Channel 4 wins yet again (8/24 tornadoes)

[MWmetalhead]

Upper end EF-1 tornado with 110 mph winds and 8.7 mile damage path struck the townships that border the north end of Grand Rapids. NWS GRR was a bit late on the warning but no surprise there. The tornado warning wasn't issued until it had already been on the ground for several minutes (there was a severe thunderstorm warning in effect already). The White Lake office does a far better job with tornado warnings.

[Rate This]

Upper end EF-1 tornado with 110 mph winds and 8.7 mile damage path struck the townships that border the north end of Grand Rapids. NWS GRR was a bit late on the warning but no surprise there. The tornado warning wasn't issued until it had already been on the ground for several minutes (there was a severe thunderstorm warning in effect already). The White Lake office does a far better job with tornado warnings.

EF-1 in Belleville as well. 90mph winds and 3 mile path.

[MWmetalhead]

Newport - Frenchtown Twp was just confirmed. 100 mph winds; EF-1.

https://kamala.cod.edu/mi/latest.nous43.KDTX.html

[MWmetalhead]

Williamston tornado has been upgraded to EF-2, per channel 6 in Lansing. (I believe Williamston proper was largely spared.)

Not surprised. My guess was peak winds of 120 mph. Looks like I was damn near spot on.

https://www.wlns.com/news/first-hand-as ... bberville/

Looks like it clung on as an EF-1 into the western fringe of Livingston County:
https://www.wilx.com/2023/08/25/ef1-tor ... on-county/

[Daenerys]

Agreed, Channel 4 was head and shoulders above the rest, just like last week.

Rich Luterman seemed to have trouble with the graphics typical of someone his age. Kept pulling up the lightning strikes, not knowing how to bypass that. He kept talking about a radar detected rotation between Hartland and Fenton after being bewildered where Deerfield and Tyrone were. His instructions were to "stay inside", not specific "take cover" recommendations. Didn't mention any other trouble areas. Flip to 4 and Kim Adams is talking about a touchdown in Williamston/Folwerville (concerning being in the Howell area and having family in Fowlerville). Mind boggling the difference and lack of information on coverage. Used to think they were all the same. Was I wrong.

[MWmetalhead]

I agree that Luterman's coverage on Fox 2 was underwhelming.

Their radar graphics seem to lack the bells and whistles of the other stations, too. They look dated.

Ahmed on 50 (who should've been broadcasting on 62 as well) did a great job alerting viewers of a likely tornado formation near Brownstown and Rockwood. He highlighted the threat several minutes prior to the NWS issuing a tornado warning on that cell.

[MWmetalhead]

Decent summary from the Detroit News. Three tornadoes in Wayne County alone. One tracked very close to where the fighter jet crashed two weekends ago!

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/ ... 681820007/

The I-96 tornado in the Webberville/ Williamston area at its peak was five football fields wide with 125 mph winds. I believe that places it in the top 5 list for strongest tornadoes in Michigan since 2000.
While it sucks the storm affected motorists on I-96 and affected adjacent farmland, things could've been worse had it hit moved through the heart of Williamston, Webberville or Fowlerville at that strength. Missed those first two towns by maybe a two mile margin. There are several businesses at the Webberville and Fowlerville exits along I-96; it appears those at the Webberville exit (M-52 / M-43) had a very close call. Fortunately, the tornado crossed south of that interchange and not along or just north, which is much more heavily developed.

Westbound 96 through the affected area remains closed. Eastbound has reopened but may see temporary reclosure tomorrow. 17 semis were overturned along I-96.

[Herm]

I agree that Luterman's coverage on Fox 2 was underwhelming.

Their radar graphics seem to lack the bells and whistles of the other stations, too. They look dated.

Ahmed on 50 (who should've been broadcasting on 62 as well) did a great job alerting viewers of a likely tornado formation near Brownstown and Rockwood. He highlighted the threat several minutes prior to the NWS issuing a tornado warning on that cell.

I’m REALLY curious why they didn’t go on both stations. I would have thought it would be a mandate to go on both.

