Anyone read ABC news article about Mena, AR tornado?

[Todd Friskey]

I was a little confused by the comments made by reporter Roger Susanin, KATV. I copied and pasted what was written in the ABC news article today (hope that is ok). The reporter stated, "there was tornado warnings earlier that night but it was not suppose to hit ground level"? OK, I am not sure what he is getting at?

I mean, tornadoes do hit ground level. Besides taking cover is what the residents that were aware of the warning, should of been doing.

In Mena, Ark., Roger Susanin, a reporter for KATV in Little Rock, said the downtown area has been "devastated."

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe said he was taken aback by the scope of the damage from the tornado that ripped through Mena. Speaking to reporters shortly after landing in a National Guard helicopter, Beebe said the damage appeared to him to be greater than initial estimates, the Associated Press reported.

Warning sirens sounded three times as several funnel clouds passed harmlessly over the town before the killer twister landed. Although many immediately took cover, others stayed home, only to glance out their windows just in time to see the tornado, according to the AP.

"This one popped out of nowhere," Polk County Sheriff Mike Oglesby said.

Susanin said car windows shattered as the forceful winds blew through town. Gas and power lines were broken, preventing police from being able to search in some parts of town.

Residents, he said, got some warning but it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

"There were sirens that went off," Susanin said. "There were some tornado warnings earlier in the night, but it was not supposed to hit ground level. No one really had too much time to shutter their homes."

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=7304997&page=1

 

[Damon Poole]

Susanin is a brand new hire general assignment reporter at KATV. He probably has very little experience covering tornadoes and severe weather, let alone knowledge of the difference between a funnel cloud and a tornado. From reading the story, I also think ABC News' writers may also be in a very similar way.

 

[Bryan Stokes]

It is not uncommon for the media to make a wide array of mistakes while reporting -- especially on events that are not mainstream. I've seen it time and time again...

Bryan

 

[STurner]

I also thought by some of the damage on television from this tornado may have been stronger as well. It received an EF3 rating which is still a pretty powerful tornado and seems reasonable for I tend to be somewhat conservative because of construction practices. I am no expert or have no authority to rate a tornado but there defenitely seems to be some questionable EF4 damage. On the TWC a meteorologist was describing a building behind her that was steel-reinforced with concrete and mortar and it was completely flattened with some of the debris blown away. Also some of the trees in that area were stripped of their bark. Maybe they might call in a QRT or something if they do not feel comfortable rating a tornado greater than EF3. In any case it is sad anybody had to lose their life to this tornado.

 

[Connor McCrorey]

No one really had too much time to shutter their homes.

Do they also not know the difference between a tornado and a hurricane? Sorry, but if you're taking the time to shutter your home before a tornado, good luck getting in before it hits lol.

 

[Toni Scholz]

It almost sounds like a case of crying wolf. The man in the article stated (and I paraphrase), that they had the sirens going off a couple of times but that nothing had happened; "it came out of nowhere."

If I lived in that area, or any area with the possibility of tornadoes, I'd want the damn sirens going off if someone blew their nose too hard!

 

[beaudodson]

Well, there is your mistake. People were depending on sirens to tell them what to do.

 

[Wes Carter]

"There were sirens that went off," Susanin said. "There were some tornado warnings earlier in the night, but it was not supposed to hit ground level." [/I]

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=7304997&page=1

This is a first. I've heard a lot of misconceptions, but I never thought there were people out there that thought that anyone could predict funnel clouds without tornadoes. Much less someone whose job it is to inform the public about weather. I read that he is a new hire but c'mon, there has to be some requirements besides a TV friendly face and a generic Buzz Lightyear voice.

 

[Dave Gallaher]

Actually, I think it is a nice representative summation of the general quality of tv news reporting these days for all topics. I've read in a different forum that broadcasters are laying off personnel at many outlets, yet are hiring more reporters. It's easy to surmise where this is going--weather awareness, and storm education will be among the last things many new on-air persons will acquire, if at all.

