Posted by Adam Slinger:

It was freezing this morning! I know the thermometer read about 40 degrees, but I'm telling you, at 5:00am in Northwest Oklahoma City, it was freezing. I was frozen.

Looks like the trick-or-treaters will be wearing a coat this evening. From what I just heard Rick Mitchell say, the wind-chill will be in the 30s. (Let's hope it warms up a lot by morning... It won't, though.)

I always hated cold nights during "trick-or-treat" because I had to wear a jacket over my costume, and in many cases, the coat would make it impossible to tell what exactly I was trying to be. Such a waste! Nowadays, however, I'm all about the jackets in the cold--better safe than sorry.

In fact, that's the story I covered this morning--staying safe this Halloween. We offered the safety advice experts and organizations give to parents, children and drivers for this haunted night. As John pointed out in "Eyewitness News 5 at 5," Halloween can be a busy time for doctors; hopefully, not so much this year after viewers saw our reports.

We did all of our live-shots this morning over at our executive producer's house. (That was her dog, Buddy, barking at me in the background.) I don't think I mentioned that during the show and in the 5:30am hit, I rang the doorbell. Don't worry, we won't just pick a random house to startle that early for a Halloween story. She, Julie, had already given us approval. (You probably saw her "photoshopped" images this morning--Our crew made her into Cruella Devil. It was priceless.)

Just finished watching "Eyewitness News 5 at 6" and Aaron Tuttle said the low temperature tomorrow will be 32 degrees. So, just watch tomorrow morning, there'll be no mistake and no exaggerations--I really will be out when it's at the freezing point.

Hello Eyewitness News 5 Viewers! This is so exciting that Eyewitness News 5 in the Morning has its own page. I'm the Executive Producer of the great bunch and as you can see we are some "Chatty Cathys."

Derek did so great with the "5" pumpkin you saw on air and then our overnight photographer "Dan the Man" did the "KOCO" pumpkin. They made the set look so spooky and festive. Of course, John, Tierney and Frank were in the Halloween mood and had great fun with the visitors from the Oklahoma Children's Theater. I'll let you in on a behind-the-scene secret, our morning reporter, Adam Slinger, was live this morning at my house! That was my precious mutt, Buddy, barking at him through the front door. It's okay, they were soon fast friends.

We're all ears here at Eyewitness News 5 in the Morning, so email us, let us know what you want to see, send us those precious Halloween pictures and we'll do our best to get it on the air.

As you can tell, we're a lively bunch and really feel honored you choose us to help you wake up every morning.

Posted By: Derek Schnell

If you caught the morning show, you didn't see me but you did see my jack-o'-lantern on the news desk. I'm one of the producers of the newscast and an avid pumpkin carver.

If you haven't transformed a pumpkin into a work of art this year and you still have a little time, there are a few ways you can make a great jack-o'-lantern without a ton of time.

There's no way to make getting rid of the gunk any more fun, but you don't need any special tools. Just use a spoon or even a small measuring cup. You may want to thin out the shell to make the pumpkin easier to carve, but make sure you don't poke through!

You don't have to have the best drawing ability either. Print out your favorite design, tape the paper to the pumpkin and transfer it by poking through the sheet with a toothpick. Draw in the areas you want to remove with a pen, so it's easier to make the right cuts.

Use a thin blade to carve out your design. After you're done, you can put a bundle of Christmas lights inside to light it up so you don't have to worry about candles. Happy Halloween!

I got an email from Prague this morning:

Good morning and Happy Halloween. I live 13 miles ENE of Prague. This morning at 0500 I went out to let the horses out of the paddock, into the pasture as usual. I looked up and saw a rather large falling "Star/Meteor/Comet". It was going from West to East. The reason I say Meteor or Comet is because it was so much larger than anything I'd seen before. Do you know what it might have been?

I do not know much about comets or meteors, but I have heard that there is a comet that is currently visibly in the sky, and this is what might have been seen this morning in Prague.

I was able to find out more by searching the web:
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/061026_comet_swan.html

What had been a modest comet seen only with binoculars or telescopes flared up last week to become visible to the naked eye.

Comet SWAN, as it is called, is in the western sky after sunset from the Northern Hemisphere. It remains faint, likely not easy to find under bright city lights but pretty simple to spot from the countryside.

The comet, also catalogued as C/2006 M4, is about halfway up in the sky in the direction of the constellation Corona Borealis.

