Why the News on 6 provides severe weather coverage

Last week's severe weather storms kept the News on 6 Warn Team and news crews quite busy. <br><br>Our wall-to-wall coverage also kept most of you from watching your favorite CBS shows. And many of

Tuesday, April 27th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Last week's severe weather storms kept the News on 6 Warn Team and news crews quite busy.

Our wall-to-wall coverage also kept most of you from watching your favorite CBS shows. And many of you have asked why we pre-empt shows like Survivor and CSI? News on 6 reporter Patrina Adger explains.

When ominous clouds are looming and tornadoes seem obvious, storm chasers are in the field. "Yea, it's been on the ground off and on for the last 15 minutes." And the News on 6 Weather Warn Team is in the studio keeping viewers updated on the latest in severe weather. Where it is, when it will hit and where it's going next.

Sometimes our meteorologists cut-in during commercials to bring you that information, but during storm season, there are events that require us to go wall-to-wall with our coverage, which can sometimes interrupt your favorite CBS programming.

Last week the News on 6 received a number of calls from viewers unhappy about the preemption of Thursday's episode of Survivor. News on 6 Chief Meteorologist Jim Giles says it's not an easy decision to do so, but when so many lives are at stake, it's deemed necessary. "Programming will not be cut unless we're talking about a tornadic storm or potentially tornadic storm or just a tremendous wind storm that's causing damage as a tornado would."

With more than a million viewers in 40 Oklahoma counties including some in Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas, the federal government which regulates us, requires us to provide local news and information to all who live there, especially if the severe weather has the potential to be deadly.

And if you live in an area where the News on 6 is your only source of communication, it's crucial information that could save your life. Take Washington County resident Jeannie Gillilant for example. "They predicted the tornado was going to hit at 6:18, this clock came off of the wall off the west end of the house. We're gonna present this to Jim because had it not been for what we saw on TV, it would have caught us completely off guard."