You cannot be above ground in Yukon, you've gotta go south and you've gotta go now."
"Go to your neighbor's house, go wherever, but do it right now - right now."
"I'd recommend going southbound, you need to part the water with this, part the water and get out of its way."
"I'd go southbound and do it now."
"So don't wait. If you can't go below ground...yes...it's still on the ground on the south side of I-40 right now. Go south. Get on down here towards West Moore. Somewhere down here. This is safe down here. Get down here. Get way down here. Down by Newcastle. Just take I-44 and just go down to Newcastle. Get out of the way of it. If you can get down here you're going to be safe."
"You need to be below ground, storm cellar or basement. If you can drive south, anywhere around White Water Bay or State Fair Park, the ballpark, downtown Oklahoma City...(continues listing areas to evacuate)...you need to drive south now or get below ground."
"If you can leave south Oklahoma City and go south, do it right now."

Two choices: Get below ground or get on the roads.

If you want to get super technical (you are posting exact phrases and using the ultimatum of below ground or drive) - then the choices were to die/get injured in your car from the tornado or die/get injured from the tornado in your home. Was anyone on I-44 south following Mike's advice killed or injured in their vehicle from the tornado? No? then Mike injured/killed nobody.

Now should Mike have emphatically stated:

"do not go below ground in a storm drain"
"if driving in your car, do not cross water covered roadways"
"do not get out of your car and hide in storm drains"
"do not hide under underpasses"
"do not speed"
"remember to use your signal"
"do not wreck into people"

At what point does the blame finally fall onto the person?


I feel bad for the children who were injured or killed because of their guardian's stupidity.

Debating phraseology and parsing the transcript won't win the day on this one. I'm posting his quotes because people keep saying that Mike Morgan didn't tell viewers to get into their cars and drive. He did, repeatedly.

I have always been a strong proponent of personal responsibility, especially in times of crisis. Regrettably, some people don't come up with plans and they're caught at the last minute in desperate need of someone to tell them what to do. Heaven help them if they're taking their advice from a TV personality wearing a sparkly tie.

Steve Shaw I think? At times I'm like "wow he's being an ass" and other times I was like "OMG that's hilarious for point out the stupidity of people." Driving down a road covered in water is never a good idea. You just have to be stupid to do it unless you are able to see the paint on the roadway and can easily judge the depth of the water. Granted, the road could be completely washed out in another section that you don't realize...so better off just not doing it.



Hopefully people keep this in mind and show Fallin the door next year - but they won't. People have short term memories and don't care. Faith, Family, Freedom is all it takes. Part of that freedom is to continue to not require at least protection for students at schools. I'll gladly give back the income tax cut to pay for the schools...as well as my tax dollars being used (or attempted to be used) for the Indian museum, that Tulsa museum, the Capital reconstruction project, and the dozens of other projects that can be funded privately.

Agreed. If every media outlet in the state wasn't a shill for the GOP, Fallin would probably be eviscerated for choosing conservativism over kids safety.

If you want to get super technical (you are posting exact phrases and using the ultimatum of below ground or drive) - then the choices were to die/get injured in your car from the tornado or die/get injured from the tornado in your home. Was anyone on I-44 south following Mike's advice killed or injured in their vehicle from the tornado? No? then Mike injured/killed nobody.

Now should Mike have emphatically stated:

"do not go below ground in a storm drain"
"if driving in your car, do not cross water covered roadways"
"do not get out of your car and hide in storm drains"
"do not hide under underpasses"
"do not speed"
"remember to use your signal"
"do not wreck into people"

At what point does the blame finally fall onto the person?


I feel bad for the children who were injured or killed because of their guardian's stupidity.

Right, this is why I posted the story. What happened to them was tragic, but incredibly preventable. They made the choice to go into a storm drain, which is never, ever the answer in a storm. Because it's a STORM drain. There to catch and send away storm waters. Why anyone would go in one is beyond me.

