I’m sure we all have our own opinions about news casters, but I’m not talking about political or social commentary here. When I say that we should thank news casters, I’m talking about the ones who report severe weather. The ones who drive to the storm so that they can tell the people in those areas that they’re in potential danger.

I was watching the news a few months ago as they were covering tornado threats in southern Tennessee. I could tell by the way Lisa Patton was talking that several people called to complain about the tornado coverage. She had to apologize multiple times to the viewers about having to postpone normal programming until later in the evening. I find it absurd that people would be upset about missing programming when others in the state fear for their lives.

Sure, southern Tennessee doesn’t affect those in Nashville, but they are still part of the state, and they deserve to know if a spinning vortex of terror is about to destroy their lives. Me, I’m terrified of tornadoes. I grew up in a small house with no basement, and if a tornado were to come through, my family would have some issues. So I will watch tornado coverage all night, even if it isn’t in my area, and hope for the safety of those being affected.

But for those who don’t know much about tornadoes, let me give you a brief lesson. Tornadoes give no warning as to when they will touch down. Meteorologists can look at the radar and see that a storm has the perfect conditions for a tornado. However, tornadoes are sporadic and won’t necessarily touchdown even though the conditions are right. They may touch down minutes or hours later. And if you’re one of the unlucky ones, you have no warning because you’re the first town hit.

So with little to no way of knowing as to when a tornado will form from a thunderstorm, the only way to truly know is to send people into the storm to report back to the public. And these brave souls deserve all the credit in the world. Personally, I try my best to steer clear of tornadoes. But I am beyond grateful for the people who drive into the storm because they’re the ones saving lives.

I highly recommend that everyone watches the video below because it perfectly sums up how I feel about the situation.