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On September 11th, 1961, a young Houston news director, Dan Rather, of KHOU-TV (Channel 11), made television weather history with his coverage of Hurricane Carla.
Rather risked his life to provide coverage of Carla to Houston viewers. The storm was monstrous, a Category 5 hurricane, with winds of up to 175MPH. The embed video tells the story and what an impact it had on television coverage of major storms. Rather’s bravery and coverage certainly received national notice; a year later, 1962, he joined CBS News. Ultimately, he inherited the anchor’s chair on the CBS Evening News–the seat formerly occupied by Walter Cronkite.
The heir to Rather’s legacy is Jim Cantore of The Weather Channel, who has been known to put himself right in the middle of every big weather event and is known for his toughness and precise coverage of events. Over the last decade, Cantore has become a bit of a legend himself–and deservedly so.
But it all started with one storm and one newscaster: Hurricane Carla and Dan Rather.
The Fine Print: Embed courtesy of our friends at YouTube (don’t forget to check out their new streaming TV service, YouTubeTV). All rights reserved by their respective parties. We thank them for sharing this important documentary. Stormwatch is a production of Perception Engineering and The Media Bunker. Contents Copyright (c)2017, Donald Pierce, except for those rights specifically reserved or granted to others.