Gary England - Broadcasting Career

Broadcasting Career

England's first broadcasting job was a short stint at KTOK, an Oklahoma City talk radio station. England began working at KWTV on October 16, 1972. A few months later, KWTV introduced the first radar system specifically designed for television and during a live cut-in by England on May 24, 1973 for a tornado warning in Canadian County. Channel 9 viewers saw the radar image of a damaging F4 tornado near Union City in Canadian County which resulted in extensive damage to that small town. The Union City tornado was also the first documented chase ever on a tornado. The National Severe Storms Laboratory out of Norman placed numerous storm chasers around it to capture the life cycle on film, which was also a first.

An original video of England's live cut-in of the Union City tornado in 1973 is often still used today in Channel 9's promos of England and its severe weather coverage.

England is recognized, along with the firm Enterprise Electronics, as initiating development of the first commercial Doppler weather radar. While the National Weather Service is the only one legally responsible for issuing warnings in the United States, England is credited with issuing the first televised Doppler weather radar bulletin for a tornado, in March 1982. There is a dispute by some sources, as there was an earlier radar bulletin issued by Gil Whitney of WHIO-TV in Dayton, Ohio during the April 3, 1974 Xenia Tornado However, the radar used by WHIO during the Xenia Tornado was a conventional weather radar, not a Dopplerized radar.

In 1990 he helped create First Warning, a state map which appeared in the corner of the television screen, with counties colored in to indicate storm watches and warnings. In 1991 Gary also helped create Storm Tracker, a computer program that provided the audience with the time of arrival of severe weather. First Warning And Storm Tracker are used nationwide. He also helped create I-News, a computer program that allows PC users to receive both severe weather and breaking news alerts on their computer.