 

[William Reid]

"There were sirens that went off," Susanin said. "There were some tornado warnings earlier in the night, but it was not supposed to hit ground level. No one really had too much time to shutter their homes."

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=7304997&page=1

I'm going to cut the reporter some slack and assume that he wanted the reader to take him literally----that is, the actual "tornado warnings" were not supposed to hit ground level. Or, maybe it was the "night" that was not supposed to hit ground level. Hmmmm, not sure. Did someone drop the printout on the floor?

Bill

 

[Greg McLaughlin]

KATV's inexperienced reporting can't be nearly as horrible as KTHV's Ed Buckner. I watched a live stream of KHTV (Little Rock) severe weather coverage and was completely dumbfounded by the lack of professionalism of Ed Buckner. The guy wasn't taking the situation seriously and came across as being bored of being on the air for so long. You would never see anything like that from a tv station in Tulsa.

When I lived in Hot Springs I had been talking with Channel 4 about chasing, but I decided to move back to Tulsa when a job opportunity came up. This was in 2007. While living in Arkansas I only watched channel 4 and 7 for weather. I guess this ramble is just my way of expressing my frustrations with a station's chief met who wasn't taking a potentially life-threatening situation very seriously. Anyone else in Arkansas see KHTV's severe weather coverage THU night?

 

[Tracey Rogers]

Weather Coverage

On Thursday night, I was tuned into the weather. We started out watching a Fort Smith station. When the weather was out of the Fort Smith coverage area, we switched to the Little Rock stations. My husband and I are devoted Today'sTHV watchers, but we that night we went through all of our Little Rock stations to watch whoever at the moment was covering the storm that was approaching us. Whenever we did switch it to THV, there was never any bad professionalism on Ed Buckner's part. There was something far worse. He was always apologizing for breaking into programming. At the time, I was wondering why he was apologizing. Here he was attempting to help save lives and communities, but apologizing for the interruption. It wasn't until I read thishttp://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=83228&catid=2 article later did I realize why. People were sending him emails complaining that they were missing their favorite TV shows. The storm was nowhere near their area so why is he breaking in? This angers me. The sheer lack of disregard for human life and their petty selfishness at missing a TV show is astounding.
So if this is was the unprofessionalism you were talking about then maybe that can offer you some insight into his position.
*steps off of soap box*
Ok I'm done

 

[STurner]

Yeah I think they would have received some warning because the death toll may have been higher if not. Whether they received adequate warning is not for me to say. If you put a tornado of this magnitude through Chicago or NYC during the middle of rush hour traffic it could still kill hundreds or thousands even though there is adequate warning.

 

[Todd Friskey]

Wow Tracey, I guess I am naive! I did not realize that some people actually complain when they are being warned about life threatening weather (read the article). Do you think to many people in that part of the state (AR) have had to many "cry wolf" situations, so to speak? I mean at least in their eyes that what it was. I do remember our local TV station went non-stop with tornado coverage during a popular program. I think they did apologize maybe once or twice for the inconvenience, but re-aired the missed program at a later time.
BTW...As a local spotter, who still has much to learn, I am so grateful to those who share the knowledge they have obtained. Thank you all!

 

[Tom Tackett]

We have similar problems here in the Dallas / Fort Worth Texas area also. It is not a "Cry Wolf" situation. It is simply the situation that there are incredibly way too many people who do not want the media to interrupt their regular programming for weather information unless the storm is down the street and definitely going to hit their house. It is amazing how many complaints that the media outlets here in DFW receive almost daily about this issue. The general public leaves alot to be desired with regards to weather-related hazards and warnings.

Of even greater concern to me is the evolving story here in the DFW area with the actual individuals who do the weather TV Broadcasts. We have REGRESSED Substantially in recent months with the level of education, experience, and overall weather knowledge that several new TV weather personalities have brought with them as they have begun working at TV Stations across this TV market. There are some significant and serious errors being made almost on a regular basis by these folks and it has the potential to affect the public in many serious ways. I might discuss this situation later in a separate post if I can find the time to properly and professionally create the writings that would be necessary to present my thoughts and experiences on this matter.