If you live in tornado-country, what you watch on TV could kill you

[SoCalDem]

Yesterday I watched a man being interviewed by John King (CNN) and King asked him twice if he had truly had no warning. Each time he replied that he was "just watching TV", and there was NO warning on his TV about the storm.

"TV" is not like it used to be. If this man had been watching some cable show, that was being sent through his satellite or cable provider, there would probably BE no "warning" since it's all canned/pre-packaged programming.

If you are not watching a "news" station or a variation on a "local" station, you will not GET "warnings", unless maybe it's a nuclear attack.

There was a lawsuit years ago about how Clear Channel had taken over all the local radio stations and a whole town was ravaged by a tornado that no one even knew about because there was no local radio to even report on it (the power had gone out so there was no TV, and everyone tuned into the local radio station without realizing that all they were getting was some pre-recorded "shows".

So unless you have a special weather radio that;s always on, it might be dangerous to watch "Law & Order" reruns or Ice Road Truckers or an other cable channel stuff while it's stormy outside..

[Drale]

1. With U-Verse if there any any watches or warnings issued

it flashes across the screen with a loud alert, no matter what channel your watching.

[hedda_foil]

19. Comcast has very loud audio and visual alerts on all channels

I don't like them, but they do issue all the weather alerts.

[Capitalocracy]

28. Well, if Comcast is doing it

then legislation to force other companies to do it would meet little opposition, I would think.

[toddwv]

83. Yeah, I agree.

They are always testing the "emergency broadcast system". It is annoying, comes at annoying times but I understand that it is necessary and think that it should be mandated if it isn't already.

The alert klaxon that they use is like an alarm clock from your worst dreams...

[murielm99]

2. I had a local station on Sunday night.

A tornado did touch down a mile away from me.

Anyway, the conditions became so dangerous right at the station that the meteorologists and the rest of the TV staff took cover and returned to regular programming.

I did not know that cable didn't interrupt for warnings and watches. Do they at least put warnings on the bottom of the screen?

[kenny blankenship]

3. I don't know the law, but it seems there USED to be some FCC requirements on cable providers

which mandated them to carry Emergency Broadcast System alerts in a chyron crawl at the top or bottom of the TV screen along with obnoxious warning tones.

Where is the FCC these days? Seems to me we won an election some ways back there... Did this "onerous regulation" get formally retired, or is it just being neglected in Missouri?

[Fumesucker]

7. The FCC?

They're about to approve a merger of DirectTV and Dish Network, one that Bush's FCC thought was anticompetitive.

There's a thread about it here on GD somewhere.

[rurallib]

12. Damn it - no wonder I can't get any service from DISH

Last time I talked to them I told them I was seriously thinking of moving to direct-tv.
No wonder they didn't care.

[Aerows]

73. HAM radio and the Internet will tell you more

than a local news channels dares. That's what it has come down to - telling facts on the ground has become under surveillance, because it goes against the narrative.

I never believed my own country would be against journalism, but we are. We got sucked into the paranoia of a "war on terror" and a "war on drugs" and we gave our freedom away.

[Fumesucker]

74. You and I know that..

But most people still get their nooz from the tee vee..

[pstokely]

16. Could be a city cable franchise requirement?

nt

[MrsBrady]

4. the only reason I turn the tv on is when the weather is bad

no cable, etc. here.

but when it's going to storm I check NOAA.gov and local newscasts to see if there is hail confirmed or rotation spotted.

[PsychGrad]

5. If you have text messaging...

You can, for free, get warnings on your phone of severe weather. I am signed up, and actually just got a warning for severe thunderstorms. I live in Missouri, near KC, and tornado alley is an understatement. I have unlimited texts, so I have the free service. That way, I am ALWAYS in the know. weatherusa.net is priceless.

[CreekDog]

36. that's called OPT-IN...well what if you don't OPT-IN?

SOL?

[xmas74]

50. I also live near KC

and I've opted in to the sheriff's dept, the school district, and the university's text update service. All are free to anyone interested.

The university sent one out about a subject check some time ago, the sheriff's department sends them all the time for everything, and the schools definitely worked last winter with school closings.

[JaneQPublic]

6. Many communities in the midwest have tornado sirens.

When I was living in central Illinois (1958-1989), there was a distinct siren for tornadoes, another for air raids, and in those communities with volunteer fire departments a third for fires.

Everyone knew what each signal meant and where to go for each.

