Baptism By Fire...Or Snow?

I'm a new Okie. Many people ask me about my first impressions of this area and how I like it so far. I moved to Oklahoma about the second week in December. At that time, a strong cold front had just passed through and Oklahoma was experiencing the coldest temperatures of the season with wind chills in the single digits/teens. So, my first impression was "Wow! I didn't know Oklahoma got this cold and WINDY." During my first weathercasts I wanted to put "breezy" each day and quickly adjusted to the Oklahoma standard of wind. But I'd have to say that the best part of Oklahoma so far is the people. Okies regularly dish out southern hospitality and are always willing to lend a hand. After viewing the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial and museum, I realized how Oklahoma has a history of coming together in the face of chaos. I encountered that several times during the historic Christmas Eve blizzard, only a few weeks after starting on air here. I guess you could call it "baptism by fire." After nearly 8 hours of live shots out in the freezing rain, sleet, and blinding snow, my photographer and I accidentally locked ourselves out of the live van. A viewer heard this over the radio and invited us to stay warm in his car until help arrived. On our way back to the station, we saw several people helping others stuck in the snow. Nearly a dozen of us spent the night at the station. Although expired easy mac dinner and stiff love seat as a bed wasn't how I pictured spending my Christmas Eve, I felt blessed to be safe inside and warm. Many people were stuck on the highways with no food or blankets. A random family graciously housed one of our photographers, Marc Dillard for the night. This is just a handful of heroic stories from the Blizzard of 2009. When I'm surrounded by great people like this...how could I not like Oklahoma?

Emily Sutton
Meteorologist
KFOR/KAUT-TV