Gary England

[Tydude]

What are the chances we can lure Rick Mitchell back into town?

slim to none

[venture]

The more hysterical the delivery - whether it be from the studio, ground vehicle or helicopter - the faster I'm changing the channel.

When things turn dangerous, I need current, accurate information so I can take the action that's best for me. Starting September 1 that's going to be from Venture on this board, and whatever chat he's participating in.

Yeah I'm a bit concerned if the Payne hype machine completely transforms KWTV. We'll see. It sounds like Gary might still step in front of the camera on severe weather days, so we'll see.

I guess I need to start figuring out the chat room situation more now. LOL ScribbleLive is quoting me stupidly high rates based on the traffic we do.

[Charlie40]

Then maybe David will clean out the dead wood so to speak before next seasons severe weather starts and have a top notch team put together.

[Mel]

It did indeed say in the paper this morning that he will jump back in front of the camera when things turn dicey. That's good to know.

[BrettM2]

I've always liked David Payne. I'm really hoping that as Chief, he'll reign in some of that hype that has permeated Channel 4 and 9. I went with Damon Lane this storm season, I think more people will do the same if he can't calm down a bit.

[kelroy55]

What are the chances we can lure Rick Mitchell back into town?

I watch him here in DFW and he's got it made... Hot and humid everyday with a 15% chance of rain. Not sure why they even have the weather down here.

[Anonymous.]

OKC pays in weather drama.

Dallas pays in weather money.

[Tydude]

It did indeed say in the paper this morning that he will jump back in front of the camera when things turn dicey. That's good to know.

this is what Gary says about him doing Severe storms this is from his FB page

At the end of August I will no longer be forecasting and doing severe weather. Sorry. Love ya all. But I will still be at News9 but in a different role.

[PennyQuilts]

Yeah I'm a bit concerned if the Payne hype machine completely transforms KWTV. We'll see. It sounds like Gary might still step in front of the camera on severe weather days, so we'll see.

I guess I need to start figuring out the chat room situation more now. LOL ScribbleLive is quoting me stupidly high rates based on the traffic we do.

I'll be chipping in, Venture. I was going to do that back around tornado time but you had shifted to asking us to click on ads to help others. Darn classy of you.

[Larry OKC]

I'm sorry, but David Payne is a goofball. He was somewhat restrained on channel 4 but after their morning newscast when they would shift the team from 4 to their sister UHF station, he was insane. That was always confusing seeing channel 4's people on the other station (even think they would have the channel 4 graphics up). Just as when you see an ad for NBC on one of their sister cable networks.

[Mel]

No Gary at all in severe weather! Don't know if I like that idea at all. He is the Oklahoma King of Weather. In a few years the movie "Twister" will lose it's nostalgic kick for us Okies.

[boscorama]

We used to go tornado hunting before the days of live tornadoes on multiple channels. TV storm chasers are living our dream (sort of). We get excited, which probably explains our tolerance for the antics of excited weather people.

[zookeeper]

I watch him here in DFW and he's got it made... Hot and humid everyday with a 15% chance of rain. Not sure why they even have the weather down here.

He's set to take the biggest job in DFW weather when the guy who has been the Gary England of Dallas steps down. It's all a done deal for Rick. $$$$

[SoonerDave]

He's set to take the biggest job in DFW weather when the guy who has been the Gary England of Dallas steps down. It's all a done deal for Rick. $$$$

HE could probably buy himself a tornado to rip through an unpopulated area of DFW just to get exclusive coverage

[TheSocialGadfly]

This is how one should act while filming a tornado. How is it that this amateur storm chaser (I presume) can maintain his cool while capturing on camera the tornado that struck Moore, and yet David Payne loses his mind every time at the slightest circulation?

Moore, OK Tornado - May 20, 2013 - YouTube

[Anonymous.]

You can't really compare amateur videos like that with a veteran met who is chasing live on air for a tv station. Payne has to relay live information fluently and quickly to save lives. Nobody is listening to these amatuers as they describe a few shingles falling out of the sky.

Yes it can be toned down a bit, but when it is your job to get information out promptly on a life/death situation - the way you handle it is completely different.

[Jim Kyle]

That is possibly the best report and coverage I've yet seen. And I speak as one who chased storms back in the mid-50s, worked closely with the weather bureau, and helped develop some of the real-time video links from chase vehicles. I agree with the comment on the site that the TV folk should learn from this how to act during a crisis!

[Jim Kyle]

You can't really compare amateur videos like that with a veteran met who is chasing live on air for a tv station.

Did you note that this was done by a NSSL researcher? I wouldn't consider those folk to be as "amateur" as the TV presenters...

One of the first rules drilled into a would-be military officer (regardless of service branch) is the importance of at least appearing to remain cool, calm, and confident during any crisis situation. On-air hysteria only leads to panic and irrational behavior on the part of the audience -- as witness the fact of the "get underground" advice during a later storm causing an entire extended family to take refuge in a storm sewer, where most of them drowned...

[TheSocialGadfly]

Did you note that this was done by a NSSL researcher? I wouldn't consider those folk to be as "amateur" as the TV presenters...

That's my mistake. Since there are so many storm chaser videos on YouTube, I fell guilty to assuming that this videographer and storm chaser was one of them.

One of the first rules drilled into a would-be military officer (regardless of service branch) is the importance of at least appearing to remain cool, calm, and confident during any crisis situation.

I almost used the phrase "maintain his bearing" because of just that. The directive to "maintain your military bearing" is ubiquitous in military training and service, but to leave out the "military" qualifier would have likely left several readers scratching their heads due to the ambiguity of the term "bearing." "Why would he need to 'maintain his bearing' when the tornado is straight ahead? Wouldn't that run him straight into the funnel?" But you and I were obviously thinking alike when considering how one should act with a cool demeanor in situations like these.

[Tydude]

Rick isn't coming back because he just tweeted that he is back in OKC packing to move his family to Dallas Area

[LocoAko]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/ma...anted=all&_r=0

[kelroy55]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/ma...anted=all&_r=0

Good story

[SoonerDave]

That is one awesomely written feature piece. In an era of blog-blurbs and content aimed for eighth-grade intellects, that was an old-fashioned piece of real feature writing. Very special.

[venture]

That was an amazing article. I agree with some of the commenters, considering all his contributions to the weather community overall...a medal of freedom award should be a given at some point.

[adaniel]

FWIW, the author of this article, Sam Anderson, wrote the Thunder-themed "Fairy Tale Rise" article for NYT Magazine back in 2012, and has temporarily moved to OKC to write a book about the city.