[Speed Gibson,
Monday September 18, 2006 at 12:08am]
Rogers aftermath
An F2 tornado, perhaps all but invisible in the darkness, ripped through Rogers, Minnesota last night around 10 pm. The storm built quickly and moved quickly, close to 50 miles per hour per the National Weather Service (NWS).
Sadly, there was a fatality, and two more hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. There simply was no warning, no real reason to believe it more than a thunderstorm. By the time the NWS saw it, it was already over, too late to sound the sirens or raise the alert levels. We saw virtually nothing at our house, no wind, hardly any rain perhaps 15 miles away.
WCCO-AM went into its live coverage mode that night as it always does, and does so well. I remember them a year ago when our area got hit, downing thousands of trees. With the power out, it was all we had, and this was a reminder of how much we appreciated it then.
KSTP-TV did an hour this morning, commercial free, with I thought was also done really well, with three reporters live in the area, a helicopter overhead, and solid anchor and weather performances. KSTP has been my local news channel of choice for several years now, and they did not disappoint today, doing a story they needn't have done and made no money doing. It was too late to make the Sunday papers, so it was timely and needed.
With all the criticism we bloggers like to dish out to media outlets like these two, I think it's doubly important to thank them for when they go out of their way to help us all get through the night, see what happened and where help is needed.
So again, thank you WCCO and KSTP for always being there when we need you most.
Sadly, there was a fatality, and two more hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. There simply was no warning, no real reason to believe it more than a thunderstorm. By the time the NWS saw it, it was already over, too late to sound the sirens or raise the alert levels. We saw virtually nothing at our house, no wind, hardly any rain perhaps 15 miles away.
WCCO-AM went into its live coverage mode that night as it always does, and does so well. I remember them a year ago when our area got hit, downing thousands of trees. With the power out, it was all we had, and this was a reminder of how much we appreciated it then.
KSTP-TV did an hour this morning, commercial free, with I thought was also done really well, with three reporters live in the area, a helicopter overhead, and solid anchor and weather performances. KSTP has been my local news channel of choice for several years now, and they did not disappoint today, doing a story they needn't have done and made no money doing. It was too late to make the Sunday papers, so it was timely and needed.
With all the criticism we bloggers like to dish out to media outlets like these two, I think it's doubly important to thank them for when they go out of their way to help us all get through the night, see what happened and where help is needed.
So again, thank you WCCO and KSTP for always being there when we need you most.