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Are there still any radio stations that do severe weather coverage?

R

Route66Fan

I remember that KMMO in Marshall, MO used to interrupt their country music that they play to cover any severe weather that was happening in their listening area. I don't know if they still do this during severe weather or not anymore. Also somebody on Reddit shared a recording with me where KTTS in Springfield, MO had interrupted their regular programming to cover a tornado outbreak. The recording was from May 1, 1983.
KTTS, Springfield, MO tornado coverage from May 1, 1983.
 
All News Audacy owned stations such as WBBM, KCBS, KNX, WINS, KYW and WCBS probably most likely and WTOP Hubbard owned news stations air severe weather coverage but these are local examples and limited to within the top 10 markets.
 
Route66Fan said:
I don't know if they still do this during severe weather or not anymore.
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Since you appear to be from Missouri, here's a recent story from a station in Joplin:

When a weather event like this is upon them, says Watts, “We flip a switch and all of our stations — KIXQ, KSYN, KXDG, KJMK, and KZYM — carry the programing from our flagship station KZRG. We have the ability to reach an audience of about 200,000 people.”
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The best way to know is to listen. But here's a search of RadioInk that lists how some radio stations handled local tornadoes.

You searched for tornado - Radio Ink

radioink.com radioink.com

You can also enter "hurricane" and get a similar list. The simple answer is yes, some stations still do. Usually not all stations in a market but at least one or two will.
 
It seems stations in tornado alley typically go to severe weather coverage as conditions warrant. I have heard this in small markets like McCook, Nebraska that went wall-to-wall as a line of storms producing large hail and a few funnels if not a touchdown or two, went through the listening area. I listened about an hour with in the field reports from their listeners. It seems some listeners are certified by the National Weather Service as storm spotters. They had police, fire, city and county folks reporting what was happening at their location. The severe weather coverage had a couple of sponsors. Here and there a commercial for one of those sponsors aired. It was a two person team doing this and it was impressive. Where they did not have a report from a certain area, they asked for listeners in that area to call.

I have heard the same on a few Midwest stations during my travels in the past decade or so. Ironically, it wasn't the major market stations I was tuning in. I was off-freeway and going through the few and far between small towns. Considering the farming and ranching lifestyle, such storms could devastate the livelihood of those folks, if not put their lives at risk, so knowing what is going on is important in such areas.
 
ThePowerCow said:
Most dump into local TV coverage for a lot of "as you can see here".
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I'm told a certain radio-TV combo in Dayton Ohio has someone holding a sign when severe weather coverage is being simulcast on radio that says "Don't Forget Radio".

To answer the original question, of course.
 
When I lived for a short time in Oklahoma City, yes it was majorly important but this was in 1985 when the big am’s were still in power. The big am there went wall to wall with coverage. I can’t even remember their calls but I do remember their coverage of such. I would guess most today get phone alerts.
 
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Here in Yakima/Ellensburg? Fuggitaboutit. We don't have a lot of extreme weather, but snowstorms are often just covered during local TV newscasts just because people on this side are more used to it. Unlike Seattle stations, which take over the entire daytime lineup basically saying "OMG 2 INCHES OF SNOW STAY HOME STAY OFF THE ROADS IT'S DANGEROUS...LET'S GO TO OUR REPORTER WHO HAS A RULER MEASURING THE SNOW!" Then cue the next reporter live at Queen Anne Hill showing someone struggling to climb the hill and eventually their car starts sliding down the hill. Or kids sledding down said hill. Some of those school districts close for a quick dusting of snow. Districts around here often do 2-hour delays at the most, and only close for significant (10-12+ inches) snow, or freezing rain.

I bet North Dakota and Montana residents would laugh their butts off at how Seattle TV covers a snowstorm. Some of those videos of buses and cars sliding in previous snow events have gone viral. The most important lesson of snow driving is to go slow and especially around turns and curves. And to have snow tires!

But on May 18th, 1980, when Mount St. Helens erupted and turned Yakima into midnight pitch black ash at 10 in the morning, KIT-AM was on the air with coverage for hours and hours nonstop. KIMA-TV also broke in here and there.

Nowadays, KIMA can't be bothered to break in with any major news until 4:59PM on the dot. Last week there was a bomb threat at a local Walmart. Did KIMA break in? Nope. They waited until 5pm, as usual. Last year when the COVID pandemic began and Inslee issued stay-home orders...did KIMA show that emergency announcement live? NO! If there was ever an active shooting somewhere in Yakima with many fatalities, the freakin' NETWORK or CNN would break in before KIMA.
 
crainbebo said:
"OMG 2 INCHES OF SNOW STAY HOME STAY OFF THE ROADS IT'S DANGEROUS...LET'S GO TO OUR REPORTER WHO HAS A RULER MEASURING THE SNOW!"
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Sounds like here. You would think people could handle a small amount of snow. In Atlanta everything shut down for a half inch. Cars were stranded!
 
