Oklahoma Media - Weather Coverage

[woodyrr]

The City Council of the City of Oklahoma City has adopted a new "zone" outdoor warning siren activation policy.

From the press release linked below:

Sirens to sound in smaller areas

In previous years, OKC sounded all of its sirens within a county affected by an NWS tornado warning. For example, if the NWS issued a tornado warning in Cleveland County, OKC sounded all of its Cleveland County sirens. As a result, people could hear sirens far away from tornado threats.

Now, sirens will sound in smaller areas. That means anyone who hears a siren is more likely to be close to a potentially deadly storm.

http://www.okc.gov/news/2015_12/OKC_Council_adopts_new_localized_tornado_siren_pol icy.html

[Bunty]

26.41" of blizzard snow for Guymon this weekend. WOW. Oklahoma City TV stations are sensationalizing the upcoming weather again.

[OKCisOK4me]

Tomorrow, it'll be Boise City.

[Plutonic Panda]

[judysue]

National Weather Service has OKC getting 4-8 inches of snow out of the upcoming weather system this weekend. Damon Lane is forecasting 1-2 inches for the metro. I'm sure there is a reason, but what? As a novice, I would think the NWS would be the authority. Just asking.

[John1744]

Lane just mentioned on Twitter that he's liking the Euro model.

[Jim Kyle]

As a novice, I would think the NWS would be the authority. Just asking.

Quite a few "weather models" exist to help forecasters anticipate what is going to happen, but none of them is extremely accurate. Consequently the forecasters have to look at all of these computer predictions, compare them, and then stick their necks out with a forecast based both on the models and their own experience. That's why we see such widely varying estimates.

Fact of the matter is that none of the models is regularly accurate more than 48 hours in advance, but the competitive nature of TV forces the weathermen to issue forecasts for as much as nine days in the future. Sometimes, even 24 hours is too far away to tell -- and that's when everyone winds up with a face full of egg!

NWS tends to be more conservative than most, but not always....

[kevinpate]

And of course, even an expert can be wrong from time to time.

[tfvc.org]

Weather is so unpredictable. I have seen it rain on one side of the street and the other side not get a drop. Depending on what side of the street you lived on the forecast was either right or wrong.

[MagzOK]

Too many meteorologists anymore will just predict what a model predicts, and do so without any of their own gut feelings. The models are all there for a good meteorologist to use all together to form their own forecast. KOCO and "the Predictor" -- they use that exclusively and even attribute everything they forecast to it. It's really just a shame.

[Pete]

This is more about the general coverage and warnings, not just in OK:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...-wake-up-call/

[John1744]

Any word on what new tech News9 is supposed to be bringing to market soon? I feel I've been seeing commercials teasing it for a few months now.

[jompster]

Maybe it has something to do with the new G.O.E.S. satellite soon to be launched?

[jn1780]

Maybe it has something to do with the new G.O.E.S. satellite soon to be launched?

What news 9 is doing won't have anything to do with a NOAA weather satellite. Plus, it won't be operational for several months for testing.

[LakeEffect]

What news 9 is doing won't have anything to do with a NOAA weather satellite. Plus, it won't be operational for several months for testing.

GOES won't be operational until December 2017...

NBC recently paid for 4 big DOWs, to be shared among stations in certain markets. Dallas received one of them (Rick Mitchell's station will use it a lot). The DFW NBC station also just upgraded its radar and pushed a new chasing truck big last year.

Maybe News 9 is upgrading its own radar? Or buying a DOW?

Weather is becoming a bigger game nationally - I don't have any numbers or research, but I wonder if it's the only thing that really pulls younger generations in to TV news anymore. ABC is really pushing Ginger Zee across multiple ABC platforms; NBC bought the Weather Channel...

[John1744]

According to News9s social media this tech gets announced tonight.

[John1744]

NextGen Live radar. News9's own dual pol radar with no delay, supposedly the most powerful commercial radar in Oklahoma. Resolution will go from 1/2 mile to resolution the size of a football field.

[jn1780]

So I guess this means KFOR will have to buy two of these radars in order to retain bragging rights? They are probably looking forward to the completion of the Morgan doom bunker, err I mean studio.

[John1744]

We'll see if it makes much of a difference, He seemed most excited about there not being much of a delay when getting data like there is from the KTLX radar. It's a Baron Radar product, he said only three other stations in the USA had looked into getting it so far.

I do think a huge mobile DOW would be very helpful here in OK. Seems like it'd be especially useful when storms get close to the radar hole.

[jompster]

What news 9 is doing won't have anything to do with a NOAA weather satellite. Plus, it won't be operational for several months for testing.

Thanks for the clarification. I wasn't sure because I had heard KFOR mention it the other morning, but I hadn't had time to read up on it.

[LakeEffect]

Lacey Swope is leaving News9 for News on 6 in Tulsa...

[SoonerDave]

Lacey Swope is leaving News9 for News on 6 in Tulsa...

Yup, she posted a video to her FB page where she talked about wanting to move back closer to her and her husband's respective families (near Tulsa). Turns out someone was leaving the KOTV weather staff this summer just about the time her contract with Ch9 expires, so it seemed to dovetail fairly naturally. She does a good job for Ch 9, and also seems like such a nice young lady, just very girl-next-door, and I wish her well.

[Outhunder]

So strange how they had her and Jed on at the same time.

[John1744]

At first I thought it was kind of an apprentice type thing for Lacey, where Jed was helping coach her on TV weather, but it more seemed like maybe Jed just wanted some backup, I know weather is almost a part time job for him at this point, he was getting very heavily involved in his church.

[Outhunder]

Just not sure how many people you need to say what the high for today will be.................over and over and over. My wife and I get a kick out of it most mornings. They were on together most times. Jed would come on and give the weather. Not 15 minutes later, here is Lacey saying the same thing Jed just said. Then here is Jed saying the same thing 10 minutes after that. Just didn't make sense, but was comical.