[KamaAina]

30. Joplin has nine sirens

they're testing them today before the next round of storms hits. :scared:

[SoCalDem]

31. The night we had THREE tornadoes, the sirens started going off

AFTER the 3rd tornado had moved on.. I think someone lost their job over than fiasco:)

[xmas74]

51. that's a smart thing to do.

We've already had one warning in my county today and it's traveling south. If that nastiness I saw today picks up it'll be bad by the time it makes it there.

[snooper2]

8. pops up on my tv no matter what I watch, Verizon FIOS

also we have sirens everywhere. Shit, you can hear them when you are going down 190 at 80mph..along with the voice "seek shelter"

paid for conservatives/teabaggers who are the majority in Plano

[SoCalDem]

10. The tornado sirens for my community were RIGHT NEXT TO OUR HOUSE

and every other Tuesday they tested them at 2:30 PM... that was "No-Nap-Day":rofl:

[snooper2]

29. damn, at least it's only the first Wed. of every month at noon here

:P

[xmas74]

52. First Wednesday at 10 am here.

And they are the sirens that also talk, telling you what is happening. I guess that's so everyone doesn't think the base is under attack or something.

[AsahinaKimi]

39. We have an air raid siren that goes off exactly at 12 noon every day

Its pretty far away, and I can barely hear it. If ever there were a Tsunami warning for the West Coast, I doubt I would ever hear it, unless I am outside. I don't know what else they would use it for.. Incoming Nuclear weapons? Invasion force of Space Ships? Does no good for earthquakes, (unpredictable) and We never have Twisters or Cyclones. Maybe if Godzilla walked on shore...

[Brigid]

78. When I lived in Indianapolis,

The sirens went off every Friday at 11:30 am. It was funny to be out on the street and see the out-of-towners look baffled because they recognized the sound but saw nothing but sunny skies! :rofl:

[bainz]

11. Hey snooper

I was about to post the same thing, neighbor. We have sirens and if we have power, the local news stations do pretty good coverage. The cable company will also pop up an alert on the box, even if the tv is off, to let us know something is going down.

Maybe the guy interviewed in the OP was watching an OTA channel with no live coverage.

[KittyWampus]

9. Can't recommend your thread enough. This is an important issue for me. Radio is the same.

Bought up by Christian funded groups and Clear Channel.

[tridim]

13. There is really no excuse these days to not be proactive about approaching severe weather

There is weather information available everywhere now, more than enough to OD on.

[a la izquierda]

14. Hmm, that's weird...

if there's a tornado warning in my area, even if we're watching cable, the emergency broadcast signal interrupts everything. But see here's the catch. We have satellite service, which is STUPID in Oklahoma, because it cuts out all the time when the weather is bad.
This has pretty much been a non-issue for us. My husband and I have become huge weather junkies, so when the weather gets crazy...like today, we'll turn off the tubes, and watch the local news on our laptop, plugged into the TV. That way, if the satellite goes out, we still have access to info, until the electricity goes out. And then we switch to the radio on either our phones or our actual radio.

[pstokely]

15. Some cable systems will interrupt the audio for warnings, even on local channels

must a dish watcher

[Critters2]

17. I have The Weather Channel's Notify phone service, but it wasn't functioning Sunday night.

I was surprised to hear we had a Severe Thunderstorm Watch, and I hadn't gotten a call. Checked their Facebook page, and I wasn't the only one. Made me realize that it's a good idea to have multiple sources of info when the weather seems threatening.

[Coyote_Bandit]

18. The local TV here

provides storm coverage for their entire viewing area.

The people who live in the metropolitan area where these stations are located complain at length about storm coverage outside the metro area. They need to frickin get over it - and realize that broadcast they are complaining about may be the only warning others have of approaching storms.

Having lived in the middle of nowhere their complaints are a pet peeve of mine.

[Pacifist Patriot]

20. That's odd because my cable provider broadcasts local weather alerts...

on all channels local or otherwise. I've seem them on GOL, the Food Network and even while watching a show on demand. And I'm in an area that gets at least one alert a month.

It's an important issue. I hope there comes a point where all cable and satellite providers are as accommodating as mine appears to be.

[Skidmore]

21. Our local teevee channels will stay with developing severe weather stories

but if you have satellite, you will eventually lose coverage to rain fade. So you go to AM radio, also a dying media.

[sinkingfeeling]

22. I live 70 some miles below Joplin. Our cable company must have broken into programming on all

250+ channels at least 20 times Sunday night with tornado warnings and watches.

