Over the past few weeks we’ve had quite a bit of severe weather across KAKEland.  I’ve covered everything from strong straight-line winds moving through Hutchinson, to baseball size hail near Hill City, and on top of that, my first EF-3 tornado near Almena... just in the past two weeks.  Now don’t get me wrong, I moved to Kansas to not only work for a wonderful television station, but also to cover severe weather, and continue to grow as a meteorologist.

We’ve recently received several emails from viewers across KAKEland complaining that I wasn’t saying their town correctly during my severe weather coverage.  When severe weather hits, sometimes it happens in locations across Kansas that I’ve never even heard of… and sometimes seeing the town behind the storm on the radar is actually the first time that I’ve EVER seen the name of that town.  I try my best to phonetically sound it out as best I can… but sometimes I fail.  It’s hard to have viewer confidence and trust if I can’t even say their town name correctly. 

Trust me when I say, I know how important it is to pronounce names correctly.  Take a look at my name for one… I have been called Hal—ee my whole life.  When I was younger, I used to get pretty upset.  Over the years I’ve realized that if I correct the person that mispronounced my name, hopefully they will get it right next time.

I’m doing my best with learning all the counties and small towns across Kansas.  It will take time… and I appreciate your patience.  If/when I mispronounce your town name, feel free to shoot me a (nice) email on how to pronounce it… and I will do my best to correct it the next time a severe storm is knocking on your front door!