Blaming the tornado messenger

It’s great sport to criticize TV meteorologists for their penchant for hyperbole, but it’s a different kind of grief that’s descending on Oklahoma City meteorologist Mike Morgan.

Last week, he did everything he could to get people to take a tornado warning seriously, but then made the mistake of telling people to “go south.”

http://youtu.be/TDbCdmk1_lg

People went south and ended up stuck on the highway, where the tornado struck, killing several people.

“Irresponsible reporting of that kind is unconscionable in my mind. You have the responsibility to give more than your off-the-cuff opinions,” Ernst Kiesling, research professor at Texas Tech’s National Wind Institute, tells Reuters today.

Mr. Morgan hasn’t been on TV since the tornado and his TV station says he’s on vacation.

But this week he responded to the criticism on Facebook:

morgan_weather_fb

If something good comes from the controversy, maybe it’s that more people will know what not to do in a tornado.