[SoCalDem]

25. That;s good to know.. Maybe that guy was watrching something he had recorded

I was amazed that John King did not probe this further.

[proud2BlibKansan]

48. Same here and I am 150 miles north of Joplin

[catabryna]

23. I used to get them on Time Warner when I lived in Texas... all stations

I commented when I moved here to Oregon that if there were an actual emergency here, we'd never know it because the programming is all canned. In fact, until about a month ago, I'd never even heard a complete test of the EBS on the radio. They would start the test, go through a couple of seconds of the alert tones, but never complete it with the words "This completes this test..."

Not much happens up here, but the alert is supposed to be for more than just weather events.

[RainDog]

24. everyone who lives in tornado country should have a battery-operated radio

public radio for a community is the best source of information about local weather warnings.

my town has a siren system that is also effective - and we are fortunate to have both public radio and a local community radio station.

with tornadoes, a lot of people lose electricity and living in tornado country means living with flashlights, batteries and the capacity to get information when the power shuts down. (I also like having gas rather than electric heat for the same reason - plus gas cooks better.)

while I'm not in Missouri - yesterday strong winds from that front came up fairly suddenly here - and not even for that long of a time - but the winds were strong enough that nearly 10k people lost electricity from about 20 minutes of heavy winds. we don't generally see tornadoes here (knock on wood) b/c it's hilly here and full of trees - but those trees also knock down power lines. today I counted 15 of those huge electrical co. trucks on a 3 mile drive on residential roads.

I'm fortunate that I live in a liberal enclave in a conservative state - we have people who volunteer to help keep people informed and public radio reminds people to visit their hearing impaired neighbors and those with disabilities that might make it hard to take shelter.

[postatomic]

26. Amber Alerts are quite common on cable

And tornado warnings are broadcast with distinct sirens and a 'voice'. Our emergency warning in this country is pretty good IMO.

There is also the weather itself. If someone wants to watch the conclusion of Dancing on a Bar and ignores the warnings, well......

Yes, TV will kill you. But it usually isn't because of impending tornado doom.

[MicaelS]

27. Weather radios are inexpensive

Cable, satellite, internet, landline and cell phones can all do down. Isn't you life worth $20?

http://www.radioshack.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2032069&s=A-StorePrice-RSK

[CreekDog]

37. what if i'm at somebody's house

weather radio at home, but not elsewhere.

too bad for me if i'm not at home?

[MicaelS]

40. Not at all

They have pocket, handheld and combo flashlight and weather radios.

Here's one. http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3514759

[CreekDog]

46. so i have to make sure every place i'm at has them?

:shrug:

you're totally missing the point of having automatic emergency messages appear on people's cable, no matter the channel they are watching.

[MicaelS]

81. You are missing the point...

What happens to people that don't have cable? Or Satellite? What happens if the power fails? This is like simply having an emergency flashlight.

[LanternWaste]

42. I imagine you posses every known life-saving item that cost $20.00, yes?

I imagine you posses every known life-saving item that cost $20.00, yes?

Or "isn't you life worth $20...?"

[MicaelS]

82. How many life saving devices cost $20? Let's see...

Flashlight? Fire extinguisher? Battery powered weather radio? Yes, I have all three.

[EnviroBat]

32. We got hit with a serious storm here last night in central Ohio.

I haven't seen weather so vicious in my entire life. It hit so fast, and the rain was so heavy and violent. I can't imagine the horror of a tornado rushing in that fast. I don't recall much of any warning about it. Girlfriend just packed up her truck to move stuff to my house, and WHAM! Black sky, and sideways rain. Almost blew us off the road. Something is seriously f%&*ked with this weather lately...

[RebelOne]

33. I have Comcast cable and no matter what I am watching,

there is usually a crawl at the bottom of the screen warning of severe weather.

[malaise]

34. It's an important point but we always have local radio on

during hurricane season.

[Zoeisright]

35. In Minnesota, Charter interrupts ALL cable channels when there's a storm warning.

As it should.

But I'm willing to bet that in Missouri and other parts of the country, laws that would require that type of warning are considered "intrusive government".

On edit: It's always every citizen's responsibility to keep informed about weather risks. When a tornado or really bad weather is approaching, there are always significant indicators. Stay alert when a tornado or severe thunderstorm watch is issued. Watch the skies. There's really no excuse for not being prepared.

[xmas74]

54. I have Charter in Missouri

and you can't shut them up if a storm is anywhere near you.

