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Interview With Denver Storm Witnesses

Aired May 08, 2003 - 14:20   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to check in with Chuck Cannon, he's with Denver International Airport, the spokesperson there.
Mr. Cannon, good to have you with us. I know you're busy. Just bring us up to date. What is the situation right now at the airport? Are passengers being moved to safe areas? Just give us a rundown, please.

CHUCK CANNON, DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Operations are actually pretty normal. During a tornado warning we do broadcast paging announcements advising people of the warning and advising them to stay away from the windows. But other than that, operations are pretty normal. We had some heavy rain. But as your weather person said, those tornadoes northeast and east of the airport had very little impact on airport operations.

O'BRIEN: All right. Is the worst over, you think then, Mr. Cannon?

CANNON: We think so. The tornado warning goes until 12:45, which is about another 20 minutes. But I'm looking out my office window to the west and I can see downtown, 23 miles away, so it appears to be clearing that direction and everything is moving to the east and northeast, away from the airport.

O'BRIEN: Was the airport ever officially closed?

CANNON: Oh, no. No, not at all. We kept operating normally throughout.

O'BRIEN: All right. I assume not too many arrivals and departures during the midst of this?

CANNON: Not a lot, but it's at the pilot's discretion. And I was watching planes taxi out and take off on the runways on the west side of the airfield. So, no problems.

O'BRIEN: Of course, I guess worth pointing out, that isn't necessarily foolhardy if they were headed in a westerly direction and all the action is over towards the east or north.

CANNON: No, they're very cautious. So they wouldn't take off if they thought there was any risk at all.

O'BRIEN: What about just people in the terminals? Do you do much to keep them calm? Or is it - by the way, we're looking at some tape that came through just a little while ago. We might have the formation of a funnel cloud, this from our affiliate KDBR. And, Chuck, I apologize, I know you can't see this.

CANNON: Not a problem.

O'BRIEN: But what we're seeing is the formation of that. I want to ask Orelon Sidney. I'll tell you what. Chuck Cannon hold it for a second..

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN ANCHOR: There it is. That's it!

O'BRIEN: Orelon, talk to me. What are we seeing right there?

SIDNEY: What we see is the funnel cloud, Miles. This is it. Can you see the lowered cloud base?

O'BRIEN: Oh, yeah.

SIDNEY: That is the lowered cloud base. And then there is the little appendage from that. That indeed is a funnel cloud. Just for your information, technically it's not considered a tornado until it actually hits the ground. It's actually considered just considered a funnel cloud. And that one, I don't believe -- this must have been the one that they actually saw from air traffic control earlier towards the top of the hour. Absolutely fascinating. You can even see a little bit of the rain falling on the right side of the screen, and then notice how it clears out a little bit towards the left. That's the rain-free base. The area that's dropped down from the clouds and includes the tornado is the wall cloud. An absolutely fascinating picture.

You can see the rain-free base there, Miles, just almost crystal clear underneath the storm off to the left of your screen and then continuing heavy rain off to the right. It's an amazing picture.

O'BRIEN: And the light is almost haunting there. It's very interesting.

Chuck Cannon, I don't know if you're still with us, but did you get a chance to see that funnel cloud at all?

CANNON: Well, we saw it just on local TV, the one that formed east of the airport. I don't think it ever did touch the ground but it was pretty spectacular looking.

O'BRIEN: Yeah. That's what we're looking at right now. It's really quite something. I was going to ask you, did you - is there anything you do to calm people inside the terminals or is that not a problem?

CANNON: It really isn't a problem. People just go about their business. All we do is tell them that there is a tornado warning and for their own safety, to stay away from the windows and they generally take that to heart and they go on about their business.

SIDNEY: They've got really well-behaved folks there, Miles, because I remember back in Texas when we put out a tornado warning, I was at Texas A&M University in Bryan-College Station, we put out a tornado warning. And I'm driving down the street, people are standing on their roofs with camcorders instead of being inside and taking cover as they should have.

CANNON: Well, that's one of the phenomenon here. When you tell them to stay away from the windows, the first thing they do is run to the windows to look out and see if they can see something.

SIDNEY: Exactly.

O'BRIEN: By the way, we're looking at it appears to be Frontier Airlines, might be a 737, it looks like it's on final approach there. So I guess there's a case in point that the airport is still up and running and pilots are arriving and departing. And it's up to -- of course it's up to passenger's discretion as well, isn't it Chuck Connor (sic), as to whether to get on those planes.

SIDNEY: That's amazing. Sorry there, Miles.

