Tonight
Hate mail is hitting an all time high tonight. It was the ultimate nightmare… Dancing With The Stars on the air when tornado warnings are issued.
Some things you need to know about tonight…
*It was my decision to use a double box during Dancing With The Stars. Not management, but mine. I have their full support on decisions like this, for which I am extremely grateful.
*If I had believed there was a tornado on the ground, I would have taken weather coverage full screen and DWTS would not have been on TV. All tornado warnings are not alike.
*The NWS in Birmingham decided to issue tornado warnings, trying to catch small spin-ups along the leading edge of the line. Those are very difficult to identify, and they usually last only for a few minutes. It is my opinion that severe thunderstorm warnings should be used in this situation, since clearly the main threat was from widespread damaging straight line winds, not a small spin-up tornado. Spending time trying to point out a spin-up, which is almost impossible, made no sense to me tonight when the entire line was capable of producing damaging straight line winds. That was the important point.
*Yes, there was probably a small spin-up or two tonight, but compared to the widespread straight line wind damage it quite frankly was not that important. People simply needed to be a in a safe place as the line of storms moved through.
*It makes no sense for me to stay on prime time TV for two hours showing a slow moving line of severe storms with potential for damage along the entire length of the line. Remember, we do long form coverage for tornado warnings only, not severe thunderstorm warnings. I made that point repeatedly tonight, and most heard the message. Damaging wind was the story tonight, not tornadoes.
*I am not faulting my friends at the NWS for issuing tornado warnings trying to catch spin-ups… it is simply a difference of opinion on how the warning process should work.
*If I abuse the privilege of doing wall to wall tornado coverage when there is a good chance there are no tornadoes, then it cheapens what we do when there are life threatening tornadoes in progress. Cry wolf, if you will.
*Yes, the hate mail tonight was personal and intense, but this isn’t my first rodeo and I have a pretty thick skin. God loves the haters too , you know. And, it was a case tonight where I received mail critical of the double box arrangement. What those people didn’t know was that these tornado warnings were marginal, and for small spin-ups that lasted for only a few minutes. I would like to think most people know me well enough to know that I would be on the air full screen if there was a serious tornado situation.
I dream of the day when we can take our live coverage to everybody without having to worry about TV programs. We are getting close to that day, but it is not here yet. Not everybody has access to our 33.2 and 40.2 digital signal, a smart phone, and iPad, or the Internet. It is coming, however.
Just another day in the life of a TV weather guy…
Category: Hodgepodge
About the Author (Author Profile)
James Spann is one of the most recognized and trusted television meteorologists in the industry. He holds the AMS CCM designation and television seals from the AMS and NWA. He is a past winner of the Broadcast Meteorologist of the Year from both professional organizations.Subscribe
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