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2011-04-16 DISC: NC, SC, VA

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mike Smith
  • Start date Start date
The worst case scenario from an advertisers point of view is having wall to wall severe weather coverage on any given station during the Masters, Indy 500, Super Bowl etc. The network affiliates in Central Iowa will often rebroadcast programming interrupted by severe weather coverage. Some people would complain about warnings interrupting their favorite programs right up until their house gets damaged. I'm sure some would complain even after that.
 
Not sure if I was watching something different or if I imagined it all, but I was watching the WRAL stream online before the storm had hit in the Sanford/Apex area and stayed with it until about an hour after the Raleigh hit, and they were on it the entire time.
 
Yes, I was chasing, but from all the reports I heard from friends following the situation and our chase, WRAL was right on top of the situation with great coverage. The deaths that happened had nothing to do with WRAL coverage... I can guarantee that.
 
I watched WRAL for the vast majority of the event. They did a nice job UNTIL the first pics of damage came in at which point they changed focus. They completely dropped the ball on the two southern cells, both of which had signatures just as strong. The weather channel did a much better job.
 
I watched the WRAL stream for the first couple of hours and thought they did alright at the time I was watching. I can't comment on how they performed during the latter half of the event as I switched over to WNCT-9 Greenville. I can say they did a splendid job with their coverage. They stayed with the storms until they moved off the coast and they kept their radar pretty much in SRV mode the entire time. That is the first time I've ever watched that pair of mets, but I can say they make for an excellent team. They did a superb job. IMHO, those two guys are good to go when it comes to dealing with tornado outbreaks, whether in North Carolina or Oklahoma.
 
I didn't watch WRAL. With the images of the tors and damage, I really would like to hear some EF ratings and actual path tracks mapped. That would be what I would expect to find in this thread... The NWS WFO pages didn't have much last I checked, anyone have a link or two pointing to this info that maybe I am missing (although I suppose its early, perhaps I am just impatient)?

Chip
 
I really would like to hear some EF ratings and actual path tracks mapped. That would be what I would expect to find in this thread...

Chip

Amen, I'm not seeing much of anything. Would love to see some detailed paths and description of this event.
 
AMAZING, possibly a 3 mile wide tornado!!! I wouldn't be surprised with 0-1 km Helicity Values between 400-700 m^2/s^2.
 
You can see power flashes in the side mirror of his truck after the tornado passes by him. The guy was cluless to the imminent danger....amazing.
 
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