CANNON: That's true. But generally I think people have confidence that pilots are not going to do anything foolhardy.

O'BRIEN: All right. Chuck Connor (sic), spokesperson for Denver International.

I'm sorry, Orelon, did you have something else for Chuck?

SIDNEY: Yes. Actually, this is just a general information. What you're seeing now is the end-stage of that funnel cloud. We call that the rope stage. And some people think when the tornado or the funnel cloud -- if it's a tornado on the ground obviously, gets to that stage it is not destructive, which isn't true at all. It can do tremendous damage even in a stage like that. Right now, this one, of course, this isn't live but this is just about to fade out. It looks like it got some drier air moving into it and that just took the wind out of it, as it was.

O'BRIEN: All right. Chuck Connor (sic), thank you. We appreciate your insights. We're going to move our attention now to the Adams County Emergency Management Unit, Mike Kercheval is with that group. That is the county, you know, where the airport is or at least immediately adjacent to it.

Mr. Kercheval, can you hear me?

MIKE KERCHEVAL, ADAMS COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT UNIT: Yes, I can.

O'BRIEN: All right. First of all, just tell me where Adams County is in relation to the airport.

KERCHEVAL: We surround Denver International Airport on three sides.

O'BRIEN: OK. And what reports have you been getting in? Do you know of any of these twisters touching down, any damage caused?

KERCHEVAL: We've had reports of tornadoes on the ground to the southeast and to the northeast of Denver International Airport.

O'BRIEN: And any reports of damage or injuries?

KERCHEVAL: Not at this time. We have had reports of up to three inches of hail in the area northeast of the airport.

O'BRIEN: About what size were the hail stones?

KERCHEVAL: I don't have a report on that.

O'BRIEN: All right. And how in this case do you deploy people? Is there kind of a drill you run through?

KERCHEVAL: Well, fortunately, these two tornadoes today have been in areas that are pretty much farmland. So we haven't had a lot of problem with evacuations or dealing with the population.

O'BRIEN: What about the population inside that airport? What is your role in that? Or is that handled just by the airport?

KERCHEVAL: That would be Denver International Airport staff. They're very well prepared to handle weather-related problems like this, most recently with the blizzard in late March.

O'BRIEN: All right. Mike Kercheval, who is with Adams County Emergency Management. Thanks for that. Appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired May 8, 2003 - 14:20   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to check in with Chuck Cannon, he's with Denver International Airport, the spokesperson there.
Mr. Cannon, good to have you with us. I know you're busy. Just bring us up to date. What is the situation right now at the airport? Are passengers being moved to safe areas? Just give us a rundown, please.

CHUCK CANNON, DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Operations are actually pretty normal. During a tornado warning we do broadcast paging announcements advising people of the warning and advising them to stay away from the windows. But other than that, operations are pretty normal. We had some heavy rain. But as your weather person said, those tornadoes northeast and east of the airport had very little impact on airport operations.

O'BRIEN: All right. Is the worst over, you think then, Mr. Cannon?

CANNON: We think so. The tornado warning goes until 12:45, which is about another 20 minutes. But I'm looking out my office window to the west and I can see downtown, 23 miles away, so it appears to be clearing that direction and everything is moving to the east and northeast, away from the airport.

O'BRIEN: Was the airport ever officially closed?

CANNON: Oh, no. No, not at all. We kept operating normally throughout.

O'BRIEN: All right. I assume not too many arrivals and departures during the midst of this?

CANNON: Not a lot, but it's at the pilot's discretion. And I was watching planes taxi out and take off on the runways on the west side of the airfield. So, no problems.

O'BRIEN: Of course, I guess worth pointing out, that isn't necessarily foolhardy if they were headed in a westerly direction and all the action is over towards the east or north.

CANNON: No, they're very cautious. So they wouldn't take off if they thought there was any risk at all.

O'BRIEN: What about just people in the terminals? Do you do much to keep them calm? Or is it - by the way, we're looking at some tape that came through just a little while ago. We might have the formation of a funnel cloud, this from our affiliate KDBR. And, Chuck, I apologize, I know you can't see this.

CANNON: Not a problem.

O'BRIEN: But what we're seeing is the formation of that. I want to ask Orelon Sidney. I'll tell you what. Chuck Cannon hold it for a second..

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN ANCHOR: There it is. That's it!

O'BRIEN: Orelon, talk to me. What are we seeing right there?

SIDNEY: What we see is the funnel cloud, Miles. This is it. Can you see the lowered cloud base?

O'BRIEN: Oh, yeah.

