OKLAHOMA CITY (KTEN) —Oklahoma lawmakers honored the KTEN Weather team Thursday for delivering continuous life-saving information during the April 27 tornado outbreak.

"I truly believe we would have had a lot more people die if it weren't for the work that that team was doing," said state Sen. Greg McCortney (R-District 13), who introduced the resolution to recognize the KTEN coverage.

As tornadoes touched down across parts of Texoma, the KTEN Weather team was on the air to track the progress of the storms and to warn Texomans about the imminent danger.

"I live a little bit west of Ardmore, so we also got hit with that same storm that went through Sulphur," said state Sen. Jerry Alvord (R-District 14). “We were able to see that coming ahead of time, and my wife and I were able to take shelter. We were able to get that pre-warning ...  you just can't say enough about that."

"The night of the tornado outbreak, my family was scattered throughout North Texas and southeast Oklahoma,” McCortney added. “I was able to make sure they were safe by listening to you guys, by seeing the work that KTEN was doing. I was just incredibly impressed, and we were blessed to have every member of that team in our area that night."

While tornadoes were raging across southern Oklahoma, KTEN's weather anchors were doing what they do best.

"So we knew going into the day that it had really high potential —storms could be bad, they could be really bad — and the dynamics were there in the atmosphere for that to happen,” said KTEN Chief Meteorologist Mandy Bailey.  “On one hand, you're happy nothing has happened; but on the other hand, all the energy starts getting stored up, and the later and later and later that we went — knowing that we still had a tornado threat through at least 2, 3, even 4 a.m — that, the longer that energy was stored, when storms finally went off, they were going to have all of that capacity to tap into."

The KTEN Weather team was honored by Oklahoma lawmakers on May 23, 2024.
The KTEN Weather team was honored by Oklahoma lawmakers on May 23, 2024. (KTEN)

The whole team, including meteorologists Amber Nowaski, Hunter Donahoe and Cathy Corbett — was honored to be recognized at the state level by the Senate and House of Representatives.

"It's such a surreal experience,” Donahoe said. “Coming to a Capitol building — let alone halfway across the country, in Oklahoma — it's so, it's amazing."

"The Oklahoma City stations lose interest because we're not in their market," McCortney added. "A lot of times, it doesn’t seem like anyone is really paying attention. That night, KTEN was paying attention to the people that I represent, and my family."

The resolution read, in part:

"...the KTEN Weather Team provided accurate information to area residents, giving them time to prepare and seek shelter ... their minute-by-minute coverage kept residents informed ... which undoubtedly played a critical role in saving thousands of lives... "

Watch the full presentation of the resolution in the Oklahoma Senate Chamber: