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Lawrence tornado part of KC TV weather debate

¢ The tornado that hit southwest Lawrence in 2003 is becoming part of a debate over which Kansas City television station is most accurate when it comes to weather coverage. You can read about the debate in today's Kansas City Star.

But (Katie) Horner (meteorologist for KCTV-5) can also turn into a ferociously protective she-bear. When asked about WeatheRate, an independent firm that has for years certified KSHB's Gary Lezak as Kansas City's "most accurate forecaster," she coolly replied:

"I'm not going to name any names, but I think about Lawrence, Kansas" - a reference to May 8, 2003, when a storm caused extensive damage in southwest Lawrence - "and I think about a meteorologist who claims credibility and accuracy going on the air and saying, 'Lawrence, you're not going to get hit by this tornado,' as they were being hit by that tornado.

"And I think, how could anybody claim credibility when they just missed that? When lives are at risk, that's all that matters."

"Let the numbers speak for themselves," Lezak replied in an e-mail. "We have been No. 1 in forecasting accuracy four years in a row now."

By Terry Rombeck

May 3, 2007

Lawrence in the News

Discussion

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3 May 2007
at 9:47 a.m.

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prospector (Anonymous) says…

Katie gets the claws out! Hissssss
3 May 2007
at 10 a.m.

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BLITZED (Anonymous) says…

I was watching Miss Horner's forecast on the day of this storm. We were living on the East side of town near K10 highway, and she brought up the path of the storm. which by her judgement was heading directly for us. Little did she know that there were 2 portions of K10 highway in Lawrence.
We usually watch Mr. Lezak at nights, and if he says one more time, “this is going to be a tricky forecast” I may pursue a career in weather journalism. I can get in front of viewers every night and preface my forecast with that, and as long as I am right 80% of the time I will still be employed.
3 May 2007
at 10:04 a.m.

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trinity (Anonymous) says…

rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, katie tornadie! sheesh, chill out girl! maybe you'd best go put on your bike helmet, northface down jacket, and hunker down under a heavy workbench in the basement; it's gonna get raggedy out there! :)

hey hey hey here, what about don harman and mike thompson?? THEY rule the weather scene, in my book!
3 May 2007
at 10:07 a.m.

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KsTwister (Anonymous) says…

The tornado at Baldwin last week was almost on the ground, no warnings at the time on the National Weather alert radios, or the media!!!! My son took picures as he called us to let us know. Kind of reclasses all those “micro-bursts” whose definitions are really “we missed this one”.
3 May 2007
at 10:22 a.m.

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formerlyKS (Anonymous) says…

Doesn't matter about KC TV “meteorologists.” The National Weather Service is the only official source for public warnings, and it is the Topeka office that has responsibility for Douglas county, not KC.
3 May 2007
at 10:26 a.m.

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Centrist (Anonymous) says…

I think Katie does a great job. If people don't like her, they can change channels or switch off.

Simple!
3 May 2007
at 10:28 a.m.

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Agnostick (Anonymous) says…

Katie Horner is a lens-hogging show pony. Not surprising, though, considering the sensationalist, “it-leads-if-it-bleeds” P.O.S. of a station she works for. Once in a while, we turn on KCTV if we really need a good laugh. You'll see more people standing out in the dark in their first five minutes than you see costumed children on Halloween Night. And the kids are generally more intelligent.

But I digress…

We still laugh about the one Sunday afternoon last year—maybe in September or August—when KC metro got hit with a really nasty storm system. The weekend weather dude cut into regular programming (NFL football, I think) to keep on top of things. We were watching something else, but occasionally peeked in on the KC stations. KCTV's weather dude was really plugging along, doing a rather admirable job of staying afloat in one of these massive “weather alerts.”

Fifteen minutes later, we flip back, “weather guy” is still there. 30 minutes, an hour, he's still going. Maybe another 15-20 minutes pass, and we check back in… and Weather Dude is gone, replaced by Katie. Katie is dressed for the occasion:

* jeans
* white v-neck t-shirt
* ball cap (mercifully, with the bill facing forward)

*Maybe* she was honestly trying to give Weather Dude a break, so he could catch up on things, get ready for his upcoming newscast, etc. But we felt Katie's attire was a cry for attention. “look at me!! i was out having fun someplace, and I am *so committed* to this weather situation, I didn't even take *five minutes* to change into decent attire.”

:rolleyes:

Katie stayed on the air for at least another hour. Sounds like showboating to me.

Agnostick
agnostick@excite.com
http://www.uscentrist.org
3 May 2007
at 10:30 a.m.