I lived in another county with Time-Warner and they cut in, as did the local that was owned before TW bought them out. In another town I had Galaxy and they also cut in, scrambling the picture and blaring a loud siren so you would sit up and pay attention. All were in Missouri.

[CoffeeCat]

38. Something similar happened to us last weekend...

We were watching a movie in cable, and all of a sudden the winds picked up terribly. Our patio umbrella
went airborne and our front door blew open. We looked outside and it looked like a tornado. However, it
was just a bad storm with incredibly high winds. This was no small thing...we lost two 60-foot poplar
trees.

Didn't hear ONE thing about it, and we switched channels to local news--on which there were warnings issued.

I would consider this a HUGE problem. Cable companies should have some way of alerting people about local
storms. They should do screen crawls, just like the local channels do. This really needs to happen, because
it is dangerous.

Then again, this would probably cost the corporations money--so never mind. We all know profits are tantamount
to human lives in this country. I can't think of any politician who has the integrity and the courage to
take on the *gasp* cable companies!

[CBGLuthier]

41. Actually, our cable systems broadcast the alerts too

At least in Oklahoma City the cable system will tell you to tune to a local channel and also a cable channel for news. It is a very annoying sound and overlay that nobody could miss.

We also know, here in Oklahoma, to keep an eye on the weather at all times. Especially during the season. And we have really big ass tornado sirens all across our city. Nearest one to my house is 600 feet.

[southernyankeebelle]

43. I know when it gets dangerous to tune in to the local stations not the cable channels.

[lunatica]

44. Cable can target ads to each location it 'serves'

But I guess it's too much to ask it to do any public service and emergency announcements for each location.

[jeff47]

45. Time Warner cable will show the warnings no matter what channel you're watching

And if you happen to own a TiVo, it will stop whatever you're watching to show the warning.

[proud2BlibKansan]

47. That's not true

When the sirens go off there is a warning that runs across the screen on the TV. We had sirens here Sat night and I was watching HBO and a warning came across the screen.

[xmas74]

49. EAS cuts in to my cable

every time there is a warning in my county or any surrounding county.

The exact message is a long, loud, sharp, beep, with a scrambled screen. When the beep stops a hurried voice then says "The Emergency Alert System has been activated. Repeat, the Emergency Alert has been activated. Immediately tune in to Channel 18 for further information. Repeat, the Emergency Alert has been activated. Tune in to Channel 18 for NOAA updates." The screen then shows a screencap of channel 18 and will not allow you to turn the channel until the minute time of sending the alert is up.

If you have a cable box the channel read even says "EAS". It doesn't matter what station you are watching since it cuts through the entire cable system.

[proud2BlibKansan]

53. We were talking about this at work today

The problem is that we are all so used to the weather here that we ignore the sirens. There were about 6 of us talking today and every single one of us admitted hearing the sirens here on Sat night but not going to the basement. A lot of us go outside when the sirens go off.

I am guessing that's what happened in Joplin. All the reports I've heard said they had 20 minutes warning. That's really plenty of time to get to a basement. The folks I feel sorriest for are the ones in that Home Depot and WalMart. Did the store give them any warning? And if they did, did they even have a place to put everyone?

[xmas74]

56. I take my kid and the puppy outside to the cellar

and then sit in a lawn chair until my friends get here. We all get their kids in the cellar and then one stays down with them, allowing the rest of us to stay outside and watch it.

It's dumb but it's the old-school way of dealing with it.

[proud2BlibKansan]

57. Hubby goes outside with binoculars

I stay inside with the dog.

[xmas74]

59. Before I had the kid

I was very stupid. A friend took auto body courses at a nearby community college, another auto mechanics, and another worked in a glass shop. We all got together once and put in money on a beat up pick up, fixed it up to decent running order, and put plexiglass windows in it. (My job was to break up arguments, make beer runs, and call for pizza while the truck was in repair mode.)

Once the truck was done we decided we'd take it storm chasing. My job was to hold the weather radio on my lap while sitting on another person's lap, give directions (since I'm good at that) and to also videotape everything. (I was the only one with a camcorder at the time.) Yeah-kids in their early twenties tend to be dumb.

[pstokely]

70. If tornado is seen in one part a county, the whole county gets a tornado warning

The tornado may not actually be near them, and some may just totally ignore the weather. A lot of loca TV weatherpeople also cry wolf for ratings. I don't pay much attention until my weather radio goes off.

