Storm Watch

When this Xennial was growing up, there was a very familiar, foreboding, TV alert sound that would occur during the spring and summer months.

It signaled that a severe storm watch, warning, or worst of all, a tornado - was afoot. It was the sound heard below and at the link here, for barely 5 seconds:

(You can also hear the same alert noise opening this video). It was used on KCCI Channel 8 in Central Iowa, for much of the 1980s. I discovered from the comments on the videos that the sound used to terrify other young viewers, too.

I discovered only recently that this was actually a “bulletin” sound from CBS News Radio, first used in 1968/69. KCCI presumably used it because of the station’s association with CBS, and it remains a CBS local TV affiliate to this day (KCCI’s current owner is Hearst).

This week, both the late-night talk show host and comedian, Stephen Colbert, and CBS News Radio staff take their final bows. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s last edition will be on May 21^st, and CBS News Radio will cease broadcasting the day after. The late-night chat show lasted 33 years, and the radio news service: 99 years.

As I got older, the CBS Radio Sounder / KCCI weather alert “music” didn’t scare me quite as much when it would inform me which way the winds were blowing. With this week’s other CBS-related events (and a post almost as short as that old alert sound) - I feel a similar sense of deep unease that the high-pitched noise punctuated by a low, lurking undertone used to cause me, way back then.

I am a member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. We are from around the state - some are free and some are available for nominal fees - and we contribute commentary and feature stories of interest to those who care about Iowa.

You can learn more about the group and our myriad topics, here: Iowa Writers Collaborative