A thunderstorm with high winds and rain rolled through Calgary late Saturday night / early Sunday morning, and I turned to 660 to see if there was any kind of weather watch or warning.  When I listened after midnight there were no time checks and all the announcer would say for current conditions was 'cloudy and 15'.  In fact, with the thunderstorm continuing for another two and a half hours and rain after that it was still 'cloudy and 15' according to 660, even though Environment Canada was reporting rain and thundershowers on their site for the region.  

There was a severe thunderstorm watch in effect for a portion of the broadcast area after midnight but 660 never mentioned anything about that.  If severe weather were occurring during this time and I was listening to this station I would have no clue what was coming.  At least 770 and a number of other stations in the Calgary market subscribe to the Emergency Alert System; if there wasn't a live voice on the station the alert system could break in and provide instructions.

For a station that does not subscribe to the Alberta Emergency Alert System (http://www.aema.alberta.ca/documents/Contributing_Broadcasters.pdf), how could they effectively handle a severe weather bulletin like a severe thunderstorm warning or tornado watch or warning on a night like tonight if it were to happen, if they are taped?  And how can they use the phrase 'Calgary's only live 24-hour radio station'?  

Normally we'd probably say that this is just picking some strawman out of something that's not a big deal, but I mean, in this case, you're totally right. If people are listening to 660, they won't get any information on what to do in an emergency, and that could make the difference between people's lives being saved or not. Good call.

I mean, if you're giving the same weather conditions for hours and almost instantly someone comes on to issue a weather warning, even the least attentive radio listener is going to notice the sudden change.

Please, this is total nitpicking. For one thing, 660's overnights are live, not taped. Second, comparing the rains we had to a tornado warning or watch is kind of ridiculous, as the thunderstorm you're talking about wasn't even strong enough to cause any major damage, especially compared to the wet summer we've had thus far. I'm guessing neither of you are born and raised Calgarians; those of us who are have put up with enough weird weather to know the difference between a severe weather watch and a bit of rain and wind. If there really was a SEVERE weather watch or warning in effect--and trust me, us Calgarians know the difference--any 660 listener would know it.

I've heard 660 Overnight before and have often considered making similar comments. There's no way their programming is live!! (At least on weekend overnights). If this were Vancouver or Toronto, this kind of thing would be unacceptible. A pre-taped news wheel? C'mon!! This pales in comparison to any complaints of lacluster pronunciation from newsreaders fresh out of broadcast school. Either do it right (in this case live) or why even bother?

For the record TheWave, I am a born and raised Calgarian, lived here 33 years.  I live in the north part of town and the winds were howling Sunday morning.  All I wanted was an accurate weather update, that's all.  660 has prided itself about being on top of any kind of quick change in the weather, and giving special weather statements - at least between 6 AM and midnight.  There was no mention of any thunderstorm for Calgary and there was no mention of the Severe Thunderstorm Watch out for the Coronation region, a region 660 has mentioned watches and warnings for in the past.  

Might I guess TheWave that you work for Rogers?  Maybe you work under the 660News banner?  660News this past Sunday morning was NOT live.  If it were, where were the time checks instead of saying '660 News Overnight', and why weren't current conditions updated?  Their reports were not only contradictory to Environment Canada from their current conditions website but had to be taped; every current condition check between 12 and 4 was 'cloudy and 15', except for the condition report at :52 which was 'rain and 15'.  According to 660, it rained like clockwork for a 10 minute period near the top of every hour between at least 12 and 4, and I would even venture a guess and say also between 4 and 6.  

My concerns are if 660 was not broadcasting live this past Sunday morning and a severe weather event came up suddenly in the middle of the night for anywhere in the broacast region how would it have been covered, if at all?  

Maybe there was a legitimate reason why the announcer wasn't live.  Maybe they were sick and couldn't get a replacement.  If someone was there running the board, why not do a live hit for the first 5 minutes of the newscast, the traffic/weather intro and current conditions, the headlines at the quarter hour, and perhaps the weather segment at the tale end of the newscast?  And give a time check while you're at it.  The rest of the half hour, prepackage the stories and intros.    It's not completely live, but it gives people the impression you're there.  By not giving a time check and accurate weather conditions where is the credibility?  If you're promising live, 24 hours-a-day then you should deliver it.  

Quoted from Donovan

A pre-taped news wheel? C'mon!! This pales in comparison to any complaints of lacluster pronunciation from newsreaders fresh out of broadcast school. Either do it right (in this case live) or why even bother?

Exactly my point.

Yep.
I know for a fact that, perhaps not as a rule, but from time to time (ie. when scheduling dictates there is only 1 announcer on), the reader will tape portions/chunks.  It's painfully obvious with no time check.  In total agreement - you simply can't say "24 hour live" radio station, if you are not 100% live -- 100% of the time.  My 2 cents.

You gotta do what you gotta do when you continually have people coming and going in such an work-intensive environment like that.
That said don't act so shocked.  This is the same station that runs "live-at-the-scenes" taped from hours before.  The worst was they had someone "live at a school talking to parents" at 11 o'clock at night.  Someone (aka news director) needs to step in and figure some of this stuff out.

Quoted from spiffiness

Might I guess TheWave that you work for Rogers?  Maybe you work under the 660News banner?    

Where I work is hardly relevant. But I can say for sure that there is always at least one person in the newsroom at all times, including overnight. I was nowhere near the building Sunday night so I couldn't say what happened, though rest assured if there actually was a tornado warning you would have heard about it. This is different from not hearing a thunderstorm warning which, as I recall and which was just verified for me, began at seven that evening and ended an hour later.

  

And more to the point, I happen to know that 660 does in fact use the Alberta Emergency Alert System--the link you provided which was almost a year old did not accurately reflect this.

660 news is SO amateur most of the time, with some exceptions like John Clark and Ted Henley, Maryann Jeremy and a couple of others and of course David Spence. Cindy White is one who I switch stations on every time.
Most of the time, it's way too painful to listen to the jr high amateur show with mispronunciations and BAD adlibing (is that what winging it's called?)

As for overnight, if it's not mostly taped, I'll eat my shorts... Thank heavens for Coast to Coast and George Noory...now THAT'S entertainment  

Quoted from TheWave: "If there really was a SEVERE weather watch or warning in effect--and trust me, us Calgarians know the difference--any 660 listener would know it."

It should be noted though that not everyone has a copy of the David Spence Skywatch Weather Handbook; I should be able to turn to 660 and get correct weather information.  But when the broadcast is taped for air, and the conditions 660 are saying don't match up with what Environment Canada is reporting (and there should not be much descrepancy there, Rogers is 10 minutes away from the airport), let alone what I see outside my own window, it speaks to credability - why should I listen?  I will accept your explanation that if something major like a severe weather watch or warning occurs that 660 would be all over it like a fat kid on a smartie.  And if 660 is in fact a part of the Emergency Alert System then the system should break in with that warning anyway.  

And you're probably right, where you work isn't relevant, but since you are able to provide us with obvious information from the inside, then maybe you can answer the other point that I brought up and others have too; how can 660 use the phrase 'Calgary's only all-live, 24-hour radio station' when this situation proves that they're not always live?  Regardless of what time it is, would you not say there is a credability issue with a radio station offering a 24-hour news wheel format that doesn't give time checks nor accurate weather conditions?  

For the record I do listen to 660 at other parts of the day.  I am dialing in at least three times each weekday into 660 and on the weekends and elements of the station sound a lot better than they did when it first started.