[proud2BlibKansan]

80. The TV folks are crazy

They need to run a message across the bottom of the screen and quit interrupting shows every time it rains.

[hobbit709]

55. Time-warner cable here flashes severe weather warnings on ALL channels.

[Mr. Jefferson]

58. You've gotta wonder how people survived before TV.

[uppityperson]

60. What if I'm reading a book with the tv off? What if I don't have a tv?

I guess books could kill you also?

[SoCalDem]

63. Well, I guess you can rub Buddha's belly & kiss a shamrock

& hope for the best :rofl:

or live in earthquake country like I do:)

I'm a native Kansan so I have a healthy respect for tornadoes..they are the worst "disaster" in my estimation

I've been in a hurricane or two, 2 flash floods, several blizzards, 5 earthquakes, & been way too close to our crazy wildfires..and tornadoes are the scariest..especially the night-time ones..

[pstokely]

71. No matter what, get a weather radio

nt

[uppityperson]

76. Indeed. My folks in upper mid-west had one, even with sirens all around, the weather radio was

a necessity.

[fishwax]

61. doesn't the Emergency Alert System broadcast across all channels?

I thought it was required of all broadcast and cable systems. I know I've received alerts that way from various cable and broadcast providers. I'm not sure if it interrupts DVR--I know it interrupts Video On Demand because that has happened to me ...

[SoCalDem]

64. according to the comments in this thread and what that guy experienced, it seems like some do

and some may not:shrug:

I guess a good rule of thumb would be when it starts raining hard & the wind kicks up, turn off that recorded movie or umpteenth re-running of Law & Order episode 114, and tune into the weather channel... and turn on your radio:)

[JonLP24]

65. I know about a year ago(maybe more)

We had a rare tornado watch and I saw that mentioned during the regularly scheduled local news program but once the news show was over there was no more updates. I had to go to NOAA.gov to watch for updates. There was a tornado warning and nothing came across the TV. However it was very brief and the tornado cloud(or whatever it was called at the time) moved northeast out of city limits.

I live where they rarely occur so I guess they don't have a reliable system in place for that kind of thing here.

[SoCalDem]

67. Out here the only thing they break in for are fires & floods

earthquakes happen so fast & then they are over..

I do not miss tornado country (Kansas & Indiana).. I spent way too many evenings huddled in a spider-infested basement with sweaty babies , a yowling cat & a whining dog.. as we all scrunched in the knee space of a big desk...in the dark ..listening to a static-ky radio telling us how many were on the ground withing a 5 mile radius..:scared:

[Horse with no Name]

62. Yes. Right now we switched from cable programming to local TV

We have some bad stuff moving through and I don't want to get caught up in it.

[Pithlet]

66. It may depend on the provider. My cable did alert us no matter what channel we were on.

But now that we have satellite we don't get alerts. We change to a local channel if the weather gets severe. ETA we have a weather radio and have subscribed to a service that alerts us by phone.

[Aerows]

68. It's not a coincidence that AM radio

Is the channel people use in a disaster.

Katrina soured me on regular reporting - most people have no idea what it was like for those of us who endured it, they just got sold a bale of goods by the media.

Katrina is what changed my mind about reporting in this country - we have none. I was there, and I lived it.

[SoCalDem]

69. Many cities no longer even have a truly "local" station anymore

We used to have something called "Krick Weather Central" (not sure of the spelling) and that's what we all tuned into in Kansas.. They did a pretty good job of warning people in the path..

[TNLib]

72. I have a local fiber optic (cable) provider so we get warnings

So happy we got rid of comcast.

[Liberal_in_LA]

75. Cable tv in Los angeles is alway showing warnings - scrolling across show

warnings about flood dangers of all things.

[Brigid]

77. I got caught off-guard this way a couple of weeks ago.

I was watching cable TV (I forget what) when a really bad storm blew in. It was dark, so I couldn't see what the sky really looked like. Very soon it became apparent that this was not just an ordinary thunderstorm, I switched to the Weather Channel. Only then did I learn we had a tornado warning going on. That was scary, to say the least..

[icymist]

79. A good weather radio with an alert button would cure that.

Here's one I found from C.Craine:
http://www.ccrane.com/radios/wind-up-emergency-radios/cc-observer-wind-up-emergency-radio.aspx?ProdEDP=14885

It has a wind up ability in case of power failure. The weather radio has an alert, which sounds a siren when warnings are issued. And it's affordable.