As a blizzard swept through Oklahoma in the early hours of Tuesday morning, Oklahoma City stations were there to greet it.
KWTV was the first to begin its local news coverage. The CBS-affiliate began at 3:50 a.m., 40 minutes earlier than its regular start time.
ABC-affiliate KOCO and Fox-affiliate KOKH began at 4:00 a.m. For KOCO, that was a half-hour early; for KOKH, it was a full hour.
NBC-affiliate KFOR was the only station not to make an early start, opening its newscast at the the regularly scheduled time of 4:30 a.m.
KWTV meteorologist Jed Castles broke in at 3:50 a.m. with a live weather update, saying, “We are fully staffed and ready to go as this blizzard moves in here this morning.” Castles provided weather coverage throughout the morning along with Michael Armstrong and chief meteorologist Gary England.
“Get used to seeing these faces,” KOKH anchor Matt Austin said at the opening of the Fox-affiliate’s newscast, introducing co-anchor Angie Mock and chief meteorologist Jeff George.
KOCO opened with anchors Mat Garcia and Anita Blanton who were joined in the studio by meteorologist Sarah Libby and traffic reporter Maggie Stokes.
At KFOR, Ali Meyer anchored the newscast solo as her regular co-anchor, Kent Ogle, was out in the field to report on the blizzard. Meyer was joined in the studio by meteorologist David Payne.
All stations used a mix of live video and over-the-phone reporting as reporters had to overcome horizontal winds and heavy snowfall to maintain their live feed.
KWTV, KFOR, and KOCO preempted the network morning shows while Fox-affiliate KOKH extended its newscast through the morning.