TORNADOES PART 3

On the morning of November 17th, 2013, tornadoes raged through Illinois, carving a path from the southwest to the northeast and leaving devastating damage in its wake. The day culminated in a Chicago storm so severe it forced the evacuation of Soldier Field during the Bears/Ravens game. At approximately 9:40 a.m. that day, the storms descended on southwest Illinois and by 10:00 a.m. NBC-5 had started non-stop live coverage that would last for more than nine hours. The coverage included the entire NBC-5 Storm Team of meteorologists, multiple shifts of anchors on-set and various reporters throughout the affected area. Our coverage centered on keeping viewers up-to-date on what was happening and how to keep themselves safe. In the hours and days afterward we kept them informed on electricity outages, missing people and everything else they needed to know regarding the rebuilding of their towns and their lives. Wall-to-wall coverage like this is never easy, but the NBC-5 team did an excellent, thorough job in making sure our audience was fully informed on when the storms were coming, how to handle them and the important details in the aftermath. Best of all, it’s very likely the coverage helped save lives.