Local OKC weathermen - what grade would you give them?

[bucktalk]

I'm sure we all have varied opinions about the different TV weathermen personalities. But I think we'd have to admit -when it comes to crunch time and severe weather announcements -these guys do a pretty amazing job. The way their weather teams come together and how they multi-task is impressive.

Yes I could point out some flaws - but overall - I'd give them an A their effort on Tuesday. What grade would you give them?

[HewenttoJared]

The one on 4 gives the most info and the least superfluous comments and videos, IMO. I feel like the other channels are just trying to make it more exciting.

[old okie]

They all did well--definitely an "A" all around; we 'surf' to see if there are any differences. They used to have a street-by-street map they'd show which is way more helpful than some of what they said yesterday but we suspect it was because--unlike the '99 storm--these were very fast-moving, so many of them, and they were forming so quickly.

In "crunch" time, though, we always go to Gary England.

Our biggest problem was that when we lost our electricity and went to the wind-up radio, that we couldn't "see" what they kept telling us to look at!

[kevinpate]

...
"crunch" time, though, we always go to Gary England.
...

This.

I won't claim 9 is perfect, but it's definitely my go-to and in my opinion they stand head and shoulders above the other stations.

[OkieHornet]

i enjoyed mike morgan on the 10pm newscast talking about the tornado that was "planet venus-type stuff" and that "it tried to eat david payne." heh. he needed some sleep, i think...

[earlywinegareth]

A few things I could've done without: (1) David Payne yelling, "it's a killer, it's a killer"!! (2) Channel 5 breaking away from live tornado coverage (2 on the ground) to the news anchors to report on damage in Concho. (3) Focusing on one particular storm and not keeping up with all of them...I realize it's difficult but you could label them storms a, b, c, etc. and track them individually and equally...poor Chickasha was getting thrashed before the TV guys realized they needed to take a look at "the storm southwest of OKC". Otherwise, I thought they did pretty damn good, but like someone mentioned earlier they should continually update with locations by street names/highway numbers, etc. so the radio listeners know where the risk is located and which way it's headed.

[jstaylor62]

I guess for the weather guys, size does matter. I was watching coverage of the tornado West of Piedmont and Gary England was reporting it as 1/4 mile wide. I flipped over to Mike Morgasm and he was reporting the tornado as 1/2 to 1 mile wide. That was a pretty wide range for spotting reports only minutes apart. I tend to trust Gary England. Although, I really respect David Payne as a storm chaser.

[bandnerd]

Mike Morgan's tie has it's own Facebook page now. Couldn't help but "like" it.

[Snowman]

...
Our biggest problem was that when we lost our electricity and went to the wind-up radio, that we couldn't "see" what they kept telling us to look at!

That is one of the reasons why I keep a backup power source on my modem and wifi base station, with the desktop computers off it can keep them up for quite a bit to use with my laptop if power is out and ATT defiantly has backup power systems at their local exchanges, Cox may but I am not sure.

[ou48A]

I have watched live severe weather coverage in several other large TV markets and none can come even remotely close to matching the job of the OKC TV market. It’s very obvious that most TV markets don’t take Tornadoes nearly as serious as we do. Now that CH 5 has its chopper I will give the OKC TV met guys an A+ average for our market.

Over a period of time the TV people have helped educated many Oklahomans about the dangers of tornadoes and how to take cover. Considering how many tornadoes we have in Oklahoma our death and injury rates sure seem a lot lower per event than in other places.

[ou48A]

Thanks too many advances compared to 40 years ago our warnings are generally very good.
But it’s time to move on to another level of protection by strengthening our safety construction codes and then do a much better job of building real storm shelters in our places of work / business and in our homes.

[maestro6]

We tend to jump around between 4, 5, and 9 during severe weather. I think all three channels do a fine job, and it's great to live at a time when these storms can be tracked fairly precisely. I remember well growing up here and having no real idea where a tornado might be. To me, video on 4 was the most impressive, though I probably prefer Rick's calm demeanor. All three channels do well, though. I think they saved some lives yesterday.

[Ginkasa]

I wasn't able to watch any of them on TV, but I was listening on the radio. As has been stated before, it would be really appreciated if they would be more specific with street names and whatnot when describing location. Its really difficult to keep track of where things are and if I should be worrying about my apartment or not when listening on the radio.


o.

[Thunder]

They all did great. Videos was very hard to have during these storms yesterday, because the tornadoes was basically rain-wrapped most of the time. Better videos came in after these storms had passed. There was more radar images than tornado images during the entire time. As usual, they all get an A.

