The CW12 Blog

WOW! What a way to hit the winter months running! An ice storm? Snow? More on the way? I hate to be like so many you hear that say ‘we should learn from this,’ but I think I have learned something… I’ve learned to be thankful for the little things in life… like ELECTRICITY!

In my career as a meteorologist, I’ve visited many towns that have been struggling through some sort of weather disaster. I’ve seen ice, snow, tornadoes, hurricanes, drought and floods. However, up until now, I’ve been fortunate enough to not live in an area hit hard by any of these weather phenomenon. Not this time. Like everyone else, I found myself without power and cold!

For five days, I worked 12 hour shifts only to come home to a cold apartment. I, along with my poor cat, Chloe, buried myself under mounds of blankets and quilts. My late grandmother is no doubt, smiling down at me, knowing that every quilt she ever made me was being used for the purpose it was created. And, like so many others, I ran around the house like a crazy woman turning on all my lights once the power returned! As they say, I was like a kid in a candy store!

Of course, I think it will be a long while before I take my electricity for granted, but that’s not what really got to me this last week… at least not as much as one other thing: The outpouring of support and help from people out of state!

I have seen this happen on many occasions, during my visits to hard-hit communities, and I have been known to donate to relief funds myself. My donations always made me smile, knowing I was helping, but I don’t think anything has warmed my heart so much as to be on the receiving end.

The crew that fixed the power at my apartment was from Ohio. They came all this way to help us. They are living in a make-shift dormatory at the fairgrounds, away from their homes and their families to help us! How cool is that!?

It’s nice to see happening what I’ve always believed: Good really can come out of the bad.

Nollaig Shona!
Merry Christmas!

Katie

It’s now day four without power for a lot of people in Tulsa… including myself. My husband and I were somewhat prepared to be in the dark. We got batteries for our flashlight and pulled all of our candles from our cupboards. We piled all of our blankets on the bed. Just when we thought being in the dark wasn’t too bad… trees started falling.

It was pitch-black and silent in our house. Then we heard the first cracking sound outside our window. It was followed by several more. Then we heard the loud “thud” sounds of branches, covered in ice, falling to the ground. Soon that’s all we could hear. One particularly loud thud sent me running to the window on the side of our house. A huge branch from our beautiful old oak tree had fallen on our fence, splitting it in two. What can you do? We could only hope and pray that the branches spared our roof. Emergency sirens came and went. As long as they weren’t on my street I thought we were okay.

I covered last winter’s ice storm in Grove. As I sat in our house listening to the trees and branches fall, all I could think about were those people in Grove. I felt terrible for them then… but now I knew exactly what they were going through. It was eerie.

At four a.m. we got a phone call from our next-door neighbor. She told us a gas line had been hit and was spewing gas across the street. We could hear its loud hissing sound and could soon smell gas so strong it smelled like it was leaking inside our own home. I called 911. It took about 5 minutes to get through and I asked for the fire department. I told the dispatcher about the gas leak and he said they’d send some guys out as soon as possible. But he couldn’t promise they’d be there soon. They showed up about 45 minutes later, took care of the leak and went on to their next call.

The next day at work I covered the City of Tulsa’s 2:30 p.m. media briefing. Larry Bowles with the fire department said they’d responded to 50 structure fires in the last 24 hours. (No wonder they couldn’t promise me a crew for my gas leak!) The outlook was not good for people without power. The numbers kept growing throughout the day until we finally ended up with 225,000 people in the Tulsa area without power. It’s incredible to think that virtually all of Tulsa is in the same situation as we are. But working in the news business always keeps me grounded. I know it could always be worse. There is always someone out there whose problems make mine look like small potatoes.

So, today, as we go into our 4th night without electricity, I am thankful for what I do have. I can tell you that I will never take my electricity for granted again though. I hope you are surviving too. Stay warm!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jennifer Loren

There are two sides to every argument. This is the very definition of an argument. If there weren’t two sides, we wouldn’t have an argument. What we are looking for, fundamentally, is a side of the argument in which we see the most positive support of the issue. We want answers to our questions and evidence to back it up.

Lately, I have read several articles that state scientists have come to a consensus that the earth is warming. First, this is inaccurate, as there are still many scientists who are skeptics. Second, I have to agree with the great author, Michael Crichton when he said:

“Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled. Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you’re being had…. Let’s be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus…… In science, consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus.”

As a scientist, I am offended by the term, “consensus.” Science is not about consensus. Much is hypothesis, theories… But above all, there are questions and the thirst for finding answers. Once scientists come to a “consensus,” no more questions are asked and no more knowledge is gained. This is the end of existence.

So, what is the answer to the question, “Does global warming exist?” That is for you to decide… We all have our opinions. I just hope the question keeps being asked and the argument continues to be fought. This is our motivation to find the truth through research.

Katie

Fun in the Sun, Sand, and …Bananas?!?

So, when you think of the beach, what comes to mind? The rolling ocean waves? Warm sand under your feet? “She sells seashells by the seashore?” How about bananas? Well, maybe in a fruity drink with an umbrella… but actual bunches of bananas on the beach?!? NO WAY!

Well, it happened. Terschelling Island is about 70 miles north of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Earlier this month, the breaking news was “FREE BANANAS… HEAD OUT TO THE BEACH!!” Apparently, several containers full of bananas fell off a carog ship that found itself in a storm offshore. The containers burst open and thousands of bananas washed up onto the shores of the Dutch North Sea islands. It made for a pretty comical picture…

Beachcombers came to gather up the goodies, but were disappointed, since bananas were the least of the treasures usually found on the beach!! A year ago, due to the same kind of accident, tennis shoes, aluminum briefcases and children’s toys washed ashore!

A shipping official at the local lighthouse said of the bananas, “I think everybody on the island has a bunch now!”

Is maith liom bananai! (I love bananas!)

Katie