The drumbeat goes on.. and on.. and on..

Now in our 58th hour of continuous coverage. Still talking to those with power, and those in outlying areas with houses full of evacuees. We've had a lot of response over the web... especially through our live stream. During the peak of the storm, there were more than 3000 people in our live chat, making it impossible to read. The posts were flying so fast, they were pushed off the screen by new post almost immediatley.

A closer look at this shot from the studio reveals a problem we've had since early Saturday morning. All the monitors in the "monitor wall" set element are blank! We lost the router that feeds all the air monitors in the building. All the monitors at our desks, the ring of monitors in the center of the newsroom, all snow. We have to go the live stream online in order to watch our own coverage. Many thanks to members of the web, like Doug Delony here on the left, for keeping this vital link going throughout Ike's assault.

If you noticed the lcd's near the center of the shot; they are fed from a different router system containing in-house sources such as graphics and sat feeds.

Return of SkyFOX

We had to send our uberchopper, SkyFOX, away to protect it during Hurricane Ike, but it blew back into town yesterday.  I got too busy to post this in a timely fashion, but it's still a quick,  interesting look at the beast.

A face behind the coverage...

... unfortunately it's mine, and it's getting tired by this point.

Go Deep!

The commitment to stay with continuous coverage has been extended indefinitely.  We originally thought noon today, with updates throughout the afternoon, but changing conditions such as heavy rain and flash flooding are compelling enough to warrant continued coverage. 

Just keeping the school closing list updated is a full-time task.

The vast scope of damage to the upper Gulf Coast is still unfolding as the more isolated communities begin to dig themselves out and contact county authorities.

Flash Flood Warnings now

Back on the air

I've been back on the air since 4am. We're talking to folks who call to recount storm or rescue stories. Also talked live Brian Boswell. He was standing on a debris-covered roadway, an overturned boat behind him.

I'm getting some sleep