We did the dance for a minute, do we stay here with no underground shelter, or do we go to a place where we could have a safe room or shelter. We saw it turn south and stayed. I was prepared to pack up the car or ride it out in the laundry room, the cats were already in their crates and ready to go. I wasn't going to flee without a plan, and I wasn't going to flee because a bedazzled tie told me to.

So somewhat disappointed by this. Started seeing the WeatherRate stuff pushed more on KOCO and was hoping they would stay out of this market. For those not familiar. This is a company that supposed tracks all forecasts of local stations, compares it to the actual outcomes, and then assigns a score.

TV stations then have the option to PURCHASE the license to say they are "Certified Most Accurate" for their market. They state that paying doesn't influence the ratings and they only allow the "most accurate" station to purchase the licensing, but they don't publish their data for third party verification from what I can tell.

I'm not holding anything at all against Damon and his team, as I'm sure this was more of a station management decisions completely...but it seems to be one of those small town gimmicks that doesn't belong in the most prestigious (if you will) weather market in the country.

More information about them can be found here: Welcome to WeatheRate (http://www.weatherate.com/)
One thing to note...their website has been updated (for the most part) since 2011, which doesn't really look good for their credibility.

So somewhat disappointed by this. Started seeing the WeatherRate stuff pushed more on KOCO and was hoping they would stay out of this market. For those not familiar. This is a company that supposed tracks all forecasts of local stations, compares it to the actual outcomes, and then assigns a score.

TV stations then have the option to PURCHASE the license to say they are "Certified Most Accurate" for their market. They state that paying doesn't influence the ratings and they only allow the "most accurate" station to purchase the licensing, but they don't publish their data for third party verification from what I can tell.

I'm not holding anything at all against Damon and his team, as I'm sure this was more of a station management decisions completely...but it seems to be one of those small town gimmicks that doesn't belong in the most prestigious (if you will) weather market in the country.

More information about them can be found here: Welcome to WeatheRate (http://www.weatherate.com/)
One thing to note...their website has been updated (for the most part) since 2011, which doesn't really look good for their credibility.

That kind of reminds me about similar "services" such as one in my industry where you can purchase a listing as one of the "best financial advisors in (name your city)." There are also those pages that advertise the best restaurants, plastic surgeons, dentists, etc in airline magazines.

They are really pushing this, too. There is even a billboard toting this @ I235/I44.

I agree it is super small-time, and especially for this specific market.

Mike Morgan is using part of the news cast to promote Reed Timmer's new tornado chasing web series.

I found Mike annoying, the way he was hovering and telling everything, rather than letting Reed say more. And he exhibited in body language a controlling nature. Cool it, Mike!

Mike Morgan defends his actions and explains how his own "high risk" severe weather outlooks are "better" than the NWS because its takes into account social science. Frankly, I think it makes the public dumber in the long run.

Starts at the 20 minute mark. I got bored after 40 mins. lol
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No one can take these TV weather clowns seriously at this point. It is all hype/doom and gloom/fear mongering bs with these buffoons. They need to put on red noses and big floppy shoes.
So, I wonder why there is all the hype? Do the TV stations make money when the go "full weather emergency" mode? With this Tuesday morning's non-storm, Channel 5 pre-empted Good Morning America and some other syndicated programming. Often, when they go "full weather emergency" mode, they even avoid commercials. How does the station make money during that coverage? Is it a loss leader to snare viewers to other stuff? I would imagine they lose money big time during "full weather emergency" mode.

So . . . I accidentally had The Local Weather Coverage on, in the background, while dealing with some mundane tasks around the house, and The Weather Guy says, "Temperatures are Skyrocketing." I like clichés as much as the next person, yet . . . Wouldn't that mean, technically, that they are actually Decreasing? Or is it just a myth that it's a little cooler a few miles up in the stratosphere?

Just FYI, the new thread for OKC Media concerning weather is in the weather section. :)

Oklahoma Media - Weather Coverage - OKCTalk (http://www.okctalk.com/showwiki.php?title=Island:36970)