Riding out the storms

Whew. Last night was a rough one for those in many parts of Tennessee. I was grateful to be in Shelbyville rather than north or west.

It's amazing, though, how much more information on what's coming we have now than in past years.

I remember when Channel 5 had Nashville's only TV radar; the modified military unit showed white blobs within 20-25 miles of Nashville. By the mid-1970s Channel 4 could show white blobs within hundreds of miles of Nashville.

Today's TV meterologists can practically turn the images of storms inside out.

I like to know what's on the way -- and find Internet radar images and sources often tell the story as well as TV.

I was surfing between all four Nashville news channels. Coverage on 2, 4, and 5 was excellent; 17's management needs to spend more money on radar data.

Who's your favorite in severe weather and why? I kept going back to 2 because Davis Nolan seems to interpret radar data better. All impressed me as doing a good job. Channel 5's Lelan Statom, who was on the air at noon Tuesday and was still going, apparently without a break, at 6 a.m. today, deserves particular thanks.

One tragic night across Tennessee. Hopefully it'll be a long time before another similar system roars through.