Ah, such a simple question, but not a simple answer.

The bottom line is that hype and hysteria have taken over to where a certain performance level has been reached and there's no going back. Each station has to "out do" the other. Again, it goes back to what I said above, if everyone turns the tv off, then when the ratings come in, management would see that and start to cut back on the drama...um, I mean information. Bottom line, people watch, so the show goes on. The minute one station goes off, then viewers will flip to the other, so each tries to be the very last to go off the air. This applies in any weather situation. The news basically prays on the fears of people a lot of the time.

In that particular case you mentioned, it's a "do as we say, not as we do". There is no option of "I can't come into work today". You'll lose your job that way.

If you have to go out during a storm like that, then just hope you have 4wheel drive and so does everyone else on the road around you and that you are all taking it slow. The problem is, that is never the case and that's when fatalities occur.

If you are going to live in Oklahoma City, just get used to the excessive weather coverage. Some people dig it, others get turned off by it. Again, common sense would tell me not to go out on the roads when it's icy unless I absolutely had to. When it comes to tornadoes, definitely tell me where and when. When it comes to rain, lightning, hail, don't bother me. But those are my preferences, each person is different so it's better to cover them all and stay on the air until the particular threat is over.