[MWmetalhead]

Tornadoes #4 through #6 were on the ground at the exact same time in SE Wayne County and NE Monroe County.

https://www.weather.gov/dtx/tornadoes08242023

I wonder why the NWS uploaded such grainy radar images? The RadarScope app on my phone produces far better image quality than that!

[sinklair]

Because you have NON-NEWS people making news decisions on 50/62. They don’t to cover up CBS prime time programming… even for deadly tornadoes.

[FredLeonard]

Hey, everybody now has cell phones. Weather alerts on TV are obsolete. (1) They interrupt what people have tuned in to see. (2) They are useless in an era of DVRs, when much of the audience watches hours or days later. (3) Cell phones know where they (you) are and provide targeted information. TV markets cover a wide area and often as not cancel your show to talk about a storm a two hour drive away from you. (4) These things are like "work therapy" for the so called "meteorologists" who get to feel important and necessary for a change.

[MWmetalhead]

I disagree. I had flash flood warnings in my community in the wee hours of Thursday morning, which is supposed to trigger an EAS alert, and despite having that feature switched to "on," I never received an alert via phone. I reviewed my alert history to confirm that fact.

You are also assuming folks watching TV have their cell phones within earshot in the first place, which is probably an unsafe assumption.

Finally, EAS alerts via phone do not provide any detail regarding storm intensity, estimated time of arrival in a precise community, or specific track.

I will say when TV stations interrupt first run prime time programming, the programming ought to be re-aired in full at an alternate time (and that fact should be widely communicated) so that viewers can DVR the uninterrupted version of the program.

Programming should not be interrupted for low-end severe thunderstorm warnings, but there most certainly should be cut-ins for tornado warnings.

[ZenithCKLW]

When power goes out here, my cell phone reception and internet service usually goes with it. I’m not sure why; I think there is a cell tower on the same circuit as my neighborhood. “Having a cell phone” is not a reliable substitute for gathering information, although I don’t have TV in an emergency either. It’s old fashioned, analog radio for me in my dense suburban neighborhood.

[Rate This]

Hey, everybody now has cell phones. Weather alerts on TV are obsolete. (1) They interrupt what people have tuned in to see. (2) They are useless in an era of DVRs, when much of the audience watches hours or days later. (3) Cell phones know where they (you) are and provide targeted information. TV markets cover a wide area and often as not cancel your show to talk about a storm a two hour drive away from you. (4) These things are like "work therapy" for the so called "meteorologists" who get to feel important and necessary for a change.

Or there are tons and tons of ways to stream that show later. If you like it so much go find it.

[km1125]

I agree that Luterman's coverage on Fox 2 was underwhelming.

Their radar graphics seem to lack the bells and whistles of the other stations, too. They look dated.

Ahmed on 50 (who should've been broadcasting on 62 as well) did a great job alerting viewers of a likely tornado formation near Brownstown and Rockwood. He highlighted the threat several minutes prior to the NWS issuing a tornado warning on that cell.

Ahmed also did a great job on the Williamston/Webberville when it happened. I stumbled on to his broadcast on 50 after seeing (and not being impressed at all) with Kim on 4 and Rexroth on 7. Normally I'd prefer Rexroth, but he seemed to be stumbling around a lot and jumping all over the map with not much useful to say. Kim wasn't much better. Both might have improved after I switched channels.

I was watching Ahmed live when he saw a radar sweep in the Williamston area, just as he started to say something about being concerned for development, the next sweep occurred and you could see him visibly affected and he got really serious and immediately switched to "debris field" and said there was a tornado on the ground RIGHT NOW and anyone there or towards Webberville needed to take cover RIGHT NOW. He also expressed concern for any folks on I-96, because of the proximity of the debris field to the road (basically right on top of it). Minutes later when they had some damage reports of "cars flipped on 96", he knew that's right where it was. Also saw his reporting as the storms approached Plymouth and Canton and then the Belleville and Frenchtown areas and felt really "informed" from his work. Good job!

I have never really liked his coverage since he started there -not bad but not really impressed- but he "sold" me on his coverage during these events. Kudos to him for that. I'm be much more likely to tune in to his coverage than I have been.

And you're 1000% spot-on with the 62 mess... was very surprised they didn't have him on there especially when the warnings had been issued. Total F-up at 62.