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Why do we replace programming with severe weather coverage?

Replacing your favorite television show with weather coverage has sparked emails from viewers, some of them using spicy language.

ATLANTA – With thunderstorms an almost daily occurrence, we’re explaining why we sometimes push Alex Trebek aside to bring you wall-to-wall weather coverage.

Replacing your favorite television show with weather coverage has sparked emails from viewers, some of them using spicy language.

11Alive’s Why Guy talked to meteorologist Chris Holcomb about the thought that goes behind replacing regular programming with weather coverage.

“A tornado warning is a life and death situation,” says Holcomb. “We have to get your attention and let you know this is serious business.”

You may not realize that 11Alive and other television stations are legally obligated to warn you about hazardous weather. The FCC requires us to air programming that is responsive to the needs and problems of the people around us.

That includes alerting you to the possibility of a tornado headed toward your home.

Last month, when the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for the Walton County area, Holcomb was on the air at 7:24 p.m. to sound the alarm.

At 7:32, a tornado touched the ground in Social Circle. 11Alive’s weather coverage gave neighbors there eight minutes to take cover

Some viewers have complained that we continue to broadcast when there’s “only rain” in their neighborhood.

Severe storms often take hours to travel from one side of metro Atlanta to the other. While one area is seeing rain, neighborhoods to the east might be in the path of a tornado.

“It’s important for us to stay on because we can give you the latest information as it’s moving along and track it live street by street,” says Holcomb.

11Alive does have the technology to leave Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune full screen and alert viewers to bad weather with what we call a crawl that carries information across the bottom of the screen.

Holcomb points out that bad weather can move quickly. Information changes minute by minute. While we can’t update crawls quickly enough to keep up, Chris can track a tornado block by block.

“If we’re on with you live we can give you even more up to date information,” says Holcomb.

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