When Severe Weather Strikes, Broadcasters Are There

January 12, 2023

When severe weather strikes, broadcasters are there for our communities with up-to-the-minute coverage on all screens, emergency alerts and information from local officials, and public service projects and connections to community resources to support recovery. Local broadcasters make significant investments in meteorology equipment and expert reporters to provide this lifesaving coverage during extreme weather events and year-round.

As severe weather storms have impacted many communities across the country in the past month, local stations have prepared viewers and listeners for potential safety hazards.

In New York City, Audacy radio station 1010 WINS covered record low temperatures with audio, crowdsourced photos and National Weather Service maps. In Atlanta, Cox Media Group station 95.5 WSB tracked incoming severe storms, estimating impacts and providing important information for listeners to keep safe. In San Jose, Calif., Fox owned-and-operated station KTVU FOX 2 kept viewers updated as multiple rounds of severe storms battered the bay area, including updates from Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state and local officials. The in-depth, personal and accurate weather coverage provided by local broadcasters is unparalleled.

When a blizzard hit Cincinnati for the first time since 1978 just before Christmas, Hearst Television station WLWT, covered the historic storm with weather updates and emergency information as well as personal stories of the storm’s impact on the holidays.

Scripps Local Media station ABC 7 WKBW in Buffalo, N.Y., demonstrates local broadcasters’ commitment to seeing their communities through the long-term recovery from natural disasters with their ongoing and in-depth coverage of December’s blizzard. Recent stories including a memoriam of the victims of the blizzard and pieces looking at the ongoing impact of the blizzard on the local economy.

As Americans’ most-trusted news source, local broadcasters are committed to providing reliable safety information to their communities. Gray Television’s WDAM 7 in Pine Belt, Miss., shared tips from their local fire department on handling water wrecks after flooding in their area.