View Full Version : Local OKC weathermen - what grade would you give them?



bucktalk
05-25-2011, 08:29 AM
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
05-25-2011, 10:30 AM
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
05-25-2011, 10:36 AM
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! :ohno:

kevinpate
05-25-2011, 11:44 AM
...
"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
05-25-2011, 02:11 PM
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
05-25-2011, 02:22 PM
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
05-25-2011, 02:32 PM
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
05-25-2011, 03:33 PM
Mike Morgan's tie has it's own Facebook page now. Couldn't help but "like" it.

Snowman
05-25-2011, 03:39 PM
...
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! :ohno:

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
05-25-2011, 03:40 PM
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
05-25-2011, 03:42 PM
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
05-25-2011, 03:43 PM
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
05-25-2011, 03:45 PM
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
05-25-2011, 05:37 PM
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
05-25-2011, 05:48 PM
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
05-25-2011, 05:57 PM
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
05-25-2011, 06:52 PM
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
05-25-2011, 06:58 PM
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
05-25-2011, 07:03 PM
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
05-25-2011, 07:52 PM
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
05-25-2011, 07:55 PM
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
05-25-2011, 07:59 PM
"So, yeah, as everyone is forgetting... Venture saved a lot of lives yesterday."
So true! So true!

ou48A
05-25-2011, 08:07 PM
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
05-25-2011, 09:23 PM
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
05-25-2011, 09:26 PM
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.

Dustin
05-25-2011, 09:39 PM
Mike Morgan, although a little dramatic, is NO DOUBT the best... I really don't get the hype of Gary England the "OK's #1 meteorologist".... I know he's been around a while but I think he's getting a little too old for the job.

adaniel
05-25-2011, 11:54 PM
Mike Morgan, although a little dramatic, is NO DOUBT the best... I really don't get the hype of Gary England the "OK's #1 meteorologist".... I know he's been around a while but I think he's getting a little too old for the job.

I respect Gary England for who he his but I'm going to second this.

Sometimes, channel 4 can be exhausting to watch but I'll give them this. As far as accuracy is concerned, they nailed this storm, from what time it was going to hit and what areas where in the highest risk. And they've been saying this for like 3 days. At the same time channel 9 was predicting a "slight chance" of severe weather without going into the details. And truthfully speaking, channel 4 has pretty much nailed every major storm to hit this area since the Christmas 09 snowstorm. At the very least, David Payne's hyperventalating is no worse than watching Gary England chew out his storm chasers live on TV.

With that in mind, all 3 channels would be top weathguys in other markets if they didn't have to compete with each other, and OKC is lucky to have them. Yes, there were fatalities, but countless lives were probably saved yesterday through their actions.

jstaylor62
05-26-2011, 08:16 AM
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!

But in Guymon, they watch the channels out of Amarillo. So why waste a bunch of time on a market that is not even watching? I agree that you can have something brief because it is in Oklahoma, but you dont need to go to live shots and send chasers...

bretthexum
05-26-2011, 08:26 AM
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.

Easy answer, they cost about an additional 25K (or more)

earlywinegareth
05-26-2011, 08:33 AM
The OKC viewing area is not a perfect circle. It extends northward to the state line (Ponca City and Enid). Then far northwest past Woodward but not the Panhandle. Then far west to the state line. Then partially southwest to Lawton and Hobart. You won't see warnings for Altus or Frederick since their warnings come out of Wichita Falls and Lawton. Then far south to the Red River. Then partially southeast to about McAlester and only partially east to about Henryetta and partially northeast to Stroud. If you see a warning on an OKC station, it's because the storm is in the viewing area.

ou48A
05-26-2011, 01:15 PM
But in Guymon, they watch the channels out of Amarillo. So why waste a bunch of time on a market that is not even watching? I agree that you can have something brief because it is in Oklahoma, but you dont need to go to live shots and send chasers...


I know what you’re saying about the warnings is true but Guymon and a few others in the panhandle do receive KFOR CH 4 mostly on cable I believe.
I have known more than a few people mostly from eastern OK who think places like Alva and Woodward are in the panhandle.

BB37
05-28-2011, 06:41 PM
I don't know if this was commented on in another thread, but I noticed Tuesday morning that there was a lot of discussion in the media about the atmospheric conditions being so favorable for severe weather and extended duration tornados. Later in the day, I saw announcements that the State Captiol and the Oklahoma Health Center campus (where I work) were closing early because of the high possibility of severe storms. This is the first time I recall seeing entities close early because of the **possibility** of severe weather. I think this demonstrates how seriously we take weather, and the investment the local media stations and government have made in weather monitoring and storm prediction.

kevinpate
05-28-2011, 08:29 PM
I know what you’re saying about the warnings is true but Guymon and a few others in the panhandle do receive KFOR CH 4 mostly on cable I believe.
I have known more than a few people mostly from eastern OK who think places like Alva and Woodward are in the panhandle.

I thought they carried 9 on cable up there a while back, but as that's been near on a decade, my memory could be a tad fuzzy.

I used to know a chap from the panhandle who called Woodward area central Oklahoma. From his perspective, measure across the top of the state from the NM line on the west to the MS line on the east and sure enough, Woodward is fairly central. He tended to call the metro as eastern OK or sometimes he'd just refer to it as downstate.

BB37
05-29-2011, 06:13 PM
I thought they carried 9 on cable up there a while back, but as that's been near on a decade, my memory could be a tad fuzzy.

