75th Anniversary: Oklahoma weather visionaries
The Channel 4 Weather Department has always been in the forefront of keeping our viewers informed and safe. In the early 50’s Channel 4 was once again breaking ground. And they did it…by breaking … The Oklahoma Channel 4 weather department, known as the 4 Warn Storm Team, has been known for breaking the law in the early 50s by broadcasting tornado warnings, in the days when the federal government did not want broadcasters to issue such warnings due to fears of causing widespread panic. Meteorologist Harry Volkman became the first weather forecaster in the entire country to issue a televised tornado warning, making Channel 4 the first station in the country to do so. He was also the first Channel 4 employee to appear in color on TV.
Publié : il y a 10 mois par Kevin Ogle dans Weather
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — The Channel 4 weather department has always been in the forefront of keeping viewers informed and safe.
In the early 50s Channel 4 was once again breaking ground, and they did it by breaking the law.
In the early days of television forecasting, stations didn’t have their own radars. Forecasters relied on maps and information carefully parsed out by the government.
Much of the on-air time was spent delivering the high temps of the day.
Pretty much uneventful – until it wasn’t.
In 1952 Channel 4 meteorologist Harry Volkman learned there was a tornado threat in the viewing area.
In those days the federal government didn’t want broadcasters to issue tornado warnings fearing it would cause widespread panic.
In Volkman’s autobiography he writes “Now the military didn’t want us to do it. The program director didn’t want us to do it. ‘Won’t we get in trouble?’ And I didn’t want to do it. I just didn’t feel good about it. I said we could get arrested.”
But then an order and a promise came from the management at Channel 4.
Volkman’s granddaughter Abbey Berry recalls, “It was his station manager who said ‘If anybody is going to get arrested it will be me and you need to do this.’ And so he went on the air and he broadcast the tornado warning.”
Harry Volkman became the first weather forecaster in the entire country to issue a televised tornado warning, putting Channel 4 in the history books – and on the wrong side of the law.
Thankfully that weather system didn’t result in a tornado touchdown or federal agents arresting anyone.
But a couple of years later Volkman was in the channel 4 weather department when the Oklahoma skies turned menacing again.
“Harry Volkman May 1st, 1954 at about 6 o’clock gets a tip there’s a tornado on the ground just setting down on the northwest side of Shawnee ,” said KFOR Chief Meteorologist Mike Morgan. “He goes on the air with a tornado warning and mentions the town of meeker. Well the F-4 which was wide, long track and violent, devastates Meeker. Because of Harry Volkman Meeker has an advanced warning.”
Volkman’s other granddaughter Carly Alleman: “My dad was telling me once, cause we had been talking about the book and things, ‘you know I don’t think your grandpa even included in the book that people would come up to him and say we got in our storm shelter because of your warning and when we came up and our house was gone and you literally saved my life.’ “
It’s a story that’s been repeated throughout the decades.
A sustained legacy with the 4 Warn Storm Team – time and again – sending out the critical warnings – protecting families across the state.
Harry Volkman had another distinction during his tenure at Channel 4.
He was the first Channel 4 employee to be appear in color on TV.
When Channel 4 received the first color cameras west of the Mississippi the station had a contest to see which programs viewers wanted to see in color and viewers chose one of Harry’s weather segments.