As with most comets, this one looks like a fuzzy star. It has an interesting green tint, however, indicating it has a lot of the poisonous gas cyanogen and diatomic carbon, astronomers say.

Comets, the stuff of legend and myth, are frozen leftovers of the solar system's formation. Most orbit the Sun out beyond Neptune, but a few wander through the inner solar system now and then. As a comet gets closer to the Sun, solar radiation boils the frozen gases, along with dust, off the comet's surface. Sunlight reflects off this material, creating a head, or coma. Some comets never get very bright. Others brighten dramatically. Some even come unglued as they round the Sun.

Some comets, like SWAN, also sport a tail or two. Such detail is best seen with binoculars or a small telescope.

Comet SWAN was discovered last year. It is named for the Solar Wind ANisotropies instrument aboard the SOHO spacecraft, whose images revealed the icy wanderer.

It made its closest approach to Earth last Thursday. Eventually it will return to the distant reaches of the solar system. Nobody knows how long the comet will grace the night sky.

-Frank

Posted by Tierney Cook

BOO!!
Happy Halloween!

We really helped get people in the mood this morning on the show.
We had Halloween Pop quizzes, information on where to trick-or-treat tonight, and even 2 jack or lanterns carved with KOCO and a big OLE' 5!

The highlight was make-up artists from the Oklahoma Children's Theatre.
They brought out two kids and throughout the show we checked in on their progress.
One was painted like Frankenstein, the other a Tinkerbell Fairy.

Tonight I have no Halloween Plans.
I go to bed so early I can't even pass out candy!
Now I am sure all the kids on the block will call me Stingy OLE' Miss Cook!

Oh Langston Homecoming Update.
The Langston Lions beat the Lincoln Tigers. I think the score was 72-7.
Geez!!!
My best friend came down, my old roommate Shayla was here (she got engaged over the weekend!! CONGRATS SHAYLA AND MARION) and it was a fun and safe reunion!

Blog Ya Later.
Tierney

It was a busy weekend. I've recently moved into a new home and am painting and getting ready to do a little remodeling. Picking paint colors was quite a process. If you've done this, you know the color you see on those paint samples never quite matches the final product. I thought the living room would look a little more brown... it's more yellow! But, it's growing on me.
If you see me on the morning show with blond patches... just know it's the paint I couldn't get out of my hair.
I'm looking to Frank Johnson for some future projects. We're both going to re-do the flooring in our kitchens. I think I'll let him go first, then I'll learn what not to do. Although, Frank has become the master remodeler, so I'm sure he won't have any mistakes. Over the past year it seems he and his wife have rebuilt their entire house.
If anyone out there has suggestions for me, let me know.
Have a great Monday!

15 years ago New England was battered by a nor'easter known as "The Perfect Storm". Most people have heard of the movie, or the book that was written about the sinking of the swordfishing boat "The Andrea Gail". The Andrea Gail was based out of Gloucester, MA... the area where I grew up. I actually was raised in Rockport, a small town just down the road from Gloucester.... BIG difference growing up there, but now to me they are both quaint New England towns. Gloucester is a fishing village, Rockport a tourist town.

The storm was a combination of a hurricane and a cold upper storm system. The storm formed over the Atlantic and moved backward toward the southwest while intensifying. The slow movement of the storm caused a long fetch of strong northeast winds from Nova Scotia to the New England Coast. This long fetch over the course of several days caused enourmous waves to crash into the coast. Since the storm formed out to sea, and moved back into the land it caught many people off guard. Most nor'easters move up the coast with rain or snow, along with the strong winds and high surf. You can see them coming. This one should have been safely out to sea... but then the winds started to increase, and the large waves arrived... before the rain.

I was at college at this time... a senior at Penn State. Of course the storm was the talk of the meteorology building, and was everyone's topic of conversation. The one thing I really remember was seeing observations from Thacher's Island, off the coast of Rockport. Thacher's Island is not an official weather reporting station, but it is run by the Coast Guard, and during this one historic storm, they were reporting wind and sea observations. I have never seen a weather report from the island since.

My college girlfriend (now my wife, Susan), was in school in New Hampshire. Her parents owned an oceanfront home in Gloucester which just barely survived the storm. The waves destroyed the road leading to their house. The ocean also reclaimed their front yard and driveway. Susan went back home to visit her family and tour the damage, but I was stuck in Pennsylvania.