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trinity (Anonymous) says…

hah, that was a fun little sashay down memory lane! went&read the KC star&some of the blogging re katie; and by golly if the whole furor about a thread about something totally different was high jacked by horner talk! and two absolutely stellar posters started the whole thing, lol! :)

awww centrist, i can't help myself; i'm stuck at home with a computer, tv, and little to do; i agree with you, that is why i either get my info from NOAA or watch mike thompson-depending on which is still working due to the storm, dish tv or the computer.
3 May 2007
at 10:40 a.m.

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acg (Anonymous) says…

I remember that day agnostic. My hubby and I always get a good chuckle out of Katie “runforyourlife” Horner. I was annoyed because they were continually interrupting that night's programming and the storm wasn't even that bad, and then, just as you said, here comes Katie in her weekend “at home” wear, to keep us abreast of the “latest developments” and basically annoy us all night long with inane chatter about weather related BS no one cares about. What a drama queen!!
3 May 2007
at 10:46 a.m.

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The_Original_Bob (Anonymous) says…

Blitzed… My favorite Lezakism is, “we are in an odd/weird/abnormal weather pattern.” According to him, weather in this area hasn't been normal in the 4 years or so that I've paid attention to him.

www.firekatie.com

I think fire anybody sites are basically lame and designed by schmucks. But, for some reason the Star didn't actuallly report what the website was in their little puff piece. I don't think she should be fired. She's an entertainer… and it's pure comedy everytime. I actually got over how ridiculously bad she is and decided just to enjoy the show. If something serious actually does appear to be happening, I generally find myself watching Lezak.
3 May 2007
at 10:52 a.m.

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FreetoBe47 (Anonymous) says…

Agnostick,

I guess your name says it all doesn't it? Personally, of all the news stations I would rely on Channel Five before anyone else. One job I would not want to have is that of a weather person. If you say its going to rain and the sun is shining people are mad, if you say the sun will be shining and it rains people are mad. A weather person can only do the best they can with the radar and the information given to them by the national weather service.
3 May 2007
at 10:58 a.m.

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FreetoBe47 (Anonymous) says…

You people are sick!!! Boob are Bob or whatever your name is just remember what comes around goes around!!!
3 May 2007
at 11 a.m.

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The_Original_Bob (Anonymous) says…

“A weather person can only do the best they can with the radar and the information given to them by the national weather service”

It would be nice if that were true. It's not. Each station has their own forecasting equipment. Both Katie and Gary are guilty of ignoring NWS statements. Katie invented a tornado in Overland Park about 3 years ago (resulting in the infamous Mike T. smackdown on his blog) and Gary mocked the Tornado Warnings last week basically saying it was impossible for a tornado because the conditions weren't right.

If there is ever a doubt, go to www.weather.gov which is the official source of all warnings, watches, etc…
3 May 2007
at 11:53 a.m.

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SouthernBelle (Anonymous) says…

Katie Tornadie - what a hoot. I agree with most of you here. She is quite the “drama comedian”.
In our home, Don Harmon is the weather king. His forcasts are typically fairly reliable. But more importantly, he is genuinely funny.
3 May 2007
at 12:17 p.m.

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oscarfactor (Anonymous) says…

This hullaballoo has nothing to do with weather, or accurate weather forecasting.

It's all about tv ratings, folks, and about the money generated through ad sales tied directly to a tv station's weather coverage.

Kudos to Katie and KCTV. They have cornered the market in KC on excitable weather/storm coverage including the famous “put bike helmets on your kids and head to the basement” statement, or the heat of the battle shriek “is that a BABY in Brush Creek?” as a TV cam live shot showed (what turned out to be) a piece of wood. I think it is also telling that Katie's “real” college degree is in PR and marketing, with some second rate meterological degree from the “Columbia School of Weather Forecasting” or some such nonsense.

If you want to be entertained, then turn on the TV during storm coverage and watch one of the weather buffoons/buffoonettes. If you want important weather coverage, spend $29.95 plus tax and purchase one of those weather radios.
3 May 2007
at 12:29 p.m.

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The_Original_Bob (Anonymous) says…

“”is that a BABY in Brush Creek?”“

I forgot about that. That's rich.
3 May 2007
at 12:34 p.m.

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ranger73 (Anonymous) says…

I believe Kevin Keitzman on WHB810 summed up the whole thing in general when he started referring to all the TV meterologists as “groundhogs” basically guessing (albeit educated guessing) and referring to Katie Hurricane, since she is usually the one to predict the worst possible outcome of one cloud in the sky.

Lately the best forecasts (most accurate) have come from our local station and Jennifer Schack and company…

I still tend to refer to the rope out on the porch. If it's wet it raining, if it's moving it windy, if it's white it snowing…
3 May 2007
at 12:43 p.m.

