Stations repeat the alert about bad weather
- Jason Brewer of WESH-Channel 2 was among the meteorologists warning viewers today. Photo credit: George Skene/Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida’s television stations repeatedly warned viewers early this evening about dangerous weather.”We’ve got a lot of weather to get through,” WESH-Channel 2’s Jason Brewer said.
“We wouldn’t be on the air like this, harping on this if this weren’t important because this storm has a lot of wind, rotational energy,” WFTV-Channel 9’s Tom Terry said.
WKMG-Channel 6’s Tom Sorrells warned that the rough weather would arrive in Orlando about three hours earlier than expected, and that downtown would get the worst of it from 6 to 8 p.m.
WESH and WKMG preempted their network evening newscasts for weather. WFTV shifted Diane Sawyer to sister station WRDQQ-Channel 27.
Shortly before 6, WOFL-Channel 35’s Glenn Richards advised Volusia, Seminole and Orange viewers to stay indoors.
Central Florida News 13 showed a camera along Interstate 4 at State Road 417 shaking. Ali Turiano marveled, “Look at that camera shake. It’s unbelievable how insane the wind has been.”
Studying the red on his map at 5:55, WESH’s Brewer predicted the storm would be “a big big story not only for the next hour but the next three to four hours.”
At 6:10, WFTV relayed the news that that a car accident in the Ocala area — one was dead and two were injured — could be weather-related.
At 6:23, WOFL said the Florida Highway Patrol reported 22 accidents in Orange and Seminole counties.
WFTV’s Terry reminded viewers, “We gave you a whole lot of notice it was going to be a very busy night.” And it was 6:35.
WFTV also got a vote of confidence from viewer Paul Perez of Marion County who had taken shelter with his family in the master bedroom closet. “We were watching Channel 9,” he said. “And when we saw the updates and all that in the graph, man, we went for cover.”
WFTV anchor Martie Salt called the January storm “a very rare weather occurrence,” and Terry agreed.
WESH’s Tony Mainolfi relayed the news at 7:23 that a tornado warning for Brevard County continued until 8:15. WFTV delivered warnings to people along certain streets in Brevard.
The stations continued with weather coverage after 8 p.m. WOFL, WESH and WKMG stayed with the weather rather than cut to network programs. WFTV employed a split screen between ABC’s “No Ordinary Family” and a weather map. Shortly after the 8:15 warning ended, the stations returned to regular schedules.
At 8:10, WESH’s Mainolfi called it “a very, very busy afternoon and evening” with multiple tornado warnings.