At the time, this storm was known as the Halloween storm, but with the book and movie, has since become known as "The Perfect Storm". The loss of life aboard the Andrea Gail makes this a tragic storm, but it is something that Gloucester has dealt with before. The Fisherman's Memorial honors "They that go down to the sea in ships", and the monument mentions some of my ancestors. Yesterday the Weather Channel was broadcasting from Gloucester, along the Back Shore, and from The Crow's Nest, a bar made famous by the book and movie. Before 1991, I never went into the Crow's Nest. It was a tough, fisherman's bar with a bad reputation. Since the movie, while fishermen still frequent the place, it is also somewhat of a tourist destination.

-Frank

Posted by Adam Slinger:

I'll be working tomorrow.... And I think John will, too. Early mornings and weekends--the Eyewitness News 5 crew works around the clock.

Next week, our director, Scott, has informed me that there will be MORE "photoshopped" images of the "Eyewitness News 5 In the Morning" team in Halloween costumes... And somehow, he got a picture of me to use. (I think from John. He was running around the newsroom snapping shots of the staff.)

For those of you who are regular viewers of the Eyewitness News 5 broadcasts, you're probably familiar with "Commitment 2006." It's a series where we profile a variety of candidates for a variety of offices. I'm handling most of the interviews, and as a newcomer to the state (but not to covering politics), it's pretty interesting to hear the different viewpoints. I'm fascinated by "the game of politics," and right now, we're in the final quarter. That's pretty obvious for anyone that receives mail, watches television or drives a car. CAMPAIGN ADS ARE EVERYWHERE! In the next eleven days, get ready for more.

Hopefully, voters will turn out on the 7th. Most of the candidates that I've spoken to say they expect a low turn-out; which, to me, would be very disappointing. (Even though it's typical in midterm elections.) I look forward to casting my first vote as an Oklahoman. Often, citizens give two reasons for not showing up at the polls: Don't know the candidates; Don't think this is an important election. "Commitment 2006" strives to eliminate both of those excuses. So, if you're not watching us--Start. We're interviewing dozens of candidates and covering issues that are both local and statewide. And if you have any questions or suggestions for candidates--Log on to koco.com and click on "Commitment 2006." Drop us an E-mail. We can't always know what's important to you, unless you tell us. Again, I'll be at work tomorrow. Looking forward to reading more of your questions to pose to our future leaders.

I'm betting, most of the candidates will be out, too, campaigning for your vote... Basically, working for the weekend.

Posted by Adam Slinger:

Most viewers are probably asking themselves, "Who is Adam Slinger? Is he the traffic guy?" (No, that's the all-knowing Rex Oates.)

It's a legitimate question, though. After all, I'm only involved in about 1/10 of the broadcast; yet, I still consider my role an important part of the show.

As the reporter for "Eyewitness News 5 In the Morning," my goal is to bring you the news story that needs the most attention. Often, it's overnight, latebreaking news. Sometimes, it revolves around the events to come later in the day. Then, on certain occasions… we have a little fun--For example, there's a clip under the Morning Show section of our website called "Slinger Sports His Count Von Count Look." (That is the LAST time I wear the collar "up" on my new coat. Personally, I thought it looked good and NOT like a vampire's cloak. My sister, Lindy, picked it out for me about two days earlier and she even said that it was very professional. But whatever, I'm digressing.)

Like John, Tierney and Frank, I'll arrive at our station at the awful of time of 4:00am. Which, I believe, is MUCH worse than getting in at 10:30pm--the time our producers show up for the job. Let's face it, awaking at 9:00pm is much easier than hearing the alarm go off in the middle of the night! Sorry, producers!

Now, this early-morning call means that I attempt to go to bed after the six o'clock news... and that is just as difficult as it sounds. I tried obtaining eight hours of rest by taking two four-hour naps--Didn't work. I was a zombie all the time.

In fact, it's getting pretty late--6:30pm. Probably best that I get ready for another morning, by calling it a night.

See ya tomorrow... and hopefully then, you'll at least say, "Adam Slinger? I'm not sure if I saw him in the show, but I know he's not the one that does the traffic."

It's official.
I'm a Blogger!!!

I've been thinking about what my first blog would be about.
Well on my mind today is my college homecoming!

Some of you know I am a 2001 Langston University graduate.
This weekend (Oct. 28th) is Homecoming.
I admit I am not a huge football fan, but I LOVE Homecoming...Here's Why!

My college roommate Shayla graduated with me and moved to Chicago.
I have not seen her in about 5 years, but tomorrow we will catch up!!