I remember that January 2014 Atlanta mess well. Thosuands of children were stranded at schools overnight and got to watch movies and sleep on sleeping bags...
 
crainbebo said:
Here in Yakima/Ellensburg? Fuggitaboutit. We don't have a lot of extreme weather, but snowstorms are often just covered during local TV newscasts just because people on this side are more used to it. Unlike Seattle stations, which take over the entire daytime lineup basically saying "OMG 2 INCHES OF SNOW STAY HOME STAY OFF THE ROADS IT'S DANGEROUS...LET'S GO TO OUR REPORTER WHO HAS A RULER MEASURING THE SNOW!" Then cue the next reporter live at Queen Anne Hill showing someone struggling to climb the hill and eventually their car starts sliding down the hill. Or kids sledding down said hill. Some of those school districts close for a quick dusting of snow. Districts around here often do 2-hour delays at the most, and only close for significant (10-12+ inches) snow, or freezing rain.

I bet North Dakota and Montana residents would laugh their butts off at how Seattle TV covers a snowstorm. Some of those videos of buses and cars sliding in previous snow events have gone viral. The most important lesson of snow driving is to go slow and especially around turns and curves. And to have snow tires!

But on May 18th, 1980, when Mount St. Helens erupted and turned Yakima into midnight pitch black ash at 10 in the morning, KIT-AM was on the air with coverage for hours and hours nonstop. KIMA-TV also broke in here and there.

Nowadays, KIMA can't be bothered to break in with any major news until 4:59PM on the dot. Last week there was a bomb threat at a local Walmart. Did KIMA break in? Nope. They waited until 5pm, as usual. Last year when the COVID pandemic began and Inslee issued stay-home orders...did KIMA show that emergency announcement live? NO! If there was ever an active shooting somewhere in Yakima with many fatalities, the freakin' NETWORK or CNN would break in before KIMA.
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True there are a handful of markets where a winter storm is unusual enough to create breaking news. I think these may include Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas, Oklahoma City, maybe WA DC, Seattle, Portland. In general, cities where it is not a normal occurrence but definitely still happens.
 
I know that WCCO-AM here in Minneapolis will interrupt whatever they're doing for severe weather still. They do a pretty good job of it too. They'll talk to listeners over the phone on-air and let them report what they're seeing. If there's ever serious weather I'd trust that station more than anything else
 
RomanPort said:
I know that WCCO-AM here in Minneapolis will interrupt whatever they're doing for severe weather still. They do a pretty good job of it too. They'll talk to listeners over the phone on-air and let them report what they're seeing. If there's ever serious weather I'd trust that station more than anything else
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That reminded me that somebody on YouTube uploaded about 5hrs of WCCO's coverage of the 1965 tornado outbreak which happened in the Minneapolis\St. Paul, MN area. They also uploaded about 1 & a half hours of the 1986 tornado outbreak in the Fridley/Brooklyn Park, MN area which WCCO also covered.
1965 Twin Cities Tornado Outbreak (WCCO AM 830 Coverage) Pt. 1
1965 Twin Cities Tornado Outbreak (WCCO AM 830 Coverage) Pt. 2
1965 Twin Cities Tornado Outbreak (WCCO AM 830 Coverage) Pt. 3 (Final)
1986 Fridley/Brooklyn Park, MN Tornado (WCCO Radio Coverage)
 
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seatownmedia said:
True there are a handful of markets where a winter storm is unusual enough to create breaking news. I think these may include Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas, Oklahoma City, maybe WA DC, Seattle, Portland. In general, cities where it is not a normal occurrence but definitely still happens.
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Every place I've lived a big snowfall (even a medium one) makes breaking news. I'm not sure this magic place where everyone is an expert winter driver exists, and I've lived in places with plenty of winter weather. Check out the I-675 beltway around Dayton, Ohio when a couple of inches falls. Bumper cars!
 
Route66Fan said:
I remember that KMMO in Marshall, MO used to interrupt their country music that they play to cover any severe weather that was happening in their listening area. I don't know if they still do this during severe weather or not anymore.
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I don't know if it still does wall-to-wall coverage, but, a few years ago, I was driving along I-70 to KC and got caught in a storm. I flipped on KMMO, and it was frequently interrupting programming to cover the weather. I seem to remember it would still play music, but it was mentioning the weather in-between pretty much every song. KRES 104.7 in Moberly covers severe weather quite well, too. When the tornado hit Jefferson City in 2019, KRES covered the severe storms that hit Columbia and north a few hours early, and KJEL 103.7 covered the storm that became tornadic when it was around the Lake of the Ozarks and heading through and north of Eldon. I turned it off to get ready for bed about 10 minutes before it touched down just south of Jefferson City and went through town. So, I don't know if KJEL's weather coverage stopped once the storm got out of Miller County or not.

Route66Fan said:
Also somebody on Reddit shared a recording with me where KTTS in Springfield, MO had interrupted their regular programming to cover a tornado outbreak. The recording was from May 1, 1983.
KTTS, Springfield, MO tornado coverage from May 1, 1983.
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At least a couple years ago, KTTS was still promoting itself as "The Ozarks' Weather Radio." Seems like I'd heard it added either a syndicated or company-wide night show not too long ago, but it used to be live 6 AM to midnight, and there was always someone in the building.

I've worked at both the Zimmer and the Cumulus clusters in Mid-MO. I worked at the Cumulus cluster when Premier owned it as well. Both clusters have always covered severe weather. Premier even had its own staff meteorologist, and that continued through the first few years of the Cumulus era. The Great Recession, however, put an end to that, and Cumulus just simulcasts TV audio when the weather gets bad now. I believe its TV partner is KOMU at the moment, though it's had a deal with KMIZ in the past, too. Zimmer still covers severe weather locally, or at least it did two years ago.
 
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