But only one person get an A+ and that will be Venture. He was able to tell us of possible tornado forming and all of that more quickly than the stations. I remember several times where I relayed info from Venture to everyone on the LW of tornado forming, more advanced tornado warning, etc... before it was posted officially by the NWS and before it was mentioned by the guys on television.

So, yeah, as everyone is forgetting... Venture saved a lot of lives yesterday.

[dmoor82]

They are all great,this is Oklahoma and all weathermen must know what there doing!My vote goes to Mike Morgan now but Gary England in his younger years!

[ou48A]

it would be really appreciated if they would be more specific with street names and whatnot when describing location. Its really difficult to keep track of where things are and if I should be worrying about my apartment or not when listening on the radio.

It’s probably hard to consistently give street names when the tornadoes have a high forward speed, change direction, and when they need to wait on radar updates.
When they don’t know the exact path they need to give more general descriptions.
The problem gets compounded when dealing with 3 or 4 major tornados and other mesocyclone threats all at the same time.

[OSUMom]

I think our guys did a great job. When the tornado is right on your doorstep it's wonderful to have them. When they interrupt your TV show just to tell you about something going on in the panhandle...... not so much. But overall I wouldn't give them up for the world. Like I said in the other thread, on my way home yesterday the weather guys were telling me exactly where the tornado was, and where others where forming. Then the NWS interrupted and told some vague thing like "There might be a tornado in Canadian county....". Just imagine if we had to rely on THAT to get information. And I'm a Gary England fan. Rick Mitchell is good too. Mike Morgan gets too excited.

[swilki]

I think our guys did a great job. When the tornado is right on your doorstep it's wonderful to have them. When they interrupt your TV show just to tell you about something going on in the panhandle...... not so much. But overall I wouldn't give them up for the world. Like I said in the other thread, on my way home yesterday the weather guys were telling me exactly where the tornado was, and where others where forming. Then the NWS interrupted and told some vague thing like "There might be a tornado in Canadian county....". Just imagine if we had to rely on THAT to get information. And I'm a Gary England fan. Rick Mitchell is good too. Mike Morgan gets too excited.

Those stupid warnings infuriated me so much a couple of years ago that I wrote letters to the Oklahoma Congressional delegation and copied Rick, Mike and Gary. I noticed last night that they finally don't air those warnings on 4,5, or 9 when they are doing live coverage. It's a much welcome change, but it has a long way to go.

[Bunty]

This.

I won't claim 9 is perfect, but it's definitely my go-to and in my opinion they stand head and shoulders above the other stations.

It's remarkable how far back Gary England goes. At the time he was warning Stillwater about the Friday the 13th tornado of 1975, he had already been at channel 9 for several years. I bet very few TV weathermen stay at a TV station for that long. Mike Morgan is racking up many years at his station.

[Jon27]

Gary England is my favorite. I have to agree with Mike Morgan's tie though! It was amazing!! I had to keep flipping to channel 4 to see it.

[Thunder]

When they interrupt your TV show just to tell you about something going on in the panhandle......

A lot of people don't realize how vast the viewing areas are for the OKC media market. Also, families out there have families across the state, including the panhandle and western areas, so really, people should not be complaining about that.

[bucktalk]

"So, yeah, as everyone is forgetting... Venture saved a lot of lives yesterday."
So true! So true!

[ou48A]

A lot of people don't realize how vast the viewing areas are for the OKC media market. Also, families out there have families across the state, including the panhandle and western areas, so really, people should not be complaining about that.

I agree.

As someone who lived in the panhandle and in western Oklahoma it’s irritating to say the least to see people complaining about the WX coverage when these areas are threatened. They are people too!

[mugofbeer]

it's time to move on to another level of protection by strengthening our safety construction codes and then do a much better job of building real storm shelters in our places of work / business and in our homes.

I was watching Ch. 5 online and I thought they did an excellent job. With regard to construction, I totally agree. In Denver, you can hardly find a house without a basement. I know the reasoning in OKC is expansive clay soil but there is expansive clay soil in Denver, too. You simply have to surround the basement with a lot of sand and gravel to absorb the clay movement. Nothing is better in a tornado than a basement. I'll always have one.

[BG918]

I was watching Ch. 5 online and I thought they did an excellent job. With regard to construction, I totally agree. In Denver, you can hardly find a house without a basement. I know the reasoning in OKC is expansive clay soil but there is expansive clay soil in Denver, too. You simply have to surround the basement with a lot of sand and gravel to absorb the clay movement. Nothing is better in a tornado than a basement. I'll always have one.

Never fully understood why basements are so popular in Colorado and not in Oklahoma, while both have soils that make it more difficult to build them.