I used to know a chap from the panhandle who called Woodward area central Oklahoma. From his perspective, measure across the top of the state from the NM line on the west to the MS line on the east and sure enough, Woodward is fairly central. He tended to call the metro as eastern OK or sometimes he'd just refer to it as downstate.

This is drifting off topic, but the panhandle was a historical accident, and most residents there have felt ignored by the rest of the state (with some reason). Boise City, in the westernmost end of the panhandle, is closer in mileage to two other state capitols (Santa Fe, NM and Denver, CO) than to OKC. It seems like the DOK sends one of its writers out to Kenton (westernmost town in the state, one mile east of the NM state line and the only town in the state on Mountain Time) at least once a year.

Brett
05-29-2011, 07:24 PM
KOKH-25 is last on my list when the tornado sirens start to sound.

bornhere
05-30-2011, 01:06 PM
I'll watch Rick Mitchell gladly and Gary England reluctantly. I will just take my chances before I'll watch Mike Morgan. I mean that literally. I have turned off the TV during a tornado warning, with sirens going outside, rather than listen to Sgt. Morgan and his Howlin' Weather Commandos.

MikeOKC
05-30-2011, 01:11 PM
I had the unfortunate experience of being in Atlanta during a severe weather outbreak with tornado warnings, the whole shebang. The coverage from the stations there made me realize how lucky we are in Oklahoma City. Gary England, Rick Mitchell, Mike Morgan (and their spotters) could have run circles around the weather staffs at the big stations in Atlanta. Personally, I like Rick Mitchell, but my Atlanta experience made me realize how lucky we are to have all three of these people here in OKC. It's an embarrassment of riches when it comes to storm coverage.

YO MUDA
05-31-2011, 06:59 PM
Mike Morgan and David Payne are the best. I had to chuckle at Emily Sutton storm chasing. When asked where she was, she always had to ask her co pilot. But she is very calm chasing tornados.

venture
05-31-2011, 09:12 PM
I had the unfortunate experience of being in Atlanta during a severe weather outbreak with tornado warnings, the whole shebang. The coverage from the stations there made me realize how lucky we are in Oklahoma City. Gary England, Rick Mitchell, Mike Morgan (and their spotters) could have run circles around the weather staffs at the big stations in Atlanta. Personally, I like Rick Mitchell, but my Atlanta experience made me realize how lucky we are to have all three of these people here in OKC. It's an embarrassment of riches when it comes to storm coverage.

Great point. We don't realize often how lucky we are to have all three of these guys here. Not to mention that we are pretty spoiled here with all the toys at the disposal of the TV guys and also the federal resources as well. There are areas of this country that desperately need better NEXRAD coverage, but Oklahoma has 4 main operational units (with pretty good overlap) and numerous others that are either research or in-development models.

adaniel
06-01-2011, 11:54 AM
This is only slightly relevant to this topic. But anyone who doesn't think weather isn't serious business in Oklahoma should watch the following video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTXX3m7fAng

Achilleslastand
06-01-2011, 11:58 AM
Sarah Libby and Emily Sutton gets my vote......for obvious reasons.

ou48A
06-01-2011, 03:12 PM
http://www1.whdh.com/video/7newslive

Boston area tornado coverage

ou48A
06-02-2011, 09:06 AM
After watching some of the Boston Media coverage on line of the Tornadoes yesterday once again it made me appreciate the quality of coverage we get.

But this Boston station was horrific. It was by far the worst Tornado warning coverage I have ever seen..
They were more interested in telling you about the damage that had occurred than warring folks about the path of the tornado that was still on the ground. They talked more about the trees that were blown over than anything else.
There were no live reports from spotters.
The TV MET’s came on every 6 minutes or so with a brief update of the radar.
This was the only station that I could find from the area that was on line live with any information.

OKCNDN
06-02-2011, 09:35 AM
On channel 9's coverage, I liked being able to see the spotters name on the radar to give me a sense of where they were and their perspective. I wish they had that capability on their chopper.

Rick Mitchell is my great but I wish he would quit "swallowing" during his forecast.

All are great when there is a tornado on the ground. However when there is not significant activity to report on I find it annoying that some tv stations are reporting live anyway. Sometimes there is too much coverage from these guys.

venture
06-02-2011, 05:40 PM
On channel 9's coverage, I liked being able to see the spotters name on the radar to give me a sense of where they were and their perspective. I wish they had that capability on their chopper.

It is there. Just depends on where he is at in relation to the radar image. Sometimes they'll be zoomed in too close on radar and Skynews9 is actually a few more miles away.

SOONER8693
06-02-2011, 06:52 PM
[QUOTE=bornhere;434477]I'll watch Rick Mitchell gladly and Gary England reluctantly. I will just take my chances before I'll watch Mike Morgan. I mean that literally. I have turned off the TV during a tornado warning, with sirens going outside, rather than listen to Sgt. Morgan and his Howlin' Weather Commandos.[/QUOTE
Amen, the people in the weather business don't call Mike Morgan, Morgasm, for no reason. And, I swear that David Payne squirts off when he gets to yell, "tornado on the ground". I feel these 2 are a little too enthusiastic about severe weather. With the channel 4 gang, it's always the biggest, fastest, hottest, coldest, strongest, lowest, highest, in the history of the world.

Thunder
06-02-2011, 09:55 PM
Latest quote I so love by David was...

"It's a killer! It's a killer!"

That was enough to get most people to pay attention. lol