SIDNEY: That is the lowered cloud base. And then there is the little appendage from that. That indeed is a funnel cloud. Just for your information, technically it's not considered a tornado until it actually hits the ground. It's actually considered just considered a funnel cloud. And that one, I don't believe -- this must have been the one that they actually saw from air traffic control earlier towards the top of the hour. Absolutely fascinating. You can even see a little bit of the rain falling on the right side of the screen, and then notice how it clears out a little bit towards the left. That's the rain-free base. The area that's dropped down from the clouds and includes the tornado is the wall cloud. An absolutely fascinating picture.

You can see the rain-free base there, Miles, just almost crystal clear underneath the storm off to the left of your screen and then continuing heavy rain off to the right. It's an amazing picture.

O'BRIEN: And the light is almost haunting there. It's very interesting.

Chuck Cannon, I don't know if you're still with us, but did you get a chance to see that funnel cloud at all?

CANNON: Well, we saw it just on local TV, the one that formed east of the airport. I don't think it ever did touch the ground but it was pretty spectacular looking.

O'BRIEN: Yeah. That's what we're looking at right now. It's really quite something. I was going to ask you, did you - is there anything you do to calm people inside the terminals or is that not a problem?

CANNON: It really isn't a problem. People just go about their business. All we do is tell them that there is a tornado warning and for their own safety, to stay away from the windows and they generally take that to heart and they go on about their business.

SIDNEY: They've got really well-behaved folks there, Miles, because I remember back in Texas when we put out a tornado warning, I was at Texas A&M University in Bryan-College Station, we put out a tornado warning. And I'm driving down the street, people are standing on their roofs with camcorders instead of being inside and taking cover as they should have.

CANNON: Well, that's one of the phenomenon here. When you tell them to stay away from the windows, the first thing they do is run to the windows to look out and see if they can see something.

SIDNEY: Exactly.

O'BRIEN: By the way, we're looking at it appears to be Frontier Airlines, might be a 737, it looks like it's on final approach there. So I guess there's a case in point that the airport is still up and running and pilots are arriving and departing. And it's up to -- of course it's up to passenger's discretion as well, isn't it Chuck Connor (sic), as to whether to get on those planes.

SIDNEY: That's amazing. Sorry there, Miles.

CANNON: That's true. But generally I think people have confidence that pilots are not going to do anything foolhardy.

O'BRIEN: All right. Chuck Connor (sic), spokesperson for Denver International.

I'm sorry, Orelon, did you have something else for Chuck?

SIDNEY: Yes. Actually, this is just a general information. What you're seeing now is the end-stage of that funnel cloud. We call that the rope stage. And some people think when the tornado or the funnel cloud -- if it's a tornado on the ground obviously, gets to that stage it is not destructive, which isn't true at all. It can do tremendous damage even in a stage like that. Right now, this one, of course, this isn't live but this is just about to fade out. It looks like it got some drier air moving into it and that just took the wind out of it, as it was.

O'BRIEN: All right. Chuck Connor (sic), thank you. We appreciate your insights. We're going to move our attention now to the Adams County Emergency Management Unit, Mike Kercheval is with that group. That is the county, you know, where the airport is or at least immediately adjacent to it.

Mr. Kercheval, can you hear me?

MIKE KERCHEVAL, ADAMS COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT UNIT: Yes, I can.

O'BRIEN: All right. First of all, just tell me where Adams County is in relation to the airport.

KERCHEVAL: We surround Denver International Airport on three sides.

O'BRIEN: OK. And what reports have you been getting in? Do you know of any of these twisters touching down, any damage caused?

KERCHEVAL: We've had reports of tornadoes on the ground to the southeast and to the northeast of Denver International Airport.

O'BRIEN: And any reports of damage or injuries?

KERCHEVAL: Not at this time. We have had reports of up to three inches of hail in the area northeast of the airport.

O'BRIEN: About what size were the hail stones?

KERCHEVAL: I don't have a report on that.

O'BRIEN: All right. And how in this case do you deploy people? Is there kind of a drill you run through?

KERCHEVAL: Well, fortunately, these two tornadoes today have been in areas that are pretty much farmland. So we haven't had a lot of problem with evacuations or dealing with the population.

O'BRIEN: What about the population inside that airport? What is your role in that? Or is that handled just by the airport?

KERCHEVAL: That would be Denver International Airport staff. They're very well prepared to handle weather-related problems like this, most recently with the blizzard in late March.

O'BRIEN: All right. Mike Kercheval, who is with Adams County Emergency Management. Thanks for that. Appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com