...and I apologize to all of you Happy Meal lover's out there for disrespecting your brand...
Anyway, I need to get this off of my chest before I try to get some sleep tonight. Some in the mainstream media, led by Diane Sawyer at ABC "World News Tonight" allege that the tornadoes which struck the South overnight "came without warning while people slept..."
I beg your indulgence through the brief commercial at the beginning of this video. You'll see my point right off the top when Ms. Sawyer begins to speak:
Message to Diane: Nothing could be further from the truth!!!
I would suggest that the team at ABC do some research before stating that folks were not warned of the tornado threat overnight. This threat had been advertised for 24 hours or more in advance, beginning with forecasts issued by the SPC in Norman, OK on Saturday.
Local media and social media outlets (including this very blog) warned people throughout the day Sunday to be prepared for a nighttime severe weather event - including the possibility of tornadoes - overnight and early Monday morning. We encouraged folks to turn on a NOAA Weather Radio with a battery back-up, or have some alternate means of receiving warnings during the overnight hours. The clip below is from a post on this blog at 2:30 in the afternoon on Sunday, over 13 hours before the tornado(es) struck the area:
The first Tornado Watch for the Birmingham area was issued at 11pm CST on Sunday evening - nearly 5 hours before the tornado(es) struck.
As the event drew nearer, National Weather Service Tornado warnings were issued hours before the parent thunderstorms actually affected the Birmingham area. In fact, warnings were issued as soon as the storms began to exhibit the potential for tornado production along the Mississippi/Alabama border, first at 2:09 am CST:
The first warning that specifically included the Birmingham area was issued at 3:02 AM CST, more than one hour before the most significant damage took place on the Northeast side of town:
...and was followed by another warning at 3:32 AM CST:
To say that these tornadoes struck without warning is asinine, and does a disservice not only to the meteorological community who is out there to save lives, but more importantly to the citizens watching the "media" outlets that report such garbage.
Is it any wonder why 20-30% of average citizens in post-tornado surveys say that they have a lack of confidence in weather information and storm warnings? With the mainstream media out there pushing the notion that every event "came without warning" I guess we shouldn't be surprised.
I have been known to be critical of the National Weather Service for lackluster warning performance in certain situations in the past, but this is not one of them. Folks were given plenty of warning in this case. While I am deeply sorry for the tragic loss of 2 lives in this event, I think the fact that the death toll was so low during a significant nighttime tornado event speaks for itself.
It's no wonder why I stopped watching "network" news so long ago...and it's a practice that I intend to keep for the foreseeable future.
If you'd like to send a comment to ABC News, please go to this link. Be sure to choose "World Snooze News Tonight with Diane Sawyer" in the drop down box...
Update at 3:40pm CST on 1/24/12: If this report on "TV Newser" is true, ABC News intends to "clarify" its report on the Birmingham tornadoes this evening. This is no doubt the result of the tens of thousands of concerned citizens that have been bombarding them with comments and feedback today.
By the way, do I believe ABC's statement (in the article that I linked above) that Diane Sawyer was referring to the fact that this occurred in the middle of the night when people were asleep? Absolutely not. That has nothing to do with whether or not advanced warning had been given. Anyway, we shall see what happens. I will post the clip as soon as it becomes available, along with any relevant thoughts...
Update at 6:45 PM CST:
Below is the segment from tonight's broadcast. By no means was it even close to a retraction (I wouldn't even call it a "clarification" as they did earlier today because of the fact that they never mention that they gave completely false information on last night's segment):
The real question that I have is this: will they cry "no warning" the next time something like this happens?
They did point out something useful toward the end of the story, having to do with using a crash helmet when seeking shelter. I have been working on an updated tornado safety post for this spring, which includes information on using helmets. I am working to complete that post ASAP - I hope to have it out this weekend.