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Gareth (Anonymous) says…

Well, ya know – Dan Henry said it would be like this.
3 May 2007
at 1:27 p.m.

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acg (Anonymous) says…

“Is that a baby in brush creek?” That's hysterical. I had forgotten all about that! Thanks, Oscar, for the reminder. I needed a good guffaw this afternoon.
3 May 2007
at 1:30 p.m.

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ohjayhawk (Anonymous) says…

T_O_B - You are completely right. Meteorologists/weather personalities have many tools at their disposal for making their own forecasts. In fact, those who go by what the NWS says are called “rip and read” forecasters, and are generally looked down upon. The only thing they should be ripping and reading from the NWS are watches, warnings, etc.

oscarfactor - I believe the actual name of the school is the “Columbia House School of Weather Forecasting”… for $9.99 you get 5 degrees as long as you agree to buy 3 more degrees at regular price in the next 12 months.

It's been over 10 years since I've lived in KS, but being meteorology majors, my roomate and I watch a LOT of weather people while out there. My favorite was always Brian Busby. The most alarmist statement I remember while out there was one made by Austyn Onick (sp?) who actually used the phrase “you WILL die!!!!” once.
3 May 2007
at 1:58 p.m.

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KU_cynic (Anonymous) says…

The funniest thing I remember about the 2003 Lawrence tornado was that the channel 6 news anchors — broadcasting from downtown Lawrence — left their desks and took cover, making viewers have to switch to Topeka or KC-based TV stations to get coverage (which included live shots from a trailing helicopter, in one case). Way to go channel 6!
3 May 2007
at 2:14 p.m.

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FreetoBe47 (Anonymous) says…

KU_cynic,

Good point that is real responsible broadcasting taking cover under a desk. The rest of you people are just bitter and hateful and need a life or something better to do with your time than running down others.
3 May 2007
at 3:02 p.m.

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trinity (Anonymous) says…

ah, i *so* miss being able to get topeka television stations on my satellite! now THERE'S some interesting weather reporting when the skies become threatening, lemme tell ya!

i'm running down no one; i cannot operate a motor vehicle at this time. i'd have to walk them down or something.
3 May 2007
at 3:26 p.m.

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RonBurgandy (Anonymous) says…

TOB - I love the comment on firekatie.com.
3 May 2007
at 3:32 p.m.

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mike_blur (Mike Blur) says…

The best media coverage of a storm (any storm) to actually hit Lawrence? I'm not kidding folks—it's Klown 1320 radio. They pull out all available staff to report from the field; have trained spotters they call on as well, and open up the airwaves to regular folks to call in with their reports. You get people on the spot calling in reports like “avoid 23rd and Ousdahl” waaay before any TV station even attempts to report it; and you even get people calling in offering their basements as shelter.

I regularly listened to Klown Radio whenever I was delivering pizzas through severe weather events. Got me through just fine.

Katie Horner always has the bloodiest red radars of any weather forecaster I've ever seen. She is the only OCM (on-camera meteorologist) I know of to regularly employ purple—the color “beyond” red—in her radars. There's been many times I've been smack dab in a middle of a red spot on Katie's radar and I go out, and it's just an average rain falling out of a light grey sky.
3 May 2007
at 3:36 p.m.

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snake_eyes (Anonymous) says…

Agnostic,

The weatherman that Katie replaced that day was Ted Texor. They got into it big time behind the scenes and he left/got fired. He was really pissed off that she cut in on his day.
3 May 2007
at 4:36 p.m.

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yankeelady (Anonymous) says…

For drama—Katie, for accuracy Mike Thompson and Joe Lauria
3 May 2007
at 6:29 p.m.

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Rationalanimal (Anonymous) says…

Its easy to be the most accurate when “new data is [always] coming out.”
3 May 2007
at 9:13 p.m.

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sinkorswim (Anonymous) says…

We prefer The Weather Channel or Channel 9. We find Bryan, Joel, and Pete more informative and less dramatic then some other local stations.
9 May 2007
at 11:09 a.m.

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derecho (Anonymous) says…

Everyone makes a big deal of Katie showing up in jeans. Who cares? What likely happened was the the news director or the GM have made it a mandate that Katie be there for any severe weather event because she's the chief meteorologist. She was probably out and about and came in without driving home, getting dolled up, and coming into the station. Does it matter what she wears anyway? Seriously?

Both Katie and Gary Lezak are pretty bad during severe weather, but he's BY FAR the best forecaster in town. Katie's comment about WeatheRate's validity because of the Lawrence incident is pretty stupid. There's a big difference between forecasting day-to-day and nowcasting severe weather. The only bright point with Katie's severe weather coverage was the tornadoes 4 years ago. She was the most calm voice of anyone in town, but generally she can't read a radar to save her life.