Last week Wisconsin took the brunt of Mother Nature’s spring fury with numerous severe thunderstorms and multiple tornadoes. And through it all, radio and television stations across the state kept a constant stream of information going.
Meteorologists went wall-to-wall for several hours, showing radar images and plotting the path of twisters, one of which devastated the Town of Ringle in Marathon County. At least 75 homes were damaged or destroyed when tornadoes, spinning winds more than 145 mph tore into the community. There were more in the Fox Valley all the way down to Racine and Milwaukee counties.
WHDG is an LP-1 station for the Emergency Alert System in the state (EAS). That means we are the “local primary” station, designated and responsible for initiating emergency alerts. In other words, we feed many other stations in the area. At the height of the storms, more than 178 alerts were generated in just a couple hours to help keep people informed. Guidance was given for what to do and where to go. Timely, lifesaving information.
The media kept tabs on what was happening with hail nearly three inches in diameter! The Michigan border saw flooding as the heavy rains and rapid snow melt prompted even the smallest of streams to overflow. As the water progressed downstate, it inundated entire cities. Evacuation orders became commonplace in New London, Manawa, Clintonville, Shiocton, Weyauwega, Fremont as the Wolf, Fox, Rock, Wisconsin and Menominee rivers peaked.
Through it all, the media was and is still there. From early warnings to spreading information about help, it’s what we do. Safety is paramount. Tens of thousands were without power but in this modern age we could still stream that information on any number of platforms to your phones.
There are still 11 days left in the month and all over the state, total rainfall records for April are falling. In some cases, setting new marks by inches!
Bottom line, the media did its job and did it well. It’s why we’re here. It’s another thread that helps communities pull together when times get tough. Kudos to our fellow broadcasters as a lot of potential casualties were avoided.
MM