An award-winning Oklahoma
television meteorologist has been criticized as "irresponsible" for
telling viewers on Friday to get in their cars and flee approaching tornadoes,
and some are blaming him for putting people in grave danger on clogged roads, according to a Reuters story.
Mike Morgan, chief meteorologist for Oklahoma City television station KFOR, told
viewers during a tornado warning to get in their cars and drive away from a
threatened storm.
Some people said they followed his advice and ended up stuck
in traffic jams on major central Oklahoma
highways as a massive storm bore down on the Oklahoma City area.
Ernst Kiesling, research professor at Texas Tech's National
Wind Institute, said it was wrong to advise people to get in their cars and try
to outrun a tornado.
"Irresponsible reporting of that kind is unconscionable
in my mind. You have the responsibility to give more than your off-the-cuff
opinions."
Morgan has not appeared on the network since Friday, and the
station said he is on vacation and would be back on Thursday. He could not be
reached for comment.
But a statement from KFOR on Wednesday said: "After
every major storm, we review our coverage and the many things that make each
weather event unique, for the purpose of improving our coverage and our ability
to forecast."
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