Plus, my best friend (who I have not seen since April) is driving in from Kansas City tomorrow!
Homecoming's about so much more that football. Langston is a small school but it produces leaders.
We go to college, graduate and go to work all over the country.
This weekend is a chance for me to see old friends, catch up, find out whose married, expecting or running a major corporation.

So when you can support your high school, vo-tech, college or university!
I'll give a complete Homecoming Wrap up in my next blog!

GO LIONS!

Tierney

The strong storm system that is bringing snow to Colorado will bring the chance for thunderstorms this afternoon to Oklahoma. Here is the risk for severe weather:



It is already warm and humid, and isolated thunderstorms will develop along the dry line this afternoon. The storms will move very quickly to the northeast, so even if storms form in central Oklahoma, they will quickly move away. There is a chance that the storms wait to form until the dryline is already in eastern Oklahoma.... so the bottom line is, there is a small chance for an afternoon thunderstorm, but if a storm does develop, it will likely become severe.

The main threats today are strong winds and hail. Along the warm front in northern Oklahoma there will be enough wind shear for isolated tornadoes.

After the cold front moves through this evening, strong winds will bring in cooler weather and end our thunderstorm threat.


-Frank

A powerhouse of a storm system is about to explode over the central high plains. Most of the ingredients are in place. We have plenty of moisture... we have had light rain and drizzle around for most of the morning. An upper level storm system is dropping through the Rockies. The one ingredient missing is cold air.... but it may not matter.

This storm will develop tonight, and really get cranking tomorrow. As the storm deepens, it will generate it's own cold air. As pressure lowers, so does the temperature.... remember the Ideal Gas Law from high school physics? PV=nrT. This works in the atmosphere, especially in a rapidly deepening storm. Rain today in Colorado will turn to snow tonight. The storm will also produce very strong winds, with gusts over 50 mph on the high plains tonight. Eastern Colorado is under a blizzard watch for tonight and tomorrow with 4-8 inches of snow and 50 mph winds.

Here in Oklahoma we will see some dynamic weather as well. The surface low will move into northwestern Oklahoma tomorrow. Winds behind the cold front will increase through western Oklahoma tomorrow afternoon with gusts past 50 mph. As the storm moves east, thunderstorms will develop east of I-35. There is a chance for severe weather tomorrow with strong winds and hail being the main threat. These storms will quickly move into eastern Oklahoma, and those gusty winds will move into central Oklahoma tomorrow night.

Since this storm is not going to blow in any cold air, we will see a nice warmup as the winds calm down for the weekend.


-Frank

I will be showing the rest of the morning crew how to blog tomorrow. In the meantime, another weather blog...


-Frank

Spring freezes make me angry, but fall freezes offer a chance to extend the growing season. Whenever my garden survives a fall freeze I celebrate and am excited for another week or two of gardening. Even when the first hard fall freeze does kill off my garden, it is a time to relax. I get a break from watering and weeding and can start planning next year's garden.

I survived the latest cold snap without a freeze and without any frost. My house is on top of a little hill, and tends to be a warmer area that stays frost free while other areas get colder. Even though my garden is still growing, I am going through the transition to a winter garden. I have lots of green tomatoes that will probably not turn orange. I am loaded with peppers that will be pickled soon, and more are still growing, and I have plenty of eggplant as well. My cauliflower and broccoli are growing nicely, and I should have broccoli soon, and I have been eating cool season leaf lettuce for a few weeks now.

This past weekend I planted garlic. It will grow through the winter and be ready to pick in the spring. I also planted pansies in the flower garden. This will give me color through the winter. I also planted a tree yesterday. A cherry tree that will flower in the spring, and will offer some shade to my laundry room (the hot room in my house) in the summer. This is the best time of year to plant trees and shrubs, and also a good time to plant shade grass.

I am already thinking about what to grow next year, and am thinking about making the garden bigger. I will wait until winter to make the final plans.

-Frank

I have been blogging for a few months now.... over on the weather blog. We have started this new morning blog to give us a chance to write about all the goofy stuff that happens in the morning. Most of what I am going to blog about will just be a cut and paste from the weather section, but I am sure John & Tierney will get me to write a little bit more here.

Since I am such an expert on blogging, I have been charged with teaching John & Tierney how to work this blog thing. Expect more from them in the coming days as we all get comfortable with the blog, and figure out what we are going to write about.